2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #42 Josh Tomlin

Josh Tomlin - Right-handed Pitcher Born: 10/19/1984 - Height: 6'1" - Weight: 195 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	Avg	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2006	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	8	2	2.09	15	15	77.1	56	18	5	15	69	.196	1.8	8.05	0.92
2007	22	Lake County	A	10	3	3.3	26	15	103.2	103	38	10	19	89	.255	1.7	7.76	1.18
2007	22	Kinston	A+	1	1	3.58	6	5	27.2	24	11	0	12	20	.231	4.0	6.62	1.32
2008	23	Buffalo	AAA	1	0	3.86	1	1	7.0	6	3	2	1	3	.250	1.3	3.86	1.00
2008	23	Kinston	A+	9	5	2.98	40	9	102.2	82	34	10	16	109	.222	1.4	9.60	0.96
2009	24	Akron	AA	14	9	4.16	26	25	145.0	149	67	21	27	125	.266	1.7	7.76	1.21
		Totals		43	20	3.32	114	70	463.1	420	171	48	90	415	.240	1.7	8.07	1.10

History:  Tomlin was selected by the Indians in the 19th round of the 2006 Draft out of Texas Tech.  He grew up in East Texas and went to Angelina Junior College before transferring to Texas Tech.  A sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow in 2006 sidelined him for six weeks and ultimately hurt his status for the draft where he slid to the Indians in the 19th round.  Last year at Double-A Akron he finished the year ranked 11th in the Eastern League in ERA (4.16), 1st in wins (14), 2nd in strikeouts (125) and 2nd in WHIP (1.21). He also became just the third pitcher in Akron history with 14 or more wins in a season, joining Paul Byrd (14 wins in 1992) and single-season leader Adam Miller (15 wins in 2006).   In his two starts in the Eastern League Playoffs he was 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA, going 14.0 innings and allowing just eight hits, no walks, and racking up 15 strikeouts.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Tomlin is a performer with an incredible knack for putting up consistent stats and winning ballgames.  He features a four pitch mix of a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup, with his fastball consistently sitting in the low 90s and has flashed 93 MPH.  He actually has two different fastball velocities depending on his role, as when he starts it typically sits in the 88-91 MPH range, but as a reliever it kicks up to a consistent 90-93 MPH because he can air it out a little more going just one to two innings an outing.  His above average slider sits at 83-84 MPH and he has improved by leaps and bounds where it has good depth and tilt and has become a strikeout pitch for him and is considered a major league pitch.  He has shown an ability to command an emerging curveball which sits around 73-75 MPH.  That separation in velocity from the fastball to his curveball and ability to command both pitches is a deadly combination to use against opposing hitters.  The curveball has proven to be an effective groundball and contact pitch when needed and also to put hitters away with.  His changeup is an average pitch that sits around 75-78 MPH, but it continues to show improvement and is a quality pitch in his arsenal.

Tomlin is not an overpowering pitcher and he doesn't have great stuff, but he knows how to pitch, change speeds, and keep the ball down in the zone.  His ability to command and locate all of his pitches and pound the zone with strikes makes his stuff very effective and play up.  He works quickly and shows a great feel for pitching.  The key to his success has been his precise control he has with his fastball to both sides of the plate, and his ability to keep hitters off balance with his secondary pitches.  His strike-throwing mentality is something he credits to his former college coach Jeff Livin at Angelina Community College in Lufkin, Texas.  Another key for him is his maturity on the mound and his willingness to go right after hitters and not be afraid to pitch to contact.  He is a former shortstop, and that athleticism shows not only on the mound with his agility, but also in the way he shows exceptional versatility to pitch in any role be it as a starter, long man, middle reliever, or backend reliever.  He has an impressive work ethic with great makeup, and has shown an ability to make quick adjustments.

Tomlin still has several things he is working on fine tuning to make him more effective and consistent as a pitcher.  He is still working diligently with Indians coaches on improving his slider command and velocity as well as staying taller to throw the ball more on a more downhill plane towards home plate.  Another area of focus is getting him to improve on throwing all of his pitches for a strike in the bottom half of the zone and work both sides of the plate with all of his pitches.  He knows that with the lack of a true out pitch and dominating stuff his success will largely be determined on how well he can paint the corners and throw consistent, quality strikes.  He is working on throwing more changeups to right-handers as a show-me pitch so he can throw his cutter away.  He also is still working on some improvements with his delivery and harnessing the control of his fastball a little more.  He needs to get out in front of the ball, finish his pitches, and stay balanced by using his legs more.  His curveball still needs a little tightening up as well.

Outlook:  Tomlin is one of the Indians better pitching prospects often overlooked mostly because he doesn't have dominating stuff and that he has gone back forth between the bullpen and starting rotation during his four year Indians career.  He has proven his worth as a versatile, durable, and very athletic pitcher who could pitch in just about any role on a pitching staff.  With his continued growth as a pitcher, he has gone from being a depth option in the minor leagues to now a legitimate back of the rotation or bullpen option in the big leagues in the near future.  He should open the 2010 season in the bullpen or starting rotation for Triple-A Columbus.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Josh Tomlin MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Josh Tomlin Baseball-Reference page

Josh Tomlin MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Josh Tomlin Pitching:

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"Smoke Signals" on TV

"Smoke Signals" returned this past Thursday January 28th, 2010 when Paul Cousineau and I hosted the show on SportsTime Ohio's daily program "All Bets Are Off With Bruce Drennan". Paul actually hosted the three hour show as a guest host while Drennan was on vacation, and did a heck of a job for his first time ever doing that. He had other guests on, and I joined him halfway through the show for an hour which gave the show a "Smoke Signals" feel to it.

One note when watching the videos....when we take the first call in video clip four my ear piece is not working so I cannot hear the call so have no idea what he is saying. Makes for a funny moment in that he directs a few questions to me and I stare blankly into the TV screen. In the 7th clip we get another call, and while my audio is now working in my ear piece, the darn thing won't stay in so I have to hold it in so I can hear. Good times!

Big thanks to Michael T. for converting the video and splitting it up into seven pieces in order to adhere to You Tube's requirement that a video be under 10 minutes. The video clips are listed in order below:

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Looking Back at the Draft: 1981

The Rule 4 Amatuer Draft has existed in baseball since 1965. From 1965-1986, there were actually two drafts, one in January and then the "regular" draft in June.

Much has been made about the Indians struggles in the draft lately, with the notable exceptions of the last two years. I thought it would be a fun idea to go back and look through past drafts year-by-year to try and see just how often the Indians have had successful drafts and how those drafts have translated into success on the field. I'm also going to briefly look at each draft as a whole and pull out some interesting picks and contracts from each year.

We're starting with 1981 and working forward, but I'll go back into the 60's and 70's as well at some point. After completing quite a bit of preliminary research, I've come to one conclusion so far; the draft is a crapshoot, much more so than the football or basketball drafts.

If you can think of aspects of the draft that are not covered here, feel free to raise them and I'll incorportate them in future articles. For now, I'll be taking a look at the Indians 1st round (or 1st) pick, the Indians best pick, the best picks from the 1st round in each year, as well as some late-round gems and the ones that got away--stars who were drafted but not signed. Finally I will close by listing the Indians' picks from the June drafts. The more feedback, the better this series will be. That being said, lets take a look at 1981...

The year was 1981. Reagan was president, Marcus Allen won the Heisman, Anwar Sadat was assassinated. I was born. The Tribe went 52-51 in a strike-shortened season. Mike Hargrove hit .317 for the 6th place Indians, who drafted 13th in the 1st round.

Indians 1st Round (or 1st) pick: With the 13th pick in the June 1981 draft, the Indians selected George Alpert, a HS outfielder from Livingston, NJ. Alpert never appeared in the major leagues, for the Indians or anyone else. They'd have been better off choosing Richard Alpert instead.

Best 1st Round pick: Joe Carter, selected #2 overall by the Cubs out of Wichita St. As most Tribe fans know, he was traded from the Cubs to the Indians in 1984 along with Darryl Banks, Mel Hall and Don Schulze to for George Frazier, Ron Hassey and Rick Sutcliffe.

Honorable mention(s): Kevin McReynolds went 6th overall to the Padres and had a decent career. Other than that, not much out of 1981's 1st rounders.

Indians best pick: Ummm...pass? Only 9 of the Indians 25 selections in the June draft ever played in the majors, and that includes a combined 19 games between 4 of the players. With a gun to my head, I'll have to say 2nd round pick Neal Heaton, who made the 1990 all-star team with the Pirates and managed to bounce around the league long enough to win 80 games (against 96 losses.

Honorable mention(s): None. Trust me.

The one(s) that got away: Baltimore drafted Cecil Fielder out of high school in the 31st round, but failed to sign him...Montreal drafted Mark McGwire in the 8th round and he didn't sign...Roger Clemens was selected by the Mets in the 12th round, but they failed to come to terms...Pittsburgh selected John Kruk in the 3rd round of the January draft; he didn't sign then, but did when the Padres drafted him in the same round in June...Philly drafted but failed to sign Vince Coleman in the 20th round.

Best early pick(s) (top 10 rounds): The Padres chose the best player in the history of their franchise in the 3rd round, selecting OF Tony Gwynn...Frank Viola was selected in the 2nd round by the Minnesota Twins...Seattle selected pitcher Mark Langston in the 2nd round...KC chose pitcher David Cone in the 3rd round...The Yankees took the Crime Dog Fred McGriff in the 9th round...OF Devon White went to the LA Angels in round 6.

Late round gem(s): The Mets got Lenny Dykstra in the 13th round...The Yankees chose Bob Tewksburry with their 19th round pick...

Other interesting draftees: Former Indian Eric Plunk was selected by the Yankees in the 4th round...Current Jacksonville Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio was drafted in the 22nd round by Toronto, but opted to go to USC instead...John Elway was drafted in the 2nd round by the Yankees...Bubby Brister (yes, that Bubby Brister) was a 4th round pick of the Detroit Tigers...Former Kent St. and Wake Forrest baseball coach Rich Rembielak was drafted in the 13th round by the Orioles...

Indians June Draft:

1. George Alpert
2. Neal Heaton
4. Randy Washington
5. Rich Doyle
6. Matt Kinzer
7. Dwight Taylor
8. Brian Silvas
9. Tommy Gregg
10. Wayne Johnson
11. Terry Wells
12. Jeff Bassett
13. Steve Gelmine
14. Jim Paciorek
15. Scott Collins
16. Stan Yagiello
17. John Merchant
18. Phil Deriso
19. Brad Arnsberg
20. Michael Poindexter
21. Chuck Jackson
22. James Warner
23. Bill Cutshall
24. Keith Miller
25. Jim O'Dell
26. Geoff Redgrave

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2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #43 Jordan Henry

Jordan Henry - Outfielder
Born: 06/13/1988 - Height: 6'3" - Weight: 175 - Bats: Left - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	Avg	Obp	Slg	Ops
2009	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	67	248	48	71	12	0	0	23	49	37	22	.286	.408	.335	.743
		Totals		67	248	48	71	12	0	0	23	49	37	22	.286	.408	.335	.743

History:  Henry was selected by the Indians in the 7^th round of the 2009 Draft out of the University of Mississippi.  After his sophomore season in college in 2008 he played out in the Cape Cod League in the summer and hit .335 with 0 HR and 16 RBI, and led the league in runs scored (42) and was third in stolen bases (12).  Last year as a junior at Mississippi he hit .343 with 0 HR, 31 RBI, and an .869 OPS in 63 games.  He also had an amazing 56 walk to 22 strikeout ratio.  In his professional debut at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley he finished the season ranked 1^st in the NY-Penn League in on-base percentage (.408), 2^nd in runs (48), 2^nd in walks (49), and 6^th in stolen bases (22).  His brother Justin Henry - who is three years older - is in the Detroit Tigers system and played in High-A last year.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Henry is a scrawny, lightning quick outfielder who has the ability to be a catalyst at the top of a lineup.  Speed is his greatest asset, and he profiles as a top of the lineup hitter because of his ability to battle opposing pitchers by working counts, putting the bat on the ball at a very high rate, drawing walks, stealing bases, and playing excellent defense in the outfield.  He has a very short swing with excellent bat control choosing to chop down on the ball more and pound the ball into the ground at a high rate in order to use his speed to leg out hits. He's very much the definition of a slap hitter because of his lack of strength and his approach, but is a fundamentally sound hitter where he sprays the ball to all parts of the field, is an excellent bunter, and controls the strike zone well.  He stays back on breaking balls well and is hard to fool and get the ball past him for a swinging strike.

One of the more impressive attributes of Henry is his excellent walk to strikeout ratio, which is yet another example of his advanced approach and keen eye at the plate.  The ratio shows a lot of confidence hitting late in counts, very good plate discipline, and excellent hand-eye coordination.  His excellent hand-eye coordination is a byproduct of his exposure to the game of tennis growing up where before leaving the sport as a 16-year old in order to concentrate more on baseball he was one of the top amateurs on the junior circuit.  In fact, when watching him you would say he swings the bat like a tennis racket.

Henry will never be a guy who hits a lot of home runs or piles up a ton of extra base hits, but his speed which can help offset some of those limitations in the power department.  He is very fast and has been timed in the 60-yard dash in 6.5 seconds.  He shows very good instincts on the bases, and especially shows some great acceleration out of the left-handed batters box and getting down the first base line.

In addition to Henry's speed and exceptional on-base ability, his other big strength as a player is his defense which is in a league of its own.  He has excellent range in center field and gets good jumps and runs good routes to balls.  He goes back on balls in the outfield effortlessly and glides and tracks down balls in the gap with ease.  His speed allows him to take more chances and play a shallow center field, almost daring the hitter to try and hit the ball over his head.  His arm is solid, maybe a tick above average.  While he primarily plays center field, he played some left field during Instructional League last fall.

Henry understands his role and what kind of player he is and doesn't try to be something he is not.  He could move fast because of his polish and limited upside.  That said, while the speed and defense are there it is his offense which will determine if he can become an everyday player as a leadoff hitter or just a fourth outfielder.  He needs to continue to refine his approach at the plate and get better at driving balls and turning on more pitches that he should be able to handle.  He also needs to improve his stolen base rate by learning different ways to steal bases and how to impact a game more with his legs.  He also needs to learn to be more aggressive at the plate in certain situations as sometimes he is too patient.  He also needs to get stronger which should help his ability to hit for a little more power and keep defenses honest.

Outlook:  Henry is not a power hitter by any means, so this will always hurt his prospect standing.  But if he can prove that he is more than a speedy, defensive-oriented outfielder and that his bat can translate as he moves up the minor league ladder, then he is a very good leadoff hitting prospect for the Indians.  With his ability to get on base, see pitches, work counts, create havoc on the bases, and play well above average defense, there is a ton of value there.  He has not shown he can hit the ball with enough authority to be anything more than a 4^th outfielder, which is why his excellent on-base ability needs to translate at the higher levels for him to ever become an everyday player.  This upcoming season will go a long way at helping determine whether he is everyday player material or a fourth outfielder, and he should get that chance to prove himself as the starting center fielder at advanced Single-A Kinston to start the season.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Jordan Henry MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Jordan Henry Baseball-Reference page

Jordan Henry MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Jordan Henry Batting:

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Video: Jordan Brown Sets It Straight

This is a really good video of Indians first base and outfield prospect Jordan Brown opening up and explaining some of the frustrations he went through last year with his non-callup and how he regrets some of the things he said.  This video is courtesy of MLB.com and from the Rookie Development Program.

Jordan Brown video

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Carmona Going Nowhere, Hudson Interested In Tribe?

UPDATE 8:45 a.m:  According to a source connected with the Indians, when asked about this story they said that this was the "the first they had ever heard of it" in regard to trading Carmona and that they have "zero interest" in trading him.

Based on some conversations with team officials throughout this offseason, it seems highly unlikely they would abandon Valbuena at second base or even trade Carmona.  I am not saying a Hudson signing absolutely won't happen as anything can really, but at the moment this appears to be something that is coming from Hudson's camp (agent) to stir up interest.

As for the Carmona thing, I have no idea where that is coming from other than it may have been an offhand comment from another team representative that had inquired into his availability with the Indians, which Rosenthal could potentially be spinning into the Indians looking to deal him. This actually happens all the time where small things like that are taken out of context and reporters spin it as a "rumor" in a way to sell papers/interest. Not saying Rosenthal did this, but it happens and is why a high percentage of rumors are bogus.

(original story below)

*****

From the "out of nowhere" files, apparently the Indians are seriously considering adding free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson to the team. But here's the catch, in order to do so they would have to dump salary in a trade. The rumored name being dangled in trade talks supposedly is right-hander Fausto Carmona.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Indians are indeed looking to add Hudson, but in order to do so they would have to clear Carmona's $4.9 million salary in 2010 salary off the books first before they could make such a move.

Now, I like Hudson, and have been a fan of his for a long time, but I am wondering what the point of such a move would be. What does Hudson give the Indians in 2010 - assuming it is a one year deal - that makes any bit of difference on the outcome of this season? Luis Valbuena showed signs of being a solid second baseman last year and I thought in the second half he did okay and he had a nice performance out in winter ball this offseason as well.  He may not be an every day second baseman, but complemented with the right right-handed bat I think he is just fine there, especially in a transition season such as this season is going to be.

Plus, how can you flat out give up on Carmona, a pitcher who if they can get him righted is a front end of the rotation starter and under their control at a reasonable price until 2013? Why not give the new coaching staff in place a year to work with him and see what Pitching Coach Tim Belcher and Special Pitching Assistant Coach Ruben Niebla can do to get him back on track? Unless the Indians are bowled over in a deal, I see no reason to risk losing a talent such as Carmona. If they do in fact deal him it would seem to imply that they have either lost patience with him or that they really like all the other starting options for the rotation.

This is an interesting story to follow late in the offseason with spring training only a few weeks away, and we will see what comes of this. But, count me in as someone who is a bit perplexed why the Indians would make such a move. More on this rumored deal as more details come in.

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Drennan Show & Book Update

This is just a quick note to mention that I will be on SportsTime Ohio's "All Bets Are Off With Bruce Drennan" show today at about 4:30pm to talk about the Tribe, prospects, and the upcoming book. My co-host and partner in crime Paul Cousineau for our on-line radio show "Smoke Signals" will be guest hosting the entire Drennan show today from 3:00-6:00pm, so set those DVRs and give Paulie some support.

Also, while I am here, the book is coming along well. I have some good things to talk to SportsTime Ohio about with it today which may slow the release a little, but I plan to send it to print come hell or high water sometime late next week. Thanks for the support and interest.....this thing is going to be the best one yet with all sorts of new features, tons more info, and lots of reference material for all to enjoy in 2010!

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2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #44 Mitch Talbot

Mitch Talbot - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 10/17/1983 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 200 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	Avg	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2003	19	Martinsville	R	4	4	2.83	12	12	54.0	45	17	1	11	46	.224	1.8	7.67	1.04
2004	20	Lexington	A	10	10	3.83	27	27	152.2	145	65	16	49	115	.252	2.9	6.80	1.27
2005	21	Salem	A+	8	11	4.34	27	27	151.1	169	73	15	46	100	.280	2.7	5.96	1.42
2006	22	Corpus Chr.	AA	6	4	3.39	18	17	90.1	94	34	4	29	96	.269	2.9	9.59	1.37
2006	22	Montgomery	AA	4	3	1.9	10	10	66.1	51	14	2	18	59	.214	2.5	8.03	1.04
2007	23	Durham	AAA	13	9	4.53	29	29	161.0	169	81	13	59	124	.274	3.3	6.93	1.42
2008	24	Durham	AAA	13	9	3.86	28	28	161.0	165	69	9	35	141	.263	2.0	7.88	1.24
2008	24	Tampa Bay	MLB	0	0	11.2	3	1	9.2	16	12	3	11	5	.381	10.8	4.89	2.93
2009	25	Durham	AAA	4	4	4.47	10	10	54.1	67	27	3	18	40	.307	3.0	6.65	1.57
2009	25	GCL Rays	R	0	0	0.82	4	4	11.0	5	1	0	0	21	.132	0.0	17.18	0.45
2009	25	Charlotte	A+	0	0	0	1	1	3.0	1	0	0	0	6	.111	0.0	18.00	0.33
		Minors		62	54	3.79	166	165	905.0	911	381	63	265	748	.262	2.6	7.44	1.30
		MLB		0	0	11.2	3	1	9.2	16	12	3	11	5	.381	10.8	4.89	2.93

History:  Talbot was selected by the Houston Astros in the 2^nd round of the 2002 Draft out of Canyon View High School (UT).  He was traded in July of 2006 to Tampa Bay in a deal that brought Aubrey Huff to Houston.  The Indians acquired him from Tampa Bay in December of 2009 as the player to be named later in the Kelly Shoppach trade.  He made his big league debut for the Rays in 2008, making just three appearances.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Talbot is a big league ready arm who brings with him a successful seven year minor league career and a solid three pitch mix of a fastball, changeup, and slider.  His fastball sits at 89-92 MPH and touches 94 MPH with good movement.  He has a plus changeup that has good fade and depth, and he shows a good feel for a slider that gets good late bite to it.  He competes well, and goes right after hitters has a pitch to contact approach.  He is very athletic, and shows a nice easy delivery which he repeats well.

Talbot pitched in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) in the offseason, and it is there that the Indians interest in him picked up as they scouted him extensively by watching almost all of his starts.  Their best scouts saw him repeatedly and according to their reports his stuff looked very good.  Finally healthy from the right elbow sprain which limited him to just 15 starts and plagued him throughout much of the 2009 season, he made six starts in the AFL and went 3-0 with a 4.37 ERA with a .303 batting average against in a hitter dominated league (22.2 IP, 27 H, 6 BB, 15 K).

Going into the 2010 season, there are some minor durability concerns with Talbot.  While he battled through the arm injury last year, he made 27 or more starts the previous five years from 2004-2008 so he never had any injury issues until last season.  He also is out of options which means he needs to make the big league roster out of the bullpen or else be subjected to waivers where he likely would be lost.  At times he struggles with the command of all three pitches, so becoming more consistent with his strike throwing is something he needs to focus on.  Really, his stuff and everything else about him makes him out to almost be a right-handed version of Jeremy Sowers.

Outlook:  Talbot is a competitor and a guy who prior to some elbow injuries last year was major league pitching depth for the Rays.  The Indians view him as another solid pitching option to bring to the table in 2010, and they are very satisfied that they were able to pick up him up.  He will go into spring training looking to nail down a bullpen job, likely as the long man out of the bullpen.  Barring an injury setback, he likely will make the team and open the 2010 season in Cleveland.

Photo courtesy of Major League Baseball Media 

Mitch Talbot MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Mitch Talbot Baseball-Reference page

Mitch Talbot MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Mitch Talbot Pitching:

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2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #45 Marty Popham

Marty Popham - Right-handed PitcherBorn: 08/04/1987 - Height: 6'6" - Weight: 235 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	Avg	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2008	21	GCL Indians	R	1	1	0.78	14	0	1	23.0	15	2	0	5	25	.179	2.0	9.78	0.87
2009	22	Mahoning Vy	A-	6	1	2.76	14	14	0	75.0	75	23	7	10	83	.253	1.2	9.96	1.13
		Totals		7	2	2.30	28	14	1	98.0	90	25	7	15	108	.237	1.4	9.92	1.07

History: Popham was selected by the Indians in the 20th round of the 2008 Draft out of Union College (KY).  His 17 wins in 2008 led the NAIA.  Last year at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley he finished 11th in the league in ERA (2.76), tied for 8th in wins (6), 2nd in strikeouts (83), and 13th in WHIP (1.13).

Strengths & Opportunities: Popham is a big, physical pitcher with excellent size and a nice loose arm.  His fastball sits around 90-92 MPH and has touched 93 MPH, and he still has arm strength so his velocity is could see an uptick or two as he gets older and his delivery mechanics are refined.  He also throws a solid-average slider and an average changeup, with the slider having the potential to be a good major league pitch.  He showed much improvement with his secondary stuff last year, namely his changeup which he was able to use and keep hitters off balance.  The improvement of his slider and changeup is important as it helps keep him as a starting pitching option at least for next year.

Popham started the year last season in extended spring training mostly because he was still somewhat raw and the Indians needed to fine tune him and prepare him for regular work with an affiliate later in the year.  During his time in extended spring training it allowed him to get over a dead arm issue he was battling through in spring training because of all the throwing they did that he was not used to.  He also had trouble adjusting to the use of a cup in the spring which is something he had never worn before, and as a result he had some trouble as he was missing up with his fastball early on in camp because he was not able to get his leg high enough which caused him to stride out and his arm to lag.  He eventually got rid of the cup, and the Indians did some tweaking to his mechanics to improve the consistency of his arm slot as he was having problems with that all spring.  He was also stretched out from a reliever to a starter, so he worked a lot on developing a routine and understanding how to handle different pitching situations and what to do when they come up.  In the end, his successful stint in Mahoning Valley last year was helped immensely by all the work on his mechanics he did in spring training and out in extended spring training.

Popham tends to wrap his slider, so he needs to tighten it up and also continue working on adding some additional velocity to it so that it gets that necessary bite at the end and drops straight down.  He did not have a good changeup coming out of college, but worked hard with Lower Level Minor League Pitching Coordinator Steve Lyons on improving the pitch to repeat the same motion and arm speed as his fastball, so continuing to refine his changeup is a must for him to remain a starter.

Outlook:  Popham has established himself as an interesting starting pitching prospect in the Indians organization.  It is possible due to the success he had last year at Mahoning Valley and his age that he could skip Low-A Lake County completely and go right to High-A Kinston, but in any case it looks like he has shown more than enough to remain in the starting rotation at one of the two levels next year.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

Marty Popham MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Marty Popham Baseball-Reference page

Marty Popham MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Marty Popham Pitching:

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2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #46 Rob Bryson

46. Rob Bryson - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 12/11/1987 - Height: 6'1" - Weight: 200 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	19	Helena	R	3	0	2.67	18	4	8	54.0	49	16	2	12	70	.245	2.0	11.67	1.13
2008	20	West Virgina	A	3	2	4.25	22	5	5	55.0	43	26	3	20	73	.209	3.3	11.95	1.15
2008	20	Lake County	A	0	1	2.19	7	0	0	12.1	6	3	1	6	11	.140	4.5	8.18	0.99
2009	21	AZL Indians	R	0	0	12.00	3	3	0	3.0	4	4	2	2	5	.308	6.0	15.00	2.00
		Totals		6	3	3.55	50	12	13	124	102	49	8	40	159	.221	2.9	11.53	1.14

History:  Bryson was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 31st round of the 2006 Draft out of William Penn High School (DE).  In the last year of its existence due to changes in the CBA, Bryson was one of the biggest draft-and-follow signings in May 2007 when he signed for $300,000.  He was acquired by the Indians in July of 2008 as part of a four player package the Indians received from the Brewers for C.C. Sabathia.  He was sidelined late in 2008 because of a tear in his labrum and rotator cuff and required offseason surgery to repair the damage and missed almost the entire 2009 season.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Bryson throws two plus-pitches, a fastball that sits around 92-94 MPH and tops out as high as 96 MPH, and a wicked slider.  He is young and is still working on refining his fastball command, but he strikes people out at a very high rate.  His fastball is a very effective pitch because of his very strong mechanics and his ability to get good drive toward the plate with his big, thick build and the way he uses his lower half well.  While his slider is already rated a plus pitch with the potential to be a plus-plus offering, he needs to continue to develop it and become more consistent with it.  He also throws a changeup, but it is a below average to average pitch.  He is a high ceiling pitcher who shows excellent composure pitching under pressure.  His bulldog mentality and good makeup on the mound to go along with his repertoire project him as a big league backend bullpen arm.

Bryson's rehab from shoulder surgery kept him on the shelf for most of the 2009 season.  He spent the entire time out at the new Goodyear, AZ training facility rehabbing and taking part in a throwing program and was supposed to begin pitching in games in early July, but he was temporarily shut down because of a forearm injury that came about because he was compensating for his shoulder.  He eventually returned to game action for the rookie level Arizona team in late July, and almost earned a reprieve from his long stay in Arizona in late August when he was set to be activated off his rehab assignment and sent to join up with High-A Kinston who happened to be on the road in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.  Unfortunately, he had a minor setback and the plans to send him to Kinston were nixed.  He was still sort of feeling his way through things during his time in the Arizona League games, but by Instructional League in the fall he was close to 100% on the mound.  During most of the time Bryson was rehabbing his shoulder from surgery he was only topping out at 88-89 MPH, but his arm strength slowly returned and by the end of Instructional League he was sitting in the low 90s and topping out at 94 MPH.  He pitched in the new Arizona Parallel League and the rust showed as in 7.0 innings of work he allowed 10 hits, 5 runs, 6 walks, and had 9 strikeouts, but the important thing is he was on a mound and healthy as he no longer had any soreness in the shoulder.

Prior to his injury, Bryson had some command issues during the 2008 season largely the result of some changes the Brewers had made to his mechanics which he had a hard time adjusting to and getting comfortable with.  It remains to be seen now that he is fully healthy if the Indians made any adjustments to his mechanics and if his command will return this year.  Shoulder surgery is hard to fully recover from and for any pitcher to be what they were prior to the injury, so he has a tough road to hoe to prove not only his durability this coming season but his effectiveness as well.  In the back of any pitcher's mind that recently had shoulder surgery is that they could injure themselves again, so a big thing for him will be getting past that and finding the confidence to pitch and not hold anything back.  Also, now that his arm strength has returned the big thing for him will be to get the feel for his excellent slider back.

Outlook:  Bryson is officially off the rehab list, which means he has no structured throwing sessions or any restrictions on what kind of pitches he can throw so he will be able to throw his slider and changeup at will right out of the gates this season.  The Indians are still very excited about his youth, power, and athleticism in the system, and believe his outstanding fastball-slider mix projects him as a potential backend bullpen arm.  Of course it all comes back to whether or not he can stay healthy and prove that the shoulder injury is in the past.  He is 22 years old now, and will need to make up for lost time this season.  He should open the season in the bullpen at advanced Single-A Kinston, but depending on how he performs and responds to regular pitching he could move to Double-A Akron by midseason.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

Rob Bryson MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Rob Bryson Baseball-Reference page

Rob Bryson MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Rob Bryson Pitching:

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Go "Around The Horn" With Indians And Their Affiliates

The Cleveland Indians, in partnership with Minor League Affiliates Columbus Clippers, Akron Aeros, Lake County Captains and Mahoning Valley Scrappers, today announced a unique ticket package called "Aound the Horn".

The "Arund the Horn" ticket package has been created to allow local fans the opportunity to enjoy a baseball game at each of the Cleveland Indians affiliated professional baseball venues in the region at a discounted price and with exclusive benefits.

Packages will be sold by the Cleveland Indians and their Northeast Ohio Minor League Affiliates, Akron Aeros, Lake County Captains and Mahoning Valley Scrappers as well as the Columbus Clippers in Central Ohio. Ticket packages will be available for purchase at each club’s ticket office and online at each club’s website, with a link to the online order page at www.indians.com/aroundthehorn.

The "Around the Horn Four-Pack" is valued at $132 and will be sold for a special price of only $74, a savings of $58. The package includes two tickets and a concession item at each venue, good for any game in the designated months listed below:

Cleveland Indians: Two bleacher tickets and a $20 food credit good for any game in June or September.
Akron Aeros: Two reserved tickets and two hot dogs good for any game in August.
Mahoning Valley Scrappers: Two box tickets and two hot dogs good for any game in July.
Lake County Captains: Two box tickets and two regular sodas good for any game in June.

As an optional add-on for Columbus, fans can purchase a "five-pack" valued at $160 for only $94, a savings of $66. Fans will get two reserved tickets and two medium sodas good for any Columbus game in June.

The packages will include undated vouchers that fans will be able to redeem at the respective ticket offices for the games they choose to attend, based upon availability. Each voucher will be good only for the designated month that each team has been assigned to.

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2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #47 Bo Greenwell

47. 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	AVG	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
2009	20	Mahoning Vy	A-	7	26	5	9	2	0	0	4	2	2	2	.346	.393	.423	.816
2009	20	Lake County	A	60	214	29	62	16	1	2	26	21	23	7	.290	.359	.402	.761
		Totals		150	544	64	144	31	4	4	52	62	66	18	.265	.344	.358	.703

History: Greenwell was taken by the Indians 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.  Had he not signed with the Indians he had a scholarship to play baseball for the University of Miami, FL.

Strengths & Opportunities: Greenwell is a toolsy, high energy player with good strike zone discipline and good hands. He only projects to have average power, but he pounds the gaps, the ball jumps off his bat, and he uses the whole field well.  He is very athletic, plays hard, and is a student of the game.  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.  Other than a shoulder issue he suffered through in 2008, he has proven to be pretty durable.

The Indians have been very pleased with the adjustments Greenwell has made as a hitter, mostly with how he hits the ball with much more authority and is getting stronger.  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 his slugging numbers should improve.  He has gotten a lot better at pulling the ball instead of focusing mainly on hitting the other way as a speed/contact guy.  He still needs more work on keeping his body back and keeping his hands through the ball.

Greenwell played first base in high school but was moved to the outfield when he signed, so he is still very inexperienced as an outfielder.  He still has a ways to go, but because of his above average speed and outstanding work ethic he has become a solid outfielder with plenty of room left for growth.  As he settles in and becomes more comfortable in the outfield he is expected to stay play left and center field as he advances in the system. He has improved his route running, but still needs to get quicker jumps on balls off the bat, backing up other outfielders, and improving the accuracy of his throws.

Outlook:  Greenwell is still very raw as a baseball player because he 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.  As a result, he has spent most of his first three seasons in the organization working on adapting to the professional game, maturing, improving his skills and growing physically.  He took a significant step in his growth as a player last year as his raw abilities started to translate and his potential showed.  He is primed for a breakout campaign in 2010, one which should start by returning to Low-A Lake County.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

Bo Greenwell MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Bo Greenwell Baseball-Reference page

Bo Greenwell MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Bo Greenwell Hitting:

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Prospect Book Update & More

Just a quick break from the prospect countdown for some announcements about the 2010 IPI Top 100 Prospect Book and other things:

• I’ve received several e-mails this week asking about the availability of the new 2010 prospect book, and the update is I plan to send it off to press sometime within the next 5 to 10 days. Once it is available I will be posting an article on the site with all the details and how to get it.
  
  
• I have decided to rank out the Top 100 prospects for the book. I am only counting down the Top 50 on the site and had just planned to list all the other players in some order in the book, but after careful consideration I decided to extend it out to the Top 100 like last year. The big difference from last year is the book will have an additional 60+ scouting reports on top of the Top 100 for a total of over 160 players compared to last year’s book which had about 120 scouting reports in total. And these additional scouting reports are not quick two liners. While the Top 100 will get detailed reports the remaining players will have condensed reports but will still be 8-12 sentences.
   
• Special thanks to Michael Taylor for the video editing he is doing for the prospect videos I am posting with the scouting reports. Being able to look at some slow motion views of deliveries and swings is a big addition if you ask me. Also, thanks in advance to Lianna Holub for the help with the new book cover this year! (note, the cover shown is not necessarily the final version)
   
• Don’t forget that this week Paul Cousineau and I will be on SportsTime Ohio’s show “All Bets Are Off With Bruce Drennan” on Thursday, January 28th. Paul will actually be hosting the show from 3:00-6:00pm, and I will be on from 4:30-5:30pm. Set those DVRs!
   
• Speaking of Paul and I, our little get together on cable TV this week will also be the official return of “Smoke Signals” for the 2010 season. After the cable show on Thursday we plan to kick up the on-line radio show on Thursday, February 11th in our usual time slot of 9:30-10:30pm.
  
  
• As a reminder to all those heading out to Goodyear, AZ for spring training I will be out there from March 11-20, so if you will be out there around that time I hope to see and meet many of you.
   
• Speaking of Arizona, I forgot to mention in my site help note last week that if anyone happens to live in the Phoenix area who wants to assist with providing some Indians minor league coverage, please contact me. Thanks to everyone who has replied and expressed interest in everything you have so far.
   
• Lastly, don’t forget to send any questions or comments about the player rankings for inclusion in the next IPI Inbox feature which I hope to post next weekend.

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2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #48 John Drennen

48. John Drennen - Outfielder
Born: 08/26/1986 - Height: 5'11" - Weight: 195 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	18	Burlington	R	51	168	24	40	7	1	8	29	18	37	6	.238	.325	.435	.760
2006	19	Lake County	A	67	240	33	77	12	3	6	30	31	52	6	.321	.409	.471	.880
2006	19	Kinston	A+	31	113	15	27	6	2	0	8	12	21	2	.239	.328	.327	.655
2007	20	Kinston	A+	131	496	72	126	25	2	13	77	53	104	6	.254	.336	.391	.727
2008	21	Kinston	A+	117	460	71	108	27	1	3	39	46	73	5	.235	.313	.317	.630
2009	22	Kinston	A+	17	63	10	17	6	1	0	5	12	10	1	.270	.395	.397	.792
2009	22	Akron	AA	93	325	45	89	23	5	8	40	21	59	0	.274	.320	.449	.769
		Totals		507	1865	270	484	106	15	38	228	193	356	26	.260	.338	.394	.731

History:  Drennen was a supplemental 1st round pick by the Indians in the 2005 Draft out of Rancho Bernardo High (CA). Knowing he had a scholarship in hand to attend and play at UCLA, the Indians quickly signed him for $1 million.  He has spent the better part of his five year career at High-A Kinston, playing there for parts of four seasons with two full seasons in 2007 and 2008 and parts of the 2006 and 2009 seasons.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Drennen has a compact build with good power and also creates a nice smooth bat path with his swing. As he has matured he has not developed the power some in the organization thought he would when they drafted him, so he is still more of a gap hitter with average power. He is an extremely hard, intelligent worker with a motor that does not stop, and is very aggressive at the plate, on the bases and in the field.  He has good instincts as a runner, but only has slightly above average speed.  He has also proven to be a very durable player, missing only a few weeks of action in 2006 with a thumb injury. He is a versatile defender where he can play any outfield position, but he is just an average defender at best with a fringy arm and limited range.

Coming off a 2008 season in Kinston where he was often overmatched at the plate and hit .235 with a .631 OPS it really looked like the light in his prospect star was in danger of going out.  After he opened last season at Double-A Akron and proceeded to hit just .191 with 1 HR, 10 RBI and a .601 OPS in 21 games before being shipped out to Kinston in May it looked like that little bit of light left in that star had been extinguished.  But something happened when he went to Kinston where things began to click.  Some say that his demotion to Kinston was a reality check, while others think some of his recent adjustments at the plate from the past few seasons finally began to take hold.  Through it all he remained upbeat and his commitment never wavered as he worked hard in the cages to make more consistent contact, maintain a consistent approach at the plate, and even his bat path.  It really was as simple as staying within himself and getting a good pitch and hitting it.  It all finally seemed to come together when he returned to Akron on June 1st, where upon his return he hit .296 (76-for-257) with 7 HR, 30 RBI and an .819 OPS in 72 games.  He was simply electric in September where in 13 combined games in the regular season and playoffs he hit .377 with 6 HR and a 1.174 OPS.

One of the good things to see was at the end of last season Drennen showed a better load at the plate and as a result he started to show his power stroke again with the home runs and was pounding the gaps and lines like he did when he first broke into the system.  If that line drive, gap-to-gap approach that the Indians loved when they drafted him has returned then he could still have some potential as a big league player.  The question is whether his showing the final four months of last season was an aberration or if it will really stay, so his 2010 season should go a long way at providing some answers to that question.

Drennen still has a tendency to chase pitches, so needs more work when he steps in the box of being prepared and narrowing his zone down to get a better pitch to hit.  Once he shows he is settled in and has seemed to grasp a better handle of the strike zone a larger focus will be placed on him attacking the zone more so some of those doubles start turning into a few more home runs again.  He is still a bit showy at times at the plate, but did a good job of cutting down on this last year.  He also did a better job last year of calming down at the plate and keeping his head down on the ball to drive it back through the middle of the field.  He does a lot of damage on the inside part of the plate, but pitchers know this and often pitch him away which gives him trouble so he needs to become better with going with the pitch and taking the ball the other way if needed.  He still struggles a lot with recognizing the changeup.

Outlook:  One thing to remember is Drennen did not turn 23-years old until late August, so he was 22 years old for most of the 2009 season.  This is something that is easily glossed over since he seems so much older because he has been with the Indians for so long as a high school draft signing, so he still has some time left in his prospect clock.  He is still young with some upside, and sometimes with a high school player it takes a little bit longer to become what they were projected to become.  His surge in the second half of last season at Akron is him making one final push as a prospect to prove he belongs and can still improve as a player and maybe someday realize that dream of being a big league ballplayer.  While he had a solid comeback season last year, he probably does not project as a big league regular, but his versatility and athleticism could make him a solid fourth outfielder or platoon player down the road.  He will likely return to Akron to start the 2010 season, and could find his way to Triple-A Columbus near the end of the season provided there is room there and he is playing well.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

John Drennen MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

John Drennen Baseball-Reference page

John Drennen MinorLeagueSplits.com page

John Drennen Hitting:

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2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #49 Austin Adams

49. Austin Adams - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 08/19/1986 - Height: 5'11" - Weight: 185 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2009	22	Mahoning Vy	A-	3	1	4.86	17	0	1	37.0	39	20	4	15	29	.269	3.6	7.1	1.46
		Totals		3	1	4.86	17	0	1	37.0	39	20	4	15	29	.269	3.6	7.1	1.46

History:  The Indians selected Adams in the 5^th round of the 2009 Draft out of Faulkner University (AL).  He was originally drafted as a shortstop in the 27^th round of the 2008 Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, but he did not sign.  The Indians scouted him heavily during his college career, having seen him for the last three years prior to drafting him.  He was an honorable mention NAIA All-American in 2009.

Strengths & Opportunities:  After being drafted as a shortstop in 2008, Adams returned to school and made the conversion to a pitcher and did some incredible stuff in the short time he was on the mound.  His fastball consistently sat at 94-96 MPH and he touched 98 MPH, and also showed a plus power curveball and average changeup.  While he started in college, the Indians immediately moved him to the bullpen as a professional because they believe his stuff and power will play up in such a role.

Adams has incredible arm strength but little experience pitching, so the Indians view him as a risk-reward guy.  While he is still transitioning to being a full time pitcher, they feel that because of his athleticism he should be able to adapt quicker and better learn to repeat his delivery.  He is still learning to pitch within himself as his stuff has a tendency to flatten out when he overthrows.  Also, his velocity was down almost the entire season at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley last year where he was pitching more at 90-93 MPH, a sign he was fatigued from his first exposure to pitching.  At the tail end of the season and in Instructional League his velocity kicked back up to 97 MPH and he was dominant.

Outlook:  Adams is a power pitcher that the Indians plan to develop as a reliever, and he profiles as a middle reliever in the big leagues.  If the relief pitching gig doesn't work out, he could always move back to shortstop where he had surprising power and was originally drafted.  He should open the 2010 season in the Single-A Lake County bullpen, but could move quickly to High-A Kinston.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

Austin Adams MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Austin Adams Baseball-Reference page

Austin Adams MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Austin Adams Pitching Video:

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2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #50 Donnie Webb

50. Donnie Webb - Outfielder
Born: 04/30/1986 - Height: 5'11" - Weight: 190 - Bats: Switch - Throws: Right

YEAR	Age	Team	LVL	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2008	22	Mahoning Vy	A-	51	174	24	38	1	3	1	17	21	42	6	3	.218	.305	.276	.581
2009	23	Lake County	A	122	471	69	136	17	12	7	57	40	110	35	9	.289	.351	.420	.771
2009	23	Columbus	AAA	7	30	3	11	4	0	0	6	2	7	1	0	.367	.394	.500	.894
		Total		180	675	96	185	22	15	8	80	63	159	42	12	.274	.340	.387	.727

History: Webb was selected by the Indians in the 10th round of the 2008 Draft out of Oklahoma State University.  As a redshirt junior he signed for $100,000.  After a horrendous start professionally in 2008 at short-season Mahoning Valley when he hit just .218 with 1 HR, 17 RBI and a .581 OPS in 51 games, Webb bounced back last year with a solid year at Single-A Lake County.  He received a late season token callup to Columbus to help fill a roster decimated with callups in the outfield and seized the opportunity and impressed hitting .367 (11-for-30) with an .894 OPS in seven games.  In the South Atlantic League, he finished 8th in hits (136), 1st in triples (12), 13th in total bases (198), and 6th in stolen bases (35).

Strengths & Opportunities:  Webb's very good speed combined with a solid two-strike approach and the ability to pound the ball into the gaps makes him an interesting leadoff prospect for the Indians.  The Indians feel he has the potential with his speed to steal 40+ bases at the big league level.  At 5'11" 190-pounds he is short and compact and is as hardnosed as they come.  Rarely at the end of a game will you ever see his jersey clean and he is the consummate gamer.  One of the more exciting aspects of his game is his ability to stuff a stat sheet.  While he has no plus tool offensively, he showed an ability to pile up extra base hits, steal bases, and score a lot of runs, much the result of his aggressive, nonstop hustle where he is always looking to take an extra base whenever possible.

Webb got off to a slow start offensively last year hitting just .244 with a .650 OPS in April, but followed that up with a very good May (.306/.835).  He struggled again in June (.247/.699) and July (.207/.574), but then got red hot in August (.420/1.048) and September (.367/.894).  He was over aggressive early on in the season and trying to do too much, but after some extensive work and instruction in the cages he worked on leveling out his swing and top down on the ball more since his back shoulder was dropping the barrel head.  Things started clicking from there, which resulted in his outstanding finish to the season.

On the defensive front, Webb has proven to be a very well rounded, versatile outfielder showing good range, quickness and instincts to track down balls.  His biggest weakness is his fringy arm that is average at best though has above average accuracy.  He mostly played center field in Lake County last year, though when Delvi Cid was called up in early June he mostly played left and right field the rest of the season.  Considering his lack of power and size, he needs to be able to stick in center field to continue to be an everyday player as he moves up the minor league ladder.

The biggest concern at the moment with Webb is his high strikeout rate, which is something that could present problems for him as he moves up the minor league level and faces more advanced pitching everyday.  He is an aggressive swinger so he doesn't draw a lot of walks nor make consistent contact.  There is no doubt that when he connects he makes things happen and is exciting to watch run when the ball hits a gap or goes down the line, but going forward developing and improving his plate discipline is a must.

Outlook:  While his numbers at Lake County were very good, you have to take into consideration he was old for the league at 23 years old so it is hard to get a good read on how impressive his performance really was.  In any case, it was a very solid first full season for him in 2009 and something that should help give him some momentum for this upcoming season where he will be tested a lot more in the pitching dominated Carolina League.  At this time he still only likely projects as a fourth outfielder at best in the big leagues because of his versatility and speed, but if he can build on his solid season last year and have an even better one this year he could find himself as a fringe everyday player.  He is expected to open the season in the starting outfield for advanced Single-A Kinston.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Donnie Webb MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Donnie Webb Baseball-Reference page

Donnie Webb MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Donnie Webb Video (Slow-motion included):

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Making Sense Of The Bixler, Brito Swap

After having about 24 hours to digest the trade where the Indians On Monday sent 22-year old third base prospect Jesus Brito to the Pirates for 27-year old infielder Brian Bixler, I feel the deal makes a little more sense today than it did yesterday.  A little.

Bixler is not much to get excited about as he strikes out way too much and has had a very questionable showing at the big league level in the limited time he has been there. But, he does have above average speed and is solid average defensively. People within the industry also believe he will play better in a second base role, which is exactly what the Indians were looking for in this exchange:  a young, cheap, right-handed second baseman who could fill in temporarily as the platoon partner at second base with incumbent Luis Valbuena. While the Indians would prefer that Mark Grudzielanek be that guy, he has to prove he is healthy and still has something left in the tank. So Bixler is Option B until Option C in Jason Donald is hopefully ready by mid-season.

Another place where the acquisition of Bixler has value for the Indians is that he is middle infield depth that they really needed in the upper levels and a potential utility option to start the season, two things the Indians do not currently have on the 40-man roster. Again, Donald is not an option to start the season with the Indians as they are committed to having him open the season in Triple-A to prove his back is healthly and to also get him back on track before reassessing him six to eight weeks into the season. There may have been better options for the Indians to pick up for the utility gig, but they had a need in the middle infield as aside from Donald there was no one else of interest ready to be his keystone partner since Carlos Rivero and Josh Rodriguez likely open the season in Double-A Akron.  In addition, the Indians lacked a utility player for the big league team and at the same time were able to pick up a player who has some roster flexibility because he has one option year left.  So, it is not that bad of a move.

In regard to Brito, fans of the Indians and Pirates will surely point to his very nice statistical season last year at rookie level Arizona and short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley where in 60 games he hit a combined .353 with 3 HR, 43 RBI, and .998 OPS  as well as a nice 31 walks to 42 strikeouts ratio. But people should be careful in not getting too caught up in his numbers last year as a 21 year old spent mostly in Arizona which is a league he was old for and where offensive numbers are inflated.  Had he only played in the Arizona League all year, even with the .366 average and 1.081 OPS there he likely would have been a borderline Top 50 guy for me, but I had him in the mid 30s because I was intrigued with what he showed in Mahoning Valley.  The numbers were certainly impressive for him last year, but there's obviously a lot more  to it than that and when you dig a little further under the surface you get a better idea of his true value.

Brito is still somewhat young at 22 years old, so some more power and weight could come, but he is already about 175 pounds or so (the 160 may be his signing weight) and he only managed three home runs last year in 60 games (224 at bats). He has the *potential* to be a 20 HR a year guy, but that's because of his solid doubles total last year and I think he settles more in the 10-15 a year category. So while there is certainly some upside still it remains to be seen what kind of prospect he can become.

The problem with Brito is he lacks a position as I don't think he can be a major league defender at third base. He really struggled at times last year with the transition there from the outfield, and I bet he ends up back in the outfield for the Pirates. He has a strong arm, but the range is questionable and he is barely average with his speed.  Plus he has yet to even play for a full season team, which for a Latin player at 22 years old is a serious red flag.

My biggest problem I had with ranking and evaluating Brito is I have a hard time believing he suddenly figured it out last year. I mean the guy was in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) the previous three years and hit .223 in 2006, .210 in 2007, and .239 in 2008. His slugging in 2006 was .319, in 2007 was .314 and in 2008 was .283 and then all of a sudden last year his slugging percentage jumped to .642 in Arizona and .456 in Mahoning Valley. I can buy the slugging increase in Mahoning Valley, but not in Arizona and to me is the product of the league which favors offense as well as a cumulative BABIP on the year of .405 which is unsustainable going forward.

Maybe things did come together for him, who knows, but it looks very much like a flash-in-the-pan year considering he was 21 years old and had done nothing in his previous three years in the organization. He was not considered a high level prospect going into last season and was not one after last season even after his very good performance and Nintendo-like numbers. Plus, high level Latin prospects do not spend three years in the DSL as the Indians have historically moved the guys they deem high level/value out after one year and bring them stateside at 18-19 years of age. When you are brought stateside at 21 years of age, those guys tend to be fringe players.

We'll see in time how this shakes out. Brito definitely put himself on the map with a great showing last year, and ultimately I would have preferred that he remained with the Indians another year to prove himself one way or the other. But in the end I don't have a problem trading him because he may have been at his peak value, though I would have preferred to maybe get a little more in return than Bixler (though we always tend to over-value our players in trades).

One thing is certain, and that is the Indians have a lot of third base depth in the lower levels of their system with just as much prospect pedigree as Brito had and more to offset his loss. With a healthy Jeremie Tice and fast-rising newcomers like Kyle Bellows and Giovanny Urshela, the third base position should be well stocked at High-A Kinston and Low-A Lake County next year.  So in the end, this simply may have been the Indians dealing from a position of strength in the lower levels to fill a position of need in the upper levels.  For as questionable a talent as Bixler he has already proven to be successful in Triple-A and has limited value as a major leaguer, while Brito has yet to set foot in Low-A.  So there is the tradeoff.

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