Reminder: Free $100 for fantasy baseball exclusive to IPI

Roy Halladay (Photo: AP)

This is a reminder that tonight is the exclusive free contest to IndiansProspectInsider.com (IPI) readers. The freeroll with Draftstreet.com will have $100 in cash prizes with the top 4 getting paid.  It is totally free to sign up. I also have a team so you get to square up against me and other IPI readers. What's not to like?

Here’s a reminder on how you play: Fill your roster (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 2 U, 2 SP, RP, P) while staying within the budget of $100k. Player salaries are set by DraftStreet based on fantasy production. So, if you want to put Roy Halladay on the mound it might cost you $16k, which means you’ll have to find some bargains to fill out the rest of your squad.

Sign up now for free and build a team for tonight Friday, July 29, 2011. You can sign up and adjust your roster up until the games start. Once your roster is set check out the scoreboard when the games start and watch your team win you cash. You can even show off your team when you start racking up the points.

You can walk away after the game if you’d like, although you are more than welcome to stick around at DraftStreet and continue playing for a chance to win more. Below are how the points are scored:

Registration: Click here
League Start Date: Friday, July 29, 7:00 pm.
League Duration: One day only.
Current Prize Pool: $100, top 5 get paid
Rosters: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 2 U, 2 SP, RP, P

Daily
Hitting			Pitching
1B	1 pt		IBB	-.25 pts
2B	2 pts		HA	-.25 pts
3B	3 pts		HB	-.25 pts
BB	.8 pts		ER	-.75 pts
HR	4 pts		INN	.75 pts
HP	.8 pts		K	.75 pts
R	1.5 pts		L	-.75 pts
RBI	1.5 pts		S	3 pts
SB	2 pts		W	1.5 pts
KO	-1 pt		CG	1 pt
GDP	-1 pt
CS	-1 pt
SAC	.8 pts

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Indians Minor League Magazine 7/26 (Ep 13)

"Indians Minor League Magazine" is a half hour program on the Cleveland Indians cable network SportsTime Ohio (STO) which airs weekly on Tuesday nights from 6:00-6:30 PM EST. The show recaps all of the highlights from the week that was in the Cleveland Indians farm system with lots of video, interviews, and in-studio guests.

The show recaps the week that was in the system and also features an interview with Triple-A Columbus GM Ken Schnacke and short season Single-A Mahoning Valley shortstop Tony Wolters.

Once again this year I am writing the "Diamond In the Rough" feature which focuses on some guys who slip through the cracks because they are not considered a high level prospect or have kind of been overlooked. This week the "Diamond In the Rough" was short season Single-A Mahoning Valley right-handed Joseph Colon.

Be sure to follow "Indians Minor League Magazine" on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indians-Minor-League-Magazine/120037858012265?ref=ts

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


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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The AZL/DSL Rookie Report

Arizona League Indians Report

Record: 15-14, Tied for 1st Place in the AZL Central
Last Six Games: (3-3)
Team Hitting: .279, 7th out of 13 teams
Team Pitching: 3.93, 2nd out of 13 teams

Game Recaps

Wed., July 20 - L Braves 4-5 (Rafael Homblert 0-3)
Jake Sisco got the start and had his longest outing of the season throwing 4 innings. He gave up 4 hits, 1 earned run, walked none, and struck out 4. CF Erik Gonzalez paced the offense going 2/4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

Thurs., July 21 - W Cubs 7-4 (Manuel Carmona 2-0)
Elvis Araujo gave up 4 runs in the first two innings of the game, but then he settled down by shutting the Cubs out over the next 4 innings. Carmona got the win in 1 inning of relief while Moisses Ramirez got the 2 inning save. SS Jorge Martinez was 1/5 with a home run and 2 RBI and 3B Robel Garcia was 2/4 with a home run and 2 RBI as well. CF Luigi Rodriguez and C Charlie Valerio each had 3 hits and an RBI in the win.

Fri., July 22 - W Angels 7-4 (Josh McKeon 1-0)
Anthony Reyes made his first appearance of 2011 by starting the game and throwing 1 inning. 2010 draft pick Robbie Aviles threw 2 innings in relief also as the Indians used 7 different pitchers. RF Juan Romero was 2/4 with a home and 2 RBI and LF Hunter Jones was 2/3 with 2 RBI also. For the 2nd game in a row Luigi Rodriguez and Charlie Valerio had 3 hit games to pace the Indians.

Sat., July 23 - OFF

Sun., July 24 - W Cubs 10-2 (Luis DeJesus 2-1)
Luis DeJesus threw 5 innings without allowing an earned run as the Indians beat the Cubs for the second time in 4 days. Luigi Rodriguez continued his hot streak going 2/5 with a home run and 2 RBI. 2B Jose Ramirez got his first home run of the season going 3/5 with 2 RBI.

Mon., July 25 - L Royals 7-8 (Jake Sisco 0-2)
Jake Sisco gave up 4 runs in 2.1 innings as the Indians pitching staff gave up its most runs in a week. 1B Leornardo Castillo was 2/5 with an RBI and RF Hunter Jones was 2/3 with an RBI.

Tues., July 26 - L Padres 1-2 (Xavier De Los Santos 1-1)
Robbie Aviles started for the Indians throwing 2 shutout innings and rest of the bullpen did their job, but the offense only scored one run as the AZL Tribe lost their 2nd game in a row. 2B Jose Ramirez was 3/4 with a run scored, as he had all 3 of the Indians hits for the game.

Notes

Luigi Rodriguez (OF) - Rodriguez was 11/29 (.379) for the week with a home run and 3 RBI. That .379 clip for the week actually lowered his season batting average to .383 - 5th in the AZL.

Jose Ramirez (2B) - Went 7/18 (.389) for the week with a home run and 2 RBI.

Robel Garcia (3B) - Garcia was 7/23 (.304) for the week with a home run and 4 RBI for the week.

Anthony Reyes (SP) - Just nice to see the 29 year old Reyes make his first appearance of 2011.

Abelsario Guerrero (P) - 2011 36th round pick out of Galveston College made his professional debut on 7/24 allowing a run on 2 walks in one inning.

Transactions

7/21 - Drew Rucinski assigned to Mahoning Valley
7/21 - Abelsario Guerrero assigned to AZL Indians
7/22 - Felix Sterling assigned to Lake County

Dominican Summer League Indians Report

Record: 19-28, -11.5 games back in the BC North Division
Last Five Games: (0-5)
Team Hitting: .208, Tied for last of the 33 teams
Team Pitching: 3.47, 16th out of 33 teams

Game Recaps

Weds., July 20 - L Royals 3-4 (Jose Zapata 1-1)
Breily Puerta threwing 5 solid innings with 8 strikeouts, but the bullpen let him down as Jose Zapata allowed 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning. 3B Juan Herrera was 2/3 with 2 RBI and C Yunior De La Cruz had 2 hits.

Thurs., July 21 - L Cardinals 3-9 (Alexis Paredes 1-4)
Anderson Polanco threw 5 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts, but Alexis Paredes gave up 6 earned runs in 2.1 innings of relief to earn the loss. The Indians got all 3 of their runs in the 9th inning as Kevin Calderon had a pinch hit 2 run double to lead the offense.

Fri., July 22 - L Pirates 3-8 (Eliezer Sanchez 0-2)
Sanchez gave up 3 earned runs in 5 innings of work as the Indians lost again. CF Victor DeJesus was 2/4 with a RBI.

Sat., July 23 - OFF

Sun., July 24 - Rain Out

Mon., July 25 - Game 1 L Rays 0-3 (Yeiker Lovera 3-2) 7 innings
Yeiker Lovera gave up 3 runs in 5 innings of work while striking out 6, but he got no help as the offense only had 3 hits in game one of the doubleheader. SS Juan Herrera was 2/3 with a double.

Mon., July 25 - Game 2 L Rays 2-6 (Estevenson Encarnacion 4-2) 7 innings
Jeffry Cleto started the game and threw 5 scoreless innings, but once again the offense could not come through for the Indians. Encarnacion did not record an out as he walked both batters he faced and they both came around to score. SS Juan Herrera was 2/3 with his first home run of the season.

Notes

Juan Herrera (SS/3B) - Herrera was 8/17 (.471) with a home run and 4 RBI. The Indians offense only scored 11 runs over the 5 games this past week.

Transactions

None

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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Around the Farm: July 28

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.

Tyler Holt - CF, Kinston: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, 3B, BB. Though his average may not reflect it, Holt has put together a solid season with Kinston. In Holt's past ten games, he's been even better, hitting .421, with 11 runs scored, 2 doubles, a triple, and 3 runs driven in. He's also swiped 3 bags. Holt also has a great .489 OBP/1.015 OPS in his past ten games. Not too shabby.

• Jason Donald - SS, Columbus: 1-5, K. After swinging a hot bat for quite a while, he's cooled down a bit, hitting just .286 in his past ten games with 2 walks and 13 strike outs.
• Shelley Duncan - RF, Columbus: 2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI. Since being demoted from Cleveland, Duncan is hitting .162 in his past ten games.
• Nick Johnson - DH, Columbus: 2-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB. Johnson isn't producing like most Tribe fans had expected or wanted him to, but I wouldn't give up on him just yet.
• Zach McAllister - SP, Columbus: 6 IP, 9 H, 2 ER/R, BB, 5 K, HR. Not one of ZMac's most impressive starts of the year, but he kept the Clippers in the game with six innings of 2 run baseball.
• Nick Hagadone - RP, Columbus: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER/3 R, 3 K. Scouts are slowly becoming skeptical of Hagadone's future ceiling in the bigs, in due large part because his fastball has no movement.
• Jordan Henry - CF, Akron: 2-2, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, SB. One of the major problems with Henry's game is his lack of power. And by power, I even mean doubles/triples power. He has a slugging percentage this year of only .296, while his OBP stands at .371. He knows how to get on base, but he's a Tim Fedroff clone.
• Matt McBride - 1B, Akron: 2-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, BB. Someone who has really been swinging a hot bat of late is McBride, who boasts a .390 average in his past ten games with 11 runs driven in. He also has a .444 OBP/1.127 OPS.
• Cory Burns - CP, Akron: (S, 28) IP, 2 H, BB, K. Burns' 28 saves ranks him first in the Eastern League by quite a large magin with the next closest player to him has 17 saves.
• Jesus Aguilar -1B, Kinston: 1-3, RBI, BB. Welcome to Kinston, Jesus!
• TJ House - SP, Kinston: (L, 6-9) 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER/6R, BB, K. With his ERA still hovering at 4.50, House's season can be categorized as nothing short of disappointing so far.
• Carlos Moncrief - RF, Lake County: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, BB. Moncrief continues to swing a hot bat and produce for the Captains.
• Giovanny Urshela - 3B, Lake County: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI. Urshela hasn't put up the kind of numbers most fans were hoping for this season, but he's still very young and a growing player.
• Jordan Cooper - SP, Lake County: 5 IP, 3 H, ER/R, 3 K, HR. Overall, a very solid outing from Cooper who has struggled on the mound as of late.
• Tony Wolters - SS, Mahoning Valley: 2-5, 2 R, K, SB. Wolters continues to rake in the hits and is hitting .405 in his past ten games.
• Jordan Smith - 3B, Mahoning Valley: 2-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI. Smith hasn't slowed down once since joining the team and has earned himself a well deserved promotion.
• Jake Lowery - 1B, Mahoning Valley: 2-3, 3 R, 3B, RBI, 2 BB. Lowery continues to produce in the heart of the Scrappers lineup.

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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Game Recaps 7/28: McBride homers Aeros to win

Matt McBride (Photo: Lianna Holub)

McBride helps Aeros snap four-game skid

Matt McBride hit two solo home runs as the Akron Aeros scored one run in each of the first five innings and ended a season-high four-game losing streak winning game one of a four-game series against the Erie SeaWolves 7-4 Thursday at Canal Park.

Right-handed pitcher Austin Adams earned the win for Akron tossing six innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits, walking two and striking out three.

Right-hander Cory Burns got the last three outs to earn his league-best 28th save of 2011, With the save, Burns is one shy of the Aeros single season record of 29 saves, which is held by Randy Newsom, who set the mark in 2008.

Left-handed pitcher Casey Crosby suffered the loss for Erie lasting four innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on three hits, walking five and striking out four.

The SeaWolves (48-57) got things started in the top of the first inning as Francisco Martinez singled home Jamie Johnson to make it 1-0.

The Aeros (55-51) tied the game 1-1 in bottom of the frame on a Juan Diaz RBI double.

The teams traded runs in the second before McBride clubbed his first solo home run of the game in the bottom of the third inning to give Akron a 3-2 lead.

Karexon Sanchez singled home Kyle Bellows in the bottom of the fourth inning to increase the Aeros lead to 4-2.

Following an Erie run in the top of the fifth inning, McBride hit his second solo home run of the game and his 14th of the season in the bottom of the frame to give Akron a 5-3 lead.

Erie’s Deik Scram hit a solo home run of his own in the top of the sixth inning to cut the Aeros lead to one run at 5-4.

That was as close as they would get as Akron added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and went on to the win.

The Aeros and SeaWolves will continue their four-game series Friday. Akron will give the ball to left-handed pitcher Matt Packer, who is 4-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 2011. He will face fellow southpaw Jay Voss, who is 5-5 with a 4.21 ERA this season. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Dash down Kinston 6-3

Winston-Salem completed a four-game sweep of Kinston, downing the K-Tribe 6-3 Thursday night in the Triad. It was the first time Kinston was swept in four games this season. With the loss, Kinston's (18-14, 56-45) lead in the Southern Division shrinks to a half game over Winston-Salem.

Kinston started the scoring off of Winston-Salem starter Joe Serafin in the top of the fourth inning. With two-outs in the inning, Jeremie Tice hit a double. Kinston newcomer Jesus Aguilar drove Tice in with a run scoring single. Aguilar was among the Midwest League leaders in home runs (19) and RBIs (69) for Low A Lake County before the promotion. Kinston's lead was short lived, however, when Winston-Salem came back in the bottom of the fourth. Kinston starting pitcher T.J. House was cruising through the first three innings, having given up just one hit. That changed as the first four batters of the bottom of the fourth reached safely. A hit batter and three straight hits gave Winston-Salem a 3-1 lead. Two more hits would lead to two more runs and drive House from the game. House (6-9) ended up going 3 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and six runs (four earned). House walked one and struck out one. Chris Jones took over for House with two-outs in the inning. Tyler Saladino sent a grounder that was mishandled by K-Tribe third baseman Adam Abraham and the inning continued as a run scored on the error. A wild pitch then sent home the sixth run of the inning. Six runs scored on five hits, as 11 Winston-Salem batters saw the plate.

The K-Tribe scored a run in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI from Casey Frawley. In the top of the seventh inning, Kinston had the bases loaded with one out thanks to Serafin who did not make it out of the inning after walking three straight batters. Kinston would score a run on an RBI ground-out from Tice to cut the Winston-Salem lead to three, but could get no closer. Kinston left ten men on base. Serafin picked up the win, giving up three runs in 6 1/3 innings. Leroy Hunt and Taylor Thompson finished it up from the pen for Dash.

Jones would hold serve from the K-Tribe bullpen, giving up two hits and no runs in 2 1/3 innings of work. Jones walked one and struck out one. Toru Murata was great iin his one inning of relief, not giving up a hit. Preston Guilmet pitched a perfect inning in relief for Kinston. Tyler Holt went 2-for-4 for Kinston.

The K-Tribe's roadtrip continues Friday night in Wilmington, Deleware. K-Tribe newcomer Mike Rayl will make the start for Kinston, game time 7:05.

Captains rally back, win 5-4 over BG

Lake County won their fourth straight game on Thursday night defeating Bowling Green 5-4. Giovanny Urshela played hero, with two-outs in the seventh inning, delivering an RBI double down the leftfield line scoring Moncrief to tie the game at four. Urshela scored the winning run, forcing a throwing error from the BG catcher.

In the first, the Hot Rods’ Robby Price hit a solo homerun off Captains’ starter Jordan Cooper to give BG a 1-0 lead.

Lake County jumped ahead 2-1 in the fifth inning, Carlos Moncrief with a two-out single to single to center tied the game at one. Jordan Casas finished things up doubling down the right field line driving Moncrief.

Bowling Green took the lead back in the sixth inning, off Captains’ reliever Kyle Petter. Steve Tinoco doubled in a pair of runs making it 3-2 Hot Rods. Nick Schwaner made it 4-2 with a single to center field.

Kevin Fontanez pulled the Captains within a run at 4-3, with an RBI single to left center scoring Alex Monsalve in the bottom of the sixth.

Giovanny Urshela came up big with two-outs in the seventh inning with an RBI double down the leftfield line scoring Moncrief to tie the game at four.

Nick Sarianides (5-4) picked up the win, working two innings, allowing no runs and just one hit, striking out one. Nate Garcia (2-2) took the loss allowing three runs, two earned on three hits over two innings of work, walking one and striking out one.

Lake County will wrap the series with Bowling Green and the home stand Friday night at Classic Park at 7:00PM. The Captains will start RHP Mike Goodnight (5-8) against LHP Enny Romero (2-5) for the Hot Rods.

Scrappers fall to Lowell 10-7

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers lost to Lowell on Thursday night 10-7. After falling behind in the first inning 4-0, the Scrappers scored five unanswered runs and had a 5-4 lead going into the eighth inning before allowing three runs in the last two frames.

Starter Mason Radeke struggled and only lasted 4.1 innings allowing four runs on seven hits, three walks and had six strikeouts. Tony Dischler came on in the eighth inning and suffered the blown save and was credited with the loss after he allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in his two thirds of an inning.

At the plate the Scrappers continue to pound the ball as first baseman Jake Lowery went 2-for-3 with a triple, RBI and two walks. Hot hitting third baseman Jordan Smith went 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI, and shortstop Tony Wolters chipped in going 2-for-5.

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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2011 Scouting Reports for Abreu, Smith

Here are the 2011 scouting reports for the two players the Indians traded away in the deal for Kosuke Fukudome on Thursday. These are from my 2011 Indians prospect handbook and were written before the season.

22. Abner Abreu – Outfielder
Born: 10/24/1989 – Height: 6’3” – Weight: 170 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Abner Abreu

History: Abreu was signed by the Indians as an undrafted free agent in October 2006 out of the Dominican Republic for $75,000. As a 17-year old in the Dominican Summer League in 2007 he piled up 24 extra base hits in 228 at bats, and in 2008 with the rookie level Gulf Coast League team finished with 31 extra base hits and led the league in doubles (16), home runs (11), total bases (107) and slugging percentage (.538). He separated his shoulder diving for a ball in the outfield in June of 2009 while playing for Low-A Lake County, which resulted in him having surgery and missing the rest of that season.

Strengths: Abreu is an athletic player who has an effortless swing that generates excellent bat speed and combines it with some very good raw power where the ball just explodes off his bat. He is a very aggressive hitter so is prone to strikeouts, but shows an innate ability to square the ball up when he makes contact and crushes balls to all fields and can hit the ball out to any part of any ballpark. His strong hands and wrists help create a natural whip in his swing, and he has a very quick bat on inside pitches that allows him to really drive the ball pull side. The Indians recently made a subtle adjustment to his stance as he was standing too straight up and now have him leaning more forward which has helped him get a better load at the plate.

Abreu is only an average runner, but he plays above his speed on the bases and in the outfield because of his athleticism. He has a loose, wiry frame with very long legs and arms, a build similar to his favorite player Alfonso Soriano. Last offseason he added about 15-20 pounds to his listed weight of 170 pounds, and as he continues to mature physically and grow into his body it could lead to more strength and plus power down the road at the major league level. He is a quiet player, but is very patient, confident and a hard worker. He also speaks good English, which helps him communicate and fit in better with his American teammates.

While Abreu’s offensive performance can be erratic, his defense is very consistent and he is the best defensive corner outfielder in the Indians’ system. He was originally signed as a shortstop and then was moved to third base in 2008, but in 2009 the Indians decided to take advantage of his athleticism and excellent throwing arm by putting him in the outfield because they believed he could be an impact defender there. So far it has been a very positive move as some scouts have compared his defensive ability in right field to that of a young Vladimir Guerrero. He glides to the ball and shows a lot of range moving well to his left and right, and comes in and goes back on balls very well. As he continues to fill out his range may drop a little, but he projects as a well above average defensive outfielder with excellent arm strength and accuracy.

Opportunities: The Indians have worked extensively with Abreu on his approach, mindset and plan at the plate to improve his plate discipline issues. He is often over-aggressive at the plate and gets himself out where he is pulling off pitches and not staying on them like he should be which results in a lot of strikeouts and poorly hit balls. He needs to continue to work on staying within himself and let things come naturally instead of over-swinging and trying to show his incredible raw power. He has a tendency to get too geared up for the fastball, which makes him very susceptible to offspeed pitches. He needs to do a better job of recognizing pitches and show that he can hit offspeed stuff, and his two strike approach needs a lot of work. He needs to work on strengthening his core and the mental side of his game.

The hopes for some improvement with Abreu’s high strikeout rate and low walk rate did not happen last year as his strikeout rate got worse (3.6 AB/K in 2009, 3.1 AB/K in 2010). He also saw significant dips in on-base percentage (.351 in 2009, .298 in 2010) and slugging percentage (.488 in 2009, .362 in 2010). The one hope here is since he was coming off a significant shoulder injury in 2009, maybe with another offseason of rehab and some improved confidence he can get back to his expected performance levels. It can take a player awhile to come back from a serious lead arm shoulder injury and rid himself of any uncertainties and apprehensiveness in order to have full confidence that he can swing without pain and not reinjure it, which is something similar that fellow Tribe farmhand Jared Goedert has gone through recently.

Outlook: Abreu did not live up to his promise last season as he had one of the most disappointing years of any prospect in the Indians’ system. From a power and defensive standpoint, he is still one of the most exciting players in the system, but his struggles at the plate with making consistent contact and avoiding strikeouts is a huge concern and will be the determining factor of what he becomes as a prospect. His ceiling is still unlimited and he has not peaked both physically or mentally, so there is still a lot of time to develop him and harness his impressive collection of tools. He is still a priority prospect for the Indians and the hope is that with a full season under his belt after shoulder surgery in 2009 along with the bad taste his 2010 left in his mouth that he will come back and make some very positive strides in this season. He should open the 2011 season by returning to High-A Kinston, but if he plays well he could move to Double-A Akron by midseason.





88. Carlton Smith - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 01/23/1986 – Height: 6’2” – Weight: 205 – Bats: Left – Throws: Right

Carlton Smith

History: Smith was selected by the Indians in the 21st round of the 2004 Draft out of Piscataway High School (NJ). He originally committed to Old Dominion University; however, he elected to attend Okaloosa Walton Community College in Florida in order to be eligible to sign with the Indians as a draft and follow in May of 2005. He is also the younger brother of former Indians #1 prospect third baseman Corey Smith.

Strengths: Smith pounds the zone with a 91-93 MPH sinking fastball that has touched 96 MPH, and complements it with a cutter, slider, and splitter. While he gets good life and movement on his fastball, he does not rack up very many strikeouts because of his pitch to contact approach. He works his sinker well to the bottom of the zone which results in a lot of groundball outs. His slider is an above average offering which he consistently throws in the zone. He picked up a cutter at the start of last season and had mixed results with it, and his splitter is a fringe average offering.

Smith is a very durable pitcher, consistent performer, and he goes right after hitters. He has made strides with repeating his delivery, commanding his fastball, and throwing his secondary stuff consistently for strikes. Every year he has shown improved command and a more consistent delivery which in turn has helped the quality of his stuff. He mixes speeds and changes the eye level of his pitches well. He is quiet by nature and keeps to himself, but has an excellent work ethic that was instilled in him by his brother and father.

Opportunities: Smith’s lack of a true put away pitch may have shown itself last year as he struggled to get outs at the Triple-A level. He needs to continue to refine his secondary pitches and keep working on consistently commanding his sinker in order to limit the good swings opposing hitters get on him. Since everything he throws is hard, he may be better off picking up a changeup or another slower offspeed pitch which may help make his mid-90s sinker more effective and more of a strikeout pitch.

Outlook: Even with how hard Smith throws and all the movement he gets on his pitches he has never racked up a lot of strikeouts. His bread and butter has always been his ability to pitch to contact in lieu of strikeouts, and for the most past that plan of attack has worked out well for him. He has proven he can dominate at the Double-A level, but he really struggled last year at Triple-A Columbus allowing almost two base-runners per inning. He is a minor league free agent at the end of the season, and considering there are several bullpen options ahead of him on the Indians’ pecking order for the big league squad, he may not come back. He will likely open the 2011 season in Columbus and pitch there all season unless he is traded or released.





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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Thoughts on the Fukudome deal

Kosuke Fukudome (Photo: AP)

The Indians on Thursday made what is expected to be their first salvo in the frenzy leading up to the July 31st trade deadline when they acquired outfielder Kosuke Fukudome from the Cubs for minor league prospects outfielder Abner Abreu and right-handed pitcher Carlton Smith. Here are some random thoughts on the deal:

- A lot of people are underwhelmed with the deal, but this is expected to just be a shot across the bow as the Indians are still hot and heavy after several bats and starting pitchers. When the dust settles after 4:00 PM on Sunday, the Indians are expected to have acquired as many as two to four more players. So before we get all upset at the move, let's see what else they do and THEN look at all the moves collectively before we go off the deep end.

- Fukudome is not an impact player by any means, which is why it cost so little to acquire him. But with a team starving for some stability in the outfield, he should provide it. Putting the likes of Travis Buck and Ezequiel Carrera in the outfield every night while Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore are on the shelf has been tough to watch, and Fukudome will be an immediate upgrade over Buck. The upgrade may not be seen in production numbers or batting average, but more in the quality of his at bats, more consistently putting the ball in play, getting on base, and less strikeouts.

- Everyone knows the Indians need a run producing bat, but they also need guys who can get on base too. They just are not doing much of anything on offense, and getting a solid on-base guy like Fukudome should help. Again, he will not be a huge upgrade, but he should be much better than Buck. Would you rather have Buck out there in right field the next month or Fukudome?

- A lot of people have pointed to Fukudome's poor RBI total this year (13), but you have to remember that as a leadoff hitter in the National League you do not get very many RBI opportunities because of the pitcher hitting 9th. As a leadoff hitter in the NL you actually lead off a lot more, something he has done in 125 of his 293 at bats (43%) which have led off an inning. In the few times he has had an opportunity to drive in a run this year and get an RBI he is hitting .311/.516/.467/.983 with runners in scoring position. To get an RBI you have to have opportunities. It is why it is not considered a very useful stat in the scouting world when it comes to evaluating talent and ability.

- If I gave you the 2011 batting line for Player A (.273/.374/.369/.743) and Player B (.275/.330/.385/.715) you would probably say Player A is having the better season, right? Also, if I gave you the career batting line for Player A (.262/.369/.403/.772) and Player B (.269/.321/.358/.679) you would probably say that up to this point Player A has had the better career, right? Well, Player A is Fukudome and Player B is Michael Brantley. Yes, long term there is no doubt that Brantley is the better player, but going strictly on performance and numbers, Fukudome has been as good or better than Brantley not only this year but over their career as well. So Fukudome is not exactly a “bad” player. For $12 million a year, yeah, he was a bad player. For $775K like the Indians will pay him, he is solid.

- With the Indians only needing to pay $775K of the $4.7 million left on Fukudome's deal and him being a free agent at the end of the year, the Indians are not taking on much salary at all. By comparison, had they kept a minimum salary player around like a Travis Buck he would have made about $135K over the same period, so in the end it is costing the Indians about an extra $640K for him.

- There is also some confusion over Fukudome's eligibility for free agency, arbitration, and draft pick compensation. For a player to be eligible for free agency they have to have six years of Major League service time, and at the conclusion of Fukudome's contract this year he will only have four years of service time. Under normal circumstances, he would be a first time eligible arbitration player and not eligible for free agency if the Indians offer arbitration. This, however, is not the case as it was written into the contract he signed with the Cubs that he would be a free agent at the conclusion of his contract and would follow the six year service time rule for free agency and arbitration. What this means is the Indians can offer him arbitration and if he declines and signs elsewhere they would get a draft pick since he is projected to be a Type B free agent. Now, whether or not the Indians would even offer him arbitration or not is another story as he could be costly in arbitration, but the fact remains they can if they choose to and if they do so they do get draft pick compensation.

- I keep hearing about how the Indians need to acquire an impact bat. That's all fine and dandy to wish for, but they have to be available. The only true impact bat available was Carlos Beltran, and the Indians tried to acquire him but they were on his no trade list. After him the only bats available like a Josh Willingham, Ryan Ludwick, Jeff Francoeur, and so on are not impact bats. Some are good and better than others, but none are "impact" quality. Maybe my definition of impact is different from others, but when I think of impact I think of guys like the Adrian Gonzalez's, Ryan Howard's, and Mark Teixeira's of the world. Those are difference makers. The guys available would surely help, but their value and impact are being inflated because of a terrible trade market. The Indians have said they plan to do more, so the potential is still there to add one of those bats still out there that are rumored to be available. It still looks like the Indians may swing something with Ludwick, and even though he is not an impact bat he would surely help (depending on the cost to acquire him).

- The players the Indians gave up, Smith and Abreu, are considered marginal prospects. Neither player really had any big league value to the Indians as both of them were not expected to be any part of the Tribe's future the next two to three years. Also, both were not highly viewed in the scouting community coming into the season and both probably will not be highly valued after it, so unless you are a big Abreu fan there is not much to get upset about in the deal. I admit to being a huge Abreu fan, and am probably one of the few people to rate him highly the past few years, but I think it is a good gamble to take to fill the big league team with a ML bat that can help right now.

- Abreu is the only true prospect given up in the deal as he has a lot to like in that he has very good power, runs well, has a cannon for an arm, and is an excellent defensively outfielder. He has lots of tools and with his age and size he makes for an interesting prospect on those merits alone. However, the big red flag with him has been his plate discipline as he strikes out a ton and is too much of a free swinger. He has recently simplified his approach some to help combat this issue and has been better, but even with the power surge of late the discipline issue is still an underlying problem for him.

- At this point Abreu is what he is with regards to his plate discipline; it just depends on whether or not he can become more consistent as a player. He was coming back from a severe shoulder injury last year which probably affected his numbers, so maybe now that he is healthy he is finally coming into his own. I hope that is the case as I am a huge fan of his on and off the field. Being realistic about it though, he is repeating at the High-A level and the numbers still are not there. I don't expect him to reach the big leagues as eventually the discipline issue will be too tough to overcome as he faces Double-A and Triple-A pitching. Because of his tools he will be given every opportunity to overcome this issue.

- Abreu is up for roster protection this offseason, and it appears the Indians would not have rostered him to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He is a toolsy player, which is valuable to teams and may have sparked some interest in picking him up in the Rule 5 Draft, but he likely would have remained an Indian because he would have been abused by big league pitching.

- Abreu is still a talent and I am sad to see him go. The tools are still exciting and it would have been nice to see how things played out with him had he remained in the Indians organization, but it was an opportune time to make a move and give up a player that has a lot to overcome before he is ever in the discussion as a big league option.

- As for Carlton Smith, he is a fringe reliever who has been passed over by loads of relievers in the Tribe's system this year and last year. Several scouts I have spoken to over the last two years don't like him at all. He was more pitching inventory than anything for the Indians, and they have several arms from Triple-A Columbus on down to replace him. I think he has the ability to someday get a cup of coffee in the big leagues, but it obviously was not going to happen in Cleveland. He is a minor league free agent at the end of the season, so he may not even be a Cub for long anyway, though he could get a look in September if they really like him that much.

- I will post the 2011 scouting reports for Abreu and Smith in a separate posting later tonight for Indians fans to know what they gave up or for Cubs fans to know what they got.

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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Indians acquire Fukodome from Cubs

Kosuke Fukodome

The Indians today have acquired outfielder Kosuke Fukodome from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for High-A Kinston outfielder Abner Abreu and Triple-A Columbus right-handed reliever Carlton Smith.

Fukodome, 34, is a veteran outfielder the Cubs signed out of Japan and who debuted stateside in 2008. This year he is hitting .273 with 3 HR, 13 RBI and a .742 OPS in 87 games.  He is a left-handed hitter, which likely means he will replace Travis Buck or Ezequeil Carrera on the roster and get most of the playing time against right-handed pitching. In the last three years he has a .262/.374/.420 line against right-handers.

Fukodome is not an impact bat or a run producer.  Instead he is a leadoff hitter and tablesetter, something the Indians could use considering Carrera has been hitting leadoff of late.  Fukodome's game is centered more around making consistent contact (340 Ks in 1967 PA) and getting on base (.369 career on-base%), something the Indians could use in a strikeout laden lineup.

Fukodome is in the last year of a 4-year $48 million contract he signed with the Cubs. He has roughly $4.7 million left on his contract this season, which the Cubs are expected to pick up more than half of it where the Indians will only need to pay about $775K.  He is under control after this season, though per the rules in his contract the Indians would need to offer him an extension by November 15th or release him.

I'll have more on the two players the Indians gave up, Abreu and Smith, later tonight including their full 2011 scouting reports.

This appears to only be the first of a few moves expected from the Indians. The Indians still need a right-handed bat and also are pursuing starting pitching.

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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Aguilar promoted to Kinston

Jesus Aguilar

The Indians today promoted Low-A Lake County first baseman Jesus Aguilar to High-A Kinston. In 95 games for Lake County this year he hit .292 with 19 HR, 69 RBI, and a .915 OPS. He has made significant strides this year both at the plate and defensively at first base, and the promotion to a much tougher league should serve as a nice barometer to see where he is as a prospect. He still needs to work on his plate discipline (35 BB, 95 K), but the Indians obviously feel he is up to the challenge and his bat should hopefully boost a Kinston lineup in desperate need for offense, especially with the hot hitting Abner Abreu being traded earlier today.

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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Indians trade focus should be on present and future

Ubaldo Jimenez (Photo: AP)

The July 31st deadline is three days away.

The Indians are rumored to be in on several mid-level outfield bats such as Ryan Ludwick of the Padres, Coco Crisp of the Athletics, and even Jeff Francoeur of the Royals.

In an interesting scheduling quirk, the Indians and Royals square off all weekend which means Indians GM Chris Antonetti and Royals GM Dayton Moore – should he make the trip – would have several opportunities to talk face to face over the weekend about a Francoeur swap.

At this point a bat like Ludwick or Francoeur will not do much to change the fortunes of an Indians lineup that is struggling and has so many holes. They will help plug a hole or two, but until the Indians get healthy with the return of Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore and also start getting some more consistent contributions from others who are struggling, it doesn’t matter who they pick up at this point. It won’t make much of a difference.

The warts with the offense have shown themselves over the past two months. After a strong 30-15 start where the pitching, defense, and offense were all playing at a very good level, since then the pitching has continued to be strong while the defense and offense have nosedived. That is why the Indians are 22-35 since that hot start.

The sad part about it is the Indians right now are much closer to that 22-35 team than the 30-15 team earlier in the season when they played out of their minds in April and got off to a 20-8 start. It is not an indictment of a talentless team; it is more that this team is just very young and inexperienced.

In a lot of ways the struggles with the offense this year mirror those with the pitching last year.

Last year the starters were still growing and finding themselves as Justin Masterson struggled with inconsistency all season before getting on a roll the final month of the season. Carlos Carrasco and Josh Tomlin were in the minors for most of the year and got their feet wet later in the year. Fausto Carmona was in the midst of a rebound season.

In the bullpen Tony Sipp and Joe Smith were inconsistent but effective and Chris Perez was still coming into his own as a closer. Frank Herrmann was a mid-season addition, Rafael Perez was reestablishing himself after a brutal 2008 and 2009 campaign, and Vinnie Pestano was in the minors all season save for a late season cup of coffee to the big leagues.

In a lot of ways the lineup is going through this year much what the pitching did last year.

Asdrubal Cabrera is establishing himself as a dynamic All Star caliber shortstop. Travis Hafner has come back mostly to his old self. Michael Brantley is proving to be a solid every day outfielder who is unfazed by any situation. Carlos Santana is working his way back from injury, and young rookies like Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall are getting their first taste of the big leagues.

The pitching has established itself as a strength of the team this season, and there is tons more of it waiting to be used in the minors. By this time next year the offense could also make that leap like the pitching has, though the Indians do not have anywhere near the position player depth in the minors like they do with the pitching.

The Indians may still be in the thick of the AL Central race, but this is not a team built to win this year. Before the 2011 season started it was supposed to be more of a feeling out year to sort out the rotation and bullpen, and also to start getting things lined up with the position players. Contention was expected to begin in 2012. The hot start sort of pushed that timeline up a little, but with the struggles of late the focus on building this team going forward should not just be for this season but for 2012 and beyond.

Knowing that, the Indians should only be exploring trades for players who are under control beyond this season. If they are going to mortgage their future by dealing off some of their coveted prospects, they need to be sure they get players in return that can help not only this year but next season and beyond.

This is why the Indians have been heavy suitors for some of the pitching on the market like Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies and Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros. They have also shown strong interest in pitchers signed only through this year like Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers and Aaron Harang of the Padres.

For a team starving for hitting – particularly a right-handed bat in the outfield – it may seem puzzling why they would be targeting any pitching at all. But the Indians also have a need for starting rotation help as there are question marks after Masterson, Carrasco and Tomlin. Carmona has been better of late, but he has struggled for most of the year. David Huff has been great in his first two appearances and Jeanmar Gomez and Zach McAllister have been solid, but they are unknowns going forward.

Jimenez, 27, is in the midst of a four-year deal that is paying him $2.8 million this season and $4.2 million next season. He also has a 2013 club option for $5.75 million, so he would be under team control through the 2013 season (he has a 2014 club option but is voidable if traded).

Rodriguez, 32, is in the first year of a three year deal that is paying him $7 million this season, $10 million in 2012, and $13 million in 2013. He has a club option for $13 million in 2014 that becomes a player option, so he would be under control through the 2013 season and maybe even in 2014 as well.

Jimenez or Rodriguez would be solid additions to an already strong rotation and solidify it for this year and beyond. Considering Jimenez’s age, good contract, and performance history he would be the most costly to acquire as far as prospects are concerned, so the Indians would likely have to part with a high level prospect or two plus more to obtain him. Rodriguez may not cost as much because he is older and has a heftier contract, but he will still cost a pretty penny.

Going out and getting a Rodriguez or Jimenez in a trade would make sense. They would both help stabilize the rotation not only this year but in future years. It would also allow the Indians to trade some their pitching depth for a bat such as outfielder B.J. Upton of the Rays or catcher Chris Iannetta of the Rockies. Upton is under control through next season, and Iannetta through the 2013 season.

That should be the focus right now as we near the trade deadline. To acquire talent not just for help this year, but future years as well.

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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Around the Farm: July 27

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.

Carlos Moncrief - RF, Lake County: 2-4, R, 3B, 2 RBI. Moncrief is making quite a name for himself of late. His average may not wow you, but he's done nothing but produce for the Captains lately. In his past ten games, he has a double, a triple, 5 home runs, and 9 runs driven in. The huge concern about Moncrief is his strike out rate. We still have quite a lot of baseball left to play and he's already struck out 116 times. If he wants to improve at the next level, he's definitely going to have to improve that.

• Beau Mills - DH, Columbus: 1-3, 2B, K. Mills was the lone hit for the anemic Columbus lineup. Since being called up, Mills has struggled at the dish himself.
• Jason Donald - SS, Columbus: 0-4, 3 K. In his past four games, Donald has struck out a total of 8 times. Not the kind of number you'd like to see.
• Jeanmar Gomez - SP, Columbus: (L, 10-4) 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER/R, 6 K. By all means, Gomez deserved a better fate than he received. He demonstrated relatively good command and didn't walk a batter, while only allowing 2 runs in 7 innings. He kept his team in the game.
• Kyle Bellows - 3B, Akron: 1-4, R, HR, RBI. I picked Bellows as one of my pre-season break out players. At the plate, I admit, I was wrong. He's continued to struggle at the plate, but he drove in the only run of the ball game for the Aeros.
• Joe Gardner - SP, Akron: (L, 7-8) 5.1 IP, 10 H, 5 ER/R, 3 BB, 2 K. There is no other way to categorize Gardner's season other than disappointing. In his past ten outings, Gardner has a 5.33 ERA. Yikes.
• Eric Berger - RP, Akron: 2.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K. After Gardner put the Aeros in a hole, Berger came in and stopped the bleeding. In fact, Berger has only allowed 3 ER/R in his past 14 innings pitched.
• Tyler Holt - LF, Kinston: 3-4, R, BB, K. Hitting .386 in his past ten games, Holt has suddenly been a spark to the K-Tribe offense which has been in dire need of a hot bat all season.
• Jeremie Tice - DH, Kinston: 2-5, RBI, K. The other hot bat of late in the K-Tribe offense belongs to Tice, who is hitting .342 in his past ten games.
• Marty Popham - SP, Kinston: (L, 4-1) 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER/6 R, BB, 6 K, 2 HR. Not one of Popham's more brilliant outings, but I've been somewhat surprised he's still even starting.
• Jordan Casas - CF, Lake County: 2-4, 2 RBI. While Casas has cooled at the plate a bit since his hot start, he still has had at least one hit in his past six of ten games.
• Alex Monsalve - C, Lake County: 2-4, R, 2 RBI. At just 19 years of age, Monsalve has burst onto the scene this year and hasn't looked back.
• Kirk Wetmore - SP, Lake County: (W, 2-0) 6 IP, 5 BB, 3 K. While command was still somewhat of an issue for Wetmore, what an improvement from his past start. Wetmore also didn't allow a hit, so again, I give him props.
• Tony Wolters - SS, Mahoning Valley: 2-4, RBI, BB, SB. After getting himself into a bit of a slump, Wolters has made some great adjustments to get his average up nearly 40 points.
• Jordan Smith - 3B, Mahoning Valley: 1-5, RBI, K. Very rarely will you see Smith has a hitless night and this game was no different.
• Alex Lavisky - C, Mahoning Valley: 1-3, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB. Lavisky has made some improvements since being demoted, but still has quite a while to go before he can be considered an elite prospect.
• Rob Nixon - SP, Mahoning Valley: (W, 3-3) 5 IP, 5 H, ER/2 R, BB, 5 K, HR. An anchor in the Scrappers' rotation this season, Nixon has been quite a nice surprise.

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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Game Recaps 7/27: Wetmore guides Captains to win

Kirk Wetmore (Photo: IPI)

Captains flatten Hot Rods 9-4

Lake County used a total team effort on Wednesday night defeating Bowling Green 9-4 for their third straight win. Kirk Wetmore (2-0) tossed six scoreless, hitless innings for his second win of the season striking out three. Everyone in the lineup also reached base for the Captains.

Brian Heere roped a double down the right field line to lead off the third. Aaron Fields walked and Nick Bartolone reached on an infield single to load the bases. Carlos Moncrief singled in a run. Jordan Casas hit into a double play that scored Fields. Alex Monsalve singled to center scoring Bartolone. Jesus Aguilar drove in his 69th RBI of the season with a double off the centerfield wall giving Lake County a 4-0 lead.

In the fifth inning, Moncrief tripled scoring Bartolone. Monsalve collected his second RBI singled to right field scoring Carlos and the Captains went up 6-0.

Ronny Rodriguez led off the sixth inning, with a solo homerun to leftfield, his eighth of the season to make it 7-0. Jordan Casas drove in a pair of runs increasing the lead to 9-0 with a two-out single to centerfield.

Phil Wunderlich led off the Hot Rods seventh inning with a single off Joey Mahalic for their first hit of the night. Robby Price followed with a hit to right. Nick Schwaner walked to load the bases. Luke Bailey ripped a double down the leftfield line driving in a pair of runs. Hot Rods Kevin Kiermaier added an RBI with a ground out to first making it 9-3.

Jason McEachern (0-1) took the loss allowing six runs on ten hits, walking two and striking out two for the Hot Rods.

Lake County and Bowling Green continue their three game series on Thursday night at Classic Park at 7:00PM. The Captains will start LHP Mike Rayl (5-5) against RHP Eliazer Suero (6-4) for the Hot Rods.

Chiefs shut down Clippers 2-0

One night after Justin Germano's perfect game, Syracuse responded with a no-hit bid of their own, as they hold the Clippers to one hit and win 2-0.

Brad Peacock took a no-hitter into the eighth inning until a Beau Mills double broke it up. Peacock (2-1) was removed from the game after the double.

He went seven innings, allowing one hit, striking out seven and walking four. In the eighth, the Clippers put the first two hitters on, but could not come away with a run. They also had a base runner in each of the first five innings but could not capitalize. Overall, they left seven on base.

Jeanmar Gomez (10-4) was the tough luck loser, allowing two runs and striking out six over seven innings.

The Chiefs scored both of their runs in the fourth. Michael Aubrey scored after Jesus Valdez beat out a double play ball that was disputed by Clippers manager Mike Sarbaugh. The next hitter, Tug Hulett, tripled to score Valdez.

Game three of a four game set continues Thursday at 7:05 PM. Zach McAllister squares off against Chiefs lefty Tommy Milone.

Aeros swept by Thunder

The Akron Aeros were swept by the Trenton Thunder Wednesday losing the finale of a three-game series 5-1 at Canal Park.

With the loss, the Aeros (54-51) have dropped a season-high four games in a row.

Right-handed pitcher Joe Gardner suffered the loss for Akron pitching 5.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits, walking three and striking out two.

Left-handed pitcher Manny Banuelos recorded the win for Trenton tossing 6.1 innings, giving up one earned run on five hits, walking three and striking out five

The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning when Rob Lyerly singled home Austin Romine to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

Trenton (56-48) added to their lead in top of the fifth inning. With one out, Addison Maruszak doubled and advanced to third on a Ray Kruml sacrifice bunt. Corban Joseph singled home Maruszak to increase the lead to 2-0.

The Thunder tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 5-0 lead.

Akron’s lone run came on a Kyle Bellows solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Aeros suffered their first three-game series sweep since August 20-22, 2010 (vs. Harrisburg).

The Aeros will look to snap their four-game skid as they begin a four-game series against the Erie SeaWolves at Canal Park on Thursday. Akron will give the ball to right-handed pitcher Austin Adams, who is 6-8 with a 3.85 ERA in 2011. He will face left-handed pitcher Casey Crosby, who is 6-3 with a 4.08 ERA this season. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Dash down Kinston 7-3

Another early, big inning led to a third straight Dash win, 7-3 over Kinston Wednesday afternoon in Winston-Salem.

Kinston tied the score at one in the top of the second inning thanks to a Dash miscue. Abner Abreu led off the inning with a grounder to Dash shortstop Tyler Saladino. Saladino threw wide of first base and Abreu reached second on the error. After a Chase Burnette ground-out, Abreu would score on a sacrifice fly from Tyler Cannon.

Winston-Salem got to Kinston starter Marty Popham by scoring five runs on five hits in the second inning. The Dash batted around, with the offense highlighted by a three-run home run from Tyler Saladino. Andy Wilkins would rub salt in the wound with a solo homer of his own. It was Wilkins third home run of the series, giving the Dash a 6-1 lead.

Kinston scored another run on Winston-Salem starter Jake Petricka in the top of the fourth inning. Abner Abreu singled. Chase Burnette reached on a fielder's choice as Abreu was forced to third base, Doug Pickens got him home with a ground-out RBI. Jeremie Tice was responsible for Kinston's third run when he drove home Holt with an RBI single in the top of the seventh. Kinston managed nine hits on the day. Holt when 3-for-4, Tice and Cannon each had two hits for the Indians.

The Tribe's bullpen was solid again, Francisco Jimenez gave up an unearned run on one hit in two innings, he walked one and struck out four. Kyle Landis pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out one. Petricka (2-4) got the win for Kinston.

The two teams will finish up the four-game series Thursday night in Winston-Salem. Game time 7pm, with T.J. House on the mound for Kinston.

Scrappers break out of slump, defeat Spinners

The Scrappers ended a long scoreless streak and took advantage of three Lowell errors in a 5-3 victory over the Spinners.

Mahoning Valley scored a run with one out in the bottom of the first inning, its first run in 20.2 innings. The Scrappers were shut out in each of the final two games against Hudson Valley. They added a run in the bottom of the second before Lowell scored in the top of the third to cut the lead to 2-1.

Alex Lavisky homered with one out in the third to increase the lead to 3-1, but Seth Schwindenhammer led off the top of the fourth with a long home run to right field to make it 3-2. The Scrappers added single runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 5-2 lead. Lowell scored a run on a triple and a ground out in the ninth to make it 5-3, but Ensoil Tejeda struck out the final batter to secure the win.

Rob Nixon started for the Scrappers and went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) to pick up the victory. He has won back-to-back starts for the first time this season and improved to 3-3. Spinners starter Raynel Velette picked up the loss to fall to 1-1. Tejeda earned his fifth save of the season.

The Scrappers and Spinners continue their three-game series on Thursday night at 7:05 pm.

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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