Around the Farm: August 30, 2011

Bo Greenwell

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.

Bo Greenwell: RF, Kinston: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K.

Greenwell made his return to the K-Tribe last night after being placed on the DL in early June with a thumb injury. He had some loose tissue removed from it and four screws inserted in a procedure done in June in Cleveland by Dr. Tom Graham. He rehabbed all summer and recently began a rehab assignment with rookie level Arizona and went 9-for-13 at the plate in four games before returning to Kinston on Monday. The K-Tribe outfielder had been one of the more consistent offensive producers for the Indians since his call-up early in 2010. It's good to have him back for the stretch as Kinston fights for the second half title.

• Trevor Crowe: RF, Columbus: 1-4, SB (1): Welcome back, Mr. Crowe. Trevor Crowe began his rehab assignment in Columbus after missing the entire season thanks to offseason shoulder surgery. Didn't take him very long to show off his plus speed, did it?
• Chad Huffman: LF, Columbus: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B: Columbus had two hits, and Crowe and Huffman had them both. Huffman has been hot of late, going 4-for-10 in his last three games, and hitting .303 over his last ten.
• Joe Martinez: SP, Columbus: L (8-8), 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R/ER, 7 K: With every reliable starter in Columbus seemingly making an appearance in Cleveland during this stretch run, Columbus finds itself relying on their more "fringe-starters" for quality appearances. Martinez put together a gem last night, and is his second quality start in a row.
• Chen Lee: RP, Columbus: 1 IP, 1 BB: Lee has regained his footing with his fourth straight shutout appearance. During the stretch, he's gone four innings, giving up only two hits and two walks, while striking out five.
• Chun Chen: C, Akron: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K: Every home run Chen hits for the remainder of the season is a new season record for the heavy-hitting catcher, who now has 15 on the season. He's been struggling of late, hitting only .200 over the past ten, but has a current three game hit streak, and is 6-for-15 over his last five games.
• John Drennen: LF, Akron: 3-for-4: Drennen had been mired in a six-game hitless streak, but has hits in three of his last four, with the only game he didn't get a hit in being a game in which he was a pinch-runner. He's hitting a solid .264 against right-handers this year, but only .178 against lefties.
• Brett Brach: SP, Akron: L (1-2), 6 H, 4 R/ER, 4 BB, 1 HR: Brach was outstanding in five of his six innings. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs in the second inning, which destroyed his day, and gave him the loss.
• Bryan Price: RP, Akron: 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 1 K: Price was on a ten inning scoreless streak until last night. Price's issues are against lefties, who are hitting a hefty .342 against him. Righties are only hitting .209 against him, and against whom Price showcases a 1.99 ERA.
• Rob Bryson: RP, Akron: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K: Bryson continued his climb to the top of the organization with another solid outing. To make the final push to the bigs, he's got to improve his 6.43 ERA against left-handed hitters.
• Casey Frawley: SS, Kinston: 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB: Frawley has been a much better player in August, and has hits in seven of his last ten games.
• Tyler Cannon: PH, Kinston: 1-1, game winning RBI: Cannon celebrated his 24th birthday with a pinch-hit, walk-off base hit to give the K-Tribe a much needed victory, as they remain 1 game behind first-place Winston-Salem in their quest for one last playoff run in the city of Kinston.
• Marty Popham: SP, Kinston: 4 IP, 4 K: Popham was absolutely outstanding in his four innings of work, but was working in a piggy-back situation with the returning Giovanni Soto. It looks like perfection wasn't good enough to keep Popham on the field.
• Giovanni Soto: RP, Kinston: 2 IP, 1 BB, 3 K: Soto made his second appearance since an injury kept him off the field since June. He gave up only a walk, while striking out three of the seven batters he faced.
• Chris Jones: RP, Kinston: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K: Jones blew the save opportunity, but pitched a solid two innings overall to get the win.
• Lake County: There's nothing to get the blood boiling like a bench-clearing brawl. Felix Sterling hit Yazy Arbelo with an off-speed pitch in the second inning, which prompted Arbelo to charge the mound, throwing his helmet at the pitcher. Alex Monsalve made the save, but not before the benches cleared. Pitching coach Jeff Harris was ejected.
• Levon Washington: LF, Lake County: 0-5, 3 K. It has not been a very triumphant return from the disabled list for Washington. In his last 10 games he is just 2-for-35 with 13 strikeouts.
• Alex Monsalve: C, Lake County: 0-5, 4 K. The Golden Sombrero for Monsalve. He is having a tough August hitting .177/.261/.215 and looks tired in his first full pro season.
• Ronnie Rodriguez: SS, Lake County: 2-4, R, RBI, K. Ronnie-Rod's plate discipline is a work in progress, but he has 8 walks in 29 August games and had only 4 walks in 63 games prior.
• Joey Mahalic: RP, Lake County: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 BB, 0 K. Mahalic came on in relief of Sterling who was ejected in the 2nd inning and had his best outing of the season and in a long time.
• Kyle Blair: RP, Lake County: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. Now his 7th outing covering 14.0 innings since his return from a knee injury and has allowed just two earned runs.
• Bryson Myles: CF, Mahoning Valley: 1-4, BB, 3 K, SB. Myles is putting the finishing touches to a successful pro debut showing good ability with the bat and speed on the bases.
• Francisco Lindor: SS, Mahoning Valley: 0-3, R, K. After a day off on Monday, Lindor played in his second pro game on Tuesday and went hitless. He is still being built back up so was removed late in the game.
• Tony Wolters: DH, Mahoning Valley: 0-for-4, R, 3 K. Wolters is having a great first full season, but is showing signs of wear down the stretch as in his last 5 games he is 4-for-19 with 9 strikeouts.
• Nate Striz: RP, Mahoning Valley: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. A much better outing for Striz who in his 4 prior outings went 11.2 innings and allowed 10 runs on 18 hits and 9 walks (yuck).

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