2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #25 Josh Judy

Josh Judy – Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 02/09/1986 – Height: 6’4” – Weight: 200 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

History: Judy was selected by the Indians in the 34th round of the 2007 Draft out of the Indiana Institute of Technology. He has pitched well in offseason leagues, going 2-2 with a 1.59 ERA in 11 games (17.0 IP, 13 H, 8 BB, 20 K) out in the Arizona Fall League in 2009, and then going 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA in 12 games (12.0 IP, 11 H, 0 BB, 9 K) out in the Dominican Winter League in 2010.

Strengths: Judy is both an excellent performer and very projectable relief pitcher where he has backed up some outstanding statistics in the minors with some great stuff and ability. He is armed with two plus pitches; a fastball that sits 91-94 MPH and touches 96 MPH and a wicked slider. His fastball has great life through the zone and some good sinking action where he gets hitters to put the ball on the ground. He did a better job pitching with his fastball last season and got a lot of outs with it on the plate. His plus slider continues to improve every year and is now very tight with good, sharp break and late movement.  It is his strikeout pitch because hitters have a real hard time picking it up and it has good swing and miss ability. His third pitch used to be a curveball that he threw in college, but since coming into the Indians’ system the pitch was dropped in favor of a changeup which he is still working on developing and is rarely thrown in games.

Judy has all the makings of a big league bullpen arm, potentially in the backend because of his demeanor to handle pitching late in games with his aggressiveness going right after hitters, good composure, and bulldog mentality. He is a big, physical pitcher at 6'4" 200 pounds who does a good job of keeping the ball down in the zone at a good angle with excellent sink. Back in the middle part of 2009 he changed from a high leg kick and load position in the stretch to a more tightened up delivery where it is very quick and subtle, and ever since the results have been very positive. He gave up more hits last year than years past (9.9 H/9 2010, 6.5 H/9 2009, 7.3 H/9 2008, 6.4 H/9 2007), but by the same token he put up his best strikeout to walk ratio (4.07) of any season and did that at the highest level of the minor leagues.

Judy had a setback in his last outing of spring training last year where he pulled a muscle in his arm and strained his UCL in his right elbow which shelved him the first month and a half of the season. Team doctors examined him and determined that it was just a strain and not a tear, but the injury still set him back where he had to open the season in extended spring training and then went to Double-A Akron on May 12th before joining Triple-A Columbus later in May. He was a little rusty in the early going as in nine combined May appearances between Akron and Columbus he had a 7.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 15 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 11 K). He found that coming out of extended spring training his arm slot was a lot lower than it used to be, likely from him over-compensating for the arm injury, and once his arm slot crept back up to its normal position he took off. From June 1st until the end of the season he made 31 appearances going 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA (40.0 IP, 39 H, 12 BB, 44 K).

Opportunities: Judy’s success is tied to the effectiveness of his slider, and at times he struggles because he has a tendency to get under it which results in it flattening out. He needs to continue to refine it in order to improve its consistency and tighten it up. His fastball command and pitching mechanics could still show improvement, and will be one of the things he works on this spring to finish himself off as a prospect to get that big league call. He will also work on better controlling the running game to ensure he is ready for running situations in the big leagues, so early on in Columbus it should be an area focused on greatly in order to improve his pickoff move and change his tempo when he pitches from the stretch with runners on base. He had bicep tendonitis in June of 2009 and the UCL strain in 2010, so there are some durability concerns.

Outlook: Judy is one of the greatest stories in the system considering he was a complete unknown who was a late round draft pick out of an unknown college. He quickly established himself in the organization and showed he had some excellent stuff, and has since become a priority relief pitching prospect for the Indians and was added to the 40-man roster in the offseason. He is being groomed for a potential late inning relief role in the big leagues, and should get regular work in the 7^th through 9^th innings of games this coming season at Triple-A Columbus. When he makes his expected major league debut at some point this season, he will initially pitch in middle relief, but has a chance to settle into a setup role by the end of the season. He should open the 2011 season at Triple-A Columbus.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	21	GCL Indians	R	1	2	0.63	9	0	14.1	11	1	0	8	14	.204	5.0	8.8	1.33
2007	21	Mahoning Valley	A-	0	0	0.00	4	1	11.0	7	0	0	3	7	.194	2.5	5.7	0.91
2008	22	Lake County	A	12	1	3.51	35	1	74.1	60	29	6	25	80	.223	3.0	9.7	1.14
2008	22	Kinston	A+	0	0	1.93	7	0	14.0	12	3	0	1	17	.226	0.6	10.9	0.93
2009	23	Kinston	A+	0	0	0.00	5	3	4.2	4	0	0	0	7	.235	0.0	13.5	0.86
2009	23	Akron	AA	4	3	3.10	36	11	49.1	35	17	2	18	63	.198	3.3	11.5	1.07
2010	24	Akron	AA	0	0	9.00	2	0	2.0	6	2	0	0	2	.545	0.0	9.0	3.00
2010	24	Columbus	AAA	3	0	2.68	38	2	47.0	48	14	5	14	55	.262	2.7	10.5	1.32
		MiLB Totals		20	6	2.74	136	18	216.2	183	66	13	69	245	.229	2.9	10.2	1.16

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Smoke Signals 2/21: President's Day Edition

Paul Cousineau and I are back on the cyberwaves tonight for some Cleveland Indians baseball talk in another edition of "Smoke Signals" from 11:00 - 11:30 p.m. EST.  Tonight we will begin to talk about the position battles this spring that exist in the outfield, infield, bench, bullpen and starting rotation and who we like to win those position battles.

Feel free to call us at 1-949-203-4752 or email us at smokesignals@indiansprospectinsider.com to talk about anything on your mind.

Thanks again for listening!  No matter how good or bad the Indians play this year we look forward to another fun year talking Tribe!

You can listen to the show live or download it and listen to it later here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smokesignals/2011/02/22/smoke-signals

You can also listen to the show live directly on this site via our radio page:

http://www.indiansprospectinsider.com/2008/11/radio-interviews.html

Subscribing To iTunes

Once every show finishes it is automatically added to iTunes. To have the podcast of every show sent right to your desktop and to your MP3 player or iPod, do one of the following:

1. Go to the iTunes store, do a search for "Smoke Signals" and then under the results for podcast click to see all and you'll see Smoke Signals shows listed. You can subscribe there if you want. The direct feed to subscribe is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smokesignals/feed.

2. Open iTunes, click on "Advanced" along the top, and then click on "Subscribe to Podcast" and enter the feed above and all the shows will be added once they are finished.

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2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #26 Jordan Henry

Jordan Henry – Outfielder
Born: 06/13/1988 – Height: 6’3” – Weight: 175 – Bats: Left – Throws: Right

(Photo: Ken Carr)

History: Henry was selected by the Indians in the 7^th round of the 2009 Draft out of the University of Mississippi. After his sophomore season in college in 2008 he played out in the Cape Cod League in the summer and hit .335 with 0 HR and 16 RBI, and led the league in runs scored (42) and was third in stolen bases (12). In his junior season at Mississippi in 2009 he had an incredible 56 walk to 22 strikeout ratio. Prior to his promotion to Double-A Akron last year he ranked 1st in the Carolina League in on-base percentage and walks while playing for High-A Kinston. He missed some time in the early part of last season with an injury to his left index finger. His brother Justin - who is three years older - is in the Detroit Tigers system.

Strengths: Henry is a scrawny, lightning quick outfielder who has the ability to be a catalyst at the top of a lineup. He does not have the prettiest swing - in fact a lot of people have joked that he looks like he is swinging a tennis racket instead of a baseball bat – but it is a very short swing and he has excellent bat control choosing to chop down on the ball more and pound the ball into the ground at a high rate in order to use his speed to leg out hits. He’s very much the definition of a slap hitter because of his lack of strength and his approach, but is a fundamentally sound hitter where he sprays the ball to all parts of the field, is an excellent bunter, and controls the strike zone well. He stays back on breaking balls well and is hard to fool and get the ball past him for a swinging strike.

While Henry lacks any power whatsoever, he consistently finds a way to get on base and then wreak havoc with his plus speed and intelligence on the bases. He will never be a guy who hits a lot of home runs or piles up a ton of extra base hits, but his speed is his greatest asset as it can help offset some of those limitations in the power department. He is very fast and has been timed in the 60-yard dash in 6.5 seconds. He shows very good instincts on the bases, and especially shows some great acceleration out of the left-handed batters box and getting down the first base line.

Henry profiles as a top of the lineup hitter because of his ability to battle opposing pitchers by working counts, high contact rate, drawing walks, stealing bases, and playing excellent defense in the outfield. He has an exceptional eye where he rarely swings at a pitch outside of the strike zone, so he is a tough out for pitchers because to get him out they known they have to come into the zone and hope he misses or that he hits the ball at the defense. He sees a lot of pitches in every plate appearance as he is very conservative early in the count by rarely swinging at the first pitch, but late in the count he goes into attack mode and is absolutely fearless when hitting with two strikes. One of his most impressive attributes at the plate is his excellent walk to strikeout ratio, which is yet another example of his advanced approach and keen eye at the plate. The ratio shows a lot of confidence hitting late in counts, very good plate discipline, and excellent hand-eye coordination.

As a defender Henry is lightning quick in the outfield and goes back on balls as good as anyone in the Indians’ system. He looks right at home patrolling center field with a slightly above average arm and exceptional range and instincts to cover a lot of ground. He glides and looks effortless, and gets good jumps and runs good routes to balls. In less than a year in the organization he has made several sensational catches in center field going back or in on balls, and gets to a lot of balls very few major league outfielders even get to. With his lack of power but very good speed, defense, plate discipline and ability to get on base a comp that has started to float around is that of former major league center fielder Brett Butler.

Opportunities: Probably the only true weakness to Henry's game is his lack of any power. He has well below average power where he has yet to hit a home run in 697 professional at bats and has just 28 extra base hits. In fact, even with the assistance of the aluminum bat in college he hit just one home run over the fence in his three year career at the University of Mississippi. To help counter his power issues he made an adjustment late last year with his approach to be more aggressive early in counts. He is such a patient hitter that he often goes to work once he gets two strikes, which really limits his ability to sit back and drive the ball as he is just looking to slap it and put it in play. By being more aggressive early in counts he should have more opportunities to drive balls. Also, for him to have much success in the upper levels and potentially reach the big leagues he is going to have to get a little stronger to help him keep defenses honest by driving the ball with more authority and turning on more pitches that he should be able to handle. He is fully aware of his power limitations, and went to Instructional League in the fall to participate in a lifting program and add some weight in order to help improve his strength. His stolen base rate and ways to steal bases could also use improvement so he can better impact a game when he is on base.

Outlook: Almost exactly one year after being selected in the 2009 Draft, Henry found himself being promoted to Double-A Akron last season. The fact he has raced up the system so fast is proof enough in how the Indians are trying to give him more of a challenge and see where his eye at the plate and ability to get on base takes him. He is not going to wow anyone with eye-popping numbers as a run producer, but he does everything else well by playing excellent defense, runs well, and gets on-base at a very good clip. He knows what kind of player he is, which is a slap hitter who works counts and whose job it is to be a table-setter at the top of the lineup. He has shown a lot in his first year and a half in the system, and still has the potential to be more. He has the ability to be an everyday center fielder at the major league level, but due to his lack of power and team need he may end up as a fourth outfielder. He should open the 2011 season with a return trip to Akron, but if he continues to perform as he has then he should finish the season at Triple-A Columbus.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2009	21	Mahoning Valley	A-	67	248	48	71	12	0	0	23	49	37	22	.286	.408	.335	.743
2010	22	Kinston	A+	42	162	32	54	4	0	0	13	30	27	14	.333	.438	.358	.796
2010	22	Akron	AA	74	287	45	86	8	4	0	16	46	59	15	.300	.396	.355	.751
		MiLB Totals		183	697	125	211	24	4	0	52	125	123	51	.303	.410	.349	.759

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Tribe Happenings: Miller's future still unknown

Miller's 2011 will likely be his last chance to

make the big leagues (Photo: Ken Carr)

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Tribe notebook…

What if…

Spring training is here once again.

The entire Cleveland Indians roster is now in camp, and once again - even if only for a little bit - hope springs eternal for fans of every baseball team around the country. Yes, even for the Cleveland Indians. A lot of "what ifs" are flying around, and because of that there is a glimmer of hope even for teams like the Indians who at the outset of the season are not expected to be much of a factor in pennant races later in the season.

Sticking with the "what if" scenarios for a moment, has anyone ever wondered, "what if” Adam Miller had never injured his finger?

If you want to look back at one injury or move that has really impacted the Indians' organization in the past decade - maybe even longer - it has to be the injury to the flame throwing right-handed Miller.

Back in 2007, Miller was one of the best young pitching prospects in the game. Sports Illustrated magazine that year named him to their "Dream Rotation" which was an up-and-coming dream five-man rotation compiled by 11 high-ranking major-league executives. The five man dream rotation included Miller as well as Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka, Philadelphia's Cole Hamels, New York Yankees' Phillip Hughes, and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum. Miller is the only one in that dream rotation who has yet to appear in the majors.

All of those pitchers have helped their clubs win a World Series since then. Last year, Lincecum was a huge help to the San Francisco Giants success in coming out of nowhere to win the World Series. In fact, you take him off that team and they arguably are not much better than the current Indians team.

It was all set up for Miller to succeed in 2007. He dominated in spring training that year and was set to have a cup of coffee at Triple-A Buffalo and then make his big league debut sometime that summer. When Jake Westbrook went down with an elbow injury in late May that year and Jeremy Sowers was ineffective, the Indians would have called Miller up but because he was hurt they had to scramble and instead called up Jason Stanford that June.

But imagine for a moment had Miller remained healthy in 2007 and became what Lincecum has since become. He would have come up that June and made an immediate impact to the team by joining forces with C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona in the rotation and might have been the difference for the Indians in the playoffs that year in getting past the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series and win the World Series.

More importantly, going forward the Indians would have had Sabathia, Carmona, Cliff Lee, and Miller in the rotation in 2008 and that season may have turned out a lot different with three aces pitching at the front of the rotation. Plus, even after the Sabathia and Lee trades the Indians would still today have a very good one-two punch of Miller and Carmona at the front of the rotation for the next several years.

But of course, what if.

That along with "wait 'til next year" have been the taglines for Cleveland sports fans for decades.

For those who don't remember…

Miller's career took a sharp turn for the worse in May of 2007 when he injured the last digit on the middle finger of his pitching hand. It was not thought to be much of an injury then, but it ended up serving as the starting point to all kinds of complications with the finger going forward.

Miller went to spring training in 2008 healthy, but shortly into camp a blister formed on the finger which shut him down for a short time and he had to open the season in extended spring training to get caught up and then went to Triple-A Buffalo a few weeks later. By the end of May his season ended when he had to have season ending surgery to repair a broken callous on the finger. He has not pitched in a professional game since.

Since then Miller has tried to come back several times. He rehabbed from the finger injury the rest of the 2008 season and was able to go out to the Dominican Winter League that offseason and pitched quite well and his stuff was still there. After his encouraging performance in winter ball, the Indians decided to make him a bullpen option going into the 2009 season and went so far as to say that if he was healthy he would make the opening day roster.

But it was never meant to be for Miller as a few weeks into spring training in 2009 his finger once again started acting up. After some experimentation with changing his grip of the ball and delivery, he was eventually shut down and underwent career threatening exploratory reconstructive surgery to try and fix the problems once and for all that he was having with his finger.

It was a very involved procedure, the first of its kind really, and resulted in two separate planned surgeries. The first one in April of 2009 repaired the flexor pulley system by replacing two pulley ligaments in the finger with a tendon from his wrist and put a silicon rod in it so scar tissue would not form around the tendon. He underwent the second planned surgery in July of 2009 to clean up the scar tissue as a result of the first surgery and attach the new tendon from his leg to his middle finger. He began a throwing program in November of 2009, but again had some issues, so a third surgery in December of 2009 was performed to stabilize the flexor tendon reconstruction in his finger.

After the third surgery Miller and the Indians were very cautious with him last year as he did not start throwing a baseball until the summer. He got back on a throwing program around July and did not have any setbacks at 60, 90, or 120 feet so moved on to throwing bullpen sessions and had no problems there either.

At the tail end of the season Miller made his return to the mound by pitching one game in Instructional League and pitched well. That one appearance was enough for him and the Indians to be encouraged for this upcoming season so they shut him down for the rest of the offseason to continue rehabbing and strengthening his finger.

Miller is scheduled to officially report to spring training on March 1st, though he is expected to be in camp before that. He is an invite to big league camp, but will likely pitch most of spring training in minor league camp as the Indians continue to work him back to being a pitching option for them. He will have no restrictions this spring, so really he and the Indians are going to in many ways let it air out and see what happens.

While Miller has almost no shot to make the big league roster to start the season, if the finger remains intact he could open the season in the Triple-A Columbus bullpen or go to Columbus as a reserve and continue to build himself up and be activated shortly into the season.

If Miller remains healthy, returns to the mound in Columbus, and pitches well, there is no doubt the Indians will call him up to Cleveland as soon as possible to see how he does and to see if there is anything they can get out of him because the finger can go at any moment.

Indians officially sign Cabrera

It took a week, but the Indians finally officially announced the signing of free agent infielder Orlando Cabrera on Wednesday. News of the signing came about almost a week prior to the official announcement, but the Indians never acknowledged the signing because they needed to wait for him to report to Goodyear, Arizona to pass a physical, which he did on Wednesday.

Cabrera, 36, played for the Cincinnati Reds last year where in 123 games he hit .263 (130-for-494) with 33 doubles, four homers, 42 RBI, and had 11 stolen bases. He is a career .274 hitter in 14 big league seasons and has won two Gold Glove awards (2001, 2007). He will wear #20 with the Indians, and is the younger brother of former Indian Jolbert Cabrera who played in 310 games with the Indians from 1998-2002.

Barring injury, Cabrera is expected to open the 2011 season as the Indians starting second baseman.

Three former Indians added as coaches

The Indians announced this week that former All-Star outfielder and fan favorite Kenny Lofton has rejoined the organization and will serve as a guest instructor this spring. He will be in camp from February 22-28 primarily to work with the outfielders and assist all the players with base running techniques.

The 43-year old Lofton may also be experimenting with a potential return to the game as a coach, something that Travis Fryman did a few years ago as a guest instructor. Fryman immediately took to the role and has since become a fixture in the Indians' Player Development Department, so the same could possibly happen with Lofton.

The Indians also announced that Jason Bere and Eduardo Perez will serve as special assistants. Both will be in uniform this spring as instructors, and over the course of the season Bere will assist with evaluating and providing instruction to pitchers in the majors and minors, and Perez will do the same for first basemen. Perez will also continue to serve his role with ESPN as a baseball analyst.

Indians fill minor league coaching void

The Indians announced this week that they have hired 28-year old Tony Mansolino to be the hitting coach at short season Single-A Mahoning Valley. He is beginning his coaching career with the Indians after playing professionally for six seasons as an infielder from 2005-2010. He was a 26th round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005 out of Vanderbilt University. His father, Doug, is the Infield Coordinator in the Phillies Player Development System.

The new 2011 Indians book is here!

The “2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects and More” book is now available for purchase here on my site (upper right-corner).  I received my first shipment yesterday, and I have to say it looks great and is much improved with the overall look when compared to previous editions.  It will also soon be available at several other retail outlets which I will announce when available. It should also be available at all the team shops this season from Cleveland on down to Single-A Mahoning Valley.

The book runs 228 pages in length and profiles over 175 players in the Cleveland Indians system, with a heavier look into their top 100 players. It also provides tons of information on the Indians payroll situation and player control outlook the next seven years as well as information on the 2010 Draft, their top Latin prospects coming stateside this year, Rule 5 Draft eligibles for 2011-2014, tool grades for over 100 players, complete schedule and affiliate information, and tons more. Order today!

Parting shots

The Indians announced this week that catcher Chun Chen has been invited to big league spring training as a non-rostered player. He had a nice season at two different levels of Single-A last year and is an up-and-coming catching prospect in their system, though was brought to big league camp solely for the experience and to give them another catcher to assist with bullpens for all the pitchers in camp. ... To make room on the 40-man roster for the arrival of Orlando Cabrera, the Indians designated right-handed pitcher Joe Martinez for assignment. He is still in camp as a non-rostered player. ... On the minor league front, the Indians have released right-handed pitcher Kyle Smith whom they picked up in the 2009 Draft out of Kent State.

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).

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A Look Ahead: The 2015 Cleveland Indians

Blades of grass are starting to peak from mounds of snow.  The pop of a fastball into a catcher’s mitt can be heard all around Arizona and Florida.  The crack of bats will soon follow.

Spring Training has arrived for Major League Baseball.  It is a time when hope springs eternal for each and every team.  It is a mantra that holds truer in some cities more than in others.

Cleveland is one of the others.  Of course they absolutely can contend this year.  If the San Diego Padres could do it in 2010, the Cleveland Indians can do it 2011.  But let’s be honest, Indian contention will require a minor miracle from the baseball gods.  More than likely, this is going to be a development year for the Indians.  And that is OK.  Development is fun as long as there is progression.

The story lines for most fans are already well known.  Can Fausto Carmona avoid a Bret Saberhagen-like yo-yo career and string together two solid years?  Will this year prove Justin Masterson is better suited as a starter or reliever?  Can Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana make complete recoveries from their injuries?  Will Matt LaPorta take a step forward to become the hitter he was expected to be?  Can Michael Brantley prove to be consistent?  When will Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis crack the lineup?

These story lines and a whole lot more will be covered over the course of spring training and the coming 162 games.   But for something a little different, and in keeping with the hope springs eternal theme of this time of year, lets take a look at organizational development.

What will the Indians everyday lineup and pitching staff look like in 2015?

Of course this is purely speculative and a lot can change.  Injuries affect the equation.  As do trades and developmental surprises.  So too could a, ahem, free agent signing or two.  But for such a young organization, looking ahead to see how the team is going to develop is eminently possible.  Such a practice could even help point out potential weaknesses that will need to be fortified.

So without further ado, the 2015 Cleveland Indians:

Pitchers
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Carrasco, RHP; Drew Pomeranz, LHP; Alex White, RHP; Matt Packer, LHP; Jason Knapp, RHP; Closer: Chris Perez, RHP

Pitching in this type of exercise contains more speculation than positional players.  Injuries strike pitchers much harder.  For the Indians, speculation is even more difficult based on the outstanding depth they have in the system.  In 2015, Carmona will be long gone, probably by selling his soul to the devil in pinstripes.  So too should everyone else in the rotation this year with the exception of Carrasco.  He’ll still be a year away from free agency.  If he pitches to the potential he showed in September of 2010, he’ll be a very good starting pitcher in 2015.

Pomeranz and White are on this list based on their draft position.  Packer is here based on his performance last year in the minors when Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com named him the organizational pitcher of the year.  Knapp is the big wild card.  He is on this list based on his pre-injury projection.   He is one of the few pitchers in the organization with the potential to be an elite number one starter at this point in their development.  For the Indians to be successful in the years to come, Knapp will need to reach that pre-injury projection, or someone will need to match that projection.

Picking through the relievers is an almost impossible proposition at this point.  The closer may still be Chris Perez.  2015 is his free agent year, if arbitration hasn’t made him too expensive for the Tribe to keep around by then.  Perez should be one of the most dominant closers in baseball.  If Perez is gone, perhaps White will be given the chance to close or, even better, Nick Hagadone, providing a quality return from the Victor Martinez trade.

Hitters
Santana, C; LaPorta, 1B; Kipnis, 2B; Tony Wolters, SS; Chisenhall, 3B; Brantley, OF; LeVon Washington, OF; Nick Weglarz, OF; Chen-Hsui Chen, DH

Santana may be moved to designated hitter or first base because, like Martinez before him, the Indians may decide to protect his body from significant wear and tear.  However, at this point he is too valuable as a catcher to move to another position.  Chen is a catcher who has a nice bat but projects as a defensive liability at this point in his development.  Conceivably Santana or Chen could be moved to first base, but here’s hoping the slow start to LaPorta’s career is due to injuries and not an inability to transition his talents to the Major Leagues.  Kipnis and Chisenhall look to be well established in the infield by 2015.  Wolters looks to be a solid shortstop prospect that should be ready to replace Asdrubal Cabrera at the start of the year.  Brantley and Washington should make up 2/3 of a very athletic outfield with Werglarz rounding out the trio.

Of course the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.  But the Indians future does look bright, particularly if Knapp or someone else develops into a dominant rotation ace and LaPorta and Weglarz provide the power that looks to be a little short at this point in the projection.  At any rate, it should be fun to watch over the coming years all the twists and turns that await the Tribe.

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2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #27 Rob Bryson

Rob Bryson – Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 12/11/1987 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 200 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Ken Carr)

History: Bryson was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 31st round of the 2006 Draft out of William Penn High School (DE). In the last year of its existence due to changes in the CBA, he was one of the biggest draft-and-follow signings in May 2007 when he signed for $300,000. He was acquired by the Indians in July of 2008 as part of a four player package the Indians received from the Brewers for C.C. Sabathia. He was sidelined late in 2008 because of a tear in his labrum and rotator cuff and required offseason surgery to repair the damage and missed almost the entire 2009 season.

Strengths & Opportunities: Bryson is a high ceiling pitcher who is one of the Indians’ best young relief prospects who has a lot of power and a very good pitch mix to get hitters out. He throws a fastball, slider, and changeup, with the fastball and slider both being plus pitches. His fastball consistently comes in on hitters at 92-94 MPH and has touched 96 MPH. He has very strong mechanics and his ability to get good drive toward the plate with his big, thick build and the way he uses his lower half well all help to make his fastball very effective. His plus slider is a wicked pitch for right-handers, and still has room for development into a potential plus-plus offering.

For a long time Bryson’s changeup was a below average offering and did not get a lot of attention as he mainly pitched with his fastball-slider, but it is now an average to fringe above average offering for him. During his down time and his rehab from shoulder surgery in 2009 he spent a lot of time refining his changeup by throwing it a lot, and he now feels very comfortable with it. Depending on the day, his changeup is on par with his slider, and when that happens it gives him two secondary offerings to attack hitters and almost be unhittable. He has a bulldog mentality on the mound where he goes right after hitters and shows excellent composure pitching under pressure. His aggressive mentality along with his stuff and makeup project him as a big league backend bullpen arm.

The Indians have always been excited about Bryson’s arm, but the primary goal last season was about sustaining his health and stuff coming off of shoulder surgery. After missing so much development time in 2009 rehabbing from the surgery and dealing with setbacks, the Indians were careful on how he was used last season and is why he only appeared in 33 games and pitched 53.1 innings. His arm strength was slow to return in 2009 as he was only at 88-90 MPH when he came back and then in Instructional League in the fall of 2009 he was in the low 90s, but he was back up to his normal velocity last year and pitching without any fear.

Opportunities: Prior to his injury, Bryson had some command issues and last year those command issues surfaced as he moved up to the higher levels. Tackling those command issues will be a big key for him in 2011. He needs to refine the command of all of his pitches in order to limit walks, but especially his fastball command so he is able to effectively and accurately spot it to both sides of the plate. While his slider is his go to pitch and the best pitch in his arsenal, he needs to continue to develop it and become more consistent with it. He made some strides with his changeup in the last year, and he needs to continue refining it so it gives him a weapon to attack left-handers and also give right-handers a different look. He had a minor setback with his shoulder right before the Carolina League All Star break last year and was shut down as a precaution and was out of action for almost four weeks. He needs to continue to strengthen his shoulder and prove he is durable enough to log a lot of innings out of the pen as a priority bullpen arm in the late innings of games.

Outlook: After missing almost all of the 2009 season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery the previous offseason, Bryson had a very good comeback season last year. He came back last year healthy and back on top of his game and again looks like the top flight relief prospect the Indians were high on when they acquired him from the Brewers in the C.C. Sabathia trade. The Indians like his youth, power, and athleticism and believe his outstanding fastball-slider mix projects him as a potential backend bullpen arm. He should open the 2011 season at Double-A Akron.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	19	Helena	R	3	0	2.67	18	8	54.0	49	16	2	12	70	.245	2.0	11.7	1.13
2008	20	West Virginia	A	3	2	4.25	22	5	55.0	43	26	3	20	73	.209	3.3	11.9	1.15
2008	20	Lake County	A	0	1	2.19	7	0	12.1	6	3	1	6	11	.140	4.4	8.0	0.97
2009	21	AZL Indians	R	0	0	12.00	3	0	3.0	4	4	2	2	5	.308	6.0	15.0	2.00
2010	22	Lake County	A	4	0	4.05	8	0	13.1	13	6	2	2	21	.236	1.4	14.2	1.13
2010	22	Kinston	A+	2	1	2.25	13	1	20.0	7	5	2	8	38	.108	0.9	17.1	0.75
2010	22	Akron	AA	1	1	1.80	12	0	20.0	11	4	1	11	21	.162	5.0	9.4	1.10
		MiLB Totals		13	5	3.24	83	14	177.2	133	64	13	61	239	.205	3.1	12.1	3.92

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2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #28 Tyler Holt

Tyler Holt – Outfielder
Born: 03/10/1989 – Height: 6’0” – Weight: 190 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

History: The Indians selected Holt in the 10^th round of the 2010 Draft out of Florida State University. He was signed a few days before the August 16^th signing deadline for a well overslot $500,000 signing bonus. He played for Team USA in 2009 hitting .371 with 28 runs scored, 24 walks and 19 stolen bases.

Strengths: Holt is a very talented player with good all around skills and is a very interesting leadoff hitting prospect. He was arguably the best table-setter in college baseball the past few years with his very good speed and very advanced approach at the plate. He only has below average power, but he sprays line drives all over the field from pole to pole and makes consistent, hard contact. He is a smart baserunner with plus speed, and is a very sound defender showing very good range in center field with an average arm.

Holt shows an intensity on the field and at the plate that is beyond almost anything the Indians have had in awhile. He is a fiery player who lets his emotions show on the field, and his intensity and heart are two intangibles that few players match. He has an excellent makeup and work ethic, and his instincts as a hitter, runner, and defender are off the charts which help him play above his tools. He has the potential to be a Brett Gardner type of player by using a combination of his approach, speed, intelligence, and heart to make him a potential starter and complementary player in the big leagues.

Opportunities: While Holt’s aggressive approach is part of his game, it is also something that can at times detract from it. During his time in the minors he will need to learn how to tone it down a little so he can make it through the emotional grind of a full season. The Indians by no means want him to stop playing with such a high intensity as they understand it is part of who he is and what helps him overachieve; however, they just want him to learn how to better manage and control it. One area of focus at the plate will be getting his hands in a better load position as his current setup with the open crouch is not ideal.  Due to his average at best throwing arm, it may eventually push him out of center field to left field or as a fourth outfielder, which lessens his value.

Outlook: The fact Holt made his debut in Low-A Lake County and not at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley shows how much further along the Indians think he is than most players coming out of the draft last year. He doesn't project as a big league star, but depending on who you talk to the general consensus is he will play in the big leagues some day in some kind of role, be it as a fourth outfielder or a regular. He should open the 2011 season at High-A Kinston.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2008	19	Florida St	C	68	250	83	81	10	2	3	41	64	46	15	.324	.471	.416	.887
2009	20	Florida St	C	63	237	87	95	23	2	5	28	54	47	34	.401	.517	.578	1.095
2010	21	Florida St	C	68	259	92	92	26	3	13	48	59	48	30	.355	.480	.629	1.109
2010	21	Lake County	A	22	70	12	20	8	2	0	8	15	12	5	.286	.409	.457	.866
		MiLB Totals		22	70	12	20	8	2	0	8	15	12	5	.286	.409	.457	.866

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2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #29 Corey Kluber

Corey Kluber – Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 04/10/1986 – Height: 6’4” – Weight: 215 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Kluber)

History: Kluber was selected in the 4^th round of the 2007 Draft by the San Diego Padres out of Stetson University (FL). The Indians acquired Kluber on July 31, 2010 from the Padres as part of a three team trade that sent right-handed pitcher Jake Westbrook to the St. Louis Cardinals. At the time of the trade he led the Texas League in strikeouts (136), strikeouts per nine innings (9.98 K/9) and was 2nd in innings pitched (122.2IP). The Indians added him to the 40-man roster in the offseason as he was up for roster protection.

Strengths: Kluber is an innings eater who won’t dominate a game with his stuff or overpower hitters, but he knows how to pitch, command the zone, compete, and pitch deep into games. Last year he had a significant jump in the quality of his stuff and his overall standing as a pitcher, showing a solid average fastball that he commands well that jumped up several MPH where he easily pitched at 88-92 MPH and was up to 95 MPH. He throws both a two-seam and four-seam fastball, and he complements them with a slider and changeup. He shows a great feel for his slider, and it is a plus offering that is a true swing and miss pitch at the major league level. He also shows a good feel for his changeup though it is still a work in progress.

Kluber is strong, durable, physical and a great athlete who is a bulldog on the mound. He has all the attributes to be a major league starter and projects to be able to start and haul 200 innings in the major leagues. Even though he lacks dominant stuff he has a lot of success because of his feel for pitching, ability to control the ball, create deception, throw consistent strikes, and repeat his delivery well. He pounds the strike zone with all of his pitches and works well down in the zone. He gets ahead of hitters well and stays on top of them and keeps them uncomfortable by staying aggressive. He also is a very smart pitcher who combined with an excellent work ethic and very good makeup helps him get the most out of his abilities.

Kluber struggled in his first two starts after the trade – likely from trying to live up to expectations after the trade – as he lasted just four innings each outing and was hammered for a total of 19 hits and nine earned runs while walking six and striking out nine batters. After that he was very effective as in five combined starts between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus he went 3-1 with a 1.84 ERA. His increased comfort level and being back in a routine showed with how much more effective he was in his final five outings.

Opportunities: Kluber has had a lot of success over the years by amassing a large amount of strikeouts even though his fastball sits in the low 90s and he doesn’t have a truly devastating secondary pitch. Before he can be seriously considered as a big league option he needs to hone in on and refine his changeup. His fastball-slider combination is definitely his bread and butter combination, but due to the lack of a true third pitch some scouts think he can be more effective pitching out of the bullpen down the road. For him to be considered a true starting option it will be the continued development his changeup as well as more refined fastball command.

Outlook: Kluber had a breakout season last year which put him near the top of the Padres system at the time of the trade to the Indians. Once considered just middle relief depth and maybe a swing starter, he is now considered a legit innings eating workhorse who probably settles in at the back of a big league rotation with some upside still to be a solid middle of the rotation starter. The Indians feel that he can definitely be a starter and will work him into the starting rotation probably by this time next year, if not sooner. He won’t be flashy, but he has the potential to be a solid member of the big league rotation for the next several years. If things go south on the starting front, they can always move him to the bullpen where his stuff may play up in shorter spurts, especially if he cannot improve his changeup. He should open the 2011 season in the starting rotation at Triple-A Columbus.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	21	Eugene	A-	1	1	3.51	10	7	33.1	28	13	1	15	33	.230	4.0	8.9	1.29
2008	22	Lake Elsinore	A+	2	5	6.01	19	16	85.1	93	57	9	34	75	.280	3.6	7.9	1.49
2008	22	Fort Wayne	A	4	3	3.21	10	10	56.0	49	20	8	13	72	.229	2.1	11.6	1.11
2009	23	Lake Elsinore	A+	7	9	4.54	19	19	109.0	110	55	9	36	124	.261	3.0	10.2	1.34
2009	23	San Antonio	AA	2	4	4.60	9	9	45.0	45	23	5	34	35	.266	6.8	7.0	1.76
2010	24	San Antonio	AA	6	6	3.45	22	21	122.2	121	47	7	40	136	.259	2.9	10.0	1.31
2010	24	Akron	AA	2	2	3.76	5	5	26.1	38	11	0	10	21	.345	3.4	7.2	1.82
2010	24	Columbus	AAA	1	1	3.27	2	2	11.0	10	4	1	6	8	.263	4.9	6.5	1.46
		MiLB Totals		25	31	4.24	96	89	488.2	494	230	40	188	504	.264	3.5	9.3	1.40

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Indians Sign Orlando Cabrera

The Cleveland Indians today signed infielder Orlando Cabrera to a one-year Major League contract for the 2011 season.

Cabrera, 36, owns a career Major League batting average of .274 (1948-7112) with 443 doubles, 32 triples, 118 HR and 803 RBI in 1855 games with 7 teams over 14 seasons since debuting with the Montreal Expos at age 22 in 1997. He has also stolen 203 bases and plated 946 runs in his career and is one of just six active Major Leaguers with at least 1900 hits, 400 doubles, 100 homers and 200 stolen bases (A. Rodriguez, B. Abreu, D. Jeter, J. Damon, E. Renteria).

He is a two-time recipient of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award – winning with Montreal in 2001 and the LA Angels in 2007 - and in 2007 Orlando also placed 15th in the American League MVP balloting (.301, 35 2B, 86RBI, 101RS, 20SB). Cabrera has been to the postseason in each of the last four seasons (CIN 2010, MIN 2009, CWS 2008, LAA 2007) and in six of the last seven seasons beginning in 2004 with the World Champion Boston Red Sox. In all, he has appeared in 37 career postseason games with five different teams.

The Cartagena, Colombia native spent the 2010 season with the Cincinnati Reds where he hit .263 (130-494) with 33 doubles, 4 HR & 42 RBI in 123 games, stealing 11 bags in 15 attempts. He led the club with 119 starts at shortstop, hit .326 (44-135, .804OPS) off left-handed pitching and batted .306 (45-147, .763OPS) in the second half of the season.

Orlando will wear #20 with the Indians. His brother, Jolbert, appeared in 310 games with the Indians over five seasons from 1998-2002 and spent eight seasons and 609 games in the big leagues from 1998-2008.

- courtesy of the Indians

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