Game Recaps 5/30

FYI, Nash on the DL. Likely not back for at least three weeks. Shoulder still bothering him, and they are hoping some rest does some good. Likely return is soon after the All-Star break.

Akron KO’s Bowie with K’s, Win in 9th

AKRON, OH – Newcomer Bronson Sardinha reached on an infield single in the bottom of the ninth with the bases full to lift Akron to a 5-4 win over Bowie before 7,050 fans at Canal Park Friday night. The Aeros, who have won five of six and set a new season-high with 14 strikeouts from their pitchers, pushed their record to 28-24 and moved just 2.5 games back of the division-leading Baysox, who fell to 32-23.

Akron scored the first run of the game in the first inning when Trevor Crowe drew a walk from Bowie starter Chris Tillman, and scored on an RBI double by Chris Gimenez that hit off the top of the wall in left-center. The Baysox responded with two runs in the third and one in the fourth. Bowie loaded the bases in the third with no one out, and tied the game on a wild 4-3-6-5 double play. Bowie then scratched out a 2-1 lead on a fielding error by Wes Hodges later in the inning, and Nolan Reimold led off the fourth with a solo shot over the wall in center off Akron starter Kevin Dixon to make it 3-1.

After Josh Rodriguez doubled home a run in the fifth to make it 3-2, Akron took advantage of poor Bowie defense to score two runs in the sixth. Sardinha led off with a double into the right-field corner and moved to third on a passed ball. Stephen Head then drove Sardinha home on a sacrifice fly to right, tying the game at 3-3. Then with Trevor Crowe at the dish and runners at first and second, Bowie catcher Brian Peterson threw errantly down the left field line as Brandon Pinckney scored all the way from second to give Akron a 4-3 lead.

Bowie tied the game in the top of the ninth off Akron closer Randy Newsom, who has blown two saves in his last four tries after starting the season 13 for 13. Pinch-hitter Sebastien Boucher led off with a double to left that Crowe lost in the wind and the lights, and two batters later Blake Davis tripled off the wall in right-center, scoring Boucher and tying the game.

The Aeros did not let up in the bottom of the ninth, however, as Crowe led off with his own double, a pop up that fell between three fielders in shallow center. Bowie intentionally walked Josh Rodriguez, and Rommie Lewis Jr. then hit Chris Gimenez on a sacrifice bunt attempt to load the bases. After Wes Hodges struck out on a full count, Sardinha hit a broken-bat grounder up the middle. Second baseman Jonathan Tucker could not handle the tricky spin however, and with Crowe going home on contact, Tucker had no chance as the Aeros won in walk-off fashion.

Newsom (3-0) picked up the win, allowing his first earned run since April 6th in one inning of work. Lewis (0-4) took the loss, allowing one earned run in 1.2 innings. Kevin Dixon worked six strong innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits. He tied his career-high with nine strikeouts, and walked three. Jeff Stevens faced eight hitters, striking out five and walking two in his two innings of work. Jose Constanza paced the offense with a 3-4 night, while Sardinha went 2-4 and Crowe finished 1-3 with a pair of walks.

The Aeros continue their three-game homestand Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at Canal Park. Akron left-hander David Huff (4-1, 1.98 ERA) will face off against Bowie left-hander Craig Anderson (0-0, 12.27 ERA). The game broadcast begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 AM and online at www.akronaeros.com.

Kinston Wins Sixth in a Row in a Wild One in Potomac

The Kinston Indians won their season-high sixth game in a row, beating the Potomac Nationals, 8-6, in the opening game of a three game series Friday night at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbrige, VA. Kinston continued their hot hitting in the first inning putting up five runs and knocking Nationals front-line starter Ross Detwiler out of the box. Potomac countered with three in the bottom half of that frame, and tied it in the fifth inning.

Kinston responded in the top of the sixth on an RBI-single by Beau Mills, and two runs in the sixth. Potomac would not die, though, getting a run in their half of the sixth, and making things interesting down the stretch. In the eighth inning, the Nationals had the tying run on base with one out, and Beau Mills snared a line drive to first base. He tried to double up the runner at first, but Francisco Piasencia was called safe at first. Both manager Chris Tremie and pitching coach Greg Hibbard were thrown out for arguing, but Kinston escaped the inning on a ground ball.

Sung-Wei Tseng loaded the bases in the ninth, but Dan Cevette struck out pinch-hitter Chris Marrero and forced Dee Brown to fly out to right for the final out.

Hector Rondon (2-3) didn’t pitch too well, giving up five runs in five innings, but picked up his second straight victory.

The K-Tribe goes back to look for their seventh straight win when they face Potomac again at 6:35. Carlton Smith, the staff leader in wins at 3-2 takes the hill for the Indians.

BLUECLAWS RALLY TO BEAT CAPTAINS 13-5

(Eastlake, OH) - After Kelvin De La Cruz allowed no runs on only one hit through the first six innings, the Captains bullpen was roughed up for thirteen runs on fifteen hits during the last three innings as the Lakewood BlueClaws rallied back to beat the Captains 13-8 on Friday in front of 9,002 at Classic Park. The Captains lead in the Northern Division is down to 3.5 games over Delmarva.

The Captains jumped on BlueClaws starter Jacob Diekman in the first inning. Diekman walked Adam White and Mark Thompson. He balked them over the second and third and then Roman Pena singled them both home and the Captains led 2-0. The Captains extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning when two runs scored, one via an error by left fielder Michael Taylor and the second on and RBI double by Lucas Montero. The Blue Claws tied it up when they threw up four runs of their own in the seventh inning off reliever Josh Judy on a RBI single by Travis Mattair and a three run pinch hit double by Joel Naughton.

The Captains got the lead back in the bottom of the seventh inning scoring four runs on RBI’s by Pena, Matt Brown, Karexon Sanchez and Montero to make it 8-4. The Claws didn’t roll over, they tied it in the top of the eighth on a two run homer run by Karl Bolt off of Judy and a then a two run home run off of Joanniel Montero by Mattair to tie it at 8-8.

The BlueClaws scored five runs in the top of the ninth off Montero, capped off by a three run homer by Dominic Brown and Lakewood led 13-8. De La Cruz went six scoreless innings giving up only one hit, walking two and striking out three. Joanniel Montero got the loss to go to 0-1.

The series concludes n Saturday at 7:05 PM as the Captains send LHP Ryan Morris (6-0, 2.01) to the mound against the BlueClaws RHP Chance Chapman (2-4, 2.83). The game can also be heard on AM 1330 WELW, WELW.COM or CAPTAINSBASEBALL.COM.

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Minor Happenings: Archer Turns It Around

"Minor Happenings" covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that cover each team.

I was in Akron over the holiday weekend and had a chance to talk with a lot of different people, from players, to family members, and to scouts. Some of those conversations will be included in today's piece, and the players I talked to were a trio of right-handed relievers in Jeff Stevens, Randy Newsom, and Erik Stiller who I will have feature pieces on soon.

I was going to go to Buffalo today to see Adam Miller pitch as he was scheduled to start today prior to going on the disabled list, but with him out I decided not to go as there is no one worth seeing pitch tonight. In lieu of going to Buffalo, I will likely be conducting a phone interview with Jordan Brown sometime this weekend, so I will have that coming down the pipeline as well.

Since I am not going to Buffalo tonight, I decided to go to Lake County instead. I'll be there tonight to see Kelvin De La Cruz pitch again, but I'll spend more time focusing on some of the relievers and hitters and interviewing a handful of them for upcoming pieces. And, I still have a piece on left-hander Ryan Miller that is near ready that got put on the backburner because of the busy holiday weekend. The Ryan Miller piece should be up sometime this weekend, likely Sunday. If you missed it last weekend, I did a piece on speedy outfielder Adam White.

Also, one final reminder to mention that the MLB Draft commences this coming Thursday June 5^th. Dennis Nosco will be all over the draft with a preview the day before it, a live two-day blog on my site, and then a wrap on this site after the draft. Be sure to check it out, and if you missed it he did a write-up this week on the draft. Also, Director of Amateur Scouting Brad Grant will be in studio on STO this Tuesday at 6pm on the Indians Minor League Magazine show to talk draft. When it comes to the MLB Draft, SportsTime Ohio and The Cleveland Fan have you covered!

Indians Minor League Player Of The Week
(for week of May 22^nd to May 28^th)

Chris Archer (Right-handed Pitcher - Lake County)
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 starts, 11 IP, 0 R, 7 H, 2 BB, 10 K

What a fantastic week for Lake County right-hander Chris Archer who just dominated the competition in the South Atlantic League. There were many fans who questioned why the Indians have stuck with Archer for so long in the rotation at Lake County given his struggles with walking people before this week (39 walks in 33 innings pitched), but after his performance in two starts this week, I think everyone can now see what the Indians and scouts see in him that make him so highly regarded.

Last Thursday, Archer pitched six strong shutout innings giving up only three hits, striking out five and only walking one. Archer left the game after six innings with a 1-0 lead, but the bullpen was unable to hold the lead to get him the much deserved win. On Tuesday, Archer's follow up act was just as good as he threw five shutout innings and allowed just four hits, one walk and struck out five. He did not factor into the decision as the game was scoreless until the eighth inning, and he was long gone before Lake County put up two runs in that inning to win the game 2-0.

Archer has a live arm and a devastating curveball that many in the organization consider as the best breaking ball in the system. With two plus pitches, good makeup, and still only 19-years old, the sky is the limit for Archer. He is a legit pitching prospect in the organization to follow going forward, and his struggles and successes will be a lot of fun to watch in the coming years as he grows into his body and matures as a player. More later on Archer below in an interview I had recently with Lake County pitching coach Ruben Niebla.

Honorable Mentions: Dustin Realini, 1B, Lake County (.440 AVG, HR, 7 RBI); Jared Goedert, 2B/3B, Kinston (.350 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI); Wes Hodges, 3B, Akron (.414 AVG, 0 HR, 5 RBI); Brad Snyder, OF, Buffalo (.471 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI); Hector Rondon, RHP, Kinston (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K)

Previous Winners:

5/15 to 5/21: David Huff (LHP - Akron)
5/8 to 5/14: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/1 to 5/7: Jeremy Sowers (LHP - Buffalo)
4/24 to 4/30: Jose Constanza (OF - Akron)
4/17 to 4/23: Hector Rondon (RHP - Kinston)
4/10 to 4/16: Wes Hodges (3B - Akron)
4/3 to 4/9: Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP - Lake County)

Coaches Corner

A week back when I was in Lake County I had the chance to sit down with pitching coach Ruben Niebla and talk about several of the outstanding, promising arms he has had to work with this year there. Here is a rundown on what was said:

On Kelvin De La Cruz: "Confidence has never been an issue with Kelvin. I think he is coming into his own as a pitcher. He is a three-pitch mix guy and he loves to compete. He is probably the most polished of the starters on the staff as far as three pitches in the zone. He gets after it and does a pretty good job at attacking hitters. He has an understanding on how to attack them and sticks to his strengths well. I think with De La what I have seen is that more than anything at times he tends to lose his focus, and then when he has runners in scoring position he gets his focus back and executes his pitches. For example, I have seen him pitch out of more situations than any of the other guys with runners in scoring position and less than two outs. When he is able to maintain his focus throughout the game I think he is going to be a pitcher to reckon with."

On Mike Pontius: "If he was not on your radar last year, you messed it up (laughs). Mike came up here for the final third of the season last year. We saw the stuff. We knew why he was inconsistent and he was able to apply instruction. So, coming into spring training this year we were able to see he had already made adjustments to get the ball in the zone, throw the ball downhill, and tighten up that breaking ball for strikes. When he came here at the beginning of the season he just took off with it. The thing about Mike is he is able to apply instruction and that is a quality you can't overlook. Also the fact that he throws in the mid-90s and has a plus breaking ball. It has some depth and bite to it. He is special. He is someone I think could definitely help us in the near future at a higher level."

On Ryan Miller: "Bottom line, he has good stuff. He can spin a breaking ball, has good feel for a changeup, and he has good deception to his fastball which is a good combination to have. Some of the things he is working on is polishing those strengths of his and getting more consistent in the strike zone."

On Chris Archer: "I think we are solidifying his delivery right now more than anything. Archer has gone through some adversity during some of his games. That is only going to make him better because when he starts getting consistent in the strike zone - and we are confident he will - he has electric stuff through the zone. It is just a matter of being patient and waiting for it to come."

On Ryan Morris: "He is a strike thrower and sinks the ball well. He pitches to the bottom of the zone, which is a formula for a lot of groundballs. Our infield I think is leading the league in fielding percentage and that is just a good combination for him as it allows him to throw a lot of groundballs and let the defense play behind him."

On Joey Mahalic: "I think what I am trying to do with him is making sure that he stays on top of the ball with consistency. He has a tendency to get under pitches and when he does his ball sails from side to side. He has a nice loose arm with good arm strength and able to sink the ball at 88-89 MPH. But when he stays on top of his pitches he is able to sink it with a downhill angle and get a lot of groundballs. That is what he has done."

Another Scout's Take

When I was in Akron over the weekend, I had a chance to talk to several baseball people outside of the Indians organization. One in particular was a scout for an American League club who I had the chance to speak to for about 15 minutes and run down a laundry list of players in the system. This was not nearly as in-depth of a conversation as I had with the scout in Akron a month back where we talked for over an hour, but still it was an interesting conversation to say the least. (Note, these opinions are those of the scout and not necessarily mine).

The AL scout said there is not a lot of major league quality guys at Akron as the team is mainly depth guys or players who are complimentary players to a big league club. His job is to look for starters and guys that are an improvement over what they have in their system. He likes some of the arms and a few bats, but aside from that thinks many of the players there are forgettable.

We talked about outfielder Trevor Crowe, and he pointedly said "he just doesn't see it....where is he going to play?". He was not big at all on Crowe and doesn't see a consistent bat to be an everyday player and would not recommend his club trade for him or pick him up. On third baseman Wes Hodges he said that while his bat is impressive, he does not see him sticking at third base. He does not feel like he is good defensively at third and believes he ends up at first base eventually. He said he really likes shortstop Josh Rodriguez in that he moves well at short and has a promising bat. Also, he really, really likes catcher Chris Gimenez's bat. On the pitching front, left-handed starter David Huff and right-handed reliever Jeff Stevens are two guys he would love to have in his organization and are guys he thinks have a lot of value.

We also talked about some of the Indians players, namely third baseman Andy Marte and outfielder Ben Francisco. He is yet another scout I have talked to who claims to love Francisco much more than what he termed as the "over-hyped" outfielder Franklin Gutierrez. He said it is not even close and that "yeah, Gutierrez has more tools. But, those tools have not changed one bit since he was in Double-A in 2004. Francisco on the other hand needs some work on defense, but aside from that has improved every year. It is no contest. I'd take Francisco on my team any day over Gutierrez". He also said that Andy Marte has fallen off the prospect map and that if he were to be put on waivers his club would likely pass. Just too many holes in his game, and defensively he is not very good. He also mentioned that right-handed starter Paul Byrd has more trade value than people think. Many teams would love to have the reliable Byrd to fill a #4-#5 spot in the rotation for the stretch run, and believes the Indians could get a good promising bat or bullpen arm in return for him.

Miller Injured Again

The big news of the week was right-hander Adam Miller going on the disabled list because of a broken callous on the middle finger of his right hand, and then having what very well might be season ending surgery to correct this serious issue. It was a crazy week, as the injury seemingly came out of nowhere as in six starts on the season Miller was looking strong and had a 1.88 ERA. It was a wild 48 hours from the point he was scratched from his Sunday afternoon start, to being put on the disabled list on Monday, to having surgery on the finger Tuesday. In the span of 48 hours he went from a great trading chip or bullpen option for the Indians to possibly being shelved for the season.

The problem with Miller's middle finger on his pitching hand came about last year, and it was felt with rest the issues he had with his tendon may correct itself on its own. But, the issues with his finger cropped up again, this time because he had developed two calluses on it and between the calluses the skin had become soft and developed into a hole in his skin which put Miller's finger at serious risk of infection. The calluses were a result of Miller's strained pulley system in the finger last year. Team hand specialist Dr. Tom Graham performed the surgery on Tuesday and surgically repaired the pulley system in the middle finger. During the surgery, Dr. Graham found that Miller's tendons in the finger were starting to fray and that the pulley system in the finger was not working properly.

So what is next for Miller? He is expected to be out for about eight weeks, and if all goes well during his recovery he will go on a return-to-throw program sometime in late July. Since he will be coming back late in the season, they could work him back more into a bullpen role which would shorten the throwing program required before he could return to Buffalo possibly by mid-August. While Buffalo's season will be wrapped up by the end of August, it is possible if he performs well in his return that he could pitch the final month of the season in Cleveland.

Time To Make A Pitch For Hitting

The Indians are loaded with pitching at the major league and minor league level. It is an obvious surplus that even with the impending free agency of ace C.C. Sabathia and reliable starter Paul Byrd they have more than enough to turn to and replace those two potential losses. Yes, replacing Sabathia is nearly impossible, but they have quality arms that could step in and not be such a big drop-off from Sabathia. Byrd is replaceable, and would it really be that much of a drop next season to have Aaron Laffey replace Sabathia and Jeremy Sowers replace Byrd? What I am getting at here, is the Indians need to go one of two directions and either way they go they have to go in one of those directions.

Option #1 should be to seriously consider trading Sabathia and Byrd. According to the scout I talked to over the weekend, Byrd has value as a dependable back of the rotation starter teams look for when they are trying to round out their staff for a stretch run, and that means we could probably get a good prospect for him, particularly one who may be major league ready. Sabathia is a few months away from free agency and almost certain to leave, so why not get as much as you can for him now? By trading Sabathia in no way would it wave the white flag on the season, it actually may be the deal that gets this team going as they Indians could plug in Laffey into his spot in the rotation (when Carmona comes back) and there would be minimal drop in performance, but where it would really pay off is the help we would receive in return for Sabathia. Sabathia could probably net the Indians two to three very good young impact hitters. Maybe two hitters and a bullpen arm, but in any case the Indians should look around for a team willing to part with some major league ready premium talent for Sabathia.

Option #2 calls for Shapiro to go the distance with Sabathia and Byrd, and instead look to trade Laffey, Sowers, or any other young pitcher in the farm system. This is a route that helps short term as it will be easier to land a veteran bat or two to help the lineup, but it could seriously hurt the Indians in 2009 and beyond. The problem here is it will be hard to give up on a Laffey or a David Huff, which are two guys at the top of the list when teams talk to the Indians about trades. Before Adam Miller went on the disabled list, even he would have been considered in a deal.

The Indians have a lot of good young pitching stocked throughout the farm system, and are overstocked with it. On the flipside, the Indians lack many impact bats, so it is time to maybe tip the scales more in the hitting direction to balance the system out and use some of the pitching surplus - be it at the major league or minor league level - and get some bats in here to help this team out in 2008 and beyond. Scouts love our pitching, especially the young arms, but Shapiro has to be willing to take a gamble and start using that pitching as currency to buy some much needed upgrades to a Tribe offense that is holding the team back.

Stevens The Next Callup?

Akron right-handed reliever Jeff Stevens is on the verge of a callup to Cleveland. With the way things are going in the bullpen with the parent club, there is a need for quality relief pitching and since trade options are limited for at least another month the Indians may look in-house like they did with Jensen Lewis last year to find that solution. Stevens so far this season is 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA, .200 BAA, 10.80 K/9, and 3.03 BB/9.

Stevens went into this season as one of the highly thought of bullpen arms in the farm system, and to date he has not disappointed. While he did get off to a slow start, he has simply been awesome the last month. In April, Stevens was 3-1 with a 4.20 ERA, .259 BAA, 10.2 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 in nine appearances out of the bullpen. Those were solid numbers, but he was a little inconsistent and was still learning to throw a slider that he just started throwing to give hitters a different look. In May he has been spectacular going 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA, .108 BAA, 11.57 K/9, and a 3.9 BB/9 in seven appearances out of the bullpen. In his last five appearances covering a total of eight innings, Stevens has yielded just one hit, walked three and struck out 11.

Stevens has settled into a grove, is pitching with a ton of confidence again, and is ready to be challenged at the next level. He could be on the move to Buffalo anytime in the next few days, and there is a remote chance he could skip Buffalo altogether and go right to Cleveland. However, the likely course of action will be for the Indians to move him to Buffalo, have him get a few appearances there, and then consider him for a callup to Cleveland by mid-June.

Wild Thing

It has been a rough year so far for Akron left-hander Chuck Lofgren (1-3, 5.94 ERA). After a slow start to the season, he seemed to be getting things going with two excellent starts to kick off the month of May going six one-run innings on May 1^st and seven one-run innings on May 6th. But, after a nightmare road trip in early May where many off days and rainouts had the starters go about ten days without pitching in a game, the momentum Lofgren had built with those two starts in May was gone.

In his last three starts, Lofgren is 0-0 with a 6.91 ERA and again the alarming numbers are the hits (13) he has given up and all the walks (15) he has piled up in those three starts (14.1 innings). He is walking too many batters this year (6.5 BB/9), and on top of that has hit four batters and thrown several wild pitches. In his start last Thursday, Lofgren was visibly upset to where he had to be removed in the middle of the fifth inning and he walked off the mound steaming the entire way to the dugout where he threw his hat and glove against the wall.

Bottom line, Lofgren is frustrated. He knows he is better than this, the Indians know it, I know it, and so do the scouts. Sometimes it is just one of those seasons a pitcher goes through, as luck has not been on his side so far this year. That said, it is time for him to find a way to get things together and go out there and perform. Lofgren has great makeup and in the past has shown the ability to focus and bear down when times get tough, and there is no reason he can't do it again. Lofgren knows what he has to do, and that is to keep his focus, keep the ball down in the zone and start throwing more strikes.

They Call Him Mr. Clutch

Akron third baseman has had a very good year at the plate so far this season, and to date he is hitting .316 with 7 HR, 41 RBI, and an .870 OPS. He leads the team in hitting, RBI, and home runs, and he currently ranks 1^st in the Eastern League in RBI. Hodges has been extremely hot of late, as he is hitting .421 (16-for-38) in his last ten games. While he has piled up his 41 RBI in just 51 games, which is a pace of 112 RBI over a 140 game season and would destroy the Akron record of 96 RBI in a season set by Chan Perry in 1997.

Digging deeper and looking at his situational stats, Hodges is also having a terrific season in clutch situations. He has been red-hot hitting .386 (22-for-57) and a 1.094 OPS with men in scoring position this year. He has been hot all month, hitting .371 in May and his 21 RBI for the month leads the next closest player by 11 RBI (Gimenez is 2nd in May with 10 RBI). His home run production has dropped this month as he only has hit one in May after hitting six in April, but his RBI production has increased because he has been so clutch with men on base.

Full Season Adjustments

For a lot of players at Lake County, and some at Kinston, this year is their first experience playing a full season. Many of the players on these rosters played on short-season rosters at Mahoning Valley or the Gulf Coast League last year. Both Kinston and Lake County have played over 50 games, and were this a short-season the players would be about two to three weeks from wrapping up their season. But, as full-season players, they still have over three months to go.

According to Lake County outfielder Adam White it is an adjustment in learning to deal with a much longer season. "It is different playing everyday. Last year playing at Mahoning Valley you only had two and a half months. Now I have five months. In short-season you just get started and then you end, and if you don't get off to a good start you are done for, whereas with a full season you have five months to regroup."

Many of these players are only used to the 40-60 game schedule they played each year in high school, college, and professionally in short-season leagues. Now, they have to get used to a grueling 140-game schedule of a full season.

"Mahoning was basically just a learning thing and to get accustomed," said White. "I don't know what it is going to be like hitting in July or August [after playing for three months already]. I heard from guys in spring training it is a grind. Just stay completely focused and you should not have a problem with it."

Getting On Track With iTrac

Stephanie Storm of the Akron Beacon Journal had a nice piece on the iTrac system the Indians have setup in their batting cages at Progressive Field as well as other places like Winter Haven and Akron. The Indians are one of five major league organizations who are using the machine, and it is a machine which helps train the vision of hitters to where they can better recognize pitches and their location. As Storm wrote, "The system is designed to improve a player's vision and ability to track a ball by conditioning and strengthening the eye muscles. In doing so, players improve their depth perception, enhance hand-eye coordination and improve reaction time. This happens as the system breaks down the ball path into three sections: the recognition zone, the decision zone and the attack zone."

According to studies, hitters lose sight of a pitch about six to eight feet from home plate, which means they are guessing the final location of the ball as they make contact. The iTrac system helps train the eyes of the hitters to follow the ball all the way up until the point of contact and eliminate this blind spot. The system has become a tool to help minor league hitters become better adept at keeping their head down and looking through the ball and also keep their front side in as they swing. The past few years the Indians have integrated the iTrac machine into the daily routines of the minor leaguers during spring training, and they continue to use it when available throughout the season.

Transactions Log

It was a busy week for transactions, particularly in Buffalo. On Monday, the Indians signed outfielder Todd Linden and infielder Jorge Velandia to minor league deals and assigned them to Buffalo. Linden hit .333 (26-for-78) with 3 HR and 12 RBI in 22 games with Triple-A Sacramento (Athletics), and Velandia hit .287 (27-for-94) with 3 HR and 12 RBI in 28 games with Triple-A Syracuse (Toronto) before playing in a brief two-game stint with Toronto (0-for-7). To make room for Linden and Velancia, outfielder Bronson Sardinha was re-assigned to Double-A Akron and infielder Danny Sandoval was transferred to extended spring training. In addition, the Indians optioned right-hander Jensen Lewis to Buffalo on Saturday and right-handers Eddie Mujica and Scott Elarton were called up to Cleveland.

With right-hander Adam Miller going on the disabled list on Monday, right-hander Joanniel Montero was promoted to Buffalo but quickly reassigned to Akron. Montero's stay in Akron should be short-lived as right-hander Bubbie Buzachero is expected to move back down from Buffalo to Akron in the next few days. Also, with Sardinha being sent from Buffalo to Akron, Akron outfielder Nathan Panther was transferred to Mahoning Valley.

Infirmary Report

Some quick news on the injury front. When I was in Akron over the weekend I learned that several pitchers in extended spring training are very close to being activated or sent on rehab assignments. These timelines are always fuzzy and setbacks can always crop up, but three of the Indians top pitching prospects should be in action by the end of June.

Left-hander Tony Sipp (Tommy John surgery) is expected to begin his rehab assignment in Kinston sometime in mid-June, and if I had to guess he'll be rostered there right after the Carolina League All-Star break (June 23-25). Right-handed reliever Michael Finocchi (broken leg) and left-handed starter Scott Lewis (strained lat) both are expected back in Akron sometime in the next two to three weeks.

Affiliate Notebook

Buffalo Notes (25-29, 4th place, 8.5 GB): Former Buffalo Mayor Jimmy D. Griffin passed away at the age of 78 on Sunday morning. Griffin was a huge supporter of the Buffalo Bisons, and through work with city leaders and using his own money, the city purchased a struggling Jersey City Double-A team and moved them to Buffalo in 1979. He was also instrumental in the construction of the downtown ballpark Dunn Tire Park. ... Outfielder Jason Cooper is setting many Buffalo hitting records this season. On Saturday, Cooper hit his fifth home run of the season and his 45th as a Bison tying him for 7th on the all-time list with current manager and former player Torey Lovullo. On Tuesday, he racked up his 200th career RBI as a Bison, good for fourth on the all-time list. The only other Bisons in the modern era to collect 200 RBI are Bill Selby (245), Jeff Manto (207) and Russell Branyan (202). ... First baseman Jordan Brown has shown no lingering affects from being on the disabled list for three weeks (5/1 to 5/19). Since being activated, Brown has hit well by hitting .322 (10-for-31) in eight games. On the season he is hitting .283 with 0 HR, 11 RBI, and a .742 OPS. ... On Tuesday, left-hander Jeremy Sowers tossed another gem going six shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk. On the season he is 3-3 with a 2.18 ERA in nine starts. ... The Buffalo pitching staff has made a steady climb up the International League rankings. Buffalo is now ranked 7th in ERA (3.84), 3rd in fewest home runs allowed (38), and 6th in strikeouts (380). ... Hitting-wise, Buffalo has been just as inconsistent and painful to watch at times as the parent club. Buffalo is ranked 13th in the International League in hitting (.247), 9th in home runs (36), and 12th in runs (207).

Akron Notes (27-24, 3rd place, 3.5 GB): Outfielder Ryan Goleski was out of the lineup for three days last week from Thursday through Saturday to attend to the birth of his first child. After a long labor, Ryan and his wife Rachel gave birth to a baby girl on Friday. Congrats to the Goleski family, and let's hope with the arrival of the little Go-Go that big daddy Go-Go gets going at the plate. ... First baseman/outfielder Stephen Head has had a hot bat of late. Head put up consecutive three-hit games from May 23-24 and in the last ten games is hitting .361 (13-for-36). On the season Head is hitting .321 with 1 HR, 11 RBI, and a .798 OPS in 24 games. ... Catcher Chris Gimenez is still off to a very good start. Gimenez is 3rd in the Eastern League in on-base percentage (.459) and 1st in walks (36). Gimenez had his 11-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday night when he went 0-for-2 but had two walks. On the season Gimenez is hitting .303 with 4 HR, 16 RBI and a .967 OPS. ... Shortstop Josh Rodriguez has quietly put together a solid season, and has shown much improved plate discipline (30 walks). On the season he is hitting .260 with 2 HR, 13 RBI, 7 stolen bases, and a .711 OPS. ... Left-hander David Huff is 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA in ten starts. ... Right-handed reliever Randy Newsom is 2-0 with 15 saves and a 0.79 ERA in 23 appearances.

Kinston Notes (25-27, 2nd place, 7.5 GB): Outfielder Cirilo Cumberbatch was the Carolina League Player of the Week for the week of May 19th - 25th. For the week, Cumberbatch went 11-for-18 at the plate, with five runs, four RBI and a home run. The Panama native hit .611 with a .889 slugging percentage. ... On Friday, Akron right-hander Frank Herrmann returned to Kinston for a spot start. With Indians right-hander Jake Westbrook pitching in Akron on Friday in his final rehab assignment, the Indians wanted Herrmann to pitch on normal rest, but more importantly with Kinston playing back-to-back doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday they needed an arm for a spot start. ... Outfielder Nick Weglarz continues to rack up the walks. While his walk-rate has slowed down some since the ridiculous pace he was on the first few weeks of the season, he now has 45 walks on the season which leads the Carolina League and is 2nd in all of Minor League Baseball. On the season, Weglarz is hitting .264 with 5 HR, 20 RBI, and an .843 OPS. ... On Sunday, right-hander Hector Rondon was brilliant going seven shutout innings and allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out eight batters. It was Rondon's first win since July 14, 2007, a span of 18 winless starts where he gave up three or less earned runs 14 times. On the season Rondon is now 1-3 with a 3.88 ERA in ten starts. ... Kinston pitchers lead the Carolina League in most home runs allowed with 43 on the season. On the flip-side, Kinston hitters are 5th in the league in home runs (29).

Lake County Notes (34-20, 1st place, 4.5 GU): With 16 games left before the end of the first half, Lake County's magic number is down to 13. The 140-game Single-A season is broken up into two halves of 70 games each where the winner of the division from each half qualifies for the playoffs in September. In the event a team wins both halves, the second place team in the second half qualifies for the playoffs and plays the division winner of both halves and does not play a home game. ... On Saturday, right-hander Joey Mahalic put up his best effort as a professional going five shutout innings allowing three hits, no walks and three punchouts. On the season he is 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in four starts. Left-hander John Gaub followed him out of the bullpen and was sensational, throwing two shutout innings and striking out six batters. Gaub has 24 strikeouts in 14.2 innings, and is 0-1 with a 4.30 ERA in eight appearances. ... Infielder Dustin Realini has been swinging a hot stick of late. After playing very little the first month of the season, Realini has been a regular in the lineup the last few weeks and he has made the most of it. In May he is hitting .329, and has reached base in 16 straight games. On the season, Realini is hitting .314 with 3 HR, 25 RBI, and an .859 OPS. ... On Sunday, left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz tossed six scoreless innings scattering two hits, walking three and striking out seven. On the season he is 4-2 with a 1.57 ERA. ... On Monday, left-hander Ryan Morris pitched five scoreless innings scattering three hits, walking one and striking out five. On the season he is 6-0 with a 2.01 ERA. ... Lake County starters have been on a role all season and been the backbone of the team, but this past week they have been spectacular. In their last ten starts, the starters have pitched 45.1 innings and allowed just one earned run. ... Lake County has been in 1st place all but ten days of the season and have had sole possession of first place since April 22nd.

Photos courtesy of Ken Carr, Lake County Captains, Kinston Indians, Akron Aeros, and Buffalo Bisons.

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Game Recaps 5/29

On next Tuesday's Indians Minor League Magazine show on STO, Indians Amateur Scouting Director Brad Grant will be in studio to discuss the MLB Draft. Also, infielder Josh Barfield will be featured, and a then and now with pitcher Rafael Perez will be shown.

K-Tribe Sweeps Doubleheader, Wins A Season High Five Games in a Row

The K-Tribe swept a doubleheader from Frederick, bringing their win streak to a season high five games in a row. Kinston won game one 5-0 and took game two 3-2.

A complete game shutout victory by Steven Wright propelled the Kinston Indians to a 5-0 victory in game one at Historic Grainger Stadium. Wright pitched all seven innings of the opener striking out seven, allowing two hits and four base runners. It was the K-Tribe pitching staff’s third shutout of the year.

The Indians scored in the first inning for the third straight day, plating a run on an RBI single by Chris De La Cruz. The Tribe added a run in the third with an RBI force-out from Nick Weglarz. As Wright kept dealing, Kinston kept scoring, blowing it open in the sixth sending nine men to the plate and scoring three. A two-run double by Alex Castillo and a run-scoring double put things out of reach in the penultimate frame. Wright finished things up in the seventh for his second win against three losses, lowering his staff-leading ERA to 2.38, fifth in the Carolina League.

Jason Denham’s three-run homer in the fourth inning gave the Indians enough of a cushion to hold off Frederick again. Despite Josh Tomlin giving up two runs in four innings, Neil Wagner and Luis Perdomo combined to hold the Keys scoreless over the last three innings. Perdomo pitched a scoreless ninth for his Carolina League-leading 12th save.

The Indians won their season-high fifth straight game in the nightcap, all coming at home. Frederick was swept in their second straight series, after not being swept up to this point last week. They have lost seven straight over that stretch.

The K-Tribe will play the next 14 of their 17 games away from home. Kinston’s seven game road trip starts Friday night in Potomac. Hector Rondon takes the mound for Kinston in the 7:05 start.

CAPTAINS LOSE IN 11 INNINGS

(Eastlake, OH) – The Lakewood BlueClaws scored four runs in the top of the eleventh inning off Captains reliever Dallas Cawiezell, capped of by a three run home run by Michael Taylor as the BlueClaws defeated the Lake County Captains 8-6 in eleven innings on Thursday. The Captains battled back to score two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, but fell short.

The BlueClaws took the lead in the third inning when Derrick Mitchell hit a three run home run off Captains starter Joey Mahalic to give the Blueclaws a 3-0 lead. The Captains got on the board in the bottom of the third inning off Claws starter Drew Naylor when Matt Brown singled home Mark Thompson to cut the lead to 3-1. The Captains tied it in the bottom of the fourth inning when Doug Pickens and Matt Willard singled and they both scored when Thompson doubled to right field to make it 3-3.

The Captains took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning when Doug Pickens walked and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Willard and he scored on a double by Thompson, his fourth hit of the day. The BlueClaws forced extra innings scoring a run in the top of the ninth inning off Captains closer Vinnie Pestano on and RBI groundout by Mitchell. This was only Pestano’s second blown save in fourteen tries.

Mahalic went seven innings and gave up three runs on seven hits, walking two and stricking out five and did not get a decision. Gary Campfield relieved Mahalic in the eighth inning and pitched a scoreless inning. Pestano pitched the ninth inning and Dallas Cawiezell the final two innings and picked up the loss to drop to 2-2. Zach Simon got the win to up his mark to 5-1.

Game three of the four game series is Friday at 7:05 PM as the Captains send LHP Kelvin De La Cruz (4-2, 1.57) to the mound against the BlueClaws LHP Jacob Diekman (1-3, 5.01) The game can also be heard on AM 1330 WELW, WELW.COM or CAPTAINSBASEBALL.COM.

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Game Recaps 5/28

Man, what a tough break for Adam Miller. He had surgery on his finger Wednesday and is out for at least two months and most likely the season.

As an FYI, Minor Happenings will post Friday afternoon.

K-Tribe Postponed

Tonight’s K-Tribe game vs. the Frederick Keys at Historic Grainger Stadium has been postponed because of rain. Two seven inning games will be played tomorrow (Thursday) starting at 5pm.

CAPTAINS GET WALK OFF WIN OVER LAKEWOOD

(Eastlake, OH) – Matt Brown drove in the winning run off Joe Rocchio in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Lake County Captains defeated the Lakewood BlueClaws 4-3 on Wednesday. Dustin Realini tied the game up with a single prior to the Brown RBI. Realini has now hit in eleven straight games. The Captains did not have a hit until the eighth inning. The Captains lead in the Northern Division of the SAL is 5.5 games over Delmarva and Greensboro.

The BlueClaws took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning off of Captains starter Ryan Miller. Miller walked the first two batters of the inning and then Karl Bolt singled and that scored Dominic Brown from second with Michael Taylor taking third base. Taylor scored on a fielder’s choice by Freddy Galvis. The Claws added another run in the seventh inning off of reliever John Gaub on an RBI single by Brown to make it 3-0. The Captains climbed back in the game in the bottom of the eighth scoring two runs on RBI’s by Michael Valadez and Ron Rivas to cut the lead to 3-2 before winning it in the ninth.

Miller did not factor in the decision, going four innings and giving up the two runs on two hits but walked four and struck out three. Both runners that scored walked to get on base. Kyle Landis relieved Miller in the fifth inning and pitched two scoreless innings. Gaub came on and pitched two innings and allowed the one run. Jonathan Holt pitched the ninth inning and picked up his first win of the year (1-4) while Rocchio took the loss to drop to 2-5.

Game two of the series is Thursday morning at 11:05 AM as the Captains send RHP Joey Mahalic (2-1, 4.30) to the mound against the BlueClaws RHP Drew Naylor (4-2, 2.66) The game can also be heard on AM 1330 WELW, WELW.COM or CAPTAINSBASEBALL.COM.

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Game Recaps 5/27

Some quick news on the injury front. Right-handed reliever Michael Finocchi (broken leg) and left-handed starter Scott Lewis (strained lat) both are expected back in Akron sometime in the next 2-3 weeks. Also, left-hander Tony Sipp (Tommy John surgery) is expected to begin his rehab assignment in Kinston sometime in mid-June, likely right after the Carolina League All-Star break.

Kinston Wins Their Third Straight

The Kinston Indians won their third straight game, beating the Frederick Keys, 8-6, Tuesday afternoon at Historic Grainger Stadium. Kinston got the scoring going early again with two runs in the first inning on a two-run single by Carlos Rivero. Jared Goedert drove in his 30th run on the season in the third inning on a run-scoring single. Frederick was able to tie things up in the fifth with an RBI groundout and a two-run homer by Ryan McCarthy in the sixth.

The game wouldn’t be tied long as Kinston got the lead for good in the sixth with a two-run triple by Brian Juhl. It was Juhl’s first triple of the season, part of a 2-for-3 day for him. Rivero added his third RBI in the seventh with his third single on the day capping a 3-for-3 day at the plate. Cirilo Cumberbatch added a sac fly in that seventh to give the K-Tribe a four-run lead.

Frederick came back in the next half-inning on a three-run home run by Chris Vinyard to make the score 7-6. Kinston added another insurance run in the eighth, but did not need it as Luis Perdomo picked up his Carolina League-leading 11th save. Perdomo struck out Ryan McCarthy with the tying runs on base to complete the win for the Indians.

Jeanmar Gomez picked up a no-decision for the K-Tribe, going five innings and giving up three runs with five strikeouts. Mike Pontius (2-0) picks up his second win with two innings of scoreless relief. Tim Bascom (1-1) picks up his first loss for Frederick, as he left the game with the two runners on who eventually scored.

The K-Tribe handed Frederick their fifth straight loss and will look to make it four wins in a row behind Josh Tomlin tomorrow night at Historic Grainger Stadium. The 5-1 Tomlin takes the hill for the 7:00 PM start against 4-3 Brandon Erbe.

CAPTAINS THROW SECOND SHUTOUT IN THREE DAYS

(Lexington, KY) – The Lake County Captains threw their second shutout in the last three games as they defeated the Lexington Legends 2-0 on Tuesday. The Captains gave up two runs in the four games series and took three of four games. The Captains lead in the Northern Division of the SAL is five games over Lakewood and Greensboro.

The game was scoreless until the top of the eighth inning when the Captains plated two runs. With runners at first and third and two outs, Matt Brown rolled a single to right field that scored Roman Pena from third. Dustin Realini was trying to go from first to third on the hit and the throw from right fielder Steve Brown to third went past third baseman Bryan Brown and Realini scored to make it 2-0.

Chris Archer did not factor in the decision but went five scoreless innings and allowing four walking one and striking out five. Josh Judy relieved Archer in the sixth inning and pitched two scoreless innings. Dallas Cawiezell came on and pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Pestano closed out the ninth to pick up his twelfth save in thirteen tries. Reliever Jordan Powell took the loss with his record falling to 0-5.

The Captains return home four a four game series and home stand on Wednesday with a 7:05 PM game against the Lakewood BlueClaws. LHP Ryan Miller (7-0, 0.93) goes for his eighth win which would tie him for the league lead against the BlueClaws RHP Darren Byrd who is making his first start this year for the Claws since being demoted from Clearwater with a record of 0-4 and an ERA of 9.25. The game can also be heard on AM 1330 WELW, WELW.COM or CAPTAINSBASEBALL.COM.

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Game Recaps 5/26

The Cleveland Indians have signed OF Todd Linden and INF Jorge Velandia to minor league deals today and assigned them to Buffalo. Linden hit .333 (26-78) with 3HR and 12RBI in 22 games with Triple-A Sacramento (Athletics) of the Pacific Coast League. Velandia hit .287 (27-94) with 3HR and 12RBI in 28 games with Syracuse before a brief two-game stint with Toronto (0-7). The Herd also activated RHP Jensen Lewis, who was optioned by Cleveland on Saturday after going 0-2 with a 3.58ERA in 20 games with the Tribe (27.2IP, 11ER, 19K). To make roster room, OF Bronson Sardinha (.300, 2HR, 5RBI, 12G) was transferred to Double-A Akron and INF Danny Sandoval (.247, 1HR, 13RBI, 43G) was transferred to Single-A Mahoning Valley.

Kinston outfielder Cirilo Cumberbatch is the Carolina League Player of the Week. Cumberbatch tore up the Carolina League from May 19th – 25th, going 11-for-18 at the plate, with five runs, four RBIs and a home run. The Panama native hit .611 with a .889 slugging percentage.

Also, RHP Adam Miller was put on the disabled list today in Buffalo due to the issues with the callous on his hand. RHP Joanniel Montero was called up to Buffalo and will replace Miller on the roster. With the callup of Montero, this seems like a clear indicator Miller is only expected to be DLed for the 7-days required.

Panther Beats SeaWolves in Ninth

AKRON, OH – Nathan Panther lined a double down the right-field line and Chris Gimenez slid his hand over the plate just past the tag of catcher Dusty Ryan as the Aeros claimed a 4-3 win over Erie before a season-high crowd of 9,109 fans at Canal Park on Memorial Day. The Aeros pushed their record to 24-23 and finished 6-2 on their eight-game homestand, while the SeaWolves fell to 19-31.

Panther put Akron on the board early, capping a two-out rally in the bottom of the first. Gimenez and Wes Hodges drew back-to-back walks with two gone, and Panther followed by knocking a solid line drive up the middle for a 1-0 lead. Erie responded to tie the game in the second off Akron starter David Huff, who entered the game with a 1.07 ERA in his last seven appearances. Jeff Frazier led off with a single and Ryan followed with an RBI double to knot the score at 1-1. Erie then took the lead in the third, as Frazier singled home Danny Worth to make it 2-1.

Akron tied the game in the bottom of the third with an unearned run. Hodges reached on an infield single with one out, and moved to second on a Panther groundout. Matt Whitney then hit a grounder to third that looked like it would end the inning, but Kody Kirkland’s low throw scooted past Ryan Roberson at first, allowing Hodges to score. Whitney then gave Akron the lead in the fifth, when he stroked an RBI single to left to score Gimenez and make it 3-2 Akron. It was only Whitney’s fifth hit with runners in scoring position in 49 at-bats, but his second of the series.

Jeff Stevens worked 2.1 perfect innings of relief to set-up for closer Randy Newsom, but the side-armer suffered through some uncharacteristic wildness while blowing his first save of the season. Newsom’s first offering in the ninth clipped Roberson’s foot, but Justin Justice followed with a one-hopper back to Newsom. Newsom couldn’t start the double play however, as his throw sailed over the head of shortstop Josh Rodriguez at the second base bag and into center field to put runners at first and second. Kirkland moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, and Newsom intentionally walked Max Leon to load the bases. Worth then hit a grounder to Brandon Pinckney at second, but there wasn’t enough pace on the ball for the Aeros to turn two as pinch-runner Will Rhymes came home with the tying run.

Undaunted, Gimenez yanked a one-out single to left to start the winning rally in the bottom half of the frame. Erie reliever Angel Castro struck out Hodges for the second out after a long battle, but left a 2-1 fastball up in the zone that Panther promptly roped into the right-field corner. Leon made a strong relay throw to the plate, but Gimenez got his left hand around Ryan’s tag as the sellout crowd celebrated the walk-off win.

Newsom (2-0), who still has not allowed an earned run since April 6th, got the win despite the blown save, and Castro (1-1) took the loss. Huff tossed 5.2 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits, while striking out six and walking three. Gimenez extended his hitting streak to 11 games and scored three runs, while Hodges (two hits) and Panther (three hits) went a combined 5-9 in the middle of the lineup.

The Aeros now head to Harrisburg for a double header Tuesday at 5:05 p.m. to open a four-game, three-day series. Chuck Lofgren (1-3, 5.62 ERA) will face off against Harrisburg’s Jordan Zimmerman (1-1, 2.76 ERA) in game one, and in game two the Aeros will send J.D. Martin (4-2, 5.14 ERA) opposite Harrisburg’s Marco Estrada (5-2, 2.45 ERA). The game broadcast begins at 4:50 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 AM and online at www.akronaeros.com.

Kinston Nips the Keys

Kinston takes the first game of a four game series from the Frederick Keys 5-4 Monday night at Historic Grainger Stadium. Jared Goedert started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out single, scoring Johnny Drennen. Kinston broke open a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning with home runs from Jared Goedert and Beau Mills. Goedert went 2-for-4 on the night with three RBIs, hitting his second home run in as many games. Mills two run shot was his team leading fifth of the season and his first since May 16th.

Matt Wieters and the Keys made it close, however, as he picked up his league-leading 12th home run to bring Frederick within a run in the eighth inning. Kinston added an insurance run as Goedert drove in Drennen on an RBI ground out. Frederick’s Ryan McCarthy drove in a run on an RBI single to right field and put the tying run 90 feet away. Luis Perdomo would send a crowd of better than 3,000 home happy, though, striking Wieters out to end the game with the tying and go-ahead runs on base for his 10th save.

In a game that was supposed to showcase both starting pitchers, Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Jake Arrieta was rocked for four runs in six innings giving up both home runs. He also added to his suffering with an errant pickoff throw to first that allowed Drennen to move into scoring position and later plate the first run. Carlton Smith picked up his starting staff-leading third win for Kinston, pitching an efficient seven and one-third innings allowing two runs on four hits and striking out two.

Kinston is back at it early tomorrow with a special 11:00 AM start for a Lenoir County Elementary School Day. Jeannmar Gomez takes his two wins to the mound for Kinston against Frederick’s Tim Bascom.

CAPTAINS WIN 8-1

(Lexington, KY) – Dustin Realini hit a grand slam home run and drove in five runs on the day and Captains starter picked up sixth win of the year as the Lake County Captains defeated the Lexington Legends 8-1 on Monday. Every Captain in the line up had at least one hit. Captains pitching in the three games played in this series have given up only two runs.

The Captains scored four runs in the third inning off Legends starter Carlos Ladeuth on the Realini grand slam to lead 4-0. The Captains added a run in the fourth inning when Adam White scored from second on a Roman Pena RBI infield single to make it 5-0. The Captains scored again in the fifth, this time off of Legends reliever David Qualben, when Karexon Sanchez tripled and scored on a single by Jeff Hehr to up the lead 6-0. The Captains got to Qualben in the sixth inning when they scored two unearned run on RBI’s by Realini and Matt Brown to extend the lead to 8-0. The Legends scored a run in the ninth off Vinnie Pestano on an RBI by Brian Pellegrini to break up the shut out. That snapped a streak of 22 scoreless innings by the Captains pitching staff.

Ryan Morris got the win (6-0) pitching five scoreless innings and allowing three hits, walking one and striking out five. Gary Campfield relieved Morris in the sixth inning and pitched two scoreless innings. Jonathan Holt pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Pestano closed out the ninth. Ladeuth took the loss with his record falling to 1-5.

The series wraps up on Tuesday night at 7:05 PM with RHP Chris Archer (1-6, 4.38) starting for Captains against the Legends RHP Jake Leonhardt (2-4, 6.25). The game can also be heard on AM 1330 WELW, WELW.COM or CAPTAINSBASEBALL.COM.

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2008 BASEBALL DRAFT - Vol I

Hi! Dennis Nosco here. Thanks to Tony for letting me blog to his site. As this is my first time blogging bear with me. As Tony told you I write for the same website he writes for and I cover the draft (among other niche baseball areas) for that website. As Tony promised I will be blogging here sporadically before the draft and, hopefully, a lot more on draft days June 5th and 6th. Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks again to Tony for having me and here goes.

2008 BASEBALL DRAFT - May 25, 2008

We are less than two weeks from the 2008 baseball draft. Things have changed somewhat since I wrote about the draft earlier this spring. Most of what has happened is pretty typical and revolves around players moving up or down draft boards due to extraordinary performance, poor performance or injury. Let’s take another look at a number of players who I have mentioned as profiling as potential Indians’ draft choices. As the above article says the 29th slot in the first round has, in the last 12 years, only produced one major leaguer of significance, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, and the Braves were so unsure of his ability that they traded him to the Cardinals before he made it big. So, with this first round draft slot being such a wasteland, I focus on with my potential first round guys on ones who I think could be there when the Indians draft and who I think are maybe not as high reward as some prospects but who are very likely to make the majors and be contributors. Also, in later round guys I look for highly-rated guys who fall for one reason or another in the draft.

First round:

Conor Gillaspie 3B – Wichita State - He has been solid all year. Baseball America has him right now as the #23 prospect in the country and this was before he went 8-12 with 3 HRs in his conference tournament and, after watching him hit on Saturday, he reminds me a lot of Michael Aubrey when he came out of college. The two downsides to his game is that he has below average power as a corner infielder and that he is only an average fielder at 3B. I talked to one of his college coaches last week and I asked where else he thought Gillaspie might play other than third. His thought was to move him to second base and that he would be adequate defensively there. While I despise the idea of drafting a guy in the first round when your intent is to change his position (see Trevor Crowe a few years ago), I really like this kid’s hitting ability and his sneaky fast ability on the bases. As far as the 23rd ranked prospect being there when the Indians draft at 29, guys like Gillaspie are just not sexy enough for some teams. While he is rated pretty highly on draft boards I can see him falling to the Indians.

Lance Lynn 6’6”, 250’ - RHP – Mississippi – He has been up and down the 6 weeks. His velocity is down a little and he has been hit around pretty well in conference play. Right now Baseball America has him as its 83rd best prospect so he profiles more toward their second round pick at the moment, which would work for me as he is a solid starting pitcher who had some overuse problems in high school but appears not to be abused in college.

Ike Davis OF/1B – Arizona State – Ike was having a player-of-the-year season in the PAC 10 conference and was, for the first time, showing the HR power he had failed to show as a freshman and sophomore. He missed about 3 weeks with a rib cage injury and has just come back to play recently. He is still a possibility for the Indians although they would have to have faith that his HR barrage earlier this season was the real deal AND that he could stay in RF. He has the arm but I don’t know if he has the OF instincts.

Tyson Ross RHP – California – This guy is a typical innings eater. One of his college coaches said that he pitches usually at 92-93 mph and can peak at 96 mph. He, like Lynn, has great size at 6’6”, 230’. He also has average-to-plus breaking stuff with a good changeup and curve. However, I don’t like the fact that he throws a lot of pitches, going over 130 more than once this season. They ride him hard and, although college pitchers pitch in games usually only once a week, that could take its toll.

David Cooper 1B – Caifornia – Two things I don’t like are overdrafts (drafting a player significantly higher than what their talent would appear to be) and helium drafts (drafting players early in the draft who have shot up the draft boards during the spring before the draft). David Cooper was about the 100th best draft prospect at the beginning of the spring and now he has moved up to 31st. I talked to one of his college coaches who said he put on a lot of strength over the winter and that added to his power which the coach said was for real. He classified Cooper as a professional hitter. He profiles to be able to stay at 1B in the pros but has no positional flexibility. It is 1B or DH.

Brett DeVall – 6’4”, 205’ LHP, Niceville (FL) HS – This kid is one of the most polished HS pitchers in the country. I had a chance to talk to his HS coach, Kevin Berry, who says that last fall he was pitching at 87-88 mph and now he sits at 90-92 and peaks at 94 mph. He compares his focus and competitiveness to Curt Leskanic who the Indians drafted a number of years ago and who Berry played with in college. Berry said that, until last off-season, DeVall had never really conditioned hard so, although he is physically really mature, he probably still has some room to put on a couple of mph with his fastball as his conditioning and strength improves. Lefties who throw like this, have the potential to put on multiple mph in the future and who have had this kind of success in HS are intriguing when you are drafting 29th.

Jake Odorizzi – 6’2”, 175’ – RHP, Highland (IL) HS – Remember how I said I hate helium drafts. Well, here is one kid I come out of that prejudice for. Odorizzi started the spring as the 70th ranked high school prospect or about 140th overall. He is throwing mid-90s and has touched 96 mph with great command. Check out the scouting report on this kid but especially look at the video of him pitching in the upper right hand corner. His curveball is a hammer. Mid-90s fastball, hammer curve, great command. Works for me. Talked to his HS coach last week and he said that he has a very loose delivery. He said his command is off the charts and in one 5 inning start this year they had him at 46/5 strikes/balls. For a HS kid who throws that hard that is amazing. He is also finishing strong as he threw a one hit shutout in the state playoffs on Saturday. Hard to believe he could still be around when the Indians draft but currently Baseball America has him as the 32nd best prospect in the country.

First round summary: My choices, in order, are Gillaspie, Odorizzi, DeVall, Davis, Cooper, Ross. Lynn is really not an option here as he is too big a question mark.

Later rounds:

Second round (76th overall pick)

Lynn is the guy I target here and if he doesn’t pitch well in the NCAA tournament we could get him. For a guy who was ranked about the 35th best prospect in the country at the beginning of the year, getting a big horse like this at 76 would be good value in my opinion.

Third round: (106th overall)

Bryan Shaw – 6’1” 172” – RHP – Long Beach State - The closer for his team, he throws mid-90s and has a great slider although his slider command could use a little work. The Wichita State coach I talked to said he definitely thinks Shaw has enough stuff for the pros and threw out a chad cordero comparison. Shaw is currently ranked as the 147th best prospect in the draft by Baseball America.

Brandon Crawford – 6’2”,200’ – SS – UCLA – He started the year as the 35th best prospect in the country according to Baseball America. I would have never touched him with my first round pick as he had a questionable bat and is the classic fool’s gamble that early in the draft. However, the worst for him (maybe the best for us) happened….he stopped hitting. At last glance he was hitting .296 with a .390 OBP and .454 slugging percentage. He has struck out 56 times in 216 ABs and is 11-17 in steals. Baseball America ranked him as the 134th best prospect in the country right now.

3rd round summary: If I had to make a choice between Shaw and Crawford it would be difficult. Shaw would probably sign for 3rd round money and so signability would not be an issue and he would be almost a sure-thing major leaguer but Crawford’s upside in the 3rd round would be hard to beat when you realize if you don’t sign him you get almost the identical draft pick next year as compensation. Nevertheless, I take the bird in the hand this time and pick Shaw.

Fourth round: (141st overall)

If Crawford is there I grab him. He is too good to let pass again. If he isn’t here are two other names that deserve consideration:

Charlie Lowell – 6’4” - LHP – Winfield (MO) HS – He touches 94 mph and his HS coach says that scouts are calling him the best LH pitching prospect in the Midwest, college or pro. His coach said he is ready to go pro. Here is a link to some of his accomplishments this year.

Harold Martinez – 6’3”, 195’- SS – Braddock HS – Miami – This kid was the 7th best HS prospect (15th best prospect overall) in the country at the beginning of the year as rated by Baseball America. Then, suddenly, he forgot how to hit. He has dropped so far that he is now the 160th best prospect by Baseball America.

4th round summary: Crawford, Martinez and Lowell, in that order, assuming I think I can sign any of them. Lowell is going to Wichita State if he doesn’t sign and another Wichita State pitcher from outside of St. Louis, Aaron Shafer, was drafted by the Indians 3 years ago and did not sign and went on to pitch at Wichita State and will be a top-5 round draft choice this time around so it would not be a sure thing to sign Lowell. However, for a reasonable amount over slot I think we could get him and, to me, he profiles like Chuck Lofgren with equal or greater upside.

More the next time I post.

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Game Recaps 5/25

Akron Bats Quiet in 8-1 Defeat

AKRON, OH – Erie starter Luke French shut down the Aeros lineup, working into the eighth as Akron fell 8-1 to the SeaWolves before 6,704 fans at Canal Park Sunday afternoon. Akron fell back to .500 at 23-23 with its second straight loss, while Erie moved its record to 19-30.

Akron knocked out 10 hits on the afternoon, but had very little to show for it as the Aeros could not come up with a big hit when they needed one. Akron had at least two men reach in each of the first three innings, but could not get on the board. The Aeros left runners at first and second in the first, couldn’t capitalize on a single and a double in the second, and left men at first and second once again in the bottom of the third.

Erie got to Akron starter Kevin Dixon for an unearned run in the second, as the SeaWolves put runners on second and third with two away. Armando Camacaro then let a Dixon pitch squeeze past him for a passed ball, allowing Max St. Pierre to score and make it 1-0. Erie essentially put the game out of reach in the fourth with three runs coming home on four hits and a walk, pushing the score to 4-0. The SeaWolves added a run in the fifth off reliever Shawn Nottingham before Akron scratched out a run in the eighth. Josh Rodriguez doubled to lead off, and Chris Gimenez and Wes Hodges singled consecutively to drive him home. The RBI single for Hodges was his league-leading 40th of the season. Erie finished off the scoring in the ninth with three runs (two earned) off Erik Stiller.

French (3-4) picked up the win, keeping Akron to just one run in 7.1 innings despite allowing 10 hits. He walked three and struck out five. Dixon (2-4) was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits, striking out three and walking two. Marcelo Perez snagged his first save of the season, tossing 1.2 innings of unblemished ball. Hodges led the way offensively for the Aeros, going 3-4 with an RBI. Josh Rodriguez finished 2-3 with a walk and a run scored and Brandon Pinckney added two hits as well.

The Aeros will look for a split in the finale of this four-game series Monday afternoon. The Memorial Day matinee has a first pitch of 2:05 p.m., with Akron left-hander and Eastern League ERA leader David Huff (4-1, 2.03 ERA) facing off against Erie’s Matt Righter (1-1, 5.12 ERA). Monday is Dollar Dog Day at Canal Park, with all hot dogs just one dollar throughout the game. The game broadcast begins at 1:50 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 AM and online at www.akronaeros.com.

Kinston Whips Winston-Salem

The K-Tribe banged out 15 hits, beating up on Winston-Salem 11-0 in a shutout victory Sunday afternoon at Historic Grainger Stadium.

Kinston starter Hector Rondon pitched a brilliant game, giving up just two hits in a season high seven innings. Rondon also struck out a season high eight batters. Rondon (1-3) picked up his first win since July 14th of 2007. He finally got the run support he needed; in his previous 18 winless starts he had given up three or less earned runs 14 times. Sung-Wei Tseng finished up Kinston’s second shutout of the season pitching two scoreless innings from the bullpen.

It was a tight game early, as Kinston used solo home runs from Niuman Romero and Cirilo Cumberbatch to take a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning. The game broke open in the seventh when Kinston scored three runs on RBI singles by Johnny Drennen, Nick Weglarz and Cirilo Cumberbatch. Kinston poured it on in the eighth inning, banging out six hits. A solo home run by Jerad Head started the inning, with RBI extra base hits from Beau Mills and Chris De La Cruz. Niuman Romero went 4-for-4 with three runs scored for Kinston. Cumberbatch was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. De La Cruz went 2-for-5 with three runs batted in.

The K-Tribe stays at home for a special Memorial Day Celebration at Historic Grainger Stadium. With a special 6pm start time, Kinston will welcome Frederick to town. Fireworks after the game, Carlton Smith on the mound for Kinston.

CAPTAINS STOP LEGENDS 4-0

(Lexington, KY) – After getting shut out the night before the Lake County Captains returned the favor and blanked the Lexington Legends 4-0 on Sunday. Roman Pena had three RBI’s for the Captains who ended a three game losing skid. This was the seventh shutout by the Captains pitching staff this year.

The Captains scored early and often off of Legends starter Sergio Severino. In the first inning the Captains got RBI double from Pena and an RBI single from Dustin Realini to take a 2-0 lead. They extended the lead to 4-0 in the second inning on a two RBI double by Pena.

Kelvin De La Cruz got the win pitching six scoreless innings scattering two hits, walking three, and striking out seven to up his record to 4-2. Kyle Landis came on in the seventh inning and pitched two scoreless innings striking out four. Jonathan Holt wrapped it up with a scoreless ninth inning. Severino was hung with the loss t drop his record to 3-3.

Game three of the four game series is Monday at 12:05 PM with LHP Ryan Morris (5-0, 2.22) getting the start for the Captains against the Legends RHP Carlos Ladeuth (1-4, 3.83). The game can also be heard on AM 1330 WELW, WELW.COM or CAPTAINSBASEBALL.COM.

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Speed The Name Of White's Game

If you love speed, you'll love watching Lake County Captain outfielder Adam White. White is the fastest player in the Indians system, and one of the fastest players in the minors. Coming into the draft last year, White was deemed the fastest runner in the draft and was graded as an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale. In a nutshell, he is fast. Very fast.

Players with speed can be very exciting to watch as they can be difference makers in so many ways. While a big slugger can change a game with one swing of his bat, a player like White can do it with his legs. Whether it calls for him to flag down a liner into the gap, going from first to third on a base hit, or stealing a base, players with speed can have just as much an affect on the game as a big masher at the plate. In some ways, they may have the greatest affect because when they get on base the pitcher tends to pay a little too much attention to them, which means a hitter is more likely to get a mistake to hit.

That is why they say speed kills. It puts incredible pressure on a pitcher and the defense, and it can also frustrate a hitter when they see would-be hits that may have fallen in instead get gobbled up.

Even with the success he has had with his speed on the bases and in the outfield, White is still very raw and still learning how to effectively use his speed. It is one of the things the Indians are really working with him on right now, as minor league base-running coordinator Gary Thurman has already worked with White many times this year to work on tinkering things here and there to improve his jumps on the basepaths.

"I think my athleticism will take care of the defensive part," said White in an interview at Classic Park this week. "Even though there is still room for improvement there, my athleticism will take part in that. Base-stealing is another crucial part that I am learning more and more about. I have to be smart about it."

As a base-stealer, it doesn't matter how fast you are, if you do not get good jumps you are not going to steal bases at a high rate and be very successful at it. Some of the best base-runners like a Grady Sizemore are so good on the bases not because they are blessed with blazing speed, but because they are intelligent on the basepaths, make good reads, and get good jumps. It makes an above average runner like Sizemore look elite, or an average runner like a Ben Francisco look above average. This is what Thurman is trying to hammer home to White.

The Indians are continuing to work on White's base-running in order to improve his fundamentals in areas such as getting quality secondary leads, reading pitchers better, and first step quickness to second base. Thurman has worked with White a lot on the mechanics of base-running rather than just relying on raw speed, and also in being a more aggressive runner.

"In spring training, Gary Thurman and I worked on getting a bigger lead," said White. "When he came here to Lake County, I think I was picked off first base five times in three weeks or whatever, he said my lead was too big. He said he had no problem with that, it was just that I was getting picked off, so we shortened it up a bit. Having that consistent lead where I am comfortable where I can get back to first base but also make it to second base every time. That is one of the things he has really helped me with. Also first step direction not taking a direct line to second base is also something I can get better at."

White attended the University of West Virginia to play baseball, and was eventually drafted by the Indians last year in the 9th round of the 2007 Draft. He debuted at short-season Single-A Mahoning valley, and in 57 games hit .260 with 1 HR, 10 RBI, and a .723 OPS and also showed his speed potential by swiping 22 bases. Now at Lake County, the 5'10" 190-pound switch-hitter is hitting .248 with 3 HR, 15 RBI, 15 stolen bases and a .693 OPS. White is quickly starting to turn some heads in the South Atlantic League (SAL), although if you don't look fast enough you might miss him.

When you look at White, his build and the way he plays looks a lot like former Indians outfielder Dave Roberts. Roberts has earned his dues as a scrappy, speedy outfielder, and anyone who saw the Yankees-Red Sox ALCS in 2004 know how much of a difference maker he was in that series. White possesses a lot of the same grittiness and speed Roberts shows, although White is probably a lot stronger and more filled out than Roberts. The Indians have a station-to-station offense, and down the road they could very much use a player like White in the lineup or as a bench option.

"Someone told me that before that they saw Dave Roberts in me," said White. "With Grady there, he is going to be their centerfielder for awhile. I realize that. If my role two or three years from now is a guy who comes in as a defensive replacement in late innings or a guy they need to pinch run or get a stolen base that is perfectly fine with me. It that is my role, I am going to do my best to prepare for it."

Things can always change, and you hate to pigeon-hole a guy this early in his career, but White most likely projects to break into the big leagues as a fourth outfielder. He certainly can be much more, and the fourth outfielder label is not a bad thing. I mean, look at Ben Francisco. That is a pretty good player who has been given that label over the years, and look how that has turned out for him so far. For White to have a legit shot at the big leagues, he needs to improve his defense but more importantly show some versatility in the outfield. His speed gives him the range to play anywhere, but the arm strength is the key. White thinks he can handle any position.

"I have a strong arm I just don't really ever show it," said White. "Rarely in a game will I ever get the opportunity to let the ball go. I never really get the chance to throw a guy out, I just try to be smart with my arm and hit the cutoff man. I believe I have a strong enough arm to play right field. It is not like a Matt Brown arm, I realize that."

In addition to the defense, the most important part of his game in determining his fate as a minor leaguer is going to be his hitting. This is the case with everyone, as if you don't hit or show the ability to project as even at least an average hitter you won't be around much longer. You can be the next Lou Brock on the bases or Kirby Puckett in the outfield, but if you can't hit you won't stick. This is something that White is continuing to work on, namely developing a consistent approach at the plate.

"My mechanics are a big part," said White. "They have gotten a lot better since spring training over the past month and a half. Other than that it is my approach at the plate, and being consistent is the biggest thing right now. Not swinging at pitches out of my zone and not trying to do too much. When I go up there just to get my pitch and hit a ball hard that's when I do well, and when I get out of that is when I get into a rut."

Some may not know this, but White was a very good football player in high school. At Philipsburg-Osceola High School in Pennsylvania he was an All-State running back, but when he did not get a Division I football scholarship, White focused his efforts on his second love, baseball.

"I wanted to go play football first as it is my first love and just comes more natural," said White. "No big schools pursued me, they thought I was a little too small. And, I was going to play baseball, so it kind of backfired on me as I played baseball all summer. I didn't go to any combine workouts that a lot of football players have to go to these days."

White plays the game a lot like a football player, but sometimes that does not always translate well to baseball. Baseball is a game where you can't force things and you often have to be extremely patient as you fail many more times than you succeed. Sometimes you can make something out of nothing with a play on the football field, but you can't do that on the baseball diamond. Baseball is the ultimate test of discipline and mental fortitude.

"I am starting to try and slow it down," said White. "I try to do everything at a high pace at a football mentality. Everything is stiff and hard all the time, and that is one of the things they are trying to work with me on to be more fluid and more natural. The football thing helps with a lot of things in the game whether it is the endurance or athleticism part. The mental part though I have to get out of that. It is something that in football you can force things where in baseball you can't. I could force and make things happen in football, but in baseball it is not so easy so that is one of the things I am trying to learn."

Growing up in central Pennsylvania, it is no mystery why White has such a big love for football. He grew up in Steeler Country, and like it or not Cleveland fans, White is a diehard Steelers fan. To the core.

"Yeah, my two least favorite teams would be Baltimore and the Browns," said White. "Just because of the AFC North rivalries. But that is how it is for my family and for me, we just don't like those two teams. But I'll never wear Steelers apparel around here, I'm smarter than that. I know how it is in Pittsburgh when somebody sneaks in with Browns stuff on."

That certainly is a smart decision by White, and he is a quick learner. Just like he is on the bases.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

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