Weekend Update: Michigan Week

It is Ohio State vs. Michigan today (Go Bucks!), and time for another Saturday rundown to recap all the happenings in the Indians system from this past week:

• There has been a lot of talk the past few weeks about third baseman Wes Hodges defensive issues. The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a story on him this week, and in Baseball America's Indians Top 10 rankings which came out this week they did not include Hodges in the listing because of his defense.
  
  In doing some of my final research for my upcoming Indians prospect rankings, I came cross a quote from a highly respected scout I spoke to about Hodges in June this year at Akron:
  
  "I think he is better this year than last year. His bat profiles at first or third base, but I think he will play enough to stay at third. His body is better this year and it appears he has firmed it up. In instructional League in 2006 he had just signed and I heard good things about him in college and had never seen him, and when I saw him I thought ‘oh gosh he is going to have to firm up the body a little bit and show a little more agility and mobility', and he has done that. He has done a lot better this year than last, and he is going to play third base. He has enough agility and he makes all the plays, and I think he stays there. If I had to make the decision, I would not move him."
  
  Now, this is not a glowing endorsement by any means about his defense, but it hardly tears him apart either like some of the recent reports have of late. There seems to be two sides in play here and it is split right down the middle. You have one side that thinks he is just an atrocious defender and will be a liability at third base and will have to move to first base where his bat won't play up enough there as it would at third base. Then you have the other side who think he will be adequate defensively and make the routine plays at third base, and that his bat is too important to move from the position (for the record, I am in this camp).
  
  Just trying to bring some balance to the discussion, and show things are not as bad as some people have made them out to be of late in regard to Hodges. Yes, Hodges has some things he needs to correct with his defense, but let's see where he goes with it next year at Triple-A Columbus after some offseason work and six weeks of instruction in spring training and what adjustments he makes before we count this guy out as the eventual heir to the third base throne in Cleveland.

• Left-hander Chuck Lofgren was on our radio program Smoke Signals this past Thursday. Big ups to Chuck for coming on in what is really a difficult time for him on and off the field. I have nothing but big respect for anyone who can be that open and upfront when things are not going as they may want them to.
  
  Next week first baseman Jordan Brown will be our guest. Due to Turkey Day on Thursday, the show will be moved up to a special time on Tuesday Nov 25th at 8:00-9:00pm. The timing of this interview couldn't be any better considering he was just left off the 40-man roster, so it will be interesting to get his thoughts on that, the Rule 5 Draft, his offseason, his 2008 season, and what he is doing to prepare for 2009.

• The Indians released their 2009 Player Development staff alignment for next season. There were no major changes as all the managers will return to the teams they were with in 2008. In fact just about everyone is returning in some role next year except for former Buffalo hitting coach Dave Meyer who left the organization a month ago.
  
  The notable moves are Jon Nunnally going from Kinston to Columbus to serve as the hitting coach, and Ruben Niebla from Lake County to Akron to serve as the pitching coach. These two are hot coaches in the system and well respected and deserving of the promotion. Niebla will once again get to work with the likes of Hector Rondon, Jeanmar Gomez, Carlton Smith, and others he had at Lake County in 2007, and at some point in the year could work with some guys who get promoted from Kinston to Akron that he worked with this past season.
  
  One note, former Buffalo right-handed pitcher Jeff Harris has retired and is now looking to carve out a career as a pitching coach where he will start next year as the pitching coach for the rookie level Arizona League team.

• Late Thursday night the Indians finalized what minor league players would be added to the 40-man roster. As expected, five players were rostered: Carlos Santana (C), Hector Rondon (RHP), Trevor Crowe (OF), Chris Gimenez (C/INF/OF), and Jeff Stevens (RHP). For my extended thoughts on who was and was not added, check out my update from yesterday.

• Best of luck to infielder Matt Whitney who signed a minor league contract with an invite to spring training with the Washington Nationals last weekend. Whitney had an up and down career in his six and a half seasons with the Indians, and if not for the injuries who knows how different his career with the Indians may have gone. In any case, with the Indians crowded first base situation in Cleveland, Columbus and Akron next year, he did what was best for him and signed where he has a good chance at a major league job or getting regular playing time at Triple-A. He is a class guy, and will be missed.

• Play in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) wrapped up on Thursday. Here are the final stats for the Indians players who played out there:
  
  Wes Hodges (3B): .349 (38-109), 8 2B, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 3 BB, 20 K, .956 OPS, 8 errors
  Stephen Head (OF): .250 (7-28), 1 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 10 BB, 13 K, .749 OPS, 0 errors
  Beau Mills (1B): .239 (16-67), 4 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 9 BB, 22 K, .726 OPS, 3 errors
  Josh Rodriguez (SS): .169 (13-77), 6 2B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 13 BB, 26 K, .532 OPS, 5 errors
  Josh Tomlin (RHP): 2-3, 6.43 ERA, 8 games, 28.0 IP, 36 H, 3 BB, 28 K, 1.39 WHIP
  Neil Wagner (RHP): 0-1, 5.59 ERA, 13 games, 19.1 IP, 18 H, 12 BB, 9 K, 1.55 WHIP
  Erik Stiller (RHP): 0-1, 9.37 ERA, 13 games, 16.1 IP, 27 H, 4 BB, 16 K, 1.90 WHIP
  Chuck Lofgren (LHP): 0-3, 32.14 ERA, 10 games, 7.0 IP, 19 H, 18 BB, 6 K, 5.29 WHIP

• Play in the Hawaii Winter League also wrapped up last weekend for Indians prospects out there. Here are their final stats:
  
  Matt McBride (OF): .278 (35-126), 10 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 14 BB, 19 K, .785 OPS, 0 errors
  Ron Rivas (SS): .234 (11-47), 1 2B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 13 K, .535 OPS, 1 error
  Dustin Realini (3B): .175 (7-40), 2 2B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 9 BB, 16 K, .565 OPS, 2 errors
  Adam Davis (C): .096 (5-52), 4 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 13 BB, 21 K, .461 OPS, 0 errors
  Shawn Nottingham (LHP): 1-1, 3.60 ERA, 12 games, 20.0 IP, 17 H, 9 BB, 26 K, 1.30 WHIP
  Matt Meyer (LHP): 3-2, 6.32 ERA, 14 games, 15.2 IP, 20 H, 10 BB, 18 K, 1.91 WHIP
  Heath Taylor (LHP): 0-0, 2.19 ERA, 4 games, 12.1 IP, 14 H, 4 BB, 9 K, 1.46 WHIP

• I have been receiving some e-mails from excited Tribe fans in the Columbus area itching to buy Columbus Clipper single game tickets and wanted to know when they will go on sale. According to a representative I spoke to at Columbus this week no date has been set for single game tickets to go on sale, but they expect them to go on sale in early December. Once the date is set it will be posted on their website at http://www.clippersbaseball.com/.

• Short-season Single-A affiliate Mahoning Valley released their 2009 schedule this week. In addition to that, a big announcement is planned on Wednesday December 3rd in the Eastwood Mall complex which is adjacent to the stadium. No word on what this big announcement is, but this is likely the unveiling of their new logo and team colors as mentioned here a few months ago.

• I have received a few questions asking when the new prospect list will be released and when the book will come out. I plan to start a daily prospect countdown on Monday December 1st, and hope to have a book ready for publishing by the middle of December. However, I am probably being overly optimistic there, and it may not be finished and ready for shipping until the first or second week of January. Again, the book will be much bigger and deeper this year. Last year there were 75-some prospects covered and this year I plan to do at least 100 and maybe as many as 125-150.

Posted in: Chuck Lofgren,Jordan Brown,Matt Whitney,Wes Hodges