Tribe prospect anxious for his first start in 2017

Captains pitcher Juan Hillman is a talented young man with a free spirit.

A quick look at the home page of Hillman’s Twitter account, @RealJuanHillman, will provide clues about Hillman’s outlook on life. And check out the brightly-colored sport jacket.

“I’m a very positive person. You’ll never see me without a smile on my face,” Hillman said.

The 6-foot-2, 183-pound left-hander will get his first start in a Lake County uniform on Aug. 10 when the Captains host the Great Lakes (Mich.) Loons in the opener of a three-game series at Classic Park.

Hillman, 19, was selected in the second round of the 2015 draft out of Olympia High School in the Orlando, Florida. As a senior at Olympia High School, Hillman was 10-0 with a 1.44 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 62 innings.

Those numbers and a pitch repertoire that includes a fastball that tops out at 92 mph persuaded the Indians to use the 59th overall pick on Hillman.

The top end of that draft also produced two other highly regarded pitching prospects, current Lake County teammate Brady Aiken (first round 17th overall) and Tristan McKenzie (first round, competitive balance, 42nd overall).

Hillman quickly signed with the Indians and received an $825,000 signing bonus.

His first two seasons in professional baseball were a mixed bag. At Rookie League Arizona in 2015, he was 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA in eight starts.