Looking Back at the Draft: 1985

The year is 1985.

Ronald Reagan is sworn in to begin his second term as president. "We are the World" is recorded and released to raise awareness for problems in Africa. Mikhail Gorbachev becomes premier of the Soviet Union. Mike Tyson makes his professional boxing debut, winning by knockout. Wrestlemania I is held at Madison Square Garden. Villanova wins the NCAA basketball tourney as a #8 seed. The Coca-Cola company releases (and rescinds) New Coke. TWA flight 874 is hijacked by Hizballah, and American Naval Petty Officer Robert Stethem is killed. Michael J. Fox stars in "Back to the Future." The cruise ship Achille Lauro is hijacked at sea by terrorists and wheelchair-bound American passenger Leon Klinghoffer is killed. Windows 1.0 is released. The Indians go 60-102 and draw just 655,181 fans to cavernous Municipal Stadium. Brett Butler hit .311 and stole 47 bases...but he was also caught stealing 20 times.

Indians 1st round pick: With the 9th pick in the 1st round, the Indians selected Mike Poehl, RHP out of the University of Texas. Poehl never got above AA and was out of baseball by 1991. This will be especially depressing once you see below just how much talent was available in the 1985 draft.

Best 1st round pick: In what was a pretty good 1st round, Barry Bonds and his 762 career HR's stand out above the rest. PED's may have played a role in his career #'s, but the Pirates were pretty happy after selecting him 6th overall in 1985.

Honorable mention: Like I said, this was a pretty good 1st round. Rafael Palmerio, chosen 22nd overall by the Cubs, joined Bonds in both the 500 HR club and the "tainted by PED's club"...Will "The Thrill" Clark and his .301 lifetime batting average went 2nd overall to San Fran...Texas took Bobby Witt 3rd overall, and he would go on to win 142 career games...Barry Larkin had a pretty good career after being chosen 4th overall out of the University of Michigan, despite the Ohio State fans in Cincy being unable to ever really embrace Larkin due to his ties to the school...Oklahoma State slugger Pete Incaviglia was chosen by the Expos 8th overall, and managed to orchestrate a trade because he didn't want to play in a cold-weather city.  If only he could have orchestrated some plate discipline, he might have had a longer career...Oakland selected their shortstop and leadoff hitter of the future Walt Weiss with the 11th overall pick...Fellow shortstops Brian McRae and Joey Cora went 17th and 23rd overall to the Royals and Padres, respectively...Greg Jefferies never lived up to the immense hype surrounding him after being chosen 20th overall by the Mets out of a California high school, but he did hang around long enough to belt 126 career HR's.

Indians best pick: Two players selected and signed by the Indians out of the 1985 draft would someday play in the major leagues. Those two players would combine for 159 career at bats. By default, the man who had 150 of those at bats, is the Indians "best" pick in 1985. I am talking about none other than Luis "Funky Cold" Medina, 1B out of Arizona State. Medina hit 10 career HR's and finished with a lifetime batting average of .207.

Honorable mention: Pass. The best player selected by the Indians in 1985 unfortunately appears below, in the "ones that got away" section of this column.

Best early round picks: Atlanta selected Dave Justice in the 4th round; he went on to hit 305 career HR's in the regular season and one in particular in the postseason that broke Tribe fans' hearts in 1995...Brady Anderson, his sideburns, and the cloud of PED suspicion that still follows him around today were all selected in the 10th round by the Red Sox...Mike Deveraux signed this time around, after being chosen in the 5th round by the Dodgers...In addition to Incaviglia in the 1st round, Montreal chose a tall lefty in the 2nd round by the name of Randy Johnson...The White Sox got future closer Bobby Thigpen and his 201 career saves in the 4th round.

Best late round picks: Not a lot of late-round steals in this top-heavy draft, but the Cubs managed to select and sign Mark Grace after taking him in the 24th round.  All Grace did was post a lifetime batting average of .303 in 16 ML seasons...The Tigers choice of John Smoltz in the 22nd round may have been even better, although Smoltz never pitched a game for the Tigers.

The ones that got away: The Indians best pick would have been SS turned OF Brian Jordan in the 20th round, but they were unable to come to terms...Boston took Tino Martinez in the 3rd round out of a Tampa HS, but he didn't sign with the Sox; they also failed to sign 26th round pick Ed Sprague...Bo Jackson was drafted again, this time by the Angels in the 20th round, but the multi-sport star wanted to stick to football at the time...Pittsburgh took another future power-hitting OF, this time in the secondary phase of the January draft, but Greg Vaughn didn't sign with the club...Toronto took the only one-handed pitcher to throw a no-hitter in ML history in the 36th round, but lefty Jim Abbott elected to go to college instead.

Other interesting picks: Philly took future "bat-gate" suspect and career 42-game winner Jason Grimsley in the 10th round. Grimsley would lead the AL with 13 hit batsmen in just 130 innings pitched in 1996 for the Angels...St. Louis continued to draft for speed, taking OF Alex Cole and his rec-specs in the 2nd round of the January draft...AAAA Hall of Famer Jeff Manto (soon to be joined by Andy Marte) signed with the Angels after they took him in the 14th round.

Indians June 1985 Draft:

1. Mike Poehl, RHP
2. Andy Ghelfi, RHP
3. Scott Ruskin, OF/LHP
4. Scott Jordan, OF
5. Rod Nichols, RHP
6. Charles Scott, RHP
7. Greg Williamson, RHP
8. Glen Fairchild, SS
9. Luis Medina, 1B
10. Mike Roundtree, OF
11. Kent Murphy, LHP
12. Manny Mercado, LHP
13. Don Lovell, OF
14. Greg LaFever, RHP
15. Rock Hurst, C
16. Troy Startoni, C
17. Bill Wilkes, 1B
18. Greg Karpuk, RHP
19. John Power, 1B/LHP
20. Brian Jordan, SS
21. Rob Swain, SS
22. Mike Belleman, RHP
23. Brad Smith, RHP
24. Casey Webster, 1B
25. Steve Johnigan, C
26. Jules Franzen, C
27. Robert Link, RHP
28. Russell Whittle, LHP
29. Donaciano Santos, 1B
30. Chris Nabholz, LHP
31. Dave Alvis, 1B
32. Kevin Shea, LHP
33. Jay Semke, OF
34. Jeff Mutis, LHP
35. Josh Lowery, SS
36. Gary Zwolinski, LHP
37. Michael Vannucci, C
38. Michael Workman, OF
39. Clay Parrach, 1B/OF

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Managing Service Time Vital For Indians And Other Teams

With the Indians making the announcement this week that with the signing of Russell Branyan he would become the everyday first baseman, it came as a surprise to many. As a result, it has sent a shockwave which is going to be felt by either first baseman/outfielder Matt LaPorta or outfielder Michael Brantley where one opens the season at Triple-A Columbus.

Now, things can always change as spring training is long and injuries crop up. There is no guarantee that Branyan, LaPorta, and Travis Hafner will be healthy by the end of spring training, and injuries could occur to Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo, so it is very possible that if any of these players are sidelined that both LaPorta and Brantley would not be in danger of going back to Columbus.

But, barring injury, it looks to be absolutely certain that Brantley will be the one to go back to Columbus and not LaPorta. LaPorta is 25 years old and already has more major league experience, plus adds a much needed right-handed bat to a left-handed laden lineup. But most importantly, LaPorta's service clock is pretty much well aligned where there would be really no advantage to sending him to Columbus for a month or two to start the season. Currently, LaPorta has 72 days of major league service time, so unless the Indians would be sending him to Columbus for almost half the season, there is no advantage to sending him there to extend their control over him another year.

This is not the case with Brantley as he has 34 days of major league service time. Because of the Indians depth in the outfield and Brantley's youth, the Indians can afford to send Brantley to Columbus for the first two months of the season. In doing so he would have some time to settle into his season, work on a few more things offensively and defensively, and most importantly get his service time clock aligned properly.

Some reading this may be wondering what the heck a service time clock is, or what this has to do with roster management. But, in a lot of ways, this has everything to do with roster management when it comes to young players and especially small to mid market teams looking to control their players for as long as possible.

In baseball, 172 days on the big league roster is considered one year of major league service time. Obviously, a major league season is longer than 172 days, so a player only needs to be on an active 25-man roster (or big league disabled list) for 172 days of what usually is a 180 day or so season. After a player reaches three full seasons of service time they become arbitration eligible (a select few become arbitration eligible before three years, but I won't go into that here). After six full seasons of service time a player then becomes a free agent.

Managing service time is a vital piece of roster management for big league teams and is something that every team does in one way or another. It is a way to control when a player reaches free agency, and in cases of good decision making with how a team rosters a player they can delay free agency as many as one to three years for that player. The player has no control over this as they are at the mercy of their team on how their roster situation is handled (or you can say manipulated), and is also why when these guys do finally reach free agency you will get no complaining from me when they get multi-year deals for millions of dollars.

In any case, what this means for Brantley is by sending him to Columbus for about two months the Indians will ensure he will not become a free agent until after the 2016 season. If they were to put him on the roster at the beginning of the season and leave him in Cleveland all year, he would finish the year with 1.034 service days (1 year, 34 days). If he played full seasons for the next five seasons from 2011 to 2015 it would then make him a free agent after the 2015 season as he would have 6.034 service days. However, by sending him to Columbus until about the end of May, he would end up the season with only about 150-170 service days at the end of this season, with the key being he has not reached one full year yet. This means that after the next five seasons as illustrated above he would only have approximately 5.170 service days after the 2015 season. Six full years - or in other words 5.172 days - are needed to reach free agency, so he would have to play all of the 2016 season to get over the six year threshold to make him free agent eligible after the 2016 season.

Of course, in some cases this is negated when young players are signed to long term contracts to carry them through their arbitration years and maybe buy their first year or two of free agency. But, it still helps in those contract negotiations as it gives the team and not the agent/player more control on when that player reaches free agency and thereby can keep the overall price of the long term contract down some.

The same example with Brantley could also occur this year with the likes of second baseman Luis Valbuena (1.012 days), Jensen Lewis (2.028 days), Carlos Carrasco (0.034 days), Jess Todd (0.064 days), Wyatt Toregas (0.066 days), and Lou Marson (0.078 days). Sending down Valbuena or Lewis down to Columbus for a month at some point in the season is not a stretch as they both have options remaining. While the reason would be more to get looks at other guys, it would also offer an excuse to align their service clocks to where Valbuena finishes the year with under two years of service time and Lewis under three years service time to essentially add another year of control to them. Also, by having Carrasco, Todd, and Toregas in Columbus for half the season, it ensures another year of roster control is added.

Even in the case of Lou Marson, if all world catching prospect Carlos Santana is called up in late June or early July as expected, it is very possible that Marson spends most of the second half of the season in Columbus while Mike Redmond maintains backup catching duties with the big league club. By doing this, it would almost certainly keep Marson under one year of service time by the conclusion of the season, and thereby again giving the Indians an extra year of control over him as he would be free agent eligible in 2016 and not 2015.

Now, this service clock alignment won't happen with everyone. The team will use players when they need them regardless of this issue, and this is mostly applied to the higher profile young players, but in the case when you are not expected to contend or you have other options at your disposal to use in the short term this is most definitely a factor in who makes the opening day roster and when they are called up over the course of a season.

This was a big reason why Russell Branyan was signed as his $2 million contract may ultimately buy one of Brantley's free agent years. If Brantley becomes the player the Indians and most outside observers think he can become, that is a huge benefit not only in roster control but also payroll savings down the road. Had the Indians not signed Branyan they were ultimately going to use that $2 million on someone else. They initially tried to use it on free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson as that was the base amount of his offer from them for 2010 with the rest deferred, and when he passed on the offer the Indians turned to Branyan and other alternatives.

This is why teams should almost never open the season with a high profile rookie on the big league roster. Putting them in Triple-A and waiting three to four weeks before calling them up in late April or early May provides a team an extra year of control. We’ve seen many teams do this in the past, most recently the Tampa Bay Rays with Evan Longoria and the San Francisco Giants with Tim Lincecum. This is why at the minimum, guys who have yet to have their service clock started such as outfielder Jordan Brown, infielder Jason Donald, right-handed pitcher Hector Rondon, and Carlos Santana should open the season in Columbus even if they are deemed “ready”.

This is just good business for any organization as they finagle the service time clocks with guys and push off free agency as long as they can. The pickup of Branyan himself may not have made much sense, but the idea of signing someone in order to push Brantley to Triple-A to give the Indians a whole extra year of control for a core piece of the team the next half decade or so is good roster management. This is something small market teams need to do in order to extend the life of a young players’ career with them before they ultimately reach free agency.

Follow Tony Lastoria on Twitter @tlastoria

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Indians Top 50: #19 Jeanmar Gomez

Jeanmar Gomez - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 02/10/1988 - Height: 6'4" - Weight: 190 - 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
2005	17	DSL Indians	R	5	3	1.33	13	10	61.0	47	9	2	9	46	.210	1.3	6.8	0.92
2006	18	GCL Indians	R	4	3	2.48	11	9	54.1	50	15	2	12	34	.238	2.0	5.7	1.15
2007	19	Lake County	A	11	7	4.80	27	27	140.2	152	75	19	46	94	.278	3.0	6.0	1.41
2008	20	Kinston	A+	5	9	4.55	27	27	138.1	154	70	14	46	110	.283	3.0	7.2	1.45
2009	21	Kinston	A+	2	2	2.63	4	4	24.0	17	7	2	5	15	.202	1.9	5.6	0.92
2009	21	Akron	AA	10	4	3.43	22	22	123.1	117	47	11	40	109	.249	2.9	8.0	1.28
		Totals		37	28	3.71	104	99	541.2	537	223	50	158	408	.259	2.6	6.8	1.28

History:  Gomez was signed by the Indians as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in April of 2005.  On May 21st last year he pitched his way into minor league baseball history with a perfect game needing just 87 pitches to pitch the first perfect game in Double-A Akron history and the first in the minor leagues since 2007.  He was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, and is just the second Akron pitcher to ever win the award (Adam Miller in 2006).  He finished 6^th in the Eastern League in wins (10), 3^rd in ERA (3.43), and 3^rd in WHIP (1.27).

Strengths & Opportunities:  Gomez has very good upside and growth potential because of his size and stuff, and shows a good feel for his three pitch mix of a fastball, slider and changeup.  His fastball consistently clocks in at 90-92 MPH and has touched as high as 95 MPH, and there is the potential for more velocity down the road because of his plus arm strength.  While he really made some strides with his secondary pitches last year, both his slider and changeup only project to be average major league pitches.  His slider is his best secondary pitch, and while it flashes plus potential it comes and goes and lacks consistency, but he did improve the velocity of it by cleaning up his mechanics which made it sharper and gave it much better late break.  When he is racking up strikeouts it is a good indicator that the slider is clicking and has some bite to it.  He has a great feel for his changeup and he commands it well, but it is just an average pitch with inconsistent movement and does not get enough sink and fade out of it.

Gomez has proven to be very durable as the Indians have never had to back him off any of his starts.  He doesn't have dominating stuff, he just knows how to pitch and gives a quality outing every time out.  He competes well, and has a very clean delivery.  He continues to improve in some of the mental aspects of pitching such as reading swings.  His command and control is still only average but it is something the Indians have worked with him to improve and they feel he has the ability to have better command/control in the future.  He has Victor Martinez-like makeup, and is committed and passionate about baseball.  He has been pushed in the system the last three years where he has been one of the youngest pitchers in the league every year, and shown an ability to hang in there and compete even though the numbers have not always been very good.

Gomez opened last season at High-A Kinston because a spot was not open for him in the Double-A Akron rotation to start the year, but the Indians also wanted him to open in Kinston so they could make a subtle change to his arm swing by making his circle just a little shorter.  He used to fly open and expose his arm slot in his delivery which caused problems in getting proper velocity on his pitches, but last season he was throwing with his arm more out front which resulted in him throwing much easier and getting much more life on all his pitches.  He eventually moved to Akron a month into the season, and he experienced early success as a result of being more aggressive with all of his pitches and throwing more strikes. He displayed better command and control of his fastball and changeup to both sides of the plate, and his slider was down in the zone and away from right-handers and in on the feet of left-handers.  Over the course of the season he showed signs or gaining maturity as a pitcher in that when he used to give up a couple hits the game would speed up on him, but he did a lot better job of staying focused on what he needed to do when the hits piled up against him and in turn showed the confidence that he can get out of any situation with the stuff he has.

The problem with Gomez is while he has average major league stuff - which could be dominant in the minor leagues - he has no true plus pitch in his arsenal.  That's the knock on him, as nothing stands out when you see him pitch.  His secondary stuff was a concern when he first came to Double-A last year, and he competed there the entire season with essentially no average secondary pitches.  At times his slider showed a lot of progress last year where it was unhittable, but it was inconsistent.  He has to work a little harder than some of the Indians' other high end pitchers to locate his fastball and for the most part has done a good job, now it is a matter of being able to maintain it and being able to consistently get Double-A and above hitters out.  The Indians are also still working on his delivery and just want really want to eliminate the inconsistencies with his offspeed pitches since both the slider and changeup come and go.

Outlook:  Gomez has often been two or three years younger than the league and been put in situations to develop and have success and learn to make strides along the way.  He took arguably the biggest step of any pitcher in the organization last year and is now considered major league starting depth this season, and could continue to come onto the scene strong.  He has often spent a lot of time learning on the job, but last year for the first time in his career his numbers matched his potential as a pitcher.  Having been put on the big league 40-man roster in the offseason, he was the third pitcher in the Latin Trifecta added to the big league roster in the last two years (Hector Rondon, Kelvin De La Cruz).  He profiles as a back of the rotation major league starter, and should open the 2010 season in the starting rotation for Triple-A Columbus.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

Jeanmar Gomez MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Jeanmar Gomez Baseball-Reference page

Jeanmar Gomez MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Jeanmar Gomez Pitching:

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Indians Top 50: #20 Carlos Rivero

Carlos Rivero - Shortstop
Born: 05/20/1988 - Height: 6'3" - Weight: 220 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	Avg	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	17	DSL Indians	R	66	237	21	61	6	0	0	31	12	26	7	.257	.295	.283	.578
2006	18	GCL indians	R	37	134	17	38	6	0	2	22	10	20	0	.284	.338	.373	.711
2006	18	Burlington	R	16	66	3	14	3	0	1	7	5	11	0	.212	.264	.303	.567
2007	19	Lake County	A	115	436	59	114	26	0	7	62	47	84	1	.261	.332	.369	.701
2008	20	Kinston	A+	108	411	46	116	27	1	8	64	36	84	1	.282	.342	.411	.753
2009	21	Akron	AA	132	480	50	116	24	2	7	58	50	73	1	.242	.309	.344	.653
		Totals		474	1764	196	459	92	3	25	244	160	298	10	.260	.318	.349	.667

History: Rivero was signed by the Indians out of Venezuela in March of 2005 at just 16 years of age.  He finished the 2009 season as the Eastern League's top rated shortstop with a .972 fielding percentage, which also eclipsed the club record for fielding percentage by a shortstop previously held by Ivan Ochoa's .970 mark set in 2005.  He played in the Arizona Fall League in the offseason and in 22 games hit .318 with 2 HR, 13 RBI and had an .859 OPS.

Strengths & Opportunities: Rivero has been one of the more hyped young Latin prospects in the Indians system the past three years, but has yet to deliver the goods with a consistent, strong season at the plate.  He is a notorious slow starter and strong finisher, and he once again did that last season for the second year in a row.  At High-A Kinston in 2008 he hit .263 with 1 HR, 25 RBI and a .653 OPS in the first half of the season, and then in the second half hit .300 with 7 HR, 39 RBI and a .845 OPS.  The same thing happened last year at Double-A Akron where he hit just .220 with 1 HR, 25 RBI, and a .569 OPS in the first half, and then in the second half hit .280 with 6 HR, 33 RBI, and a .797 OPS.

Rivero is an impressive specimen physically as a shortstop, and is expected to get even bigger. To go along with his size, he has all the outstanding abilities and intangibles except speed. What he lacks in speed, though, he more than makes up with his power potential, bat-to-ball ability, his hands, and his glove-work. He has the potential to be a good hitting middle infielder with some power potential down the road, and has a very good approach for a young player with a great looking swing with good technique where the ball comes off his bat well.  He is naturally strong with very good bat speed, and the feeling is that as he continues to mature and fill his frame that his above average power potential will begin to surface.  Even at a young age he already has shown a good understanding of the strike zone and a knack for putting the ball consistently in play with a career 6.2 at bat to strikeout ratio.  Considering he has played all five of his minor league seasons very underage for his level, a 6:1 at bat to strikeout ratio is very good and shows the potential with his bat-to-ball ability and plate discipline. He is a good situational hitter, and also has excellent makeup.

For a player of Rivero's size, he moves around well at shortstop. He is not fast and only has average range, but he has good first step quickness, has real good hands, and a strong and accurate arm. Whether or not he sticks at shortstop or slides over to third base depends on how big he gets, but the Indians believe he will be able to stick at shortstop long term.  He went out to the Arizona Fall League and played third base, not because he is being moved to third base but because that was where the at bats were.  No position change is in the works and he is still considered a shortstop, but there are some who think that down the road he may fit better at third base as he continues to fill out his frame and his bat arrives.

The Indians are pleased with Rivero's development to date as while the numbers are not there they feel that he is making progress and has gotten more and more consistent with his approach and with his defense.  They consider him as a player along the lines of Jhonny Peralta who is going to make the consistent routine play and have some power to his game. He is still developing, and once the confidence comes in his game and he believes that he belongs at the level he is at, that his numbers will start to take off.

Rivero's improved hitting in the last two months of the season last year was mostly the result from a lot of work in the cages with Akron Hitting Coach Lee May Jr. to get his bat path more consistent and also attacking pitches much better by not letting them get too deep in the zone.  Going forward, he needs to continue developing his approach at the plate along with his plate discipline and breaking ball recognition.  As he continues to grow and get stronger and bulkier, he needs to maintain his first step quickness and work on getting better jumps to the ball.  He has been limited in the home run department somewhat because the Indians have worked on shortening his swing, getting him to stay in the middle of the field, and work counts better to develop his plate discipline.  As a result, he often does not yet hit to his strength which is pulling the ball, and once that is unleashed a power explosion could result.

Outlook:  Rivero is the classic example of looking beyond the stats and instead looking at age, level, ability and flat out grading out a prospect with what you see and feel he will become.  Even though he once again had a season of two distinct halves offensively, he still continued to play consistent, above average defense at shortstop last year.  He is still only 21 years old, so there is a lot of projection still left in his bat.  Even though he has yet to put up a good statistical season in the minors, the Indians value him a lot and proved so when they rostered him this offseason by putting him on the 40-man roster.  He likely will repeat as the starting shortstop at Double-A Akron to start the season next year, though could see time at Triple-A Columbus later in the season.  By repeating at Akron and letting his age catch up to his level, he could be poised for a breakout year.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

Carlos Rivero MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Carlos Rivero Baseball-Reference page

Carlos Rivero MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Carlos Rivero Hitting:

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Smoke Signals 2/25: Infield Talk & Jason Kipnis

Paul Cousineau and I are back on the cyberwaves tonight with another edition of Smoke Signals from 9:30-10:30 PM EST.  This week we will focus on the infield as we discuss The Branyan Effect with regard to top prospects Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley, Louie V. at second base and how the Indians will use him this year, Jhonny Peralta at third base and him being potentially traded, and a potential All Star year in the making for Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop.  The link to listen live or listen to or download the podcast later is below:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theclevelandfan/2010/02/26/smoke-signals

In addition to the infield talk, 2009 2nd round draft pick Jason Kipnis is scheduled to come on the show though is not 100% confirmed as of the time of this writing.  If he comes on we will talk to him about his transition from the outfield to the infield this year as well as a host of other topics.

Feel free to e-mail the show at smokesignals@theclevelandfan.com or call us at 1-646-716-8012 with any questions or if you just want to vent about the Branyan signing or anything else!

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Indians Top 50: #21 Jess Todd

Jess Todd - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 04/20/1986 - Height: 5'11" - Weight: 210 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	21	Batavia	A-	4	1	2.78	16	0	58.1	48	18	2	14	69	.223	2.2	10.7	1.07
2008	22	Palm Bch	A+	3	0	1.65	7	1	27.1	18	5	0	7	35	.184	2.3	11.6	0.92
2008	22	Springfield	AA	4	5	2.97	17	0	103.0	79	34	12	24	81	.216	2.1	7.1	1.00
2008	22	Memphis	AAA	1	1	3.97	4	0	22.2	19	10	4	11	20	.232	4.5	8.1	1.35
2009	23	St. Louis	MLB	0	0	10.80	1	0	1.2	3	2	1	2	2	.375	15.0	15.0	4.17
2009	23	Memphis	AAA	4	2	2.20	41	24	49.0	39	12	3	13	59	.214	2.4	10.8	1.06
2009	23	Columbus	AAA	0	0	0.00	3	1	4.0	1	0	0	0	7	.077	0.0	15.8	0.25
2009	23	Cleveland	MLB	0	1	7.40	19	0	20.2	31	17	3	7	18	.356	3.1	8.0	1.88
		MiLB		16	9	2.69	88	26	264.1	204	79	21	69	271	.214	2.4	9.2	1.03
		MLB		0	1	7.66	20	0	22.1	34	19	4	9	20	.358	3.7	8.1	1.95

History:  Todd was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2^nd round of the 2007 Draft out of the University of Arkansas.  The Indians acquired him near the end of July last year from the Cardinals as the player to be named in the Mark DeRosa trade originally completed near the end of June.  At the time of the trade his 24 saves led the Pacific Coast League and ranked tied for 4th most in all of Minor League Baseball.  He was also named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2008.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Todd has a four-pitch mix led by a four-seam cut fastball that sits at 90-92 MPH and has topped out as high as 94 MPH. His hard slider is filthy and sits in the mid-80s with good late break. It is his out pitch and the best offering in his arsenal, one that he has very good command of and is confident throwing in any count. He also throws a two-seam fastball that sits 88-90 MPH that has some decent sinking action. His circle changeup is an average offering at best that he has a good feel for and gets good downward movement, but his command is inconsistent.

Anyone who had a chance to see Todd pitch while with Cleveland last year knows he is kind of a maximum effort guy as he goes through his motion nice and easy but then as he brings his glove down his windup hits another gear and he just explodes through the rest of his delivery. He has a long step in his stride and very quick rotation in his hips which help him get a little extra behind the ball when he throws it. The quick arm action at the end of the delivery creates some good deception for his fastball and offspeed pitches. He repeats his delivery well, and is a mechanically sound pitcher.  He is not a big guy, but he does leverage the ball and does sink it down in the strike zone.  He is a very aggressive attack mode strike-thrower with excellent command who can sink it or cut it, and he stays out of the middle of the plate.

Todd has a lot of versatility on how he can be used in a major league pen or even as a starter, though because of his smallish frame he is best suited for a bullpen role.  The Cardinals used him as a closer last year at Triple-A Memphis, which is something the Indians don't do so when they acquired him they had to stretch him out in order for him to be able to handle pitching more than one inning.  He does not back down, attacks, and has a bulldog mentality, which is why many feel he is destined to be a very good major league setup man down the road.  One common comparison made of him is that he is a right-handed version of Randy Myers.

Outlook:  As far as Todd's stuff, command, and control goes, he is as close to a finished major league ready product as you will find.  He'll get every chance to lock down a bullpen spot in Cleveland this spring, though because he has options remaining he may initially start the 2010 season in Triple-A Columbus before coming to Cleveland later on in the season.  Either way, he should see significant time in the Cleveland bullpen this upcoming season to properly evaluate him as a potential bullpen building block for 2011 and beyond.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Jess Todd MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Jess Todd Baseball-Reference page

Jess Todd MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Jess Todd Pitching:

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IPI Inbox: Salcedo Saga Nearing End

It is time for another edition of the IPI Inbox, one which will be broken up into two pieces with part one today and part two tomorrow or Saturday. Today's piece will concentrate more on questions pertaining to the big league team, while the second edition will answer some questions about the farm system.

One quick note and correction to my Russell Branyan piece from over the weekend, and that is to note that in the comments section I made mention that I did not believe Andy Marte would be the one designated for assignment once the Branyan signing is made official. As announced yesterday, the Indians chose to designate infielder Chris Gimenez. I just wanted to clarify that I misspoke and that the Indians very much value Marte because he is their best defender at both first base and third base, and being right-handed it would allow the Indians to play him and Matt LaPorta almost exclusively against left-handers with Branyan and Travis Hafner sitting.

Anyway, to the inbox we go...

Devin R: In the past couple of days, and seemingly out of nowhere, the Braves have been tied to Edward Salcedo -- most recently, mlbtraderumors.com has them finalizing a deal as soon as he passes a physical. They mention his birthday has "recently" been established as July 30, 1991. Where were the Indians when this happened? We had this guy playing in our DR facilities for at least a year (longer, if I remember correctly). He disappears for a couple years because of concerns about his age, and we completely lose touch?

Me: First off, I see you asked Indians.com beat reporter Anthony Castrovince this same question and he provided a spot on response in his mailbag earlier in the week. To recap what Castrovince said, Salcedo has been trying to sign with a major league team for the past three years but has been unsuccessful in those attempts because of an investigation into his identity. While the Braves appear close to signing him, it doesn't mean the investigations into his identity being conducted by both Major League Baseball and the United States Consulate are in the clear.

Now, as to why the Indians have "lost touch" with Salcedo? It is just one of those things where to my knowledge the Indians interest and contact with him completely flat-lined once the identity issues cropped up three years ago. Whether or not he is cleared and his identity is verified no longer matters as they have apparently moved on. Also, Salcedo was never at the Indians' Dominican Republic facilities for a year as any report on that is inaccurate because by rule teams cannot have a player at their academy for more than 30 days. The Indians did have him in for a few short visits and even saw him play in the USA when he participated in a Perfect Game event, but that's it.

Aaron wrote: When reading your comments you said "this [Branyan] signing in no way is blocking anyone of importance." You don't think this will cut into LaPorta's time? Matt is a "true prospect" that is ready (if no setbacks health wise.) How many starts, when healthy, will LaPorta get? I am not for platooning.

Me: I am not for a platoon either in this case. In the right situation where two role players are used to maximize their strengths and limit their weaknesses, I am fine with it, sort of like the "Benuardo" platoon in 2006 with Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez. But in the case of LaPorta, he is considered an everyday player so will get everyday at bats. What is likely to happen here is while there is no strict platoon, the Indians are going to be cautious with how they use him this year and not just throw him out to the wolves and play every night come hell or high water. The plan is for him to get around 500 plate appearances, but his performance over the course of the season will dictate whether he gets less or more plate appearances.

From the sounds of it, LaPorta will split time in left field with Michael Brantley and also play first base or designated hitter against lefties so the Indians can sit Branyan and/or Travis Hafner. So, while Branyan is expected to be the “regular” first baseman, he shouldn’t really block anyone other than Andy Marte and Chris Gimenez (who are no longer prospects). Branyan is more an insurance option for the Indians so they can be a little more careful in the use of LaPorta and even Michael Brantley who will both be in their first full big league seasons. Whether or not Branyan is the right fit is certainly debatable, and I subscribe to the belief that he is a wasteful signing, but even without signing Branyan his role is one that would have been filled by "someone" this year to help lessen LaPorta's burden, so make of that what you will.

Brian wrote: How in the world are we going to give any of the trio of Ambriz, Sowers, and Talbot a chance if we only have a 6-man bullpen?

Me: This question is in response to my note last week that the Indians may go with a 14-position player and 11-man pitching staff alignment for the 25-man opening day roster. I’ve since changed my stance on that as it appears the Indians may instead go without a true 4th outfielder, so they could still have a 13-position player and 12-man pitching staff alignment.

But, to answer the question, whether they go with a six or seven man bullpen I think the either scenario makes sense and still allows Talbot, Sowers and Ambriz to battle it out for the final spot. The only locks in the bullpen are Kerry Wood, Tony Sipp, Raffy Perez, Chris Perez and Joe Smith. That's five guys. Jensen Lewis is by no means a lock for a spot and has an option left, so he could open the season at Triple-A Columbus. The same goes for Jess Todd, who is all but certain to open the year in Columbus unless several injuries crop up this spring.

With a six man bullpen and Lewis/Todd in Columbus, the last bullpen spot would come down to one of Hector Ambriz, Mitch Talbot, Jeremy Sowers, and Aaron Laffey, with one of Laffey, Talbot, and Sowers being the fifth starter. Ambriz to me is a non-factor as I don't see any way he cracks the bullpen in a long man role over the other three, so to me Ambriz either is sent back to the Diamondbacks or if he impresses the Indians will work out a trade to acquire his full rights and send him to Columbus.

Talbot is the odds on favorite to me to be the 5th starter seeing how the Indians just completed a trade for him this offseason when they sent catcher Kelly Shoppach to the Rays. I actually think Laffey in the short term best fits in the long man role because of his versatility, and we sure are going to need someone reliable in the role to help in the first two months of the season while the rotation hashes itself out. I think Laffey could be in for a role similar to Jake Westbrook's in 2004 where he went in as the long man in the pen, but provided nice insurance for when a starter couldn't go long and eventually he found his way into the rotation full time that year by mid-May. Sowers looks to be the odd man out, though there is a chance he could open the year on the disabled list as the seeds have already been plated for that to occur based on reports he has had some arm discomfort this spring.

If they go with a seven man bullpen, which is likely, then the other spot should be a battle between Lewis, Todd and Ambriz. In this scenario if the Indians really like Ambriz and they can’t complete a fair trade with the Diamondbacks for his full rights, you could see him open in the big league bullpen with both Todd and Lewis in Columbus.

Ken Y. wrote: Will the Indians convert Rafael Perez into a starter?

Me: The Indians have hinted during the offseason that Perez could be moved back into a starter's role at some point this season. While I happen to think it is very unlikely to occur, in the chance it does it would not happen until at least the second half of the season as he needs to be built back up to handle a starter's role, something he has not done since the early part of 2006 in the minor leagues.

Quite frankly, I don't think Perez has the pitches to be a successful starter, so I don't know what the Indians are thinking here other than that they are just keeping their options open. With Perez being out of options they may look at every alternative to keep him on the roster if his bullpen struggles continue well into the coming season. His best pitch is his slider, a pitch which plays up in short stints out of the bullpen, but his fastball is barely average and he lacks any real quality third pitch. So, it doesn't appear starting him makes any sense other than pure desperation in a last ditch attempt to salvage his career with the Indians if he continues to struggle in the bullpen to where maybe stretching him out in the rotation for awhile can fix some of his consistency and command issues.

Eric T. wrote: Tony how far away are [Josh Judy and Zach Putnam] from contributing to the big league team? Could we see them at some point this year?

Me: With both in big league camp, they are most definitely considered big league options at some point this year. Both have vaulted to the top of the Indians depth chart among relief prospects yet to make their major league debut, and both could get that chance this year if things go right.

That said, unless the Indians find themselves in contention which would pressure them to promote them quicker, both will likely not be in Cleveland this year. The Indians just have too many other bullpen options to sort through this season as they look to build some semblance of a bullpen for 2011 and beyond. Anything can happen, but there are roster implications to consider too since Putnam does not need to be "rostered" until after the 2011 season, while Judy will need to be rostered after this season to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

With that in mind, and considering there are only 40 major league roster spots, it seems very unlikely Putnam is added to the 40-man until sometime in 2011 unless he is just lights out and the Indians have an urgent need for bullpen help this season. Since Judy needs to be added to the roster anyway this coming offseason, he really could be added at anytime this year. I think in order to avoid possibly wasting an option on either player this year they would not be added to the big league roster until near the end of August or early September, much like what the Indians did with outfielder Michael Brantley last year.

Bruce C.: Does [the Indians GM change] mean anything except new titles?

Me: Shapiro is a good GM. This team was very good from a talent standpoint from 2005-2008, but two of those years they bombed because of a hellacious bullpen. He has surely made his mistakes, but I don't see very many other current GMs doing a better job with the limited resources he has to work with. And anyone that thinks Antonetti will simply be Shapiro clone may want to rethink their position a little bit. Yes, they seem alike in a lot of ways, but so is the case when the understudy is working for his "boss" and really can't open up and do as he chooses until he has control. I mean, Shapiro was viewed as a "Hart Clone" back when he was handpicked to succeed John Hart when Hart stepped down in 2001. Look how different Shapiro turned out to be. So, while it may seem like more of the same, I think we need to see Antonetti in the GM chair first before we can accurately assess whether it will just be business as usual like under Shapiro, or if he may bring something different to the table.

Salcedo photo courtesy of Perfect Game USA

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Indians Officially Sign Branyan

The Indians announced today that they have officially signed free agent first baseman Russell Branyan. He is signed to a one year $2 million contract which includes up to $1 million in incentives, and it also includes a mutual option for 2011 for $5 million.  To make room on the 40-man roster for Branyan, infielder Chris Gimenez was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus. Also, the Indians purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Anthony Reyes as they added him to the 40-man roster and then immediately placed him on the 60-day disabled list.

In an interesting turn of events, the Indians have said that Branyan will actually be the regular first baseman, though Matt LaPorta will still get a lot of time at first base, likely starting there when a left-hander is on the mound. LaPorta is expected to see a lot more time in left field this year than originally anticipated, which is a bit unexpected as it was felt he would primarily play first base this year. It appears that the Indians are simply keeping their options open with him at first base and left field, and also slowly transitioning him to first base rather than just throw him in there full time.

LaPorta is expected to play everyday, and outfielder Michael Brantley is also expected to be on the opening day roster as well playing everyday. From the sounds of it, we may have somewhat of a moving chairs setup with the lineup again this year. And, considering that Branyan is expected to be the regular at first base and that LaPorta and Brantley are also expected to be regulars, it looks like the Indians may in fact not have a 4th outfielder on the roster after all. With Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo entrenched in center and right field, it appears that LaPorta and Brantley would be the two other outfielders and because of his versatility Brantley could seemingly play everyday as the fourth outfielder.

We'll see how things shake out, but with the Branyan signing it is an interesting development to watch this spring with how the playing time will be doled out this coming season.

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Indians Top 50: #22 Scott Barnes

Scott Barnes - Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 09/05/1987 - Height: 6'4" - Weight: 185 - Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2008	20	AZL Giants	R	0	1	3.38	3	0	5.1	3	2	0	4	11	.167	7.1	19.4	1.37
2008	20	Salem-Keizer	A-	0	0	4.76	2	1	5.2	6	3	0	1	11	.250	1.7	19.0	1.35
2008	20	Augusta	A	3	2	1.38	6	6	32.2	15	5	0	7	41	.133	2.0	11.5	0.68
2009	21	San Jose	A+	12	3	2.85	18	18	98.0	82	31	7	29	99	.227	2.7	9.1	1.13
2009	21	Kinston	A+	0	0	2.13	3	3	12.2	14	3	1	6	10	.280	4.4	7.4	1.64
2009	21	Akron	AA	2	2	5.68	6	6	31.2	35	20	7	14	29	.292	4.0	8.4	1.57
		Totals		17	8	3.10	38	34	186.0	155	64	15	61	201	.226	3.0	9.7	1.16

History:  Barnes was an 8th round pick in the 2008 Draft out of St. John's University by the San Francisco Giants.  He was actually on the verge of a well deserved callup to Double-A just before being acquired by the Indians on July 27th.  In his last seven starts before being traded he was 7-0 with a 1.50 ERA (48.0 IP, 36 H, 8 ER, 58 K), and at the time of the trade he was leading the California League in wins, was 2nd in ERA, and was 9th with 99 strikeouts. The Indians decided to make a lateral move and initially assign him to High-A Kinston in order to let him get his feet wet and settled into the organization before moving him to Double-A for the first time in his career.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Barnes uses his size and extreme athleticism to attack hitters with all three of his offerings.  He has a deceptive fastball that sits 90-92 MPH and touches 94 MPH, a plus changeup, and a developing slurvy curveball with the makings of being a plus pitch.  He gets behind his fastball so it has a little bit of extra life and is explosive at the end because he throws it with a lot of conviction and the way it comes out of his hand it is not as easy to see.  While he likes to work off his fastball, the changeup is considered his best pitch.  He commands all three of his pitches well, fills the zone up with strikes, and has confidence using all three of his pitches in any count.  At 21-years of age and 6'4" and 185-pounds he has the body to handle the rigors as a starting pitcher, and he projects as a middle of the rotation starter in the big leagues.

Barnes is special from a confidence and competitive standpoint, and has a boxer's mentality on the mound where he takes his competitiveness to another level.  He is at the top of the Indians system when it comes to mound presence and competitiveness, and has no fear and goes right after hitters.  While he looks very loose and relaxed on the mound, he has an edge to him.  His athleticism is a big part of his success as it allows him to repeat his delivery well, and in turn he is able to effectively change speeds on his pitches.  He likes to work fast and keep a good pace to the game, and is very distinct and focused on what he is trying to do.  In his short time in the organization the Indians were impressed with his maturity of taking control of what he wanted to do and how he took command of his defense around him when he was on the mound.

Having only been in professional baseball for about a year Barnes is still growing and coming into his own as a pitcher.  He has shown a big improvement in his strike throwing ability since college, in large part because he has done a much better job of being more aggressive and attacking the strike zone.  Last year he did a good job commanding his fastball down in the zone to both sides of the plate to both left-handed and right-handed hitters and pitched in to both.  He also showed an ability when behind in the count to throw his offspeed stuff.  The question now is whether or not he can continue to be deceptive with his fastball and get swings and misses as he settles into Double-A this year and then Triple-A and potentially the big leagues down the road.  He also needs to continue working on his curveball, a pitch the Indians think has the potential to blossom into a plus pitch and give him the three pitch mix needed to be a solid major league starter.

Outlook:  The Indians scouted Barnes in 2008 before the draft so they already had a book on him, but they were impressed with his advancement and how quickly he transitioned to the professional game and harnessed the ability to become a good, consistent strike thrower.  They like his feel and arsenal of pitches, and because of his athleticism think he has the chance to be a left-handed big league starter one day.  He will open the 2010 season in the Double-A Akron starting rotation.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Scott Barnes MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Scott Barnes Baseball-Reference page

Scott Barnes MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Scott Barnes Pitching:

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Indians Top 50: #23 Jason Donald

Jason Donald - Infielder
Born: 09/04/1984 - Height: 6'1" - Weight: 195 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	Avg	OBP	SLG	OPS
2006	21	Batavia	A-	63	213	33	56	14	2	1	24	23	42	12	.263	.347	.362	.709
2007	22	Lakewood	A	51	197	41	61	9	3	4	30	29	39	2	.310	.409	.447	.856
2007	22	Clearwater	A+	83	293	48	88	22	5	8	41	35	70	3	.300	.386	.491	.877
2008	23	Reading	AA	92	362	57	111	19	4	14	54	47	86	11	.307	.391	.497	.888
2009	24	GCL Phillies	R	9	26	4	6	1	1	0	1	2	5	1	.231	.286	.346	.632
2009	24	Lehigh Valley	AAA	51	208	26	49	15	1	1	16	14	53	6	.236	.297	.332	.629
2009	24	Columbus	AAA	10	35	10	9	2	0	1	1	3	11	1	.257	.350	.400	.750
		Totals		359	1334	219	380	82	16	29	167	153	306	36	.285	.369	.436	.804

History: Donald was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 3rd round of the 2006 Draft out of the University of Arizona.  The Indians acquired him as part of a four player package from the Phillies in exchange for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco in a trade completed on July 29th, 2009.  While 2009 was a lost year for him 2008 was very busy as he was the starting shortstop for Team USA in the All Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium and also played for Team USA in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.  He played in the Arizona Fall League as well in 2008, and was named to the All Prospect Team after hitting .407 (37-for-91) with 12 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, and 17 RBI in 25 games.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Donald is a very athletic player who has a great feel for hitting, good approach at the plate, and is fundamentally sound with his swing.  He has very good power to all fields for an infielder and just pounds the ball into the gaps.  He doesn't do one thing great offensively, but his offensive skill set is a lot like current Indians infielder Asdrubal Cabrera.  He is only an average runner or maybe a tick above, but has excellent instincts and intelligence running the bases.  He is a maximum effort player who goes all out, and is often considered an overachiever.

Donald was hampered by a torn meniscus in his left knee for a good portion of the season last year which eventually sidelined him for two months before he was traded to the Indians.  His issues with his knee could help explain some of his poor numbers last year, especially in the power department.  Shortly after joining the Indians, he was sidelined with a back strain after ten games for Triple-A Columbus.  He came out of the Columbus lineup on August 13th and did not return the rest of the season.  The injury was unfortunate as the Indians wanted to call him up to Cleveland in September to help him get acclimated to the big leagues in the hopes that he could show he would be ready for a big league bench job to start the 2010 season.  The injury nixed those plans, and as a result no matter what happens this spring the Indians now are pretty much dead set on him opening the 2010 season in Triple-A Columbus to prove he is healthy and also get his swing right.  They still expect him to get a significant number of at bats in Cleveland this season where if healthy he should be up with the big league team sometime before or after the All Star break.

Opinions differ on Donald on what kind of player he will be.  He certainly has the offensive capabilities to be a plus offensive player anywhere in the middle of the diamond, but it is split on whether he is a second level everyday middle infielder or a utility player who has the ability to start on occasion.  The problem stems from him not fitting at any one position.  While he can play third base, shortstop, and second base, he is only average at best defensively at each position.  He lacks the range to play everyday at shortstop and he does not have the big bat or arm to be an everyday third baseman.  His best chance at an everyday gig is probably second base.

Outlook:  Donald profiles as a very good utility player, and may be the eventual replacement in that role later this season.  His ability to play anywhere in the infield has a lot of value, which will allow him to have a pretty long big  league career even if he does not settle into one everyday position.  While he will likely begin his big league player as a bench player or as part of a second base platoon, the Indians are not going to give up on him as an everyday option as they still think he can be an average defensive shortstop with good offensive potential or be an above average all around second baseman.  He will be in the mix for a big league bench job in spring training, but he is set to open the 2010 season at Triple-A Columbus.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Jason Donald MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Jason Donald Baseball-Reference page

Jason Donald MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Jason Donald Hitting:

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Indians Top 50: #24 Josh Judy

Josh Judy - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 02/09/1986 - Height: 6'4" - Weight: 200 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	21	GCL Indians	R	1	2	0.63	9	0	14.1	11	1	0	8	14	.204	5.1	8.9	1.35
2007	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	0	0	0.00	4	1	11.0	7	0	0	3	7	.194	2.5	5.7	0.91
2008	22	Lake County	A	12	1	3.51	35	1	74.1	60	29	6	25	80	.223	3.0	9.7	1.15
2008	22	Kinston	A+	0	0	1.93	7	0	14.0	12	3	0	1	17	.226	0.6	10.9	0.93
2009	23	Kinston	A+	0	0	0.00	5	3	4.2	4	0	0	0	7	.235	0.0	15.0	0.95
2009	23	Akron	AA	4	3	3.10	36	11	49.1	35	17	2	18	63	.198	3.3	11.5	1.08
		Totals		17	6	2.68	96	16	167.2	129	50	8	55	188	.213	3.0	10.1	1.10

History: Judy was selected by the Indians in the 34th round of the 2007 Draft out of the Indiana Institute of Technology.  He proved to be just as tough on lefties (.173 BAA, .526 OPS) as he was on righties last year (.219 BAA, .598 OPS).  He made a name for himself in the Arizona Fall League this past fall when in a hitter dominated league he went 2-2 with a 1.59 ERA in 11 games, and in 17.0 innings allowed 13 hits, 8 walks, and had 20 strikeouts.

Strengths & Opportunities:  Judy is a big, physical pitcher at 6'4" 200 pounds who throws a fastball with great life that consistently sits at 92-94 MPH topping out as high as 96 MPH when he was in college. His plus fastball has good sinking action and has shown above average ability to get hitters to put the ball on the ground.  He complements his fastball with a wicked slider and changeup. The slider is very good and has a nice sharp break to it and late movement and has the makings of a plus pitch for him. Hitters have a real hard time picking it up, and it is a swing-and-miss pitch for him. He used to throw a curveball as his third pitch, but it was tabled for the changeup. He does not use the changeup much in games, but has it in his arsenal to use from time to time.

Judy opened the 2009 season as the closer at High-A Kinston, but after just five appearances was called up to Double-A Akron on April 24th, a mere two weeks into the season. Upon joining Akron he pitched mostly in middle relief and performed well even though he was battling some bicep tendonitis in May and June.  Upon taking over the closer duties for right-hander Vinnie Pestano in early July, he took off and was dominant going 0-0 with 9 saves and a 1.47 ERA in 16 appearances after assuming the role.  His late season success was in large part due to him keeping the ball down in the zone at a good angle with excellent sink and avoiding his tendency to at times get under his pitches, which all resulted in a lot more groundball outs.  An adjustment to his delivery was the reason for these changes, as he changed from a high leg kick to more of a load position in the stretch to a more tightened up delivery where it is very quick and subtle.  His slider also saw a lot of improvement due to the mechanical adjustment as it was a lot tighter and sharper and he got more swings and misses with it.

The Indians typically do not develop closers in the minor leagues, focusing more on a set routine where their relievers go every two or three days and for one or two innings in order to ensure regular work and development.  Because of this, it is hard to have a defined closer to pitch every save situation. But it appears Judy is being groomed for a potential 8^th or 9^th inning role in the big leagues, and should get regular work in the 8^th and 9^th innings of games this coming season.  The Indians like his approach on the mound where he is aggressive going right after hitters, displays very good composure, and is a bulldog in tight situations.  He also has his outstanding fastball-slider two pitch mix with the demeanor to handle pitching late in games, so looks to be a backend bullpen prospect the Indians are intent on developing for their big league pen.

Judy's slider is a weapon for him, but also can be the root of his troubles as it tends to flatten out at times, so he needs to be more consistent with it and tighten it up.  He also needs to be more consistent with repeating his delivery, and also continue to get better with his fastball-slider command.  He needs some work on controlling the running game by changing up his tempo from the stretch and also improve his pickoff move.

Outlook: Judy has made a quick ascent up the Indians minor league ladder, both in the level he is playing at and in his standing within the organization. As a late round pick, he came into the organization with very little fanfare but has since put up a couple of strong seasons and paved the way for him to be included as one of the Indians top relief prospects, if not one of the top relief prospects in all of baseball.  After a year in which the Indians claimed he improved the most of any reliever in the system, he will need to be just as strong this coming season to keep that momentum and stay relevant to the big league situation in Cleveland.  He should open the 2010 season as the closer at Triple-A Columbus, though due to the cramped roster in Cleveland and Columbus it is possible he could start the year in Double-A Akron and by midseason move to Columbus after things shake themselves out from a roster perspective.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Josh Judy MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Josh Judy Baseball-Reference page

Josh Judy MinorLeagueSplits.com page

Josh Judy Pitching:

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Looking Back at the Draft: 1984

First off, let me correct an error in last week's article on the 1983 draft. John Farrell was indeed selected by the Indians in the 16th round of the 1983 draft, but he did not sign with the club until selected in the 2nd round of the 1984 draft.

The year is 1984. Ronald Reagan is re-elected president, carrying 49 of the 50 states in the electoral college. Transformers are introduced to the American public for the first time (more than meets the eye!) The Apple Macintosh computer is introduced. Iraq uses chemical weapons against Iran in their ongoing border war. Terrorists kidnap, torture and murder CIA Beirut Station Chief William Buckley. The Brewers and White Sox get together and play a 25-inning baseball game, the longest in MLB history. The summer Olympics are held in Los Angeles, with the Soviet Union boycotting the games. Hizballah attacks the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut with a car bomb, killing 22. Brady Quinn is born, and declares his love for the Cleveland Browns. LeBron James is born, and immediately hits a step-back 3 in the doctor's face. The Indians finish 75-87 behind Bert Blyleven's 19-7 record and 2.87 ERA.

Indians 1st round pick: None other than Corey Snyder, OF out of BYU. I will forever have a soft spot in my heart for Snyder. He and Bernie Kosar were my first "favorite players" from the Indians and Browns, respectively. As a 23-year old rookie in 1986, Snyder went for a line of .272/24/69 in just 416 AB's. The future was bright for the young Indians outfielder, and he and Joe Carter would appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated the next April under the title "Indian Uprising." SI told the world to "Believe It!"; that the 1987 Indians were the best team in the AL. They of course responded by going 61-101, although Snyder did hit 33 HR's that year. As talented of a hitter as Snyder was, he never really learned how to take a walk. He posted an OBP over .300 just once in his nine year major league career. A versatile and talented athlete, Snyder played OF, SS, 3B and 1B throughout his career.

Best 1st round pick: The 1st round of the 1984 draft was loaded with major leaguers, especially in comparison to the previous three. PED's or not, Mark McGwire and his 583 career home runs proved to be the best pick of the 1st round, going 10th overall to Oakland.

Honorable mention: Jay Bell had a solid career at SS after going 8th overall to the Twins...Terry Mulholland had a 20-year major league career, but not much of it was spent with the Giants, who took him in the 1st round...Oddibe McDowell, who may have been the most-drafted player in history, finally signed with the Rangers after they chose him 12th overall; it was the sixth time McDowell had been drafted by an MLB franchise since graduating from high school.

Indians best pick: Has to be Snyder. Finished with 149 career HR's, which is 149 more than any other player signed by the Tribe that year.

Honorable mention: John Farrell was the only other player signed by the Indians that year who won a game in the major leagues. Still, getting Snyder and Farrell is a far sight better than any of the previous Indians drafts we've looked at so far. The Indians weren't the only ones who struggled; both the Mets and Baltimore only signed one player who made it to the show. Each franchise's 1st round draft pick made it, and no one else from their 1984 draft.

Best early round picks: Both Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were selected and signed in the 2nd round, by the Cubs and Braves respectively; thus the seeds for the 1995 Indians defeat in the World Series were sowed in June of 1984...continuing the theme of taking pitchers in the 2nd round who would someday pitch against the Indians in the World Series, the Yankees selected and signed future Marlin Al Leiter...Houston selected future NL MVP Ken Caminiti in the 3rd round...the Cardinals took speedster Lance Johnson in the 6th round, although he would go on to do most of his damage for the White Sox...Pittsburgh took Jay Buhner in the 2nd round of the January phase of the draft.

Best late round picks: The Angels got a steal with power-hitting OF Dante Bichette in the 17th round...St. Louis took Jeff Fassero in the 22nd round.

The ones that got away: Future Cy Young winner "Black" Jack McDowell was selected but not signed in the 20th round by the Red Sox...Chuck Finley was selected by the Angels in the 15th round, but didn't sign until they picked him again with the 4th overall pick in 1985...the Mets took John Wetteland in the 12th round but were unable to sign him...Cleveland selected Mike Deveraux in the 26th round but they couldn't come to terms.

Other interesting picks: The Pittsburgh Pirates took Alex Cole and his rec-specs in the 11th round out of Manatee JC in Florida, but were unable to come to terms with either...Luis "Funky Cold" Medina was chosen but not signed by the Astros in the 1st round of the June secondary draft...Tim Belcher, who failed to sign with the Twins in 1983, was snapped up by the Yankees with the #1 overall pick in the January 1984 draft; soon after signing a contract, the A's aquired him through a loophole in baseball's "compensation draft." The compenation draft was soon abolished, and the Yankees were compensated with a 1st round pick in 1985.

Indians June draft:

1. Corey Snyder, OF
2. John Farrell, RHP
3. Kurt Dempster, RHP
4. Todd Brown, OF
5. Pete Cargnailla, SS
6. Andrew Robertson, RHP
7. Ken Galloway, LHP
8. Chris Kahler, RHP
9. Rozier Jordan, OF
10. Bill Leslie, 3B
11. Charles Hardwick, LHP
12. Reggie Coker, OF
13. Joe Stephenson, RHP
14. Mark Hopkins, C
15. Mark Hardy, OF
16. Randy McCament, RHP
17. Mark Gardner, RHP
18. Rick Sharp, RHP
19. Mark Malizia, OF
20. Dain Syverson, SS/C
21. Sean Grubb, RHP
22. James McMahan, SS/3B
23. Mike Shellnut, RHP
24. Ward Merdes, LHP
25. Brian Dodd, LHP
26. Mike Deveraux, OF
27.Bob Dombrowski, SS
28. Chris Norman, RHP
29. William Jenkins, OF
30. Michael Tolleson, OF
31. Scott Fricks, C
32. Tommy Gregg, OF
33. Steve Clinton, SS
34. Rich Martig, INF
35. Damon Tyson, SS
36. Paul List, OF
37. Rock Hurst, C
38. Ken Rahming, 1B/3B
39. Lonnie Phillips, RHP
40. Mark DiFrancisco, RHP
41. Tommy Decker, C
42. Charles Wacha, RHP
43. John Pust, SS
44. Mark Reed, RHP
45. Jeff Plympton, RHP
46. KevinChenail, RHP
47. David Lelievre, C
48. Brad DeJardin, 1B

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