Indians Top 100 Prospects: #59 Chris Nash

59. Chris Nash - First Baseman
Born: 02/22/1987 - Height: 6'4" - Weight: 230 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	20	GCL Indians	R	47	166	28	52	16	0	3	21	17	35	4	.313	.372	.464	.836
	20	Mahoning Vy	A-	16	62	4	17	4	1	0	12	7	18	0	.274	.352	.371	.723
2008	21	GCL Indians	R	2	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	.250	.400	.250	.650
		Lake County	A	74	270	26	62	15	1	5	38	22	82	2	.230	.293	.348	.641
		Career		139	502	59	132	35	2	8	72	47	136	6	.263	.328	.388	.716

History: The Indians selected Nash in the 24th round of the 2006 Draft out of Johnson County Community College (KS).

Strengths & Opportunities: Nash is a huge first baseman who is still maturing and filling out. His big frame, strength, and size at 6'5" 230 at 22 years of age make him very projectable as a power hitter. The power is there and may be on the verge of emerging once he matures and becomes more accustomed to the feel of wood bats and can maintain good health. He is a very intelligent player who handles himself really well and is a hard worker. He was actually recruited in high school by Division-1 colleges as a tight end. Even with his enormous size, he is very athletic and moves very well around the bag at first base. He has made a lot of progress defensively since coming into the organization and has become a solid defender at the position.

Nash was unable to build off of a great year in 2007 both in performance and development. Since signing in 2006, there are some durability concerns since he was hurt when he signed and did not play in 2006 and while he went through the 2007 season unscathed he had a lat-shoulder problem which caused him to miss significant time during the 2008 season and affected his play. His problems started right away in spring training where he was sidelined for several days with a sore shoulder from a new throwing motion from sidearm to over-the-top the Indians implemented. Apparently the Indians felt the throwing motion correction was necessary because of the problems Nash had with his sidearm throwing angle where his ball was tailing a little bit when he was throwing to second base. He struggled with the change and ended up straining a lat muscle, and the injury ended up lingering all season and spread into other muscles in the shoulder area deep in his rotator cuff to his triceps area. He missed almost two months because of the complications.

The Indians believe he can be a power hitter, but they will let it come naturally and not force him into being one. One problem he has is that he has a problem getting good leverage with his legs or using his lower half really correctly. He worked last season on widening his base to try and get a little more leverage with his front foot. Once he learns how to use his lower half and get better leverage with his front side and not come off the ball, a power explosion could result. He is also still working on staying on breaking balls and using the whole field since he still likes to pull the ball. There is no doubt Nash is a very good fastball hitter, but until he can show the ability to either hit the curveball or lay off pitches low and away he will continue to rack up the strikeouts. The good thing is Nash has a great attitude and understands what he has to do.

Outlook: Coming into last season, Nash was one of the Indians best young hitting prospects because of his size and raw abilities at the plate. While he still is very much a prospect to watch, the disappointing season he had because of an annoying shoulder injury caused him to tumble some in this year's prospect ranking. After a disappointing year, Nash will look to put things back together and should get that chance where he likely opens the 2009 season at Single-A Lake County or advanced Single-A Kinston.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Chris Nash MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Chris Nash Baseball-Reference page

Chris Nash MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Chris Nash video:

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #60 Randy Newsom

60. Randy Newsom - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 05/06/1982 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 200 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2004	22	GCL Red Sox	R	2	2	2.81	18	0	4	32.0	32	10	0	9	25	2.5	7.0	1.28
2005	23	Lowell	A-	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	2.2	1	0	0	2	4	6.8	13.5	1.13
	23	Greenville	A	1	0	5.06	15	0	1	37.1	39	21	2	15	20	3.6	4.8	1.45
	23	Wilmington	A+	0	1	0.00	2	0	1	2.2	0	0	0	2	2	6.8	6.8	0.75
2006	24	Greenville	A	1	0	0.00	1	0	0	4.0	2	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.50
	24	Wilmington	A+	1	1	3.92	19	0	1	43.2	42	19	0	19	27	3.9	5.6	1.40
	24	Lake County	A	0	0	2.25	3	0	0	4.0	6	1	0	0	3	0.0	6.8	1.50
	24	Kinston	A+	2	2	2.61	16	0	1	20.2	23	6	1	7	17	3.0	7.4	1.45
2007	25	Kinston	A+	0	1	1.50	11	0	0	12.0	11	2	1	1	9	0.8	6.8	1.00
	25	Akron	AA	4	1	3.12	46	0	18	49.0	52	17	3	17	22	3.1	4.0	1.41
2008	26	Akron	AA	5	1	3.00	47	0	29	45.0	43	15	2	29	28	5.8	5.6	1.60
	26	Buffalo	AAA	0	1	1.86	9	0	1	9.2	9	2	0	6	6	5.6	5.6	1.55
		Career		16	10	3.19	188	0	56	262.2	260	93	9	107	163	3.7	5.6	1.40

History:  The Indians received Newsom in July of 2006 as the player to be named later in the Coco Crisp trade from earlier that year in January.  Newsom originally signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Tufts University (MA) with the Boston Red Sox in June of 2004.  He turned out to be an important acquisition in 2006 for the Indians, as he was the Mills Cup Finals MVP that year for Kinston in the Carolina League Championship Series. 

Strengths & Opportunities:  Newsom is a side-arm/submarine-style pitcher who is a command-control guy.  He does not have a blazing fastball, wipeout slider, or a knee-buckling curveball, but he is extremely intelligent, has moxie, commands his pitches well, goes right after hitters, and his makeup is off the charts.  He does not throw very hard as his fastball sits in the 82-85 MPH range, but this is more by design as he can actually throw harder but the lower velocity allows him to sink the ball more and keep it from flattening out.  He complements his fastball with a changeup, slider, and a four-seam fastball.  He has a lot of confidence in his changeup, and his slider is coming around.  He is a very hard worker, a very likable guy, and is a great teammate. 

Newsom's pitches get so much sink and work in on right-handers hands that opposing hitters pound the ball into the ground (4.11 G/F ratio in 2006, 3.05 in 2007, and 3.34 in 2008).  He also has not been hurt by the home run ball, giving up only nine in 263 career innings pitched.  He has mostly been used in a late inning role the last two years at Double-A Akron and handled the late innings well, serving mostly as the closer where he now is the franchise leader in career saves with 47 after shattering the record of 24 formerly held by Mike Soper.  The Indians feel he has been very effective against right-handed hitters, but the biggest test for him will be consistently getting left-handed hitters out.  There are not many right-handed specialists in the big leagues, and with one in Joe Smith already on the Indians major league roster it will make it hard for Newsom to get a chance with the Indians.  He also needs to be more consistent and show he can continue to pitch in pressure situations. His slider still needs work and he has to become more confident in using it. 

Outlook:  Newsom knows his submarine style is his ticket to the big leagues and he is now a legit relief pitching prospect in the Indians organization.  If you love pitchers who work quick, pitch to contact and get a lot of groundball outs, then you'll love Newsom.  He should open the 2009 season in the Triple-A Columbus bullpen and could make his big league debut sometime in 2009. 

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr 

Randy Newsom MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page 

Randy Newsom Baseball-Reference page 

Randy Newsom MinorLeagueSplits.com page 

Randy Newsom video: 

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2009 Prospect Book Has Arrived

Okay, literally just got my first shipment of the 2009 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More book about 10 minutes ago. All prepaid orders will start going in the mail tomorrow, and I will confirm via e-mail when sent.

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #61 Kevin Dixon

61. Kevin Dixon - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 12/16/1983 - Height: 6'3" - Weight: 225 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2005	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	3	6	4.53	14	14	0	57.2	66	29	6	11	31	1.7	4.8	1.34
2006	22	Lake County	A	2	1	1.36	7	7	0	39.2	32	6	0	7	21	1.6	4.8	0.98
		Kinston	A+	6	3	5.19	13	13	0	69.1	76	40	8	23	40	3.0	5.2	1.43
2007	23	Kinston	A+	10	4	3.72	28	22	2	133.0	143	55	9	41	72	2.8	4.9	1.38
2008	24	Akron	AA	9	11	4.41	27	26	1	157.0	159	77	17	48	113	2.8	6.5	1.32
		Career		30	25	4.08	89	82	3	456.2	476	207	40	130	277	2.6	5.5	1.33

History: Dixon was a 5th round pick in the 2005 Draft out of Minnesota State University. He actually was a more successful hitter than a pitcher in college, but was drafted as a pitcher.

Strengths & Opportunities: The 6'3" 225-pound Dixon is big and strong showcasing good stuff on the mound with a sinking fastball that sits around 90-92 MPH and tops out at 93 MPH. The fastball is actually two pitches in that he throws a sinker and four-seam fastball, and he has shown the ability to attack hitters with the fastball in the zone and not be afraid of the results. He complements the fastball with a changeup, slider and split-finger with good command of all his pitches. The slider is a potential plus pitch and the changeup grades out as average. One of the big things that has helped Dixon grow as a pitcher last year is the addition of the split-finger that was added to his arsenal during Instructional League in 2007. After toying around with the pitch, he came to spring training last year and continued to work on it and it now has become a serviceable pitch for him and one he relies on to finish hitters off for strikeouts. If he can maintain a feel for the splitter it is the out pitch he has been missing in his repertoire.

While Dixon's year-to-year numbers are not exactly eye-popping, his ability to be consistent start to start to where he can be relied on to give six to seven quality innings each outing is invaluable. In addition to refining his split-finger, he has also been working on repeating his delivery and ironing out some flaws in his mechanics. He gets in trouble at times where he will fall off to the side and land on the outside of his foot which causes everything to drag. Going forward, he needs to continue to focus on getting out in front of his pitches, which will really help improve his command. It is just a matter of him solidifying his delivery and trusting his delivery to allow him to throw the ball like he is capable of throwing it and commanding it.

Outlook: Dixon has the potential to one day crack a major league roster because of his durability and penchant for being an innings-eater. Due to the depth of pitching expected to be at Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus in 2009, it is not known where Dixon will fit this coming season. With so many big league ready arms likely in the Triple-A Columbus rotation, Dixon is probably destined for a bullpen role as a swing guy or remains in the starting rotation in Akron to start the season.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Kevin Dixon MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Kevin Dixon Baseball-Reference page

Kevin Dixon MinorLeagueSplits.com page

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #62 Vinnie Pestano

62. Vinnie Pestano - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 02/20/1985 - Height: 6'0" - Weight: 205 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	22	Mahoning Vy	A-	1	1	3.57	21	0	6	22.2	17	9	5	7	27	2.8	10.7	1.06
2008	23	Lake County	A	1	1	1.55	29	0	15	29.0	25	5	1	13	23	4.0	7.1	1.31
	23	Kinston	A+	1	2	4.00	25	0	9	27.0	23	12	1	11	27	3.7	9.0	1.26
		Career		3	4	2.97	75	0	30	78.2	65	26	7	31	77	3.6	8.9	1.23

History:  Pestano was a 20th round pick in the 2006 Draft out of Cal-State Fullerton.  As a college junior, he was one of the top relief prospects in the country going into the 2006 Draft, but a serious elbow injury early in the season sidelined him and put his professional baseball career in jeopardy.  He had Tommy John surgery performed on July 21, 2006, but the Indians were not scared away as they liked his potential and eventually signed him on August 17th, 2006 to a professional contract. 

Strengths & Opportunities:  Pestano does not blow hitters away with his 89-90 MPH two-seam fastball, but the ball gets a lot of movement with late run and sink because of his side-arm delivery which comes from a low three-quarter arm slot.  He actually used to throw over the top in high school, but when he got to Cal-St Fullerton he dropped to the side and experienced a lot of success with it so stuck with it.  As he continues to regain health he may also see his average velocity tick up a MPH or two.  He also throws a breaking ball that is more a slurve, but since his elbow injury he still has not gotten the feel and command back for it.  He also fooled around with a changeup that has good movement on it, but it lacked deception as the velocity was not much different from his fastball and it was often hammered.  Since he pitches out of the bullpen the pitch was scrapped and he now only throws his fastball and breaking ball. 

Pestano pitches to contact and relies on groundballs and keeping hitters off balance.  He may not have outstanding stuff or a fastball he can blow by hitters, but one of the things that make him such a strong late inning reliever is his exceptional makeup.  He is tenacious on the mound battling every pitch, and goes right after hitters.  He is a very confident pitcher who pounds the zone, and even with the low velocity projects as a backend bullpen guy because of that makeup.  He needs more work maintaining his delivery as he tends to fall off to the third base side.  He needs to continue through his delivery and finish out front which will result in better balance and landing through the glove. 

Outlook:  As a two pitch pitcher, commanding his fastball and slurve to both sides of the plate is paramount to Pestano's success as a pitcher as he moves up the minor league ladder.  He has the eyes to pitch in the late innings because nothing rattles him.  He likely will start the 2009 season as the closer at advanced Single-A Kinston, but should see significant time at Double-A Akron as well. 

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr 

Vinnie Pestano MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page 

Vinnie Pestano Baseball-Reference page 

Vinnie Pestano MinorLeagueSplits.com page 

Vinnie Pestano video:

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #63 Jonathan Holt

63. Jonathan Holt - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 03/10/1986 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 210 - Bats: Left - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	2	3	4.32	16	4	4	33.1	36	16	5	4	27	1.1	7.3	1.20
2008	22	Lake County	A	4	6	3.20	41	6	1	76.0	80	27	7	7	68	0.8	8.1	1.14
		Career		6	9	3.54	57	10	5	109.1	116	43	12	11	95	0.9	7.8	1.16

History: Holt was a 5th round pick in the 2007 Draft out of the University of Tampa.

Strengths & Opportunities: Holt primarily throws a three pitch mix of a fastball, slider, and changeup, and his fastball consistently sits around 88-91 MPH and has good arm side run and sink. His breaking ball is more of a modified slider - commonly called a slurve - because it lacks the velocity to be a true slider and has more break to it. His changeup has come a long way in the short time he has been with the Indians. He lacked a feel for it coming out of college, but throughout last season started to become more confident in it and has developed a feel for it and it has improved enough to where it now has the potential to be a good pitch against left-handers.

He came into the 2007 Draft as a reputed strike thrower after he put up an incredible 20:1 strikeout to walk ratio over 66 innings his junior season at Tampa (79 K, 4 BB), and has lived up to that billing so far during his time with the Indians the last two years with just 11 walks in 109.1 career innings while striking out 95 batters. He does a great job disrupting timing, he throws all three pitches in any count, and he uses his fastball well. At times when he needs to he goes out of the zone with his fastball to keep guys off the plate. His innate ability to pound the strike zone with quality strikes at such a high rate is certainly a strength, but now he needs to learn how to attack and finish hitters off. He needs to refine his fastball and learn to keep it down in the lower half of the zone, and he needs to continue to learn how to back off and sort of deprogram himself some and throw purpose balls to keep hitters more honest. He needs to keep up with his mechanics and continue working on developing his changeup.

Outlook: The bottom line with Holt is he does not have the best pure stuff, but it plays up because of his ability to throw strikes and throw any pitch in any count. His durability and ability to keep hitters off balance is certainly an asset to the Indians organization. He has a chance to move fast through the system from here on out, and projects as a good major league middle reliever. He should open the 2009 season in the advanced Single-A Kinston bullpen.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Jonathan Holt MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Jonathan Holt Baseball-Reference page

Jonathan Holt MinorLeagueSplits.com page

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Book Update 1/29

A real quick update to those who have purchased the 2009 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More book, my first shipment should arrive sometime today or tomorrow. I will try and get some orders out right away tomorrow if I receive it before noon on Friday, and if not will get all prepaid orders out ASAP on Saturday or Monday at the latest.

My first shipment amazingly is all accounted for with prepaid orders, so will be ordering another big shipment tomorrow or Saturday. Anyone interested in obtaining a copy, please fill out the order form to the right (it is fixed) or email me at tlastoria@indiansprospectinsider.com to make arrangements to pay by US Mail or if you have any questions. I'll post a few pictures of the book over the weekend as well.

Thanks again to everyone who has purchased the book for the support. I have a regular full time job and this is a side job for me that I put full time hours into and do not get paid anywhere near enough for the time invested into this....but I do it anyway because I love it and also for the players and their families!

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Smoke Signals with Matt McBride....tonight!

It is Smoke Signals time again tonight....and all I have to say is thank goodness the equipment trucks are leaving Progressive Field tomorrow and that spring training is just around the corner! Not only do we need some hope that the snow up here in Northeast Ohio will go away, but we need something new to talk about this offseason.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TheClevelandFan/2009/01/30/Smoke-Signals

Tonight, Paul and I plan to talk about the AL Central, what the competition has done to improve this offseason, and the Indians chances are of winning the division this year. Also, top catching prospect Matt McBride will join the show in the second half for our usual weekly on-air interview with an Indians prospect. We'll talk about his lost 2008 season in his return from labrum surgery and what is in the cards for 2009, and also talk about the recent developments of him moving to the outfield at least on a temporary basis.

We'd really love some phone calls tonight given the limited topics for discussion! The phone number to call is 646-716-8012 and feel free to call in and talk about anything Indians related or provide any comments or feedback on the show. If you don't want to call in, send us an email at smokesignals@theclevelandfan.com with a question you would like to see answered on the show. Or, feel free to provide ideas for future shows or general feedback on the show.

Next week, right-hander Vinnie Pestano will be on (Feb 5th) and after that outfielder Nick Weglarz will be on Feb 19th. Weglarz had to be moved back again a week, but this should be pretty firm this time. As to who fills the Feb 12th open slot, there are a ton of possibilities and will relay who will come on that night soon.

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #64 Paolo Espino

64. Paolo Espino - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 01/10/1987 - Height: 5'10" - Weight: 190 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	20	Lake County	A	4	5	3.66	33	13	0	108.1	95	44	20	31	116	2.6	9.6	1.16
2008	21	Lake County	A	2	0	3.16	19	0	1	37.0	35	13	4	12	48	3.2	11.7	1.30
		Kinston	A+	0	2	8.49	7	6	0	29.2	39	28	5	11	20	3.3	6.1	1.69
		Career		6	7	4.37	59	19	1	175.0	169	85	29	54	184	2.8	9.5	1.28

History: Espino was a 10th round pick in the 2006 Draft out of Pendleton High School (FL).

Strengths & Opportunities: The Panamanian righty showcases a fastball that usually sits at 90 MPH and tops out at 92 MPH, and he complements it with a good curveball and changeup. His best pitch is his plus curveball and is a pitch he has the most confidence in. His fastball and changeup grade out as at least average with the chance to be above average pitches. While he is lacking in size, there is absolutely no lack of heart as he goes right after hitters and works hard.

After such a good showing in his professional debut in 2007 at Single-A Lake County, he was a big disappointment last year at advanced Single-A Kinston where he battled a shoulder injury and inconsistency throughout the first half of the season, and eventually found his way back at Lake County where he did a good job pitching out of the bullpen. He is young, so he needs to continue to work on refining his control and command to effectively pitch to contact so hitters get themselves out. He needs more work with keeping his fastball down in the zone more, which because of his smallish size has been tough to get the ball on a good downward plane. Also, because of his small size, durability is a concern with him.

Outlook: Espino should be in line for a bullpen job at advanced Single-A Kinston to start the 2009 season.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Paolo Espino MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Paolo Espino Baseball-Reference page

Paolo Espino MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Paolo Espino videos:

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #65 Bo Greenwell

65. Bo Greenwell - Outfielder
Born: 10/15/1988 - Height: 6'0" - Weight: 185 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	18	GCL Indians	R	37	144	12	31	5	0	0	8	16	24	5	.215	.298	.250	.548
2008	19	GCL Indians	R	46	160	18	42	8	3	2	14	23	17	4	.263	.359	.388	.747
		Career		83	204	30	73	13	3	2	22	39	41	9	.240	.330	.322	.652

History: Greenwell was taken in the 6th round of the 2007 Draft out of Riverdale High School (FL). He is the son of former Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell. He was also actually a very good football player in high school where he played quarterback and safety, but he tore his ACL going into his senior season which significantly hurt his chances at a Division-1 college football scholarship.

Strengths & Opportunities: Greenwell is a toolsy, high energy player with good strike zone discipline and good hands. He is very raw in the baseball department because he had spent so much time working on football in high school, so when the Indians drafted him in 2007 it was the first time he was actually able to develop his baseball skills. He is still learning how to use his body for leverage to put a little more juice on the ball, and once he learns how to do that he should see another spike in his offensive performance. He is working on pulling the ball more, which is a skill he did not use in the past because he focused mainly on hitting the other way as a speed/contact guy. His play has evoked comparisons to that of Johnny Damon, and the Indians think he can be an above-average base stealer with his 60 speed rating on the scouting scale.

Greenwell did not play much in 2007 because he was adjusting to the everyday grind of a professional baseball player and developing a routine. He was also sidelined at times with a lingering shoulder issue that was the result of so much work in the outfield, a position he was foreign to since he played first base in high school and had never played outfield before. He is still learning to play the outfield, and as he settles in and becomes more comfortable out there he is expected to stay a centerfielder as he advances in the system. He had trouble with his route running and catching fly balls in 2007, but improved greatly in all of these areas last season. Going forward, he needs to learn to get better jumps on the ball.

Even with the blood lines there is a lot of projection in Greenwell, and his numbers showed marked improvement from 2007 to 2008. The Indians were very impressed with the adjustments he made as a hitter from 2007 to last year, mostly with how he hit the ball with much more authority and was much stronger. Most notable was his .200 point increase in OPS in one year, and one of his biggest strengths - his ability to put the bat on the ball - was put on display last season where he had just 17 strikeouts compared to 23 walks in 160 bats.

Outlook: Greenwell looks to be ready for his first full season assignment this year, and at the start of the season should be one of the main cogs in the lineup for Single-A Lake County.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Bo Greenwell MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Bo Greenwell Baseball-Reference page

Bo Greenwell MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Bo Greenwell video:

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #66 Matt Meyer

66. Matt Meyer - Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 01/17/1985 - Height: 6'4" - Weight: 220 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2006	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	2	2	1.98	19	0	2	27.1	23	6	0	15	31	4.9	10.2	1.39
2007	21	Lake County	A	0	0	0.50	11	0	0	18.0	12	1	1	5	20	2.5	10.0	0.94
		Kinston	A+	3	4	4.32	32	0	3	50.0	50	24	4	32	58	5.8	10.4	1.64
2008		Kinston	A+	4	2	4.23	42	0	1	55.1	48	26	2	29	61	4.7	9.9	1.39
		Career		9	8	3.40	104	0	6	150.2	133	57	7	81	170	4.9	10.2	1.42

History: Meyer was a 15th round pick in the 2006 Draft out of Boston College.

Strengths & Opportunities: Meyer throws from a sidearm three-quarters arm slot with a fastball that has good tailing action and consistently sits at 91-92 MPH topping out as high as 93 MPH. He complements it with a deceptive slider that he has tightened up to where it is more of a power slider sitting in the 81-84 MPH range. His slider is the pitch he has the most confidence in and will throw in any count, and when he needs to reach back for a big pitch or throw a quality strike, the slider more times than not is what he relies on. In his short minor league career he has shown the ability to pile up strikeouts (career 10.2 K/9), but he also piles up the walks (career 4.9 BB/9). He has had some trouble with right-handers, but is very tough on lefties and it is why many of the Indians top decision-makers project him as a lefty specialist down the road. He has always been especially tough on left-handed hitters because of his unique arm slot where he throws from the side and across his body. He also has a funky hitch in his delivery just before he lets go of the ball where he whips his hand through at what seems like the last second, so it is hard for opposing hitters to pick up the ball out of his hand.

The game at times can speed up on Meyer where he starts just being a thrower and not a pitcher. He worked with Kinston pitching coach Greg Hibbard on being more prepared mentally with his pre-pitch routine to slow his heart rate down and get back into the moment of making one pitch at a time and be more in control of his emotions. As a result, by the end of the season Meyer was a much more confident pitcher who looked like he was in control on the mound where earlier in the season it looked like he was making pitches wishing for outs.

He was not pinpointing or real dominating to either side last year, but did a better job of pounding the zone and letting batters get themselves out. He is also finishing pitches more out front and staying in the glove better instead of trying to spin out toward the third base side. Going forward he needs to continue working on his fastball command and tightening up his slider, and work on repeating his delivery. He still has a tendency to spin off to the right side a little bit, and sometimes his arm slot can be inconsistent.

Outlook: While Meyer still has a ways to go, the Indians are excited about his potential as a power-armed situational lefty in the bullpen. He should open the 2009 season in the Double-A Akron bullpen.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Matt Meyer MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Matt Meyer Baseball-Reference page

Matt Meyer MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Matt Meyer videos:

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #67 Kevin Rucker

67. Kevin Rucker - Outfielder
Born: 09/14/1989 - Height: 6'1" - Weight: 185 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	17	GCL Indians	R	11	32	3	9	1	0	0	8	4	8	0	.281	.361	.313	.674
2008	18	GCL Indians	R	39	105	19	22	4	0	2	9	16	44	5	.210	.314	.305	.619
		Career		50	137	22	31	5	0	2	17	20	52	5	.226	.325	.307	.632

History: Rucker was a 47th round pick in the 2007 Draft out of a Pioneer Valley High School in Santa Maria, CA. He signed late and had an injury, so he played very little with the Indians in 2007.

Strengths & Opportunities: Rucker was one of the more intriguing players on the GCL roster last year, and at 6'1" 185-pounds is a player with a lot of talent who is also very rough around the edges and raw for a prospect, but the Indians are excited about his potential. He is very inconsistent at the plate, but has good raw power and the skills to hit the ball way out of the ballpark when he makes contact. Last year was his first full season in the organization, and at 18-years of age he was mostly learning to live on his own and also get acquainted with everyday life as a professional baseball player. His arm strength and speed are above average, and he can go get the ball in the outfield.

Rucker sort of went unnoticed coming into the draft because he spent a lot of time playing football in high school as a full-time defensive player at the free safety position. His prowess as a free safety in football certainly translates to his excellent ability to track down balls as an outfielder, and it is his most developed tool. His instincts in the outfield are getting a lot better, and the adjustment from center field to right field has gone well. The Indians are really working with him on being a more consistent hitter and putting up more quality at bats by staying with a steadier approach, sticking to a plan at the plate, and trying not to swing at balls out of the zone. They feel this will come as he matures, and he has a bright future as a potential everyday player in the big leagues.

Outlook: While the projection is long, Rucker reminds some in the Indians organization of Andre Dawson. He has a good shot to open the 2009 season in the Single-A Lake County outfield, but may need to open the season in extended spring training for more instruction before moving onto Lake County later in the year.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Kevin Rucker MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Kevin Rucker Baseball-Reference page

Kevin Rucker MinorLeagueSplits.com page

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #68 Michael Finocchi

68. Michael Finocchi - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 04/28/1985 - Height: 6'0" - Weight: 195 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2005	20	Burlington	R	0	2	3.14	18	0	1	28.2	32	10	0	5	22	1.6	6.9	1.29
2006	21	Lake County	A	4	1	3.44	19	0	0	36.2	42	14	1	14	24	3.4	5.9	1.53
	21	Kinston	A+	1	2	2.72	20	0	1	36.1	35	11	0	25	23	6.2	5.7	1.65
2007	22	Kinston	A+	3	2	2.84	30	0	3	57.0	56	18	0	26	36	4.1	5.7	1.44
	22	Akron	AA	2	1	4.67	15	0	2	17.1	16	9	1	5	16	2.6	8.3	1.21
2008		Kinston	A+	1	1	6.52	22	0	0	29.0	36	21	9	19	15	5.9	4.7	1.90
		Career		11	9	3.64	124	0	7	205.0	217	83	11	94	136	4.1	6.0	1.52

History: Finocchi was a 14th round pick in the 2005 Draft out of Louisburg College (PA). After a good year and very successful stint in the Arizona Fall League in 2007, one slip and fall on some ice in December 2007 pretty much ruined his 2008 season as he suffered a broken ankle and spent most of the season rehabbing the injury and was never 100% even when he came back.

Strengths & Opportunities: Finocchi has a power sinking fastball that sits around 92-94 MPH, and he complements it with a hard slider and changeup. He relies heavily on his sinkerball he pounds the zone to both sides of the plate and it is his out pitch. His slider is his best secondary pitch, while his changeup still needs work. He has a sturdy frame and is durable, and has the potential to be a late inning reliever who gets hitters to pound the ball into the ground. He is an extreme groundball pitcher, and even though he has not piled up strikeouts in the past he has shown the ability to strike batters out when needed.

When Finocchi returned to action in midseason last year he was never really 100% back from the ankle injury as he was unable to drive off his right foot, which resulted in his velocity dipping considerably and his pitches elevating more. In 2007 he had a 3.40 groundball to flyout ratio and a 3.72 ratio in 2006, but in 2008 his pitches were much more elevated as he only had a 1.65 ratio. Also, coming into the season he had only given up two home runs in 176 career professional innings, but surrendered a staggering nine home runs last year in just 29 innings. The problem was he was only sitting 88-89 MPH, which for a sinker-baller who often relies on the speed and torque on the pitch to get more downward movement a drop in velocity of 4-5 MPH is devastating as the pitch tends to flatten out. Going forward, he needs to continue working on his fastball command by throwing more first pitch strikes in order to effectively set up hitters and finish them off. The injury may have been a blessing for him as with the loss of velocity he had to learn how to pitch and not just throw, and the result was it made his slider a little bit better. He still needs to work on becoming more comfortable throwing his slider and using it early in the count for strikes.

Outlook: For a pitcher who throws as hard as Finocchi does and has sink on his pitches, he has a chance to be very successful and could be a valuable middle relief option for the Indians down the road. He should come into the 2009 season 100% healthy and ready to rebound from a disastrous 2008 campaign, and should start the 2009 season in the Double-A Akron bullpen.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Michael Finocchi MinorLeageBaseball.com stats page

Michael Finocchi Baseball-Reference page

Michael Finocchi MinorLeagueSplits.com page

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The 2009 Prospect Book Is Here!

Finally, the 2009 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More book is here. I feel like I have been updating everyone on this for the better part of a year, but it finally is here. Sometime today (Monday) I will be sendind the book to be published and should have the books in hand by the end of the week to ship out to anyone interested.

And, with that said, I am ready to start taking official orders for the book!

First, here are the details about the new book:

• The Top 100 prospects in the system are profiled with full, detailed scouting reports for each player.
  
• There is also an additional 27 scouting reports for players not included in the Top 100 list for various reasons. Players like Kelvin Diaz, Scott Roehl, Denny Montero, Kevin Fontanez, Chun-Hsiu Chen, and John Allman are included. These reports will also not be on-line at this time, and are exclusive only to the book.
  
• My previous rankings, my 2008 Top 50 and 2007 Top 35 to compare how the listing has evolved.
  
• Professional quality pictures for over 100 players (Ken Carr is da man!).
  
• Full career stats for every player in the Top 100.
  
• Charts: Top prospects by position, organizational depth chart, players released in 2008, 2008 Draft results, Rule 5 eligibles for the next four years from 2009-2012, etc.
  
• Full listing of all transactions for each affiliate in the 2008 season.
  
• Information for each affiliate such as coaching staff, location, roster limits, website and more.
  
• 2009 Player Development Staff listing.
  
• Full minor league schedule grid showing side-by-side scheduled for Columbus, Akron, Kinston, Lake County and Mahoning Valley.
  
• Rule 5 FAQ

Here is the cover, front and back:




This is a sleek, compact book 150+ pages in length - over 60 pages larger than last year's edition - chock full of information on over three quarters of the Indians farm system (90%+ of the players stateside). The book includes a nice full color glossy cover, with a better overall design that is a real nice step up from last year. Also, like last year, from front to back there are no ads taking up space as every page is filled with information on the players and system, as well as loaded with charts, graphs, and photos. Bigger is not always better, but in this case I am confident fans will be happy with the additional information pertaining to the additional 50+ players included in the book this year versus last year's effort.

To order, e-mail me at tlastoria@gmail.com . When you make your "order", I need the following information:

- How many books you want
- Your full name and mailing address

I will confirm the order and give the quoted price (if you select more than one book), and then you can pay me by sending a check or money order to me in the mail, or you can pay by PayPal with a check or credit card. I will provide the mailing address or PayPal instructions after you contact me.

As far as the price goes, for one book the cost INCLUDING shipping and handling will be $17.95 (domestic orders only). For those that purchase additional books in the same order, these can be purchased at a discounted rate of $14.95 per book (no limit). The book is bigger and better, but actually is cheaper than last year as with shipping and handling it was $19-21 for most people. For those who do not have the book shipped and make arrangements for pickup, it is $14.95 a book.

As for those outside of the United States, due to the much higher cost of shipping depending on what country you live in, we can work out the details of the shipping cost and final price. Overseas orders are certainly welcome!

I appreciate the interest and support....and Go Tribe!

Any questions, ask!

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #69 Santo Frias

69. Santo Frias - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 12/08/1987 - Height: 6'3" - Weight: 189 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2006	18	DSL Indians	R	4	4	1.30	11	11	0	55.1	37	8	3	18	44	2.9	7.2	0.99
2007	19	GCL Indians	R	2	3	1.88	9	9	0	48.0	36	10	1	8	47	1.5	8.8	0.92
	19	Lake County	A	0	0	4.32	2	1	0	8.1	7	4	0	5	8	5.4	8.6	1.44
2008	20	Lake County	A	1	1	6.94	5	5	0	23.1	26	18	8	12	20	4.6	7.7	1.63
		Career		7	8	2.67	27	26	0	135.0	106	40	12	43	119	2.9	7.9	1.10

History: Frias was signed as a non-drafted free agent in December of 2005 and pitched at the Indians academy in the Dominican Republic in 2006 before making his stateside debut in 2007 pitching for the rookie level GCL Indians.

Strengths & Opportunities: Frias has a good three-pitch mix with an 88-92 MPH fastball, slider and changeup. The Indians feel that as he fills out and matures his fastball has the potential to add velocity and become a big weapon. The slider is his best secondary pitch and has the potential to develop into a good major league pitch. He continues to improve, is a strike-thrower and has a big frame that he is still growing into. He reminds some in the Indians organization of Fausto Carmona because of his big frame, big back, room to put on weight, and loose arm. He has the frame and the pitches, and still is only 21-years old.

Frias went on the disabled list with a right elbow strain near the end of the 2007 season and did not throw in the subsequent offseason. He came back healthy in spring training and the start of 2008 where he opened the season in the Single-A Lake County starting rotation, but he went down with another arm injury at the end of April and never returned the rest of the season.

Outlook: When Indians Farm Director Ross Atkins was heading up the Latin Operations in 2006 he was a big fan of Frias. His status for 2009 will not be fully known until spring training, but if he is healthy he could be ticketed for a return to Single-A Lake County in 2009.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Santo Frias MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Santo Frias Baseball-Reference page

Santo Frias MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Santo Frias video:

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Indians Top 100 Prospects: #70 Todd Martin

70. Todd Martin - First Baseman
Born: 06/25/1983 - Height: 6'3" - Weight: 230 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2006	23	Gary	IND	5	14	3	2	0	0	0	0	1	6	0	.143	.250	.143	.393
2006	23	GCL Indians	R	11	23	4	5	2	0	0	2	3	10	0	.217	.308	.304	.612
2007	24	Mahoning Vy	A-	54	197	27	71	8	1	8	40	23	40	0	.360	.423	.533	.956
2008	25	GCL Indians	R	5	15	1	6	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	.400	.438	.400	.838
	25	Lake County	A	10	36	4	12	3	0	3	9	1	13	0	.333	.342	.667	1.009
	25	Kinston	A+	21	67	6	14	4	0	0	6	11	12	0	.209	.321	.269	.590
		Career		106	352	45	110	17	1	11	58	39	83	0	.313	.382	.460	.842

History: Martin signed as an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee State in July of 2006. In his first year of extended action in the organization in 2007 he hit .360 at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley which won him the NY-Penn League batting title. He also set a Mahoning Valley record for the highest single-season batting average in franchise history, which surpassed Ben Francisco's league leading .349 batting average in 2002. He also set franchise records for on-base percentage (.423) and slugging percentage (.533) in a season.

Strengths & Opportunities: The Indians like Martin's powerful bat and approach at the plate, and he is a mechanically sound hitter with a great swing. His success is directly tied to him being such an advanced, disciplined hitter at the plate where he rarely swings at a bad pitch, and he does a good job of spraying the ball around the field. At times, he has a tendency to get too anxious at the plate, which results in too much of an uppercut in his swing. He also needs to become more consistent with his swing and maintaining a downward plane to get backspin on the ball. He can play both first base and the outfield, so he has some versatility there.

The knock on Martin is in his one good season he dominated the NY-Penn League at an advanced age whereas most prospects his age are typically in Double-A or above. Also, he has had a hard time staying healthy since signing with the Indians. He missed a few games in 2007 with an arm injury and eventually had his season cut short with a sprained knee. He went out to the Hawaii Winter League in 2007, but again his time was cut short after being sidelined with a wrist injury. The health issues cropped back up again last season in May when he tore the meniscus in his knee and had to undergo surgery. After a two month layoff to recover from the surgery, he finally got back into game action late in the season but was never himself and he continued to have setbacks with the knee to where he had to have another surgery this offseason because it was just not healing properly.

Outlook: Because of his age and injury history this upcoming season is going to be a big one for Martin to re-establish himself. Fortunately for him, outside of Beau Mills, the Indians lack any high level first base prospect slotted for first base and designated hitter to start the season at Double-A Akron or advanced Single-A Kinston. It is not known where he will start the season, but he has a good chance of being pushed up to Akron to start the season and serve mostly as the designated hitter there.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Todd Martin MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Todd Martin Baseball-Reference page

Todd Martin MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Todd Martin videos:

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