Around the Farm: Instructs 9/20

Danny Salazar

Around the Farm (ATF) takes a quick look at some of the daily performances by Indians prospects. This is a special Instructional League version of ATF that recaps each of the 12 games the Indians minor leaguers will play this fall. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in the game.

Here is the first game report from Instructional League. Note that the recaps from the games will generally be about 48 hours apart due to when the information becomes available.

Florida Instructional League Game #1: September 20th vs. Cincinnati

• Tyler Holt (OF): 1-for-3, R, 2B, RBI, 2 K. It has been a long first full season for Holt as he played the entire season with High-A Kinston and gets to make a go of it for a few more weeks before getting a well deserved rest this offseason.
• LeVon Washington (CF): 0-for-1. Washington is still working on his transition to the outfield and one of the primary areas of focus in Instructs is to continue to work on developing his abilities as a defender.
• Tony Wolters (2B): 1-for-3, R, RBI, SB. Wolters was a little banged up to end the season, but had a very good first full season as a professional. He is continuing some late season work at second base where he is expected to get the majority of his playing time next year at Low-A Lake County considering Francisco Lindor will be the regular shortstop there.
• Jake Lowery (C): 1-for-2, R, 2B, BB. No surprise in his first game to see him with an extra base hit and walk, two things he did a lot of at Mahoning Valley this year.
• Alex Monsalve (C): 0-for-1. Monsalve established himself as a solid prospect this season, though the wear and tear of his first full season showed itself as he really wore out the last month-plus of the season.
• Robel Garcia (2B): 1-for-1, R, HR, RBI. Garcia had a significant power spike this year as he slugged .286 in 2010 in the AZL and then slugged .544 in a return trip this year.
• Jesus Aguilar (DH): 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI. Big Jesus mashed 23 homers in the regular season, then four homers in eight playoff games with Kinston, and looks like he is continuing to mash.
• Leonardo Castillo (1B): 0-for-3, BB. Castillo is an intriguing prospect with some versatility at the corners who had a solid year in the AZL.
• Giovanny Urshela (3B): 0-for-4. Tough day at the plate for Urshela who really struggled with consistency this season at Low-A Lake County….but still a promising hitter with a very good glove.
• Jorge Martinez (3B): 0-for-2, E. Martinez is one of the best middle infield prospect in the Indians organization that fans do not know about (yet). With so much depth and high end talent at shortstop in the lower levels, looks like he is getting some looks at third base.
• Bryson Myles (RF): 1-for-4, R. One of the most interesting players taken by the Indians in the 2011 Draft and should be exciting to watch him improve/struggle the next few years and what he becomes.
• Alex Lavisky (DH): 1-for-4, R, 2B, 2 K. There is no denying that Lavisky has a lot of power and is the complete package with his makeup and catching abilities. The only question is going to be whether or not he can consistently make contact and avoid the high strikeout totals.
• Luigi Rodriguez (CF): 2-for-3, R, 3B, 2 RBI, K. One of the most exciting players in the lower levels of the Indians’ system. He broke out this year, but has a long way to go still with the bat and developing as a defender.
• Francisco Lindor (SS): 0-for-2, K. This will be Lindor’s first taste of extended game action this season, and will be what prepares him for next season where he likely opens the year at Low-A Lake County.
• Ronny Rodriguez (SS): 1-for-1, 3B. Did I mention the Indians have a lot of exciting young middle infield prospects? Ronny Rod has a smile that never disappears, and he has a lot of people smiling with his play this past season.
• Danny Salazar (SP): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Nice to see Salazar continue to pitch well in his return from Tommy John surgery. He threw first pitch strikes to 5 of 7 batters and was up to 95 MPH.
• Elvis Araujo (RP): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 1 K. Araujo struggled a little with his command throwing 35 pitches to the 7 batters he faced. Now that he is healthy, with his size and stuff he is someone to be very excited about.
• Felix Sterling (RP): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K. Absolutely dominating performance from Sterling as he struck out 5 of the 8 batters he faced on 35 pitches. He threw first pitch strikes to 7 of 8 batters.
• Jake Sisco (RP): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. The pitching staff for the Instructs game is almost like an AZL All Star team. Sisco was no exception as he breezed through the 8 hitters he faced and was up to 92 MPH.
• Robbie Aviles (RP): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 K. A 19-pitch inning of work for Aviles who is about all the way back from Tommy John surgery. He averaged 91 MPH and touched 93 MPH.

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). Use discount code 2Z6F362B to receive 40% off the book through the site store!

Posted in: 2011 Instructional League,Around the Farm