A Scout's Take On The Indians

I was at Akron last night covering them and had the chance to talk to manager Mike Sarbaugh for awhile and also the hitting coach Lee May Jr to see what guys are working on and trying to do to get things going. I'll have their comments in my Thursday farm recap as it is too long to post here right now and I have to go through the audio to recollect everything.One player of note I talked to Sarbaugh about is Lofgren. Supposedly he is healthy and the velocity is there still, but confidence seems to have waned some. He did not directly say this,...

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Game Recaps 4/29

I was at the Akron game on Tuesday night and will have a lot of stuff to share over the next few days. Lots of stuff from manager Mike Sarbaugh and hitting coach Lee May Jr, plus interviews with players Chuck Lofgren, David Huff, and Chris Gimenez. On top of that, I also talked to three different scouts about a myriad of stuff, and one scout I talked to for close to an hour. Lots of things that I have to put pen to paper on to recall all he said as it was casual conversation and not an interview so I did not record or take notes. So, be on...

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Brown Remains Steadfast Even After Personal Loss

Lake County outfielder Matt Brown is as tough as they come. He is a hardworking player who plays with the pedal to the metal by coming to the ballpark every day and giving it his all. His inspiration comes from his own competitive spirit, but also from a personal tragedy he recently went through which has helped him channel and improve his focus.Three years ago when Brown was a freshman in college at Wichita State, he lost his father Jim Brown to colon cancer. The loss...

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Game Recaps 4/28

Lake County and Akron were off on Monday, but Kinston and Buffalo were in action. Buffalo won 5-2, and were led by Adam Miller's four shutout innings where he allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four. Miller was not sharp as he needed 88 pitches to get through four innings, and because he was up to his 85 pitch count he was not brought back out for the 5th inning. OF Ben Francisco paced the offense going 3-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI, and OF Jason Cooper chipped in going 3-for-4 with 2 doubles.Kinston finally broke out offensively,...

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Game Recaps 4/27

An update on Chris Archer....he is not hurt and will make his next scheduled start which I think is on Wednesday. The move to put him on the disabled list was more a paper move and another move should be coming for Lake County soon once Archer's turn in the rotation comes up again. No word on why the move was made to get an extra pitcher (John Gaub) up to Lake County, but it should be cleared up soon.Aeros Hold Off Senators 4-2, Split SeriesAKRON, OH – Frank Herrmann tossed six strong innings and the Aeros got contributions from every hitter...

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Game Recaps 4/26

One note.....Lake County put RHP Chris Archer on the disabled list (injury unknown at this time) and LHP John Gaub was activated from extended spring training.Whitney’s Walk-off Boosts AerosAKRON, OH – Matt Whitney sliced a walk-off double down the right field line in the bottom of the 10th to give the Aeros a 2-1 comeback win over Harrisburg in front of 3,449 fans at Canal Park Saturday. Akron snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 8-13, while Harrisburg dropped to 14-8.The Senators got on the board first with a run in the fourth. With...

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Archer Is Young And In Charge

The Lake County Captains pitching staff is loaded with many promising pitching prospects from the front of the rotation to the back of the bullpen. It has been the strength of the team and been the catalyst to their 15-7 fast start putting them in first place of the South Atlantic League's Northern Division.One of the key components to that hot start has been right-handed starter Chris Archer. At age 19, Archer is the youngest player on the team, and is one of the youngest...

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Game Recaps 4/25

Boy, Kinston, Akron and Buffalo (L 2-1) continue to scuffle while Lake County continues to roll. These guys definitely can't wait for the calendar to flip to a new month.Real quick, some news out of Kinston. It looks like lefty Dan Cevette may be injurred again. He complained of some pain his last time out, and tonight he had nothing as he was a good 6-8 MPH off his normal fastball range of 90-92 and throwing 83-85. Considering he has had arm problems the past few years, Cevette could now be at a crossroads in his career.Also, lefty Matt Meyer...

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Game Recaps 4/24

Some quick notes before the recaps:- Aaron Laffey pitched only 3 innings and threw 50 pitches for Buffalo on Thursday night, which all but means he is getting the spot start in Cleveland on Monday against the Yankees.- Outfielder Trevor Crowe is off to extended spring training for his ailing back (disc issue). He is going to be out for awhile. Unfortunate.- The Indians re-signed lefty Jason Stanford. He'll be the starter in Friday nights game for Buffalo.- Right-hander Sean Smith was traded to the Colorado Rockies as the player to be named later...

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Minor Happenings: Miller Returns To Buffalo

"Minor Happenings" covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that cover each team.Last weekend, I was in Eastlake, Ohio to see Single-A Lake County in action. I did a piece on closer Vinnie Pestano yesterday, and will...

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