This is a re-post of a piece last year on the Fall Instructional League originally researched and written by Dennis Nosco in the fall of 2007. This piece is very informative, and provides a good explanation of what Instructs is all about.
Quick, which part of the Indians’ minor league season which starts in spring training at the beginning of March and goes all the way through the fall do you know the least about? Minor league spring training? Extended spring training? Fall Instructional League?
Well, for a long time I have wondered about something that I would venture to say even the most diehard Indians fans know little, if anything, about: THE FALL INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE. Unfortunately, the Instructional League goes on during September and October and for most fans, if their teams are in playoff races or the playoffs, the Instructional League (casually referred to as “the instructs” by some baseball people) is the last thing on their mind.
Whereas probably 50% of loyal Indians’ fans have heard about the Instructional League, very few, if any, of us know anything about it. In an internet era where we can get box scores from minor league SPRING TRAINING games and can listen to essentially every minor league game that is played during the regular season (and watch some of them), the Instructional League is still a mystery because it is, well, instructional…as opposed to competitive. In no single part of the minor league season, including extended spring training, is winning or statistical results less important.
Which players go there? Why do they go there? What is it like? How long does it last? Do they play games and, if they do, do they play against other teams? I asked those questions of the Indians last year and got some answers. For those who didn’t see it last year I wanted to dust it off again and update it. So here it is.
So, using tried and true writer interrogative pronouns, I have tried to address the who, what, where, why and whens of the Fall Instructional League as I did in my first article last year.
WHAT
The fall instructional league is an extra development program for minor leaguers, and this year runs from September 17th to October 17th. Last year the Indians ran three separate camps: the Fall Development Program (for elite prospects), the Fall Instructional League program (for younger prospects newer to professional baseball) and the Strength and Conditioning program. This broke against tradition from what most organizations in baseball do and was rated a huge success by the players who had attended the one, long camp in the past.
Even with those positive comments, this year it appears they will only run one combined camp.
WHY
Teams want to use every opportunity to help players in their organization reach their potential. Newer players may need orientation to what professional baseball is like or an introduction on how to prepare themselves for the rigors of a full season or how they are expected to act as a member of the Cleveland Indians organization or, in some cases, strength training to help them perform at a maximum level and build back up after a long grueling season in the low minors. More advanced players may need work on specific areas of their game to help get them ‘over the hump’ in their progression to the majors or just accelerate their already normal development. In some cases getting over the hump involves getting extra work for players who were injured during the regular season and lost valuable development time.
The goals above are sometimes difficult to accomplish during a regular season where players are playing most days and, to some extent, relaxing on their off-days. The Instructional League offers the Indians (and all major league teams) the chance to give more focused, individualized instruction to meet these goals. The coach-to-player ratio is about 1:4, much higher than it is in the regular season or even spring training and that also helps in accomplishing these goals.
WHERE
This is the easy part as it will be held at the Indians’ new spring training home in Goodyear, AZ.
WHEN
SCHEDULE
Monday 21-Sep
Tuesday 22-Sep TEX 12:30 PM
Wednesday 23-Sep @TEX 12:30 PM
Thursday 24-Sep
Friday 25-Sep SD 12:30 PM
Saturday 26-Sep @CIN 12:30 PM
Sunday 27-Sep
Monday 28-Sep @SEA 12:30 PM
Tuesday 29-Sep CIN 12:30 PM
Wednesday 30-Sep
Thursday 1-Oct
Friday 2-Oct LAD 12:30 PM
Saturday 3-Oct @CIN 12:30 PM
Sunday 4-Oct Intrasquad 10:00 AM
Monday 5-Oct TEX 12:30 PM
Tuesday 6-Oct @LAD 12:30 PM
Wednesday 7-Oct
Thursday 8-Oct
Friday 9-Oct @CWS 12:30 PM
Saturday 10-Oct CIN 12:30 PM
Sunday 11-Oct
Monday 12-Oct @SD 12:30 PM
Tuesday 13-Oct
Wednesday 14-Oct @CIN 12:30 PM
Thursday 15-Oct CIN 10:30 AM
Friday 16-Oct
WHO
PITCHERS (20) HT WT B/T AGE
Adams, Austin 5'11 185 R/R 22
Barnes, Scott 6'4 191 L/L 21
Campos, Jose 6'3 175 R/R 18
Colon, Joseph 6'0 167 R/R 19
De La Cruz, Kelvin 6'5 190 L/L 20
Frias, Santos 6'3 189 R/R 21
Gardner, Joseph 6'4 220 R/R 21
Graham, Connor 6'6 256 R/R 23
Haley, Trey 6'3 180 R/R 18
Pacheco, Enrique 6'3 180 R/R 19
Packer, Matt 6'0 200 R/L 21
Pereira, Orlando 6'5 180 R/R 17
Perez, Alexander 6'2 156 R/R 19
Roberts, David 6'3 220 L/R 22
Rosario, Gregorio 6'4 180 R/R 20
Salazar, Danny 6'1 175 R/R 19
Sarianides, Nick 6'1 200 R/R 19
Stowell, Bryce 6'2 205 R/R 22
White, Alex 6'4 190 R/R 20
CATCHERS (6) HT WT B/T AGE
Folgia, Greg 5'10 194 S/R 21
Chen, Chun 6'1 200 R/R 20
Monsalve, Alex 6'2 185 R/R 17
Montero, Moises 6'0 210 R/R 19
Perez, Roberto 6'0 200 R/R 20
Petit, Rolando 6'2 205 S/R 19
INFIELDERS (17) HT WT B/T AGE
Aguilar, Jesus 6'3 235 R/R 19
Bellows, Kyle 6'3 210 R/R 20
Brito, Jesus 6'1 160 R/R 21
Bryan, Wuali 6'0 160 R/R 17
Carlson, Ben 6'3 230 L/L 21
Fontanez, Kevin 5'11 170 R/R 18
Frawley, Casey 5'11 170 R/R 21
Martinez, Argenis 5'11 160 S/R 19
McBride, Matt 6'2 215 R/R 24
Phelps, Cord 6'2 200 S/R 22
Recknagel, Nate 6'2 220 R/R 23
Rivas, Ronald 6'2 185 R/R 21
Rivero, Carlos 6'3 200 R/R 21
Rodriguez, Josh 6'0 185 R/R 24
Sanchez, Karexon 5'11 175 S/R 21
Tice, Jeremie 6'0 185 R/R 22
Urshela, Giovanny 6'1 180 R/R 18
OUTFIELDERS (9) HT WT B/T AGE
Greenwell, Bo 6'0 185 L/L 20
Baker, Trent 6'0 175 R/L 19
Cid, Delvi 6'2 170 R/R 19
Fedroff, Tim 5'11 190 L/R 22
Henry, Jordan 6'3 175 L/R 21
Kipnis, Jason 5'11 185 L/R 22
Robles, Diori 5'11 180 R/R 17
Smit, Jason 6'0 165 R/R 19
Webb, Donnie 5'11 190 S/R 23
HOW
There are numerous factors that go into selecting which players participate in which program. Some basic considerations are health and previous performance. Most guys fall into one of the fllowing categories which explains why they are there:
1) Foreign guys getting their first (or maybe second) exposure to baseball stateside in preparation to them attending minor league spring training next year.
2) The prospects the Indians consider their elite, young prospects who need some finishing work.
3) Guys on the edge of being real prospects who might get pushed over the hump with extra work.
4) 2009 draftees and young foreign players who played stateside for the first time this year for maybe their first real work on their mechanics and to get them ready for what spring training is like.
5) Players who were injured or missing all or part of 2009 making up for lost time.
6) Guys who are changing positions.
Information is usually hard to come by in the Instructional League since there is no media relations department and the players, coaches and front office personnel are generally not accessible during this time. That said, there are some sources available to get in touch with during camp for any updates that are newsworthy and there is a possibility of some kind of post-Instructional League report to see who did well and who - if anyone - was injured. Remember, in 2007 the players called out Abner Abreu as a stud power hitter on the horizon and he led our GCL team with 11 HR in 51 games in 2008. Spread out over an entire minor league season this would have projected to close to 30 HR.
The Fall Instructional League is the best kept secret in baseball but, for some of these guys it is the springboard to a breakout season the following year that will have even the most avid Indians’ minor league fans saying “Where did that guy come from?”
Friday, September 18, 2009
Instructional League 101
Everything on this site is free, but for those interested in making any monetary contributions to help support the stability and growth of this site please click on the "Donate" button below.
7 comments:
You are showing Kelvin Diaz as attending the instructs. Is his visa problem taken care of finally?
No word on his VISA status, but with him coming stateside for the first time I would say a good guess is they indeed have been finally cleared up. I'll see if I can get some clarification sometime here in the offseason when/if I get a chance to speak to someone on it before spring training.
Will box scores be available for the games during instructs?
No box scores unfortunately, at least that I know of. If in fact they are you can be sure to bet I'll post a link to them or note them.
Tony,
Surpisingly, in thinking about it, I didn't see Bryce Stowell's name on the roster. I know these rosters are fluid but a prospect of his stature not being in the FIL is news. Any idea on why this is?
Too many innings already, between college and summer league.
Good catch on Stowell. He has been shutdown since he signed because of the innings count.....but he still should be in the FIL taking part in Strength & Conditioning part of it. Ryan Morris is a guy doing that.
Post a Comment