Post Weekend Update: Goodyear Bound....Soon

Here is the final weekend rundown of the offseason. Starting this Thursday, the daily coverage of the Indians minor league affiliates will kick into gear, and my weekly “Minor Happenings” piece recapping the week that was will start back up every Thursday once the season started on Wednesday April 8th.

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If anyone has been paying attention to the box scores I have been posting, you may have noticed some of the positions certain players have been playing so far this spring. Most notably, the players who are concentrating on one specific position, or making a position change. Here are some of the position changes or area of concentration I have noticed:

- Jared Goedert only playing 3B. Goedert has played some 2B the last two years, but with Josh Rodriguez slated to be the regular 2B in Akron, Goedert will get little if any time at 2B and instead play only 3B.

- Jeff Hehr has been getting some work in at 1B. He played 20 games there with Lake County last year while spending most of his time at 3B. He also played 2B most of the season in 2007 at Mahoning Valley, and was drafted as a shortstop. He is a guy on the bubble, so his versatility could be a big plus for him.

- Matt McBride is only playing in LF. As I mentioned a few times this offseason, McBride has made a permanent move to the outfield. He is still listed as a catcher, but aside from the need to use him in an emergency he is not expected to catch at all this year.

- Josh Rodriguez has played almost every inning at 2B. He will be the everyday 2B in Akron, and give Carlos Rivero a day off at SS from time to time.

- Jason Smit is only playing in LF. As mentioned a week or two back, Smit has made the move from the infield to the outfield. No reasoning why yet, but something I hope to ask about when I get to Goodyear later this week.

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Thanks to outfielder Matt Brown for coming on our Smoke Signals program last Thursday. His strong faith is a real asset for him that allows him to keep a clear head from distractions and be a sponge with instruction.

As I mentioned on the broadcast, he has an absolute cannon for an arm. I saw flashes of the gifted arm of Cory Snyder in right field for the Indians in the late 80s when Brown threw a seed from the warning track in right field to 3B that gunned down a runner. As always, the bat will be what determines his fate as a prospect, which he improved a lot last season. This is a big year for him in Kinston, a separator and one where he needs to remain consistent offensively and show some growth.

This week, Adam Burke guest hosts as the show moves to 8-9pm this Thursday March 26th. My flight leaves Cleveland at 9:00pm for Goodyear, so I will only be calling in for a few minutes when the show starts while I wait to board my plane.

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Here is a recap of some of the known releases and retirements:

- Right-hander Joe Ness has been released. He didn’t last long in camp, and was a longshot coming in given his age and coming off shoulder surgery which sidelined him all of last season.

- First baseman Todd Martin has been released. This was somewhat of a surprise. It is no surprise given his age and injury history, but a surprise because he can hit and the Indians have a need for a 1B/DH type bat in Akron or even Kinston. He plans to play independent ball this year and possibly catch on with another team.

- Catcher Brian Juhl has retired. He didn’t play much last year, and the prospects of spending another season possibly in Kinston probably were not too inviting.

As always, much luck with these guys in their future endeavors.

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Speaking of Ness, here is the scouting report on him in my book. This is one of the writeups for 27+ players that are only available in the book and will not be posted on-line:

Ness, 25, was taken in the 6th round of the 2005 Draft out of Ball State University. At 6'5" and 230 pounds he is a big and strong pitcher with a fastball that hovers in the low to mid 90s. He also throws a slider and changeup. While he is a strike-thrower, his pitches tend to lack variation in speed which is a problem as he moves up the minor league ladder and faces more advanced hitters. Even though he did not pitch last year, the Indians feel he still has some potential to be an innings eater because of his strong mechanics. It is not yet known why he did not pitch last year or what the undisclosed injury was, and there have been no reports of his release, but in any case he is in an uphill climb this spring to make the Double-A Akron roster or be released.

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In case anyone missed it, I did a Q&A for Baseball Daily Digest earlier in the week talking about Double-A Akron and some of the players expected to be there.

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And don’t forget to visit the site store for any IndiansProspectInsider.com apparel you may be interested in!

Posted in: Brian Juhl,Jared Goedert,Jason Smit,Jeff Hehr,Joe Ness,Josh Rodriguez,Matt Brown,Matt McBride,Todd Martin