Weekend Update: 11/1

Time for another roundup of the happenings from the past week:

• Infielder Beau Mills was featured in two separate articles this week on MiLB.com, one talking about being the son of a former major league player and the other on what he is focusing on out in the Arizona Fall League. Mills is having solid showing in the AFL, even though he has played sparingly. Due to the presence of other high level first base prospects Brandon Snyder and Chad Tracy on the Surprise roster, Mills has not played a lot. Still, he is out there for additional work and continues to get work in and instruction from coaches before games. In nine games he is hitting .212 (7-for-33) with 2 HR, 4 RBI and a .749 OPS.

• Many thanks to right-hander Jeff Stevens for coming on my radio show Smoke Signals this past Wednesday. For those that missed it, check it out here by downloading the podcast or listening to the stream on-line. Jeff talked for about 25 minutes and was upfront and honest about everything and touched on topics such as his Olympic experience, the infamous Brandon Phillips trade, his 2008 season, what he is working on to improve, what is in store for him next year and so on. Next week, the show will once again air on Wednesday (Nov 5th 9:30-10:30pm) due to a site outing on Thursday. The special guest this week will be none other than prized left-hander David Huff. If anyone has a question they may wish to hear asked to Huff, please let me know by emailing me at tlastoria@indiansprospectinsider.com or by using the comment section at the bottom of this blog posting. The guests for the rest of November look like they will be Neil Wagner, Chris Gimenez, and Jordan Brown.

• There was some conversation this week on the site message board wondering about the status of Brian Barton and if the Cardinals now have full rights to him after taking him in last year's Rule 5 Draft from the Indians. Yes, Barton is officially gone and no longer is under the 25-man roster restriction as a Rule 5 player since he accrued more than 90 active days on the 25-man roster this past season in St. Louis. Even though Barton had two short stints on the disabled list, he still piled up around 120-125+ days of service time. With the restriction off, Barton can now be optioned off the St. Louis 25-man roster next season and beyond as they see fit, and he is 100% the property of the Cardinals.

• Speaking of the Rule 5 Draft, I posted the 2008 Indians eligibles on Monday and yesterday posted the 2009-2012 future eligibles. As an FYI, these will be linked in the panel to the right in the resource section under the Rule 5 heading for easy reference. I will also have an article on Monday talking about who I see the Indians protecting as the roster deadline approaches November 20th. There may in fact be a few roster selections made in the next few days, but many will likely not be made until the 18th or 19th which is just before the deadline on the 20th.

• Jonathan Mayo of MiLB.com wrote an article on catcher Carlos Santana on Friday announcing him as the High-A Minor League Baseball Hitter of the Year.

• The Indians have released right-hander Jorge Riera.

Posted in: Beau Mills,Brian Barton,Carlos Santana,Jeff Stevens