Brown, 25, spent the entire season in AAA Columbus where he was a mid-season and post-season all-star selection and hit an International League-best .336 (140-417) with 35 2B, 1 3B, 15 HR and 67 RBI in 111 games. The .336 mark was the 2nd highest single-season average in Columbus history. He was also named to the Topps Triple A All-Star Team. In addition to winning the batting title he finished 3rd in the league in slugging % (.532), 4th in OPS (.913), 6th in hits (140), 4th in total bases (222) and tied for 5th in doubles (35). Jordan appeared in left field in 41 games, right field in 27 games and first base in 22 games. He is currently hitting .318 (35-110) with 4 HR and 21 RBI in 32 games for Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League. Brown was the club’s 4th round pick (124th overall) in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arizona.
De La Cruz, 21, opened the season at A Kinston and made two starts (2-0, 1.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, .146 AVG) before missing the remainder of the regular season due to a strained left throwing elbow. He finished the season healthy, making three starts for the Arizona Rookie League team in Goodyear, AZ and also pitched in the Fall Instructional League and Arizona Parallel League. Kelvin entered the 2009 season as the 7th best prospect in the Indians organization according to Baseball America. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent in December 2004 out of the Dominican Republic.
Donald, 25, was acquired in a July 29th, six-player trade with the Philadelphia Phillies and split the season between AAA Lehigh Valley (.236, HR, 16 RBI, 51 G) and AAA Columbus (.257, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 10 G). He hit in 7 of his 10 games with the Clippers. He missed six weeks in June and July (left knee surgery) and was limited to just 10 games with AAA Columbus due to a lower back injury. Jason entered the 2009 season as the #4 overall prospect in the Phillies organization according to Baseball America and the 69th best overall prospect in all of Minor League baseball by BA.
Gomez, 21, was a combined 12-6 with a 3.30 ERA in 26 starts for A Kinston and AA Akron (147.1 IP, 134 H, 54 ER, 45 BB, 124 K) and tossed a 9.0 inning perfect game on May 21 at Trenton for the Akron Aeros. Jeanmar was promoted to Akron on April 27 and was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, going 10-4 with a 3.43 ERA in 22 starts (123.1 IP, 117 H, 47 ER, 109 K). He finished 3rd in the Eastern League in ERA, tied for 5th in strikeouts and tied for 6th in wins despite pitching the first month of the season in Single-A. The Eastern League All-Star selection was also 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two Eastern League playoff starts (11.0 IP, 12 H, 3 ER). He was signed into the organization in April 2005 out of Venezuela.
Hodges, 25, hit .265 (88-332) with 24 2B, 5 HR and 38 RBI in 86 games for AAA Columbus, his first exposure at the Triple-A level in just his 3rd professional season. Wes was limited to 86 games with a sprained right wrist, which forced him onto the disabled list from May 13 to July 3, and at the time of the injury he was hitting .275. He was Cleveland’s 2nd round (69th overall) pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Georgia Tech.
Rivero, 21, spent the entire season in AA Akron where he hit .280 (49-175) in the second half with 11 2B, 6 HR and 33 RBI in 49 games (.457 SLG, .797 OPS). Overall on the year he hit .242 (116-480) with 24 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR and 58 RBI in 132 games. He also walked 50 times against only 73 strikeouts. The slick-fielding shortstop compiled a fielding percentage of .972 (14 E, 508 TC) and hit .296 (8-27) with 5 RBI in seven Eastern League playoff games. From August 1 thru the end of the season he hit .297 (35-118). He was signed as an amateur in 2005 out of Venezuela and is currently hitting .318 (28-88) in the Arizona Fall League (6 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, .859 OPS, 22 G). He entered 2009 as the 9th best prospect in the organization according to Baseball Prospectus and minorleaguebaseball.com.
Weglarz, 21, spent the entire season at AA Akron where he posted an on-base percentage of .377 with 17 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR and 65 RBI in 105 games (.227 AVG, .431 SLG, .808 OPS). He finished 10th in the Eastern League with a .377 on-base %, tied for 2nd in walks (75) and 11th in runs scored (69) despite not playing after August 14th due to shin splints. The Ontario, Canada native entered the season as the 3rd best prospect in the Indians organization according to Baseball America & Baseball Prospectus. He was the youngest member of the 2009 Canadian World Baseball Classic Team and was a member of the 2008 Canadian Olympic team. Nick was an Eastern League mid-season all-star and participated in the Future’s Game in St. Louis. Nick was selected in the 3rd round in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft (94th overall selection). He was limited to 8 games in the Arizona Fall League and recently underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left tibia.
The 40-man roster is now at 40.
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14 comments:
Good decisions, IMHO. For me the biggest surprise is the failure to protect Matt McBride. It makes me think that maybe the return to catching in Arizona did not go as well as they had hoped.
I'm surprised with Rivero and De La. Not so much with Hodges as I had him on until I changed to McBride at the last minute. De La is just so far away, so I felt they would go with a much sooner option in Pino, Lofgren or Tomlin in lieu of him. As for Rivero, I think he is a good prospect for sure, but he is also still very far away if you ask me. But, you certainly want to protect your best players if the vibe you are getting is they will not survive Rule 5.
Without doing any homework yet, it looks like the Indians will have a lot of attractive players available for the Rule 5 Draft.
tony do u think that this move was strictly to protect brown from being rule V? or is there any possibility that brown could make the roster, or at least compete with fact that laporta may potentially miss the beginning of the season? in my opinion this is a positive move for brown as at least cleveland values him as a player that they do not want to lose. but then again they may potentially be protecting him just to be able to trade him then too right? what is your opinion on this move.
thanks
One of the interesting aspects to the Rule 5/40 man roster scenario is the fact that a guy drafted has to stick on the picking team's 25 man roster the entire following year. So, as you mentioned Tony, it's not just about who the best prospects are, but who is most likely to be drafted if left unprotected. Guys like De La Cruz and Rivero seem too far away to have been drafted if available. But guys who aren't as good a prospect but more likely to stick at the ML level (for 2009 only)- like McBride or Lofgren- seem likely to get picked.
In addition to those two, there are several bullpen guys who might be likely picks(Herrman, Pestano, Smith, Wagner, Wright) because the bullpen is one spot where a picking team might be able to 'stash' a player who's not quite ready for more full time ML duty. The other spot is utility type guys- so maybe a Stephen Head or Josh Rodriguez might be a possibility.
Tony- do you think the Tribe had some info or buzz about which guys were more likely to be picked or not?
Wow, I'm borderline shocked at the players added after the "locks". Hodges is a fine add, in my opinion, but I didn't think there was any way we'd see De La Cruz or Rivero rostered.
Pino and McBride seem to be almost locks to be picked in the Rule 5 Draft. Tomlin, Lofgren, and Wright seem like quality guys that teams could give a chance, as well. I'm a little nervous we could potentially lose 3-5 guys in the draft... whether they stick or not is another thing.
Of course, I have over-exaggerated about this before.
Count me among those relieved to see De La Cruz in this mix. We all remember a somewhat similar story of the guy named Johan Santana. Is De La Cruz = Santana? I wish. But his projection and raw stuff is nasty enough that some struggling team would have every reason to give such a high-ceiling guy a chance, let him sit in the bullpen for a season on a losing team, then ship him to the minors for refinement in 2011.
That said, I am surprised by Rivero's addition. Unlike De La Cruz (pre-injury), Rivero has rarely shown us anything more than flashes to get excited about.
And Pino, while surely no ace in the making, had a lights-out season in AA and AAA. Why not keep him over Rivero? Would love to hear the official explanation if such were possible to get unfiltered.
The one that makes little sense to me is Hodges. His defense is bad. His OPS at Columbus was 620. He was, as usual, injured and missed substantial playing time. Rivero and de la C are the type of players most likely to be drafted: middle IF's and hard throwers.
Out of all the players, Brown was the most ovbious and one they had little to think about. He is also the one who most has a chance to play right now in the bigs and most ready to be a role player or even an everyday player if given the chance. I'm miffed how so many people thought he would not be rostered or how it would be between him and a few others for the final spot or two. He was without a doubt added right away in their talks. With LaPorta an unknown to start the year and Hafner/Sizemore an unknown too, I think Brown has an excellent shot to make the team and if not get significant at bats with the big league club in 2010.
Ultimately, it seems they sided more with pure talent in Rivero and De La as they still have lots of upside rather than guys like Pino, Lofgren, Tomlin who all clearly are more big league ready but have all pretty much reached their ceiling or are very close to it. All are depth guys and 5th starters probably, and something they may gamble on....instead of losing a De La who projects as a 2-3 guy or a Rivero whom some thing is a potential impact infielder (though I disagree with that a lot and think he is over-rated).
And yes, the Indians certainly explose the waters on Rule 5 and get opinions on who may or may not get picked. Flat out told in a few cases like with Brown and Weglarz that when they asked some scouts in Columbus/Akron about that possibility the scouts said they'd be one of the first few guys picked if left unprotected. So they certainly cover the Rule 5 angle and talk to people they trust from other orgs on that front.
I also get the De La = Johan Santana comps with Rule 5....but without looking was Santana coming off a serious injury and did not pitch the year he was Rule 5ed? One of De La's biggest weaknesses and things he needs to work on is command/control, which would make him almost unuseable in a big league bullpen unless someone flat out used him in mop up duty only.
Still puzzled with Rivero's addition, and the only one I really have a beef about. I am also fine with leaving the people they left on for now, as it appears the likes of Gimenez/Reyes were kept on as the casualties they remove when/if they add a free agent.
With Hodges, you kind of have to give him a pass on his 2009 season. Almost like Jordan Brown's 2008 season. Have to give more credit to Hodges' 2007 and 2008 seasons, like we should have with Brown's 2006 and 2007 seasons. Both Brown and Hodges had injury issues which severely hindered them in their first taste of Triple-A. Not an excuse, but reality.
I don't have his monthly 2008 numbers available, but I know Hodges slipped significantly the second half of 08 in Akron. And his defense remains highly suspect. 28 errors in 125 games in 08, 15 in 50 games in 09. He is not a third baseman.
I don't get Rivero, Hodges or De la Cruz ... Is Rivero, who hit .242 in AA, going to fit on a major league team right now? Would it even matter if they lose him, when they already have Cabrera,Valbuena and Donald? Or De la Cruz who has barely pitched in the past year, and when he did pitch at the end of the year had an ERA over 9 in a rookie league? (Santana threw 160 innings in A the year before Minnesota took him)... I thought Hodges should be protected but not in lieu guys like McBride or Pino ... How can you leave Reyes on and leave Pino, Lofgren and Tomlin unprotected? Makes no sense ... I guess of everyone left unprotected the only one I really see as a potential impact player in the majors is McBride, but for a team that has 5 questions marks as starting pitchers next year, they should've protected at least 2 out of 3 of Tomlin, Lofgren and Pino, who could all potentially be serviceable 4th or 5th starters.
Rivero finished the AA season very strong and continued to hit in Arizona (as does almost everyone). I could imagine some team choosing him and letting him sit on the bench in 2010. He has as high a ceiling as anyone of the protected 7 other than de la Cruz.v
I feel like what is getting overlooked to a certain extent here is the degree to which a player's potential is not independent from their stats. Talent is not an entity unto itself and it should show through in a player's performance. Brown raked this year but here are the full season averages (450 AB's) of the four other position players combined last year:
.244, 27 2B, 9 HR, 57 RBI, 52 BB, 90 K, .322 OBP, .375 SLG, .697 OPS, 6 SB
That is an ugly stat line. Throw in the fact that there are issues about defense and positions for these guys and it makes for a head scratcher in my book.
i really don't see why people get worked up about potentially losing dime a dozen relievers like lofgren, hermann, etc.
The other reason that we took more infielders than pitching is that we have a surplus of pitching. We don't have a surplus of infielders. Thus, a loss of Rivero would hurt because who else do we have at SS? At 3rd, we have Chisenhall below Hodges and Marte, but not much else.
If Valbuena and Cabrerra go down, we have Donald and Rivero but not much else other than Rodriquez, Romero and Rivas.
If we lose 2 to 3 pitchers, we have Lewis, Todd, Rondon, Gomez, Putnam, ....
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