IPI Inbox: Miller's Progress Is Slow, But Encouraging

It's time for another edition of the IPI Inbox to post some answers to some of the questions I have received recently regarding the Cleveland Indians. Be it the draft, the big league team, or the minor leagues, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Onto the Inbox...

Dan wrote: Hello, I know Adam Miller's career may very well be over, but is there any update on him that you know about? Do you know anything about his current health or timetable?

There is some encouraging news on the Miller front. Nothing with him actually pitching to live hitters or being anywhere close to pitching in games yet, but the fact that to date (knock on wood) he has not had any setbacks since the one he had in the winter. I talked to him this past March in spring training and he provided details on how things were going, and then I provided a quick update on him last month where he was progressing out to 60 feet with his throwing.

Currently, Miller is getting set to be stretched out to 120 feet early next week and if he can tolerate the hand and arm speed at that distance then bullpens could be in the near future for him. He still very likely will not pitch anywhere this season, but if things do work out in the best case scenario where he continues to not have any setbacks then it looks like he could possibly pitch in live games at some point this season. That could happen at the end of the season in August for rookie level Arizona, though I believe the target will be to have him pitch in the Fall Instructional League which starts up in mid-September.

Jsdowd wrote: What's Jose Constanza's place in the Indians plan? He doesn't seem to be mentioned in the outfield mix ever. Do they feel he is a AAAA player? Is he potential future trade bait? He seems to have fairly solid consistent numbers throughout his career.

Charlie kind of hits the nail on the head in his Clippers’ outfield writeup when he writes about Constanza:

Constanza is probably out of luck when it comes to a big league future with the Cleveland Indians organization. He is blocked by a franchise player, a better prospect that is 3 years younger and a similar player that was a 1st round pick. He could provide some speed off the bench, but having a pure pinch-runner that isn’t a huge plus-defensive outfielder is a luxury most teams can’t afford to put on the 25-man roster. Constanza seems to be an example of just how easy it is to get squeezed out in the ruthless process that determines who gets to play in the Majors. (I recommend reading the piece as it is a very good read and Charlie goes into more detail on Constanza as well as Michael Brantley and Trevor Crowe.)

So, Charlie sums up my thoughts on Constanza perfectly. I love Jose, but unfortunately he is kind of a redundant player in the upper levels since we have Brantley and Crowe already on the big league roster. Brantley is the better prospect, though I would make a strong case that Constanza is a better prospect than Crowe. The reality is though that Crowe was a first round pick and is already on the big league roster, and sometimes politics and money gets in the way of making baseball decisions. In any case, while Constanza is very likely not going to make it to Cleveland this year, what he is doing is showcasing his talents to scouts for the 29 other teams every night. Unless he is rostered by the Indians this offseason, he will be a minor league free agent and very likely will sign elsewhere where he probably has a better shot of achieving his big league dream.

Tyler S. wrote: There have been many pitching callups from Lake County to Kinston this year. When do you think that a hitter could be called up to Kinston and who could be the first to be called up?

Good question Tyler. Right now the Lake County team does not feature many bats that have impact potential even in Triple-A or Double-A. The strength of the team all year has been the pitching and catching, and I think the first position player to move up will be one of the two catchers Roberto Perez or Chun Chen. Chen is an advanced hitter but much more raw behind the plate, whereas Perez is considered a Major League caliber defensive catcher now though still needs work on the bat. It depends on what the Indians feel translates better at the High-A level in Kinston, the offense or defense, and which one of those areas they feel the player will be best equipped to handle the challenges at that level.

My guess is because of Perez’s very advanced catching game they move him up to Kinston and leave Chen in Lake County to catch full time and really hone in on that area, but I go back and forth on this as it could certainly go the either way. In any case, one of those two catchers should go to Kinston soon, likely within the next week. Also, infielder Casey Frawley and outfielder Bo Greenwell are very deserving of a call up and will get one at some point, possibly within the next week as well.

Elliot T. wrote: I don't understand why the Indians can't find a place for Jordan Brown's bat right now, never mind if his defense is spotty. Instead we have Branyan and Kearns playing 1B and LF, logging a prodigious number of Ks, and Brown, part of the Tribe's future [I hope] is stuck at Columbus.

Unfortunately, there is no place for Brown's bat right now because the two positions he plays the Indians have veterans Branyan and Kearns playing there everyday. Obviously, you and I prefer Brown over either guy, but until Kearns/Branyan are injured or traded, I don't see Brown coming to Cleveland. He is more than deserving, and once Branyan and/or Kearns are likely dealt at some point between now and the end of July, then he will be here. They have to play them now in order to show their trade value. I'd be surprised if come August 1st he is not here unless he is injured, which has been his problem this year as he’s missed a lot of time with the knee injury in spring training and then the back spasms a few weeks ago. But once he does get here he could sure add a different dynamic to the offense with his ability to make consistent contact and hit for average, something I think this lineup desperately needs.

Frank wrote: Although we're only one third of the way through the season do you think it's accurate to say the organization is pleased with the progress of Joe Gardner? There was mild to significant trepidation at his draft selection by many experts and was compounded by not pitching during short season. Interesting stat is he has only taken one official lost since spring 2008.

If you want to point to the biggest surprise or breakout performance of the year, to me it has to be Gardner. I saw him in the Fall Instructional League when he dominated in his last outing there with his nasty sinker and was pretty high on him myself going into the season, though hedged a little considering he had yet to pitch a true professional inning. But so far he has proven any doubter wrong and has arguably been the best pitcher in the entire minor league system this year. Even though he was considered to be kind of raw coming out of college, he has dominated both Single-A circuits in High-A and Low-A and probably will at some point be pushed up to Double-A Akron to be challenged. But the organization is extremely pleased with what he has shown. He still has a long way to go, but the progress he has made in such a short amount of time is impressive and exciting.

KP wrote: Will Pino get up this year? I think he will be a free agent after this year. He is currently not on the 40 man roster. Thoughts?

Probably not. The Indians already have a pretty full roster with pitching, and the next guys they will look to for relief help will be Jess Todd and Joe Smith. For starters, they will go to Aaron Laffey and Carlos Carrasco first, so with that in mind he is at best the third option either as a reliever or starter. The only way it appears that Pino and others in Columbus like Josh Tomlin and Vinnie Pestano may have a shot is if the injury bug hits the big league team and those first options listed above are used up. They could be September callup possibilities, but I think they will let Pino and Tomlin carry out the year in Columbus and see how things stand in the offseason with deciding whether to roster them or not.

Jim F. wrote: Tony, I noticed that a couple of the international players the Indians signed over the winter were not on the Dominican roster. The biggest name not on the roster is SS Jorge Martinez who was supposed to be the Tribe's best signee. Another name is pitcher Jonathan Cedeno. Are these players in Arizona and scheduled to play in the states or did they come up short during drug testing or with passport problems?

Martinez, who impressed in the Fall Instructional League, is set to begin his professional playing career at rookie-level Arizona this year and is completely skipping playing in the Dominican Summer League (DSL). As for Cedeno, he is in the DSL though not on the roster. He is not a prospect.

Speaking of the Arizona League team, they kickoff play next week and will have a very good mix of Latin players with promise on the roster. In addition to Martinez, players like catcher Alex Monsalve, outfielder Dioris Robles, first baseman Jesus Aguilar, and when he is cleared to pitch left-hander Elvis Araujo should all be part of the team. Third baseman Giovanny Urshela is highly regarded and will likely be in Low-A Lake County for the second half of their season or short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley once their season’s starts tomorrow.

Posted in: Adam Miller,Chun-Hsiu Chen,Joe Gardner,Jordan Brown,Jorge Martinez,Jose Constanza,Josh Tomlin,Roberto Perez,Yohan Pino