C.J. Abrams, the sixth overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft, made his Class A debut in an 8-0 TinCaps loss to the West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers affiliate) on Tuesday afternoon at Parkview Field. The loss snapped Fort Wayne’s five-game winning streak.

The game was delayed by rain for 1 hour and 5 minutes after the second inning, though the sun was shining by the end.

Abrams, an 18-year-old from Alpharetta, Georgia, earned his promotion to Fort Wayne (18-26, 51-61) after leading the Arizona League in hitting with a .401 batting average across 32 games. That was 14 points higher than any other qualifying player. He was also tied for the league lead in triples with eight and tied for fourth in doubles with 12. Combined with three home runs, his .662 slugging percentage and 1.104 OPS both ranked second in the circuit. Abrams drew 10 walks against only 14 strikeouts on his way to a .442 on-base percentage, eighth highest in the AZL. He also had 14 stolen bases.

In his TinCaps debut, Abrams went 0-for-4 while batting at the top of the lineup and serving as the designated hitter. The lanky infielder put the ball in play each time he was at the plate, nearly beating out an infield single on a groundball to short in his very first at bat.

West Michigan (15-29, 36-77) exorcized some demons, snapping a seven-game losing streak by pounding out eight runs on 13 hits. Five Whitecaps had multi-hit games, including Zach Malis and Daniel Reyes, who both hit home runs.

The Fort Wayne TinCaps return to action on Wednesday, August 7 as they welcome in the Dayton Dragons with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch.