Around the Farm: April 9

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.

T.J. McFarland - SP, Kinston: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR.
Even though he was tagged with the loss, McFarland got his season off to a solid start. He gave up a big 2-run homer with one out in the 1st inning off the scoreboard in right field, but after that he really settled down. The last 5.1 innings he regrouped and allowed 1 run (unearned) on 3 hits. Really, that one mistake pitch in the first inning for the homer was the only real bad pitch he threw all night. It was a quality outing/start, and hopefully the first of many more to come this season.

• Alex White - SP, Columbus: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 3 BB, 6 K. Solid Triple-A debut for White, but needs to show a lot more going forward.
• Paolo Espino - RP, Columbus: 1.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R/ER, 0 BB, 1 K. Bullpen spots are limited in Columbus, and Espino does not have a firm hold on one. Imperative he pitches well in early going to keep one.
• Jess Todd - RP, Columnus: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 2 K. Another tough outing, perhaps a spring hangover from not making big league team?
• Ezequiel Carrera - CF, Columbus: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, K, SB. Off to a rousing start reaching base 9 times in 3 games.
• Cord Phelps - SS, Columbus: 2-for-5, R, RBI, BB. At shortstop for the second straight game. Indians appear committed to playing him there, perhaps more than Luis Valbuena.
• Chad Huffman - LF, Columbus: 0-for-3, R, 3 BB, 2 K. Yet to get a hit in 3 games but has 5 walks.
• Jason Kipnis - 2B, Columbus: 1-for-4, R, 3B, 3 RBI, 2K. Big hit in 8th helped bring the Clippers back.
• Jerad Head - RF, Columbus: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 K. Often forgotten because of his age, but just continues to produce year in and year out.
• Matt McBride - 1B, Akron: 0-for-5. Just 1-for-14 in first 3 games and you have to wonder if the assignment to Akron for the third year in a row is affecting him.
• Jordan Henry - RF, Akron: 2-for-5, RBI, SB. Typical steady, non-flashy performance by Henry.
• Scott Barnes - SP, Akron: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Pretty solid effort from Barnes, and the strikeouts are nice to see, but needs to be more efficient with his pitches to give his team 5-6 innings.
• Eric Berger - RP, Akron: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. The Stache looks great in his first appearance of 2011, hopefully it continues.
• C.C. Lee - RP, Akron: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K. Rough outing from Lee, a notorious slow starter.
• Bo Greenwell - RF, Kinston: 1-for-2, R, BB, SB. Greenwell is off to another good start with 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 stole bases in 2 games.
• Chase Burnette - 1B, Kinston: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI. Only K-Tribe hitter with a multi-hit game as team only had 5 hits on Saturday.
• Abner Abreu - CF, Kinston: 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K. Interesting that Abreu has been playing center field, but 5 strikeouts in 2 games is concerning.
• Nick Bartolone - SS, Lake County: 0-for-5, 2 K. In last two games Bartolone is 0-for-10 with 5 strikeouts...I'd expect him to get a day off today since he is clearly pressing.
• Giovanny Urshela - 3B, Lake County: 2-for-4, K. Urshela quickly establishing himself as key cog to Captains lineup.
• Jason Smit - RF, Lake County: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K. Hottest Captains hitter in first three games going 7-for-12 with 2 RBI.
• Kyle Blair - SP, Lake County: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 4 BB, 1 K. Solid pro debut for Blair who obviously was a little overamped with the 4 walks.
• Owen Dew - RP, Lake County: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR. One of the worst performances to date by anyone on the Captains' pitching staff.
• Nate Striz - RP, Lake County: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K. Walked the bases full, but worked out of it. More consistent strikes please.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).

Posted in: Around the Farm