Minor Happenings: Wolters impresses in The Valley

Tony Wolters (Photo: IPI)

"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.

This report was absent last week as I was on vacation, and with the Indians heavily involved in trade deadline discussions most of my attention has been there this week. With new information and news coming in seemingly every moment on a potential Indians trades, it is time to get this report out today before it never gets out!

Once the dust settles with the trade deadline this weekend, things will be back to normal on the minor league front….that is until about August 10th when the draft signings will probably start to come fast and furious leading up to the August 15th deadline. I must say, from a reporting perspective with a focus on the draft, minor leagues, and big leagues that the period from June to mid-August is easily the busiest with the draft, trading deadline, All Star games, promotions, and all the signings!

As a reminder, I have lots in the pipeline with features on players like Beau Mills, Nick Weglarz, Michael Goodnight, Kyle Petter, Aaron Siliga and lots more. Also have lots of quotes from Farm Director Ross Atkins which I will post soon.

Also, I wanted to wish much luck to the departed Abner Abreu and Carlton Smith as they move onto their next baseball chapter with the Cubs. As this weekend gets into motion I have the feeling we will be saying goodbye to a handful of other minor league players in the Indians system. This is always the tough part, at least for me.

Onto the Happenings…

IPI Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from July 21st through July 27th)

Tony Wolters (Shortstop – Mahoning Valley)
.526 (10-for-19), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 3 SB, 1.188 OPS

Tony Wolters

There were some nice performances this past week like that of Low-A Lake County outfielder Carlos Moncrief, Triple-A Columbus right-handed pitcher Jeanmar Gomez, and Double-A Akron left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland, but the performance by short season Single-A Mahoning Valley shortstop Tony Wolters stole the show.

Wolters, who just turned 19-years old last month, is doing it all by not only hitting for average, but also drawing walks and driving the ball around the ballpark. On the season in 37 games he is hitting a very healthy .313 with a .407 on-base percentage, and is showing good plate discipline with a 18-22 walk to strikeout ratio and 22 strikeouts in 147 at bats. On top of that he has 13 stolen bases, and he has a good but not great .429 slugging percentage. All this from a kid a year removed from high school and going up mostly against 21-22 year old college pitchers.

The only thing to nitpick with Wolters at this point is he only has a .914 fielding percentage because he has 14 errors in 162 total chances. The 14 errors have been evenly split between throwing and fielding errors. This is not a big concern at the moment as his fielding is considered to be very good, and he has a strong arm. He just sometimes tries to do too much and does not stay within himself as a defender, which is something the Indians feel is correctable.

At the moment Wolters is lining himself up to be the next player after the Indians “Big 4” of prospects in left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz, right-handed pitcher Alex White, second baseman Jason Kipnis, and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall. With Kipnis and Chisenhall likely to lose rookie status by the end of the season, it is very possible Wolters could find himself in the Indians Top 5 ranking next year, maybe even Top 3.

Honorable Mentions:

Jeanmar Gomez (RHP – COL): 1-1, 1.93 ERA, 2 G, 14.0 IP, 12 H, 2 BB, 11 K, .240 BAA
T.J. McFarland (LHP – AKR): 1-1, 2.08 ERA, 2 G, 13.0 IP, 13 H, 2 BB, 13 K, .255 BAA
Rob Nixon (RHP – MV): 2-0, 2.45 ERA, 2 G, 11.0 IP, 13 H, 1 BB, 9 K, .283 BAA
Charlie Valerio (C – AZL): .381 (8-21), 6 R, 1 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, .887 OPS
Robel Garcia (OF – AZL): .348 (8-23), 7 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, 1.160 OPS
Jesus Aguilar (1B - LC): .389 (7-18), 3 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1.121 OPS
Carlos Moncrief (OF – LC): .348 (8-23), 8 R, 1 3B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K, 1.249 OPS
Tyler Cannon (INF – KIN): .381 (8-21), 4 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.036 OPS
Abner Abreu (OF – KIN): .375 (9-24), 6 R, 0 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K, 1.083 OPS

Previous Winners:

07/14 to 07/20: Beau Mills (1B – Akron)
07/07 to 07/13: Luigi Rodriguez (OF – AZL Indians)
06/30 to 07/06: Elvis Araujo (LHP – AZL Indians)
06/23 to 06/29: Kirk Wetmore (LHP – Mahoning Valley)
06/16 to 06/22: Zach McAllister (RHP - Columbus)
06/09 to 06/15: Scott Barnes (LHP – Columbus)
06/02 to 06/08: Beau Mills (1B - Akron)
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 Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from July 14th through July 20th)

Beau Mills (First baseman – Akron)
.444 (12-for-27), 7 R, 4 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K, 1.426 OPS

Beau Mills

I’m a week late on this because I was away on vacation last week, but in any case first baseman Beau Mills had quite a send off at Double-A Akron. After hitting .300 with 11 HR, 49 RBI and a .880 OPS in 61 games at Akron, the Indians promoted him to Triple-A Columbus late last week.

Mills, 24, is enjoying a revival season where he is showing there is still some prospect power left in his tank. Left for dead by many fans after two sub par seasons in 2009 and 2010 at Akron, he is showing that sometimes players take longer to figure things out and that you can never truly give up on a former top rated talent.

The interesting thing is that being sidelined with an Achilles injury the first month-plus of the season and on the disabled list for really the first time as a professional it allowed Mills to take a step back and make some adjustments. He has always been praised for his unique awareness as a player and his professionalism, but he now appears to be making the adjustments at the plate that are allowing him to have more success and once again consistently drive the ball and be a run producer.

In five games with Columbus he is just 3-for-16 at the plate with a solo home run. The Indians plan to have him split time at first base and designated hitter along with veterans Shelley Duncan and Nick Johnson. If he has a solid finish in his first exposure at Triple-A, then he will definitely be back on the map for the Indians as an option at first base as soon as next year. He may also fetch some interest in a trade between now and the August 31st trade (with waivers) deadline.

Honorable Mentions:

Jason Donald (INF – COL): .500 (10-20), 8 R, 4 2B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, 2 SB, 1.343 OPS
Tim Fedroff (OF – COL): .360 (9-25), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 7 BB, 2 K, 1 SB, .900 OPS
Ben Copeland (OF – AKR): .391 (9-23), 3 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K, 1.070 OPS
Abner Abreu (OF – KIN): .333 (7-21), 5 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, 1.159 OPS
Brian Heere (OF – LC): .409 (9-22), 3 R, 0 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1.004 OPS
Jordan Smith (3B – MV): .407 (11-27), 4 R, 3 2B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1.002 OPS
Luigi Rodriguez (OF – AZL): .407 (11-27), 4 R, 2 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 4 SB, .930 OPS
Leonardo Castillo (3B – AZL): .333 (7-21), 3 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1.010 OPS
Felix Sterling (RHP – AZL): 0-1, 2.38 ERA, 2 G, 11.1 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 17 K, .158 BAA
Matt Packer (LHP – AKR): 1-1, 1.17 ERA, 2 G, 15.1 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 15 K, .154 BAA
Drew Pomeranz (LHP – AKR): 0-1, 1.86 ERA, 2 G, 9.2 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 11 K, .182 BAA

Previous Winners:

07/07 to 07/13: Luigi Rodriguez (OF – AZL Indians)
06/30 to 07/06: Elvis Araujo (LHP – AZL Indians)
06/23 to 06/29: Kirk Wetmore (LHP – Mahoning Valley)
06/16 to 06/22: Zach McAllister (RHP - Columbus)
06/09 to 06/15: Scott Barnes (LHP – Columbus)
06/02 to 06/08: Beau Mills (1B - Akron)
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)

Infirmary Report

Here is an update on some of the walking wounded in the Indians minor league system:

Nick Weglarz

Double-A outfielder Nick Weglarz is not on the disabled list, but he has not played since July 19th because of a minor eye injury. According to a team official he was hit in the eye-nose area by a bat a player was exercising with. His eye is sore and he has been held out as a precaution as he showed some signs of a concussion. Since he is not on the disabled list, he is day to day. In 33 games he is hitting .168 with 2 HR, 10 RBI, and a .659 OPS.

Double-A Akron left-handed pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz was put on the disabled list earlier this week with left shoulder inflammation. He has not pitched since July 5th and was recently replaced in the starting rotation by lefty Drew Pomeranz. It is not known when he will return, but there is a chance that with just five weeks left in the season that his season may be over. In 17 starts this year he is 5-6 with a 4.56 ERA, and in 79.0 innings has allowed 68 hits, 53 walks, and has 84 strikeouts.

Double-A Akron right-handed pitcher Bryan Price has been placed on the disabled list with a right shoulder sprain. He has not pitched since July 15th. It is unknown when he will return, but given the crowded bullpen situation at Akron he may be out awhile. In 20 appearances with Akron this year is 2-3 with a 3.68 ERA, and in 36.2 innings has allowed 41 hits, 14 walks, and has 27 strikeouts.

High-A Kinston left-handed pitcher Giovanni Soto is still on the disabled list with left elbow neuritis. He is close to returning as he has recently been throwing at 120 feet out in Goodyear, Arizona and after a game or two in the Arizona League should probably be cleared to return to Kinston in the next week or two. In 11 starts he is 4-4 with a 3.02 ERA, and in 56.2 innings has allowed 49 hits, 18 walks, and has 58 strikeouts.

Roberto Perez

High-A Kinston catcher Roberto Perez was recently placed on the disabled list with a strained oblique. He left his last game on July 18th with pain in his side after his first at bat and is expected to be out another week or two. In 67 games he is hitting .236 with 1 HR, 19 RBI, and a .705 OPS. His .375 on-base percentage is 2nd in the Carolina League only to Kinston outfielder Tyler Holt (.379).

Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Owen Dew has been on the disabled list since May with a right elbow sprain. He has not pitched since May 10th and is rehabbing in Arizona. He is expected to begin a rehab assignment by pitching for the Arizona Summer League team any day. In 8 appearances this year he is 1-4 with a 5.79 ERA, and in 18.2 innings has allowed 22 hits, 6 walks, and has 17 strikeouts.

Short season Single-A Mahoning Valley outfielder Bryson Myles has been limited since July 8th because of a hamstring pull. He came back and played on July 17th after a nine day absence but was removed from the game after two at bats and has not played since. In 20 games he is hitting .305 with 1 HR, 6 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and a .819 OPS.

Short season Single-A Mahoning Valley outfielder Aaron Siliga rolled his ankle recently, but has not missed any time. In 29 games he is hitting .204 with 2 HR, 8 RBI and a .663 OPS.

Rookie level Arizona League infielder Logan Thompson has not played this year because of a fractured right ankle. No timetable on his return is available, but he may see time at short season Mahoning Valley if he does return sometime in August.

Pomeranz makes Double-A debut

Drew Pomeranz

Since making his Double-A debut with Akron on July 15th, left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz has gone 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts. In 14.0 innings he has allowed 10 hits, 6 walks, and has 17 strikeouts. He left High-A Kinston earlier this month and finished his time there going 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA, and in 77.0 innings allowed 56 hits, 32 walks, and had 95 strikeouts.

So far Pomeranz is having the same success in Akron that he had in Kinston. He is still limited with his 85-pitch count to pitch deep in games because he is still not efficient with his pitches, gets a lot of strikeouts, and walks some batters. He often does not make it to the sixth inning as 15 of his 18 starts have gone less than six innings.

Pomeranz’s fastball continues to show consistent velocity up to 95 MPH and his command is improving. His curveball is still a weapon, but he barely throws it in favor of developing his circle changeup. The changeup remains his main focus this season as the organization wants him to develop it into an average Major League offering. With two Major League weapons in his fastball and curveball, if he can harness his changeup as a quality, consistent change-of-pace pitch it will make him a more complete pitcher and just about ready to pitch in the big leagues.

In addition to developing his changeup, Pomeranz also still needs to work on his fastball command and becoming more efficient with his pitches so he can pitch deeper into games. This is not a huge concern as former Tribe lefty C.C. Sabathia also had this problem early in his career. As Pomeranz gets stronger, refines his mechanics and command, and matures, with his stuff he has the potential to be a workhorse at the top of the Indians rotation for years to come.

Award winners

Marty Popham

To catch up on some recent award winners, the Eastern League announced last Monday that first baseman Beau Mills was their Player of the Week for the period from July 11th to July 17th. During the five game stretch he hit .632 (12-for-19) with 4 doubles, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 runs scored, 3 walks, and had a 1.316 slugging percentage. He had three hits in three of the five games, scored at least one run in all five games, and drove in multiple runs three times.

The Carolina League announced last Monday that High-A Kinston right-handed pitcher Marty Popham was their Pitcher of the Week for the period from July 11th to July 17th. In a start on July 17th he struck out a season high 11 batters and only three hits and one run in 5.2 innings of work. In 16 appearances (10 starts) for Kinston he is 4-1 with a 3.74 ERA, and in 67.1 innings he has allowed 66 hits, 8 walks, and has 66 strikeouts.

This week the Carolina League announced on Monday that High-A Kinston outfielder Abner Abreu was their Player of the Week for the period from July 18th to July 24th. It was the departed Abreu’s second Player of the Week honor for the month of July, his second in three weeks. For the week he hit .522/.560/1.087 (12-for-23) in six games and had 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 8 R, 2 BB, and 7 K. He had at least one extra base hit in five of his six games, and was propelled by a big weekend on Friday and Saturday where he went 7-for-8 with 2 HR, 1 3B, and 7 RBI.

Random “Lower Level” Notes

Michael Goodnight

Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Michael Goodnight has been the workhorse of the rotation in Lake County all season. In 20 starts he is 5-9 with a 4.22 ERA, and in 96.0 IP he has allowed 81 hits, 44 walks, and has 84 strikeouts. He has had a solid first full season, but it appears the rigors of a full six month season are starting to wear on him and he looks like a tired pitcher. In April he went 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA, in May he went 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA, and in June he went 2-3 with a 4.18 ERA. The wheels have come off for him in July where in five starts he is 0-3 with a 8.41 ERA (20.1 IP, 25 H, 16 BB, 16 K). His struggles stem from a loss of fastball command as each month his walk and hit rate have increased. In July he has 16 walks in 20.1 innings and batters are hitting .321 off of him. He has lots of upside, is a competitor, holds himself accountable for mistakes, and has a good feel for pitching, but two of his top offseason goals will be to get stronger and be a more consistent pitcher.

Low-A Lake County outfielder Carlos Moncrief is coming on strong of late. In 90 games he is hitting .243 with 13 HR, 45 RBI, 16 stolen bases, and a .802 OPS. His raw tools have really been on display of late as in July he is hitting .287 with 5 HR, 12 RBI, and a .867 OPS. One of his recent home runs went 425 feet and hit the scoreboard in center field, only the second time a player has done that in Lake County. He has reached base in 20 of his last 21 games and with his strong month he appears to be coming around. With his tools and him still being so raw, he is a prospect on the rise and one to watch going forward.

Right-handed pitcher Will Roberts, who was the Indians’ 5th round pick in the 2011 Draft out of the University of Virginia, has recently made his pro debut with short season Single-A Mahoning Valley. He has made three starts and is 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA, and in 9.2 innings has allowed 14 hits, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts. His pitch count has been limited since he had not thrown for awhile prior to signing and is still being built back up.

Jordan Smith

Short season Single-A Mahoning Valley third baseman/outfielder Jordan Smith is having one heck of a pro debut. So far the 6’4 205-pounder is hitting .341 with 0 HR, 30 RBI, and a .885 OPS in 35 games. Indians coaches have raved about his approach and consistency as he just puts together quality at bats night in and night out. While he has not yet hit a home run, they should come as he has been a doubles machine with 15 of his 47 hits going for doubles. As he adjusts to wood, matures, and refines his swing the home runs should come. He has split time at third base and outfield in Mahoning Valley, but the Indians focus for him in the future is expected to be at third base. He reportedly has been promoted to Lake County today, though this is unconfirmed.

Short season Single-A Mahoning Valley left-hander Harold Guerrero has been okay so far where in 9 appearances (6 starts) he is 2-1 with a 4.76 ERA (34.0 IP, 30 H, 16 BB, 24 K). As with so many pitchers at his level he is working through fastball command issues, something which has really shown in his five outings (16.1 IP, 14 BB). He is not afraid to be aggressive and go right after hitters, gets his fastball up to 93 MPH, and with his height he gets good downhill plane on his pitches, so he can be a tough lefty to hit.

Short season Single-A infielder KC Serna has already shown his versatility where just 25 games into his pro career he has played 7 games at second base, 7 games at third base, 5 games at shortstop, and 1 game in the outfield (5 games as DH). Being that he is not a higher level prospect, his versatility and the ability to perform will be a key for him going forward in creating value to the organization. He has been a reliable bat so far for Mahoning Valley where in 25 games he is hitting .264 with 0 HR, 7 RBI and a .668 OPS.

Rookie level Arizona outfielder Luigi Rodriguez was promoted to Low-A Lake County today. The 18-year old outfielder leaves Arizona hitting .383 with 3 HR, 13 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and a .995 OPS in 24 games. His plate discipline still needs work (4 BB, 19 K), but the Indians feel he is ready for a challenge at a much higher level in Low-A. Coming into the season he was my top Latin prospect making his stateside debut, and so far he has not disappointed.

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: Beau Mills,Bryson Myles,Carlos Moncrief,Drew Pomeranz,Giovanni Soto,Harold Guerrero,KC Serna,Kelvin De La Cruz,Luigi Rodriguez,Michael Goodnight,Nick Weglarz,Roberto Perez,Tony Wolters