Around the Farm: August 16

Corey Kluber
(Photo: MiLB)

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.

Corey Kluber – SP, Columbus: 6.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 11 K.
In a lot of ways it has been a very disappointing season for Kluber as much more was expected of him from a numbers perspective. In 24 starts this year for Triple-A Columbus he is 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA (134.2 IP, 139 H, 64 BB, 126 K). It all started with getting hit in the head by a Jason Kipnis liner late in spring training and seemed to snowball from there as he has had command issued all season. But of late he is starting to turn it around as prior to the All Star break he was 4-5 with a 6.19 ERA in 17 starts, but since the All Star break he is 3-3 with a 4.32 ERA in 7 starts. While the command issues are still there he is showing an ability to get swing and miss with his fastball and pile up strikeouts. He also has as good as or better stuff than most of the pitchers on the Columbus staff. This was by far his best outing of the season and hopefully is something he can build on to finish strong.

• Luis Valbuena – 2B, Columbus: 1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI. He only had one hit in the game, but it was a big one as he hit a grand slam in the second inning to help Columbus cruise to a victory.
• Jerad Head – CF, Columbus: 1-for-4, RBI. Yes, that is not a typo, as the versatile Head got a start in center field. It was actually his 7th game in center field this season.
• Zach Putnam – RP, Columbus: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 0 K. A rough night, but a very good season so far and expected to be a pen arm added to big league roster in September.
• C.C. Lee – RP, Columbus: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. An outstanding season and arguably the top relief prospect in Indians system, but likely doesn’t make big league debut until 2012.
• Juan Diaz – SS, Akron: 2-for-4, 2 BB. A very solid season for the tall shortstop and he continues to improve and has Major League ability as a defender.
• John Drennen – LF, Akron: 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K. Had the big walkoff RBI base hit, a much needed boost of confidence in what has surely been a forgettable season for him.
• Nick Weglarz – RF, Akron: 1-for-2, BB, K. There is no doubt he is playing hurt or is not 100% recovered from the knee injury. He is hitting just .179/.360/.306 in 41 games.
• Steven Wright – SP, Akron: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR. He is still working on developing the knuckleball, which leads to very inconsistent results from outing to outing.
• Eric Berger – RP, Akron: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. The Stache is having a very good bounce back season (3.64 ERA, 4.3 BB/9, 10.9 K/9) and has transitioned well to a bullpen role.
• Adam Miller – RP, Akron: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K. He had a rough patch at the end of July but appears to have found himself again. His Akron numbers are not pretty but the most important thing is he is healthy.
• Roberto Perez – C, Kinston: 0-for-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, K. Two more walks for the on-base machine. He is only hitting .233 this season but has a .376 on-base percentage.
• Casey Frawley – SS, Kinston: 2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 K. Tough full second season for the Frawley Man, but he has been an incredible leader for the K-Tribe all year.
• Clayton Cook – SP, Kinston: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 6 K. Yet another solid outing from one of the Indians’ most consistent pitchers in their system. He’s still young and has upside too.
• Kyle Landis – RP, Kinston: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R/ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Landis did not have it last night, but he has had an amazing comeback season (2.18 ERA, 2.0 BB/9, 9.7 K/9) from a nerve issue last year which forced him to miss the 2010 season.
• Leonardo Castillo – 1B, Arizona: 2-for-4, R, 3B, 2 RBI, K, SB. That’s now three straight multi-hit games in a row and six multi-hit games in his last nine.
• Mitch Nilsson – DH, Arizona: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K. The 20-year old Australian has not had a lot of chances to play, but when he has he has done well hitting .341 with 1 HR, 5 RBI and a .954 OPS in 13 games.
• Eric Haase – C, Arizona: 0-for-2. The professional debut for the Indians 18-year old 2011 7th round draft pick.
• Luis Morel – SP, Arizona: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Rough outing for the hard-throwing righty from the Dominican Republic. Has allowed 7 runs (4 earned) in last three outings covering 8.0 innings.
• Ryan Merritt – RP, Arizona: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 4 K. Another pro debut, this time the Indians 16th round pick from this year’s draft.
• Giovanni Soto – RP, Arizona: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 2 K. Second rehab outing for Soto in Arizona who is recovering from left elbow neuritis.

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