Minor Happenings: Mills enjoying some early success

Beau Mills (Photo: Lianna Holub)

"Minor Happenings" is a weekly column which recaps the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that cover each team.

A bit of a change with Minor Happenings this week. With the draft taking up so much time the past two weeks, this report did not post the past two Thursday's. So with that in mind, today is more of an adminsitrative posting to catch up on some things that would have posted over the last two weeks with Player of the Week awards and such.  A normal and much bigger update should follow tomorrow or Friday with this week's Happenings.

Depending on time, I may split tomorrow's update into two pieces or post it on Friday as I have a lot to share, but because I have to leave for Florida tomorrow for a family matter I am unsure how much I will be able to get to. Either way, something should post tomorrow and/or Friday!

I'll be in Lake County again tonight as I try to get more looks at some of the younger players in the system.

Onto the Happenings...

Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from June 2nd through June 8th)

Beau Mills (First baseman - Akron)
.458 (11-24), 6 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K, 1.286 OPS

Mills has had a solid start to his season at Double-A Akron where in 27 games he is hitting .290 with 3 HR, 20 RBI, and a .793 OPS. His outburst last week shows that the potential is still there for him to be a productive bat; it is just now finding the consistency to do it night in and night out.

Mills, 24, had the start of his season delayed because of a left Achilles injury. It is an injury which had lingered since the end of last season and flared up on him in spring training, so he was shut down and remained in extended spring training when the season started to rehab and get healthy. Once he joined Akron in mid-May he fit right in and looks to have made a few adjustments to help him see the ball better. Most importantly he is confident at the plate again now that the slate has been wiped clean after two disappointing seasons in 2009 and 2010. He has a tendency to chase pitches out of the zone, but so far this year he has been able to minimalize that and is doing a much better job putting up quality at bats. He is letting the ball get deeper and has simplified his approach to where he is not trying to do too much at the plate.

If Mills can re-emerge as a prospect it would be a big boost to the Indians system. One of the biggest things they lack is power, and he certainly has lots of it. He has the prospect pedigree as a former first round pick so he is going to get every opportunity to prove himself with an extremely long leash.

You can't get too excited as it is just 27 games and really Mills’ numbers are not that different from his 2009 season in Akron, but while the objective numbers may not say a lot the subjective views certainly show an improved player from last year. He may be yet another left-handed hitter, but if he continues to perform and becomes more consistent he immediately jumps back onto the prospect map as big league option in the near future.

Honorable Mentions:

Jeanmar Gomez (RHP – COL): 1-0, 1.20 ERA, 2 G, 15.0 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 11 K, .176 AVG
Paolo Espino (RHP – AKR): 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 2 G, 9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, .194 AVG
T.J. House (LHP – KIN): 1-1, 2.57 ERA, 2 G, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, .174 AVG
Roberto Perez (C – KIN): .563 (9-16), 3 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K, 1.525 OPS
Jeremie Tice (1B – KIN): .474 (9-19), 5 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K, 1.316 OPS
Tyler Cannon (INF – KIN): .423 (11-26), 6 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K, 1.231 OPS
Matt McBride (OF – AKR): .385 (10-26), 4 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, 1.124 OPS
Luis Valbuena (INF – COL): .429 (12-28), 5 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K, 1.091 OPS

Previous Winners:

05/26 to 06/01 Anthony Gallas (OF - Lake County)
05/19 to 05/25: Tim Fedroff (OF – Akron)
05/12 to 05/18: Steven Wright (RHP – Lake County)
05/05 to 05/11: Cord Phelps (INF – Columbus)
04/28 to 05/04: Chun Chen (C – Akron)
04/21 to 04/27: Chad Huffman (OF – Columbus)
04/14 to 04/20: Alex White (RHP – Columbus)
04/07 to 04/13: Drew Pomeranz (LHP – Kinston)

IPI Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from May 26th through June 1st)

Anthony Gallas (Outfielder – Lake County)
.417 (10-24), 4 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, 1.333 OPS

It is hard not to look at what outfielder Anthony Gallas has done so far this season and not consider it as one of the biggest developments of the season. His out of nowhere performance has been a pleasure to see, especially for a hometown kid looking to achieve his dream of playing in the Major Leagues. Outside of right-hander Adam Miller's miraculous comeback, there arguably is no better story to come out of the Indians' farm system this year.

Gallas, 23, was an unheralded prospect coming into the season who was hanging onto a job by a thread because of his low priority as a player in the system after signing as an undrafted free agent last summer. All of that changed immediately this spring when he impressed a lot of coaches and decision makers with the Indians. He was awarded a spot on the Low-A Lake County roster to start the season partly because outfielder Jordan Casas got hurt late in spring training but mostly because Gallas earned it with a dominating spring performance. He carried it over into the season where he just abused Midwest League pitchers. Whether or not he was old for the league, he still performed, which is something not a lot of older guys do.

It was only a matter of time before Gallas would be summoned to High-A Kinston. With four high priority outfielders already on the Kinston roster, a spot would need to open up for him to move up. That opportunity came on Sunday when outfielder Bo Greenwell broke his finger and will be out for awhile (more on that tomorrow), and Gallas was promoted to Kinston on Monday. In the wake of one player's misfortune, another players gets an opportunity. Such is the way of minor league baseball.

Gallas leaves behind the comforts of home in Lake County where he hit .314 with 6 HR, 21 RBI and a .910 OPS in 57 games. He leaves the league ranked 5th in hitting, 1st in doubles (24), 5th in hits (65), 4th in slugging percentage (.517), 8th in on-base percentage (.393), 5th in OPS, and 6th in total bases (107). In two games with Kinston so far he is 2-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI. His solid approach at the plate, a knack for consistently barreling up the ball, and his superior intensity level has been the keys to his success.

Honorable Mentions:

Luis Valbuena (INF – COL): .423 (11-26), 3 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, .944 OPS
Chun Chen (C- AKR): .333 (8-24), 3 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, .902 OPS
Roberto Perez (C – KIN): .385 (5-13), 2 R, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, .940 OPS
Alex Monsalve (C – LC): .370 (10-27), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K, .765 OPS
Michael Goodnight (RHP – LC): 1-0, 0.90 ERA, 2 G, 10.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 8 BB, 13 K, .235 AVG
Zach McAllister (RHP – COL): 0-1, 2.40 ERA, 2 G, 15.0 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, .192 AVG

IPI Minor League Player of the Month
(for May)

Tim Fedroff (Outfielder – Akron)
.412 (42-102), 18 R, 8 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 20 RBI, 10 BB, 11 K, 4 SB, .994 OPS

There were a lot of good performances for the month of May up and down the Indians minor league system, but it came down to Low-A Lake County outfielder Anthony Gallas and Double-A Akron outfielder Tim Fedroff. Both were worthy of the award as both had outstanding months, but while Gallas had more extra base hits, Fedroff got the nod in the end for the higher batting average, run production, and other numbers across the board.

Fedroff, 24, was also named by the Eastern League as their Player of the Month for May. For the month he led the entire league in batting (.412), hits (42) and on-base percentage (.465). He also finished the month tied for 4th in the league in OPS (.994), tied for 5th in RBI (20), tied for 7th in triples (2), tied for 8th in runs scored (18) and tied for 10th in total bases (54). His strong month was fueled by a 20-game hitting streak from May 4th to May 27th where he hit .468 with 18 RBI. The hitting streak tied for the third longest in Akron history with infielder Ryan Mulhern (July 22 to August 18, 2005). He currently leads the league in hitting, is 3rd in on-base percentage, and is 2nd in hits.

After what was considered a down year at Akron last year where Fedroff hit .274 with 4 HR, 36 RBI and a .715 OPS, it is nice to see him bounce back and performing like the prospect the Indians thought he was when they paid him $725K to sign out of the 2008 Draft. He is having something of a revival season for Akron where in 59 games he is hitting .344 with 2 HR, 31 RBI, and a .841 OPS. He will never be a power threat, but he is back to being an all-around player by consistently getting on-base (.399), stealing bases (7), putting up quality at bats (21 BB, 29 K, 224 AB), and playing solid defense. It is amazing what a little confidence can do at the plate.

Honorable Mentions:

Jerad Head (OF – COL): .323 (30-93), 19 R, 9 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 10 BB, 26 K, .914 OPS
Jason Kipnis (2B- COL): .312 (34-109), 18 R, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 7 BB, 18 K, 5 SB, .854 OPS
Cord Phelps (SS – COL): .324 (35-108), 15 R, 10 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 10 BB, 28 K, .957 OPS
Zach McAllister (RHP – COL): 3-1, 1.88 ERA, 6 G, 43.0 IP, 29 H, 3 HR, 9 BB, 34 K, .193 AVG
Matt McBride (OF – AKR): .289 (33-114), 18 R, 7 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 7 BB, 22 K, .886 OPS
Austin Adams (RHP – AKR): 3-1, 1.78 ERA, 6 G, 30.1 IP, 27 H, 17 BB, 33 K, .241 AVG
Clayton Cook (RHP – KIN): 4-1, 1.77 ERA, 6 G, 35.2 IP, 28 H, 11 BB, 27 K, .212 AVG
Giovanni Soto (LHP – KIN): 3-0, 2.03 ERA, 6 G, 31.0 IP, 25 H, 8 BB, 34 K, .223 AVG
Anthony Gallas (OF – LC): .371 (39-105), 17 R, 14 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 11 BB, 18 K, 1.026 OPS
Mike Rayl (LHP – LC): 2-1, 1.44 ERA, 5 G, 25.0 IP, 19 H, 1 BB, 27 K, .211 AVG

Previous Winners:

April: Tyler Cannon (INF - Lake County)

The Marathon

What a crazy Sunday afternoon for High-A Kinston where a game that started in the early afternoon carried on almost to sunset because of a wild 23-inning game which they ultimately won 3-2. The 6 hour and 27 minute game ended just before the 8 o'clock hour, and by then almost all the fans in attendance had gone home leaving just the two teams in a near-empty stadium.

The game ended up going down as the longest ever in the 66-year and 33,610 game history of the Carolina League as the longest game prior to Sunday occurred on July 5, 1998 between Wilmington and Danville when they went 21 innings. The game finally ended in the bottom of the 23rd inning when infielder Casey Frawley ripped a two out single into left field that drove in catcher Roberto Perez from third base.

The stats from the game are amazing. Even though both starting pitchers in the game went six innings apiece, the two teams still combined to use 15 pitches and throw 654 pitches. Somehow, someway none of those pitchers was a position player, but had the game gone another inning or two that may have happened. Two different players for Kinston struck out six times (Adam Abraham, Casey Frawley), two players who played the whole game managed to go hitless (Doug Pickens, Tyler Cannon), and K-Tribe batters as a whole struck out 32 times for the game (Myrtle Beach struck out 16 times).

What a crazy game, and it just goes to show that you never know what you will see when you visit the ole ball yard for a game.

Single-A All Stars

After play finishes this weekend the full season Single-A circuit will enjoy their All Star break as the first half of the season comes to a close. Both the Carolina League and Midwest League will participate in their All Star games next Tuesday, and as a result both High-A Kinston and Low-A Lake County will enjoy a three day break. The break in play also typically brings some changes to the roster as players are promoted or demoted accordingly, and some new players from the draft are sometimes mixed in for the start of second half play.

Lake County will be sending six players to the Midwest League All Star game at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, IA. The six representatives are left-handed pitcher Mike Rayl, right-handed pitcher Michael Goodnight, right-handed pitcher Clayton Ehlert, outfielder Anthony Gallas, catcher Alex Monsalve, and infielder Argenis Martinez. Rayl and Gallas will not make the trip as Rayl is out with a minor injury and Gallas was promoted. Manager Ted Kubiak will manage the team and will be assisted by his coaches Jim Rickon and Jeff Harris.

Kinston will be sending three players to the California League vs. Carolina League All Star game to be played in Modesto, CA. The K-Tribe representatives will be left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz, right-handed pitcher Preston Guilmet, and infielder Justin Toole. Manager Aaron Holbert will serve as a coach under Potomac manager Matt LeCroy. Left-handed pitcher Giovanni Soto was selected to the team, but is not going due to injury.

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: Anthony Gallas,Beau Mills,Kinston Indians,Tim Fedroff