Welcome To The GCL

Welcome to the Gulf Coast League (GCL), where the Cleveland Indians lowest level affiliate the rookie-level GCL Indians reside. It is professional baseball in its rawest form, with a roster littered with draft picks out of high school from the two most recent drafts, as well as several young Latin American players experiencing professional baseball stateside for the first time.Last year, I ventured down to Winter Haven, Florida in late-July for my first taste of life in the GCL, and I will get a second taste of it when I visit at the end of July...

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Game Recaps 6/29

I was out of town in D.C. over the weekend to see Kinston and do some sightseeing in the Nations capital. Sorry if anyone tuned in over the weekend and did not see any updates. In any case, here are the wraps from Sunday. I'll do a thorough listing of any noteworthy news late Monday once I catch up on the eight gazillion e-mails I have.:-)Aeros Sneak Past Phillies, 7-6AKRON, OH – The Aeros survived a ninth-inning scare to win a 7-6, back-and-forth contest over Reading before 3,691 fans at Canal Park Sunday afternoon. The Aeros improved to 49-32...

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Game Recaps 6/26

Today, RHP Frank Herrmann was sent to Mahoning Valley and RHP T.J. Burton was placed on the disabled list with a strained left calf. Taking their spots on the Akron roster are LHP Ryan Edell and RHP Luis Perdomo. The move of Herrmann to Mahoning Valley is just a paper move as he was not really sent there. They do these kind of moves when they need to finagle a starter onto the team. Herrmann will likely be activated and then another pitch sent to Mahoning Valley soon, and the process will repeat. Also, the "strained left calf" for T.J. Burton is...

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Minor Happenings: Stevens Closing In On Callup

"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.I am heading to Frederick, MD tomorrow for the weekend to see Kinston play, and then also enjoy a little R&R in Washington D.C. to...

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Game Recaps 6/25

On Wednesday the Indians signed 11th round pick right-handed pitcher Matt Langwell from Rice University and 19th round pick first baseman Nate Recknagel from the University of Michigan. As of this writing, their assignment had not been disclosed, but it is likely they could go to Mahoning Valley.One programming note, on STO's Minor League Magazine that will air this coming Tuesday July 1st at 6pm, Buffalo GM Mike Buchkowski and Buffalo first baseman Jordan Brown will be featured.Nettles Homer Lifts Baysox Over Aeros, 9-7AKRON, OH – Bowie third...

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Game Recaps 6/24

Baysox Shut Down Aeros in Twin-Bill SweepAKRON, OH – The Baysox allowed just one run in two games, sweeping a doubleheader from the Aeros by scores of 5-0 and 7-1 before 4,160 fans at Canal Park Tuesday night. Akron fell to 46-30 and Bowie improved to 43-34 to move within 3.5 games of the Aeros for first place in the Southern Division.Bowie starter Jason Berken sliced and diced his way through a hot Aeros lineup and cruised to a seven-inning, two-hit shutout in game one. The right-hander faced the minimum through four innings, and did not allow...

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2008 Draftee Profiles: Trey Haley and Bryce Stowell

Trey Haley - High School RHP Pitcher committed to Rice UniversityRound drafted (overall draft slot): 2nd (76th)Signing status: Still in negotiations through advisor Joe Sambito, former Astros reliever.Height: 6'3"Weight: 180'Birthdate: 6-21-80Stuff: Fastball 90-95, curveball 77-81, changeup (83-84)Pre-draft buzz: Indians followed him closely seeing most of his starts and even Brad Grant saw him pitch. Scouts said he could go low first round or sandwich round.Strengths: Very competitive, fastball is his best pitch right now.Playing status this summer:...

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Morris Pitching Well Beyond His Years In Lake County

A little over a week ago, Lake County put the finishing touches on a first half division championship in the South Atlantic League (SAL). One of the players directly responsible for that championship is left-handed starter Ryan Morris, who in 13 first half starts went 6-1 with a 2.50 ERA.Morris, 20, has held his own in a league where he is about two years under the league average age of 22. It is a trend of late where the Indians have sent several very young starting pitchers...

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Game Recaps 6/23

Aeros Walk-Off Again, Nip Baysox 11-10AKRON, OH – Brandon Pinckney drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly as the Aeros once again overcame a huge deficit to win 11-10 in 10 innings before 2,995 fans at Canal Park Monday night. The Aeros improved to 46-28 and the Baysox fell to 41-34.Bowie put up four runs (all with two outs) in the top of the first off Akron starter Scott Lewis, but the Aeros plated three runs while batting around in the third inning to get back in the game. With one down, Jose Constanza singled and moved to third on a hit-and-run...

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