IPI Inbox: Perez, Judy On The Mend

It's time to clear out the inbox, which as expected with the start of the season is starting to fill up much more quickly. With that in mind, the IPI Inbox will likely become a weekly feature this season, likely on Saturday. If you have a question on anything pertaining to the Indians minor league players and team, or even the big league team, feel free to contact me.  I also pull from questions in the comments sections in articles, so you can post your question there as well.

To the inbox we go.....

Jim F. and about 100 others: Tony, noticed that A. Perez has not pitched in Kinston yet. The roster shows him active. What gives? Has he been moved to the pen?

Me: My inbox has been slammed the last 24 hours about questions pertaining to High-A right-handed starting pitcher Alexander Perez since he did not pitch in the first five games (right-hander Joey Mahalic pitched in his place in the rotation). Basically, like right-hander Josh Judy, he came down with some arm tightness in his last spring training outing. It isn’t considered serious as he traveled to Kinston when spring training broke instead of staying behind in Goodyear (like Judy) to rehab. Perez is tentatively scheduled to pitch on Sunday for Kinston.

Speaking of Judy, I am hearing he is close to being activated. He had some elbow tightness, but threw a bullpen session yesterday and was pain free. He is expected to throw some breaking balls today to see how his arm feels and provided there are no setbacks he is expected to be activated soon, possible by week’s end.

Tom M. wrote: Just wondering your thoughts on the Reds rookie 1st rounder Mike Leake making his professional debut [Sunday] in the majors. Good idea or will he become Steve Dunning? Is he that advanced compared to Alex White?

Me: To me at least, the Reds are pushing the envelope a little here with Leake. We'll see how it goes, but quite often this sort of move backfires and some consequences are involved. It may work out, but he should have at least started the season in Double-A and pitched most of the season in Double-A and Triple-A before maybe coming up the second half of the year if warranted. They are one of the worst systems in baseball (bottom third) and are desperate for pitching, so it is a gamble they maybe felt worth taking. I mean, the Nationals have Steven Strasburg in Double-A at the moment, and if anyone should maybe be in the bigs now it is him, but the Nationals are playing it right by not being impatient.

That all said, Leake is very polished and has very good command and poise, so apparently they think he has the attributes to start in the big leagues now and that they can finish him off up at the Major League level. With little options to choose from, they feel this is the route to go. For a team like the Indians who have a lot of young options to sift through, this would not be the case with someone like Alex White. There are so many comparable options to him in the system that are above him at Double-A and Triple-A that the Indians need to find out about them first before turning to White. If White performs and develops as expected, he could possibly be in Cleveland sometime late in 2011, though again there is no rush because of the abundance of pitching the Indians have to sort through before turning to him.

JeterCP wrote: I read before that Toregas has sort of an attitude and has needed to clear his head at times. During spring training this year he mentioned to me that if he didn’t latch on with the Indians that he would go somewhere else. Is it fair to say that no one was really interested in him? Could his demotion all the way to Akron have something to do with his tendency to have an attitude?

Me: I have to say, the notion that catcher Wyatt Toregas has an attitude problem would certainly be news to me. His pitchers love working with him and the Indians like him both from a makeup perspective and his defensive abilities, so I don’t know where the “attitude” issue is coming from as I have only heard positive things about him. I’ve spoken to him a few times and he comes across as a very nice guy with an openness to talk. There is absolutely no doubt he is probably bitter at the moment about the whole situation he is going through with being removed from the roster, not getting picked up, and now in Double-A Akron. Wouldn’t you be though if you just had a baby and were trying to make ends meet and now have to live on about $1200 a month as a minor leaguer rather than about $2500 a day as a major leaguer? So, you can see why these guys take it so hard when they are sent to the minors (I will actually post a money story on the minors soon).

Also, he wasn't demoted to Akron, it's just where he can get everyday at bats plus the Indians have a real need there at catcher. He was DFAed, and all other 29 clubs passed on him to claim him and add him to their 40-man roster, so maybe it was a reality check for him. That said, he was not a free agent nor had any opportunity to sign with someone else as first time removals from the 40-man don't get that right. Once every team passed on his waiver claim, he was still the property of the Indians and he could not negotiate a deal to go to another team even on a minor league deal. He just needs to stick it out this season, go out and perform, and if he does that someone may take a shot on him as he will be a minor league free agent (assuming he is not 40-man rostered by the Indians before that, as 40-man status always trumps minor league free agency).

Bob wrote: It occurs that Toregas has been passed over in favor of Marson, the question being, is Marson better, and by how much?

Me: Yeah as soon as the Indians acquired catcher Lou Marson he became the second best catching prospect in the organization by default. He's just viewed as a better prospect than Toregas, mostly because he is nearly four years younger and he shows better skills at the plate with making consistent contact and getting on base. Toregas has more power and is better defensively, but Marson just has a higher ceiling as he still has projection and room for growth whereas Toregas is what he is. Toregas may still get a chance this year with the Indians, but his days with the club likely end at the end of the season when he becomes a minor league free agent.

Indian Inkslinger wrote: Looks to me like there are probably 4 pitchers at Kinston that could wind up on the Akron roster by midseason. Any thoughts on whether Graham or Espino is headed for the pen by then? Can we consider the experiment finished with McBride at Catcher?

Me: I would think as soon as left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz and potentially others move up from High-A Kinston to Double-A Akron that right-hander Connor Graham, left-hander Ryan Edell and right-hander Paolo Espino will move to the pen full time. Actually, once left-hander Eric Berger returns he will bump Edell back to the pen anyway. Their future is in the pen, and with the Indians starting De La Cruz in Kinston it will afford at least Graham to continue to work as a starter to develop his pitches (Espino should be the first to go to the pen).

As for first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride's catching future, I get the sense he is all but done there. The Indians have not commented so, but actions speak louder than words sometimes. After sending him to the Arizona Fall League to try catching again and then there be an enormous gap in catching talent after Carlos Santana in Triple-A, the fact that they are not playing McBride at catcher now in Akron says it all if you ask me. I think aside from an emergency situation, he is about done playing behind the plate and his future will be as a guy who is versatile and can plan first base and the corner outfield spots as well as serve as an emergency catcher. There is some value there.

Chad wrote: So what exactly are the "extra" guys [on rosters] doing right now? If they aren't on the roster, what are they doing?

Me: The extra players hanging around Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron are all working out with the team and take part in batting practice, fielding drills, pre-game workouts, etc. They do everything but play in the real games. The Triple-A roster is always very fluid, and there are roughly five to six extra guys there at the moment not rostered (Jeremy Sowers, Luis Rodriguez, Jerad Head, etc). At the lower levels, some quick callups may be expected as there are some extra players at Double-A Akron and High-A Kinston as well, though nowhere near as many as there are with Columbus.

Brian wrote: Is Jeremy Sowers active in Columbus? If so, are they going with an 8-man pen, or is one of the other relievers inactive?

Me: Sowers is in Columbus, but inactive. I have no idea when he will be active as he still has left arm soreness and recently had it examined, but I saw him in the clubhouse there in Columbus over the weekend, so he is definitely there.

Aaron H wrote: On the Kinston's site Jason Kipnis is listed as a first baseman. Did the Indians change his position? Or is this a typo? Wasn't he originally a second baseman?

Me: No, Kipnis is a second baseman. It is simply a typo by MinorLeagueBaseball.com. I contacted them about it, they know of it, and it should be corrected soon.

Posted in: Alex White,Alexander Perez,Connor Graham,Jason Kipnis,Jeremy Sowers,Josh Judy,Kelvin De La Cruz,Lou Marson,Matt McBride,Mike Leake,Paolo Espino,Wyatt Toregas