Around the Farm: September 3

Around the farm takes a quick look at some of yesterday's performances by Indians prospects throughout the system. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday's game.

Abner Abreu-OF, Kinston: 1-3, HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 BB, R, K.
Abreu is a guy I was really, really high on going into 2010, to the point that I predicted he would win the 2010 Carolina League MVP. Looking at his season line of .248/.286/.357, that prediction seems more silly than bold. The wiry 21-year old Dominican has just 4 HR in 395 AB's after combining for 19 in 445 AB's in 2008-2009. I still very much believe in Abreu's talent, he just needs to refine his approach and become more selective at the plate. He's walked 20 times this year and struck out 126. That simply isn't going to cut it, even if he were hitting for more power. Once he gets better at identifying his pitch and laying off pitches out of the zone, he'll be able to drive the ball with much more authority and his tools will play.

Chun Chen-C, Kinston: 2-5, RBI, R.
For me, the debate isn't whether Chen is a top-15 guy going into next season, but just how high he slots in. If you've never played catcher South of the Mason-Dixon line, you'll just have to trust me when I say that its hot, humid and exhausting. Hitting becomes almost an afterthought, especially later in the year when most players start to tire. Chen bucked this trend in a big way, posting a 1.019 OPS in August. For the sake of comparison, Carlos Santana put up a 1.043 in a month's worth of games in the Carolina League after coming over from the Dodgers in 2008. And Santana was 22, while Chen is still just 21. Chen doesn't have Santana's raw power at this point, but he shares his advanced approach and pitch recognition skills. I am really, really excited about Chun Chen's future in this organization.

• Zach McAllister-SP, Columbus: 6 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 5 K, 3 BB. McAllister's 3rd start for Columbus, and his ERA is now 6.88 for the Clips.
• Carlton Smith-RP, Columbus: 2 IP, 3 H, K. Smith has had a rough year for the Clippers, with a 6.38 ERA in 37 AAA appearances. He's settled down of late though, allowing just one ER in his last 8 IP.
• Jared Goedert-3B, Columbus: 1-3, R, BB, K. Goedert is picking things up of late, and is hitting .347 (8-23) with 3 HR over his last 6.
• Nick Hagadone-RP, Akron: 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB. Ugly line for Hagadone, whose numbers have not had the anticipated bump with his move to the bullpen.
• Lonnie Chisenhall-3B, Akron: 2-4, 2B, 3B, R. August was Chisenhall's best month of the season, with a .906 OPS.
• Jeremie Tice-1B, Kinston: 2-5, 3B, R, 2 K. Tice has hit in 8 of his last 10, with a line of .333/.432/.694, 3 HR and 10 RBI over that span.
• Karexon Sanchez-DH, Kinston: 2-5, 2 K. A rare good day for Sanchez away from Grainger Stadium. He has an .881 OPS at home this year compared to just .689 on the road.
• Adam Abraham-3B, Lake County: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K. Abraham is closing the regular season on a strong note, hitting .333/.405/.545 in his last 10 games for the Caps.
• Julio Ramirez-RP, Mahoning Valley: 3 IP, 4 H, 5 K, 2 BB. Ramirez has 23 K in his 22 IP for the Scrappers. The 25-year old has a 6.55 ERA in the New York-Penn League this year.
• Gio Urshela-3B, Mahoning Valley: 1-4, 3 K. 1.000 BABIP for Urshela yesterday, as he collected one of the Scrappers 6 hits.

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