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Phelps takes aim at second and third base in Cleveland. (Tony Lastoria) |
Phelps Improves His Standing
Cleveland Indians second base prospect Cord Phelps had one heck of an impressive showing at the plate in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) this year. The league wrapped up play on Thursday, and in 19 games he hit .367 with 3 homers, 10 RBI, and a 1.031 OPS. As the leadoff hitter for the Peoria Javelinas he also stole three bases and walked (16) more times than he struck out (14) in 79 at bats.
The numbers Phelps put up in the AFL were just a continuation of what was really a great year for him. In 119 combined games at Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus this past season he hit .308 with 8 homers, 54 RBI, and had an .825 OPS.
The offensive showing was nice, but the primary area of focus for Phelps in the AFL was to experiment and see how he handled third base. The Indians sent him out to the AFL to see if he could improve his versatility and be an option at third base, a position of great need for them in 2011. He struggled initially – which was to be expected - with seven errors in 11 games, but had just one error in his last eight games. More importantly, the subjective evaluations of him from Indians staffers were positive as they felt he settled in nicely, looked comfortable, and played well defensively.
It was great to see Phelps perform well both defensively and offensively in the AFL, but don’t get too carried away or over-excited by the numbers he put up. The real numbers to be excited about are what he did over the course of the 2010 season and the progress he made defensively, not what he did at the plate over a three week stint in Arizona this fall in a notorious hitter’s league.
You obviously always want to see players perform on the highest of stages - which is what the AFL is - but it is only a limited small sample of data in a league where it is mostly about scouting than statistics and gives teams a chance to evaluate players up against other similar competition. Some of that is stats related, but most is the evaluation of the tools (abilities) that a player possesses and how they may project as a future big leaguer.
To add some perspective, last year Indians minor league first baseman and outfielder Matt McBride played in the AFL and hit .378 with 4 homers, 18 RBI and had a 1.160 OPS in 22 games, yet was not rostered by the Indians in the offseason nor picked up in the Rule 5 Draft. The year before in 2008 infielder Jason Donald - then with the Phillies - hit .407 with 5 homers, 17 RBI, and had a 1.223 OPS in 25 games, but followed that up with a poor showing at Triple-A in 2009 missing time with several injuries and hit just .238 with a .645 OPS.
Phelps is certainly in the discussion as far as infield options go for the Indians next year as he is an option at two positions of need and provides a lot of versatility. He can’t play shortstop except maybe in a pinch, but he has now shown he is a more than capable option at both third base and second base. With the way he hits, the Indians are going to find a way to get him into the lineup, so if Jason Donald or Jayson Nix struggle early this spring Phelps could quickly leapfrog either one of them and become the new starter at their position.
One thing is for certain, with Phelps and Jason Kipnis both vying for time at second base at Triple-A Columbus and Donald likely to be there in Cleveland to open the season, it will make for one of the more interesting things to follow with how the Indians handle the position this spring and over the early part of next season. In addition to that, how third base is handled with Nix and Phelps in the short term considering top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall is waiting in the wings to maybe take over the position for good sometime after the All Star break.
Choo Gets His Exemption
Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and his South Korean teammates came away with gold at the 16th Asian Games on Friday when Korean beat the defending champion Taiwan team 9-3.
Choo’s military obligation to Korea has been well documented over the past few seasons. In South Korea any male under 30 years of age is required to serve 30 months in the military; however, the South Korean government provides an exemption to this requirement for their athletes who compete in the Asian Games and Olympics that win gold. This is a huge incentive to the athletes as it frees them from their military obligation.
Had Choo not earned gold, he likely would have been faced with a decision at some point in 2011 to obtain U.S. citizenship which would have meant he would not be able to return to his home country because he would face severe consequences for abandoning his military requirement. It would have been a big blow to Choo to not be able to return home since he is very popular there because of his success as a Major League Baseball player.
All that is moot now as Choo is freed from his military obligations, won’t have the prime of his big league career interrupted with mandated service time to his country, he can return home as he pleases, and he retains his status as a hero in his country.
By the way, the Taiwan team Choo and his South Korean teammates beat on Friday had Indians catching prospect Chun Chen on it. His country also has a mandatory military service requirement, though they are not as strict as South Korea. In Taiwan a player only needs to be named to the team and his military exemption is granted, so the Indians essentially killed two birds with one stone this offseason where two players had their military requirements waived in the Asian Games.
Playoff Correction
A few weeks ago I noted that Major League Baseball looked like it was full steam ahead with adding two wildcard teams to their playoff format in each league, resulting in a total of 12 playoff teams. As it turns out, it actually would not be two additional wildcard teams per league, but instead would be one additional wildcard team per league for a total of two teams being added to the playoff format
Under this setup there would be a wildcard round pitting the two wildcard teams from each league against one another in a likely three-game series. Meanwhile, all six division winners would get a bye and a much needed three to five days off to rest up and get their rotations in order. It looks very much like this is indeed going to happen, and because of all the logistics involved with ownership, the Major League Baseball Players Association, TV networks and others needing to sign off on it, the new format is not expected to be adopted until the 2012 season.
Roster Additions
On Friday the Indians finalized their 40-man roster by adding five players: right-handed pitchers Corey Kluber, Zach McAllister and Josh Judy, left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone, and infielder Jared Goedert.
The roster additions were necessary in order to protect them from being lost in the Rule 5 Draft, a draft held at the winter meetings in December where teams can select eligible players not protected on the 40-man roster. The one notable requirement for a player taken in the Rule 5 Draft is they must remain in the big leagues for the entire upcoming season and cannot be sent to the minors.
Cabrera Winter Ball Bound
Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is currently out in Venezuela getting ready to play for Caracas in the Venezuela Winter League. He needs to make up for some lost playing time in 2010 as he suffered a broken forearm in May which sidelined him for two months and limited him to just 97 games this past season. He is expected to play everyday at shortstop for Caracas and should begin playing right after Thanksgiving. He lives in Venezuela in the offseason.
Rivera Joins Farrell
Former Indians minor league manager Luis Rivera has joined John Farrell in Toronto to be a part of his new big league coaching staff. Rivera managed in the minors with the Indians from 2000-2005 before joining former manager Eric Wedge’s big league staff from 2006-2009. When Wedge and his staff were let go after the 2009 season, Rivera resurfaced as the manager for the Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire. The addition of Rivera and Torey Lovullo to Farrell's big league staff now reunites him with two former minor league managers under his watch when he was Indians Farm Director from 2001-2006.
Westbrook Remains A Cardinal
Former Indians right-handed pitcher Jake Westbrook re-signed with the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this week by agreeing to a new two year deal worth $16.5 million. The deal also includes a mutual option for $8.5 million in 2013. The Indians traded Westbrook to the Cardinals as part of a three team deal on July 31st for right-handed pitching prospect Corey Kluber.
Reyes Resigns
The Indians resigned right-handed pitcher Anthony Reyes to a minor league deal on Monday. He will be invited to big league spring training this February and will be in the mix for the fifth starter's spot, one that is shaping up to be quite a battle this spring. He had Tommy John surgery in 2009 and had recently been removed from the 40-man roster.
Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. His latest book the 2010 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is also available for purchase on his site for a special year end closeout sale of $10.00 (including shipping and handling stateside).
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