Minor Happenings: Pomeranz's days numbered in Kinston

Drew Pomeranz (Photo: MiLB.com)

"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.

Okay, time for take three of Minor Happenings this week. Be sure to check take one which was a catchup version posted on Wednesday and then take two yesterday which was the first half of this week's normal posting.  There are lots of updates in both pieces, so be to check out all three parts of this week's Happenings trilogy.

Things should get back to normal next week with one installment of Minor Happenings now that the draft is over and a lot of the early signing news has sub-sided. More players should be signed in the coming days, which I will continue to update and post in the 2011 Draft Signing posting.  You can also go to the 2011 Draft listing which is also linked to the right of the page to keep track of all the 2011 Draft picks signing status and view their individual capsules.

Onto the Happenings....

Pomeranz likely on the move

Drew Pomeranz

With the first half coming to a close on Sunday for the Single-A teams, do not be surprised if this coming week that High-A Kinston left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz is promoted to Double-A Akron. Last night in Kinston he made what was probably his final start for the K-Tribe where he put up his longest and arguably best outing of the year going 7.0 innings and allowing 1 run on 5 hits, 1 walk and had 7 strikeouts. In 12 starts this year he is 2-2 with a 1.93 ERA, and in 60.2 innings has allowed 44 hits, 23 walks, and has 77 strikeouts.

Pomeranz, 22, has come back well after being shut down for around two weeks because of a lingering hamstring issue and tweaking his mechanics and working on polishing his curveball and changeup in bullpen sessions while he was temporarily shut down. He has a lot of confidence in his fastball and is his go to pitch, but his secondary stuff at times - particularly his changeup - have been inconsistent.

The performance both subjectively and objectively for Pomeranz so far this year has been outstanding. The challenges the organization has made for him to improve his changeup and control the running game have been met, now it is time to see what he can do at the next level. Getting him to Akron where he likely will finish out the season would be a good way to test him for half of a season and force him to use his offspeed pitches more and continue developing his changeup.

Miller continues to pitch well

Adam Miller

It’s been a few weeks, so time for another obligatory Adam Miller update. Sometimes no news is good news, and that is exactly the case for the Texan right-hander these days. He has been pitching in games now since March and has had no setbacks of any kind with his finger, and since being promoted to Double-A Akron a few weeks back is 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA in 6 appearances with Akron. Overall this season in 14 combined appearances between High-A Kinston and Akron he is 1-2 with a 4.66 ERA (19.1 IP, 16 H, 9 BB, 19 K). As the peripheral numbers show he has been much better than the ERA suggests, which is ballooned as of the result of one or two bad outings.

The magnitude of Miller’s miraculous comeback is not only being appreciated and praised by Indians fans, but by everyone in the organization as well as the players. When Kinston manager Aaron Holbert announced to the team that he was being called up to Akron a few weeks back his Kinston teammates lined up at his locker while he packed to each individually congratulate him on reaching the next step in his quest to make it to the big leagues.

Miller is still working on the consistency of his stuff as most of the time it is there, but every so often it can disappear an outing here and there. The velocity has probably peaked at 95 MPH, which is still very good, and the slider is coming along although it still has a ways to go with him becoming comfortable with the deeper grip in his hand. He just needs more reps to build up arm strength since he has barely pitched in three years. He also needs to continue to work on getting more consistent with the slider and will eventually need to prove he is durable enough to pitch every other night and then on back-to-back nights.

There have been absolutely no setbacks, not even minor pain with the finger, and as a result Miller rarely even thinks about it anymore. Since he is on an expedited track there is a good chance he could soon move up to Triple-A Columbus, and while he may not be a big league option this year in Cleveland, do not be surprised if he is healthy and performing well that he is a September callup when rosters expand from 25 players to 40 players. It would be a perfect time to add him back to the big league roster as an option for 2012, but to also put the finishing touches on a great comeback and to reach the big leagues this year. What a payoff, and amazing night that would be if it happens.

Forward Head-ing?

Jerad Head

One of the better developments this season has been the continued good play of do-everything player Jerad Head at Triple-A Columbus. He can play any position on the field and has over his career, but has only played outfield in Columbus this year. He has always proven his worth as an organizational player and for an undrafted player he has already achieved more than anyone ever thought he would. All that having been said, he is continually improving at the plate and it may eventually pay off for him with a cup of coffee in the big leagues some day.

Head, 28, is not really considered much of a prospect in the industry because of his age, but as players in the past like Casey Blake have shown, sometimes players get better with age and blossom in the twilight of their prospect years. In 53 games this year for Columbus he is hitting .309 with 8 HR, 29 RBI, and a .875 OPS, which is coming off a very good season last year where he hit .299 with 17 HR, 66 RBI and a .906 OPS in 86 combined games between Double-A Akron and Columbus.

Head has never been a priority player for the Indians and may still not be, but that doesn’t seem to bother him as he just keeps going out and producing all while being unsure what position he may play on any given night. He is a hard working player who is an overachiever and gives everything he has night in and night out, and those kinds of players have value to an organization even if they are not considered big time prospects.

This was put on display earlier in the year on May 6th against Lehigh Valley when Head ran into the outfield wall in left field to try and catch the ball and ended up popping out his shoulder. He simply got up, popped it back in, and stayed in the game and collected two hits and a sacrifice fly the rest of the way. That’s a guy fans will have no problem rallying behind and learning to love if he ever gets a chance to play in Cleveland.

Forgotten Man

Matt McBride

Double-A Akron first baseman and outfielder Matt McBride has been sort of struck in neutral this year. He is playing well as in 67 games he is hitting .273 with 12 HR, 40 RBI and a .838 OPS, but he is playing down a level at Akron when he should probably be at Triple-A Columbus. This is not because of some personal vendetta that the organization has against him; it is just because there is nowhere to play him in Columbus because of a deep mix of outfielders and first basemen there.

McBride, 26, should see time at Columbus this year, the only question is when. With Nick Johnson and Jared Goedert getting most of the time at first base and designated hitter, and then Jerad Head and Chad Huffman getting the time in left and right field as well as Nick Weglarz likely to be in the mix there soon, there just is no spot for him. This will likely change in the next two to three weeks as the Indians make roster decisions which could involve promoting any or all of Goedert, Huffman, Head and Johnson. When and if that happens, then McBride’s opportunity in Columbus should arrive.

Through it all McBride has remained positive and been the consummate professional even though if he were in almost any other organization he would probably at least be playing at the Triple-A level. He has continued to work on his swing, and after a slow start in April where he hit .237 with 1 HR, 4 RBI and a .662 OPS, he has bounced back where since May 1st he is hitting .290 with 11 HR, 36 RBI and a .917 OPS in 44 games.

Popham ready for another challenge

Marty Popham

I think it is safe to say that High-A Kinston right-handed pitcher Marty Popham needs a better challenge at the Double-A level. He has been up to Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus for a handful of spot starts, but has yet to settle in at either level. Meanwhile, in 9 appearances this year (3 starts) at Kinston he is 1-0 with a 2.59 ERA. The impressive part for him are the peripherals as in 31.1 innings he has allowed just 22 hits and no walks while striking out 30 batters.

The problem for Popham and so many other pitchers in the system is that the Indians are deep with pitching, so while in past years Popham would surely already be in Akron, that is not the case for him and his pitching brethren this year as many are stuck at a level lower than they should be at. The Indians made a lot of moves in the system yesterday, and with the first half coming to a close this weekend for Kinston and Low-A Lake County along with short season leagues starting up, some pitching moves will surely still be made in the coming days.

Popham, 23, has a Major League quality fastball-changeup combination. He has good velocity and gets swing and miss with the fastball because it has a lot of life in the zone, and the changeup is a solid-average pitch. Also, with his 6’6” size he really leverages the ball well. But the key to him separating himself and becoming a true big league option will be the development of his slider, which is something the organization has challenged him this year to improve.

Iron Man

Roberto Perez

There is a super hero on the loose at High-A Kinston and his name is Roberto Perez. The K-Tribe defensive stalwart behind the plate showed off some incredible durability and strength this week where he caught an unheard of 46 innings in three days from Saturday through Monday. On Sunday and Monday he caught all 37 innings alone because of the 23-inning marathon on Sunday and the double-header on Monday.

Had Perez been an animal, some animal rights activist would surely have called PETA for cruel and unusual punishment, but Perez was up to the challenge. The Kinston coaching staff left it up to Perez if he felt good enough to play in the second game of the double-header on Monday and he said he felt strong and good to go so they let him play both games. He has been swinging a hot bat of late, and with the team making a late push for the first half division title felt he was not being exposed to any risk of injury.

Perez has been red hot at the plate in June hitting .390 with 1 HR, 5 RBI, and a 1.148 OPS in 12 games, which has raised his batting average on the season from .177 to .257 since the start of play on May 30th. In 47 games this year he is hitting .257 with 1 HR, 15 RBI, and a .774 OPS.

Reichenbach to the rescue

J.D. Reichenbach

What an impressive performance by High-A Kinston left-handed pitcher J.D. Reichenbach on Tuesday. Called up on Monday from Low-A Lake County to fill in for a taxed pitching staff he actually pitched a third of an inning of relief in game two of Kinston’s doubleheader on Monday night. Then, the very next day on Tuesday he went out and made a spot start and pitched 5.2 innings of no-hit ball in his first career professional start. Wow.

The Indians were hoping Reichenbach would give them three, maybe four innings because he was on a 50 pitch count, but he was so efficient that he ended up giving them 5.2 innings while still making only the mandated 50 pitches. He did not allow a hit, and even though he walked two batters and hit another he still ended up facing the minimum over his 5.2 innings before he walked the last batter he faced thanks to three double plays. He threw first pitch strikes to 13 of 18 batters, and 13 of the batters saw three pitches or less. He was aided by a five-pitch third, seven-pitch fourth, and a seven-pitch fifth, a total of just 19 pitches to get nine outs in those three innings. That was just what the doctor ordered for the K-Tribe pitching staff which had pitched 37 innings the two previous days.

Reichenbach doesn’t throw hard, but he mixes up his three pitch mix of a fastball, changeup and slider well. He worked to his strength which is pitching to contact and keeping the ball down in the zone. His call to Kinston was only temporary as a few days later he was sent back to Lake County. In 18 combined appearances between Lake County and Kinston he is 4-1 with a 2.85 ERA (47.1 IP, 39 H, 13 BB, 36 ).

Remember us?

Jordan Brown

There are lots of former Tribe minor league players sprinkled all around the minors hanging onto the dream and playing for several other organizations or in independent ball. Here is a quick listing of some notable former Indians’ prospects with where they are and how they are doing:

First baseman Jordan Brown is in the Brewers organization and playing for their Triple-A Nashville affiliate, and in 34 games he is hitting .259 with 1 HR, 13 RBI and a .637 OPS. His once promising career as a hitter seems to be evaporating this year as injuries and other limitations may have caught up with him.

Left-handed pitcher Chuck Lofgren is pitching in the Giants organization for their Triple-A San Jose affiliate, and in 12 games is 2-0 with a 4.91 ERA and in 14.2 innings has allowed 11 hits, 10 walks, and has 14 strikeouts. He missed all of April with an injury.

Outfielder Brad Snyder is in the Cubs organization and playing for their Triple-A Iowa affiliate, and in 38 games is hitting .342 with 7 HR, 29 RBI and a .943 OPS. He has also played in eight games in the big leagues this year going 1-for-9 at the plate. Last year he had an incredible year at Iowa hitting .308 with 25 HR, 108 RBI and a .949 OPS in 132 games, and made his Major League debut in September hitting .185 with 0 HR, 5 RBI and a .437 OPS in 12 games.

Stephen Head

Right-handed pitcher J.D. Martin is in the Nationals organization and playing for their Triple-A Syracuse affiliate, and in 14 games (6 starts) he is 1-4 with a 5.09 ERA and in 46.0 innings has allowed 48 hits, 9 walks, and has 27 strikeouts. He made his Major League debut for the Nationals last year making nine starts and going 1-5 with a 4.13 ERA (48.0 IP, 56 H, 11 BB, 31 K).

Former first baseman and outfielder Stephen Head is with the Rockies organization and apparently is making a comeback as a pitcher where they will start the experiment with their short season Single-A Tri-City team. For those that remember when the Indians selected Head in the 2nd round of the 2005 Draft, he was a highly touted pitcher and first baseman for Ole Miss, so it appears he is giving baseball one last try as a pitcher.

In the independent Atlantic League the league is littered with former prospects who were in the organization at some point in the past half decade. Right-handed pitcher Jake Dittler is on the disabled list and in 7 starts this year is 1-5 with a 8.70 ERA (30.0 IP, 44 H, 14 BB, 23 K). Right-handed pitcher Brian Slocum in 3 starts is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA (17.0 IP, 13 H, 4 BB, 15 K). Right-handed pitcher Jim Ed Warden in 17 appearances is 0-0 with a 0.53 ERA with 13 saves (17.0 IP, 5 H, 6 BB, 15 K). Infielder Brandon Pinckney is hitting .287 with 2 HR and 11 RBI in 40 games. Outfielder Brian Barton is hitting .318 with 0 HR and 2 RBI in 7 games. Right-handed pitcher Bubbie Buzachero in 16 appearances is 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA and 8 saves (16.0 IP, 15 H, 3 BB, 11 K). First baseman Ryan Mulhern is hitting .348 with 10 HR and 34 RBI in 29 games.

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: Adam Miller,Brad Snyder,Chuck Lofgren,Drew Pomeranz,J.D. Martin,J.D. Reichenbach,Jerad Head,Jordan Brown,Marty Popham,Matt McBride,Roberto Perez,Stephen Head