Time for another rundown of the week that was in the Indians minor league system. Lots of news to share this week, especially for this site. Spring training for the big league team is officially underway, and minor league camp is on the horizon.
Anyway...
Thanks to Josh Tomlin for coming on Smoke Signals this past Thursday to talk some baseball. Tomlin is an interesting guy to watch and follow this year as in his three previous years in the organization he has been what many baseball people would call a "performer" due to his impressive numbers year to year, but has questionable tools. What really changed last year for him was the increase in his fastball velocity to where it tops out now at 93 MPH, and in addition to that his slider improved greatly and the addition of a cutter seems to have been the difference maker for him. Also, his story about playing against Adrian Peterson in high school was classic!
This week (Feb 19) outfielder Nick Weglarz will join the show, and the next week (Feb 26) outfielder/first baseman Stephen Head will be on. Also, sometime in March, possibly as soon as the March 5th show, former Baseball America writer and now Pittsburgh Pirate scout Chris Kline will be on the show to talk scouting. We won't get into the Pirates/Indians organizations for obvious reasons, but instead talk about the life of a scout, what they do, how they do it, and so on. I am really looking forward to it, and when the time comes I'll be soliciting for questions to ask on the show.
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Speaking of Weglarz, I've been trying to nail him down on the show for about a month, but we always had to reschedule because he is one of the busiest 21 year olds I know (just turned 21 by the way). We appear to be catching him at the right time because he actually flew out to Goodyear out of Buffalo (yikes) on Wednesday and will be in big league camp with the Indians preparing for the Word Baseball Classic (WBC). After two and a half weeks of prep, he'll leave Goodyear on February 28th to join his Team Canada teammates in Florida and be the starting left fielder for them. After a few exhibition games March 3-5 against the Blue Jays, Phillies and Yankees, they will open WBC play with their first game against Team USA in Toronto on March 7th.
It goes without saying that Weglarz's experience playing with and against so many high caliber major league players will do nothing but benefit him. In a big way. While some people were disappointed with his overall season in Kinston last year (I felt it was good for a 20-year old), I was mostly impressed with his play Internationally last year in the Olympics in Beijing and the qualifiers in Australia and Taiwan before that where he faced a lot of talent equal to Triple-A or higher. And, you'll see that factored heavily when his ranking is released in my Top 100 list (those that have the book already know what I am talking about).
By the way, he's up to 255 pounds now...and that's a ripped, country strong 255 pounds. The kid just turned 21 for crying out loud and is as big and strong as an ox. He still has yet to step in the batters box at the Double-A level or above yet, but he's one of the best young pure power prospects in the game right now. And his power ability surpases that of LaPorta. I expect big things from this kid, and I think he not only has the talent (chicks AND dudes dig the long ball), but he has the makeup and personality to be adored in Cleveland if he gets there. All the comps to Jim Thome are dead nuts on.
**********
I have some big site news to announce. It looks like several players will be blogging on the site this year, which is something I wanted to add to get that other perspective out there to the fans. I have the articles, pictures, videos, and radio show to sort of promote these guys in every way possible, but nothing from the first person perspective. So who are the players who will be doing “player blogs” on the site this year? They are: catcher Chris Gimenez, right-hander Vinnie Pestano, right-hander Clayton Cook, and left-hander T.J. House.
I initially wanted just one or two guys, but after I reached out to a few I was surprised that everyone was interested in doing it. What I like about the variety of guys, is not only are they high profile prospects, but they are all at different levels in the organization and experiencing different things. Gimenez was just added to the 40-man roster, is a legit option to make the Indians team sometime this year, will be playing for the new Columbus team, and is on the cusp of the big leagues, so he has a lot going on right now and it will be interesting to get his perspective on things. Then you have the young'uns like T.J. House and Clayton Cook who are getting ready for their first spring training and first experience with extended spring training.....everything is brand new to them and as high profile 2008 Draft picks it will be kind of cool to get their perspective on things this year from time to time. And, for Vinnie Pestano, being in Akron (if he doesn't start there he should get significant time there) there's different things going on there as well for him, especially considering he will likely be the closer there.
So I am very excited to have these guys on board, and some should be writing something very soon as spring training gets ready to officially start on March 5th (for the minor leaguers). As for how often they write, it is up to them, but I would say most will write two to three times a month. And, I still may add another guy or two to the mix who may be slotted for Lake County and Kinston to sort of get that viewpoint as well.
Be sure to welcome them and give them feedback (constructively) when they post their blog entries.
**********
Former Tribe farmhand, left-hander Dan Cevette, has resurfaced with another team. He had retired last June, but it appears he was able to work something out with the Indians where they released him from their control this offseason and he is going to take another shot at a career in baseball, this time with the Kansas City Royals organization. Injuries ruined what was a promising career for him, but if he can get past the injuries and improve his command he has the pitches and stuff to maybe get to the bigs someday. Good luck to Dan, and I wish him well.
**********
My 2009 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More book is now going to be sold and listed on-line at Amazon.com as well as many other on-line book sites. The link and everything is being worked up, but it should be listed sometime in the next two to three weeks. Also, it appears the book will also be available in some of the minor league team shops this year, though I am still working out the details on that.
**********
Not only does the Indians Prospect Insider have its own page on Facebook, I have also networked the site with other blogs on Facebook as well. Click here to check out it out and be sure to click to become a fan and follow the blog. Thanks!
Anyway...
Thanks to Josh Tomlin for coming on Smoke Signals this past Thursday to talk some baseball. Tomlin is an interesting guy to watch and follow this year as in his three previous years in the organization he has been what many baseball people would call a "performer" due to his impressive numbers year to year, but has questionable tools. What really changed last year for him was the increase in his fastball velocity to where it tops out now at 93 MPH, and in addition to that his slider improved greatly and the addition of a cutter seems to have been the difference maker for him. Also, his story about playing against Adrian Peterson in high school was classic!
This week (Feb 19) outfielder Nick Weglarz will join the show, and the next week (Feb 26) outfielder/first baseman Stephen Head will be on. Also, sometime in March, possibly as soon as the March 5th show, former Baseball America writer and now Pittsburgh Pirate scout Chris Kline will be on the show to talk scouting. We won't get into the Pirates/Indians organizations for obvious reasons, but instead talk about the life of a scout, what they do, how they do it, and so on. I am really looking forward to it, and when the time comes I'll be soliciting for questions to ask on the show.
**********
Speaking of Weglarz, I've been trying to nail him down on the show for about a month, but we always had to reschedule because he is one of the busiest 21 year olds I know (just turned 21 by the way). We appear to be catching him at the right time because he actually flew out to Goodyear out of Buffalo (yikes) on Wednesday and will be in big league camp with the Indians preparing for the Word Baseball Classic (WBC). After two and a half weeks of prep, he'll leave Goodyear on February 28th to join his Team Canada teammates in Florida and be the starting left fielder for them. After a few exhibition games March 3-5 against the Blue Jays, Phillies and Yankees, they will open WBC play with their first game against Team USA in Toronto on March 7th.
It goes without saying that Weglarz's experience playing with and against so many high caliber major league players will do nothing but benefit him. In a big way. While some people were disappointed with his overall season in Kinston last year (I felt it was good for a 20-year old), I was mostly impressed with his play Internationally last year in the Olympics in Beijing and the qualifiers in Australia and Taiwan before that where he faced a lot of talent equal to Triple-A or higher. And, you'll see that factored heavily when his ranking is released in my Top 100 list (those that have the book already know what I am talking about).
By the way, he's up to 255 pounds now...and that's a ripped, country strong 255 pounds. The kid just turned 21 for crying out loud and is as big and strong as an ox. He still has yet to step in the batters box at the Double-A level or above yet, but he's one of the best young pure power prospects in the game right now. And his power ability surpases that of LaPorta. I expect big things from this kid, and I think he not only has the talent (chicks AND dudes dig the long ball), but he has the makeup and personality to be adored in Cleveland if he gets there. All the comps to Jim Thome are dead nuts on.
**********
I have some big site news to announce. It looks like several players will be blogging on the site this year, which is something I wanted to add to get that other perspective out there to the fans. I have the articles, pictures, videos, and radio show to sort of promote these guys in every way possible, but nothing from the first person perspective. So who are the players who will be doing “player blogs” on the site this year? They are: catcher Chris Gimenez, right-hander Vinnie Pestano, right-hander Clayton Cook, and left-hander T.J. House.
I initially wanted just one or two guys, but after I reached out to a few I was surprised that everyone was interested in doing it. What I like about the variety of guys, is not only are they high profile prospects, but they are all at different levels in the organization and experiencing different things. Gimenez was just added to the 40-man roster, is a legit option to make the Indians team sometime this year, will be playing for the new Columbus team, and is on the cusp of the big leagues, so he has a lot going on right now and it will be interesting to get his perspective on things. Then you have the young'uns like T.J. House and Clayton Cook who are getting ready for their first spring training and first experience with extended spring training.....everything is brand new to them and as high profile 2008 Draft picks it will be kind of cool to get their perspective on things this year from time to time. And, for Vinnie Pestano, being in Akron (if he doesn't start there he should get significant time there) there's different things going on there as well for him, especially considering he will likely be the closer there.
So I am very excited to have these guys on board, and some should be writing something very soon as spring training gets ready to officially start on March 5th (for the minor leaguers). As for how often they write, it is up to them, but I would say most will write two to three times a month. And, I still may add another guy or two to the mix who may be slotted for Lake County and Kinston to sort of get that viewpoint as well.
Be sure to welcome them and give them feedback (constructively) when they post their blog entries.
**********
Former Tribe farmhand, left-hander Dan Cevette, has resurfaced with another team. He had retired last June, but it appears he was able to work something out with the Indians where they released him from their control this offseason and he is going to take another shot at a career in baseball, this time with the Kansas City Royals organization. Injuries ruined what was a promising career for him, but if he can get past the injuries and improve his command he has the pitches and stuff to maybe get to the bigs someday. Good luck to Dan, and I wish him well.
**********
My 2009 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More book is now going to be sold and listed on-line at Amazon.com as well as many other on-line book sites. The link and everything is being worked up, but it should be listed sometime in the next two to three weeks. Also, it appears the book will also be available in some of the minor league team shops this year, though I am still working out the details on that.
**********
Not only does the Indians Prospect Insider have its own page on Facebook, I have also networked the site with other blogs on Facebook as well. Click here to check out it out and be sure to click to become a fan and follow the blog. Thanks!
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