Offseason Spotlight: Casey Frawley

Casey Frawley (Photo: IPI)

With a new baseball season upon us, it provides an opportunity for some players to wipe the slate clean. Last year’s disappointment can turn into this season’s success. That’s the approach some players are taking that are looking to rebound from a rough 2011. One of those players is infielder Casey Frawley.

Frawley, 24, struggled through a disappointing 2011 campaign at High-A Kinston as he hit just .215 with 11 HR, 59 RBI, and .638 OPS in 127 games. The production numbers were up to par with seasons past, but the batting average and slugging percentage (.346) were all significantly lower than in previous seasons.

Frawley did not perform up to expectations, but he was also battling some eye issues that affected him all season.

“I went through some issues that not a lot of people know about as I had some vision issues,” Frawley said in a recent interview for the IPI. “I had it [in 2010 too], but it sparked up again [last] year. My eyes keep changing so my prescription keeps changing, and over the course of about two and a half months [last season] I was unaware of it.”

The higher level pitching in advanced Single-A was definitely a contributing factor to Frawley’s dip in performance last season, but the eye issue surely did not help.

“I was swinging at pitches and missing them by a good two feet and did not know why, so I went to an eye doctor and got it squared away,” Frawley said. “It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be to get out of the bad habits that I created. I thought I would get the right prescription and then, boom, I would be back. I created some bad habits over those few months. It was frustrating because you want to help your team win in any way you can, but when you can’t see at the plate it is tough.”

Because Frawley’s eyes are still maturing, they keep changing. Until they stop changing he really cannot have corrective surgery because they could change again and he would then have to have the procedure again. In the meantime he is just making frequent eye appointments to try and keep up with his changing prescription as best as he can.

As a hitter the eyes are probably the most important tool. Without good vision it is hard to pick up the rotation of the ball. Frawley often saw the ball as a white mass coming at him, which made it difficult to read pitches.

“Everything is unclear and blurry,” Frawley said. “I wasn’t close to being able to recognize offspeed pitches. It was just a ball coming in so everything looked like a fastball and then it would break a foot and I would miss it by a lot.”

The vision issues even affected Frawley in the field.

“Pop ups were tough at night because the lights made it hazy,” Frawley said. “A ball would go up and I would catch the glare out of the eye. It was a mess. I was not able to see the hitters well so I was not able to get decent jumps out there. It was just an absolute mess on both sides of the ball; there is no other way to say it.”

With a new season on the horizon Frawley just wants to get back to the player he was in 2009 at short season Single-A Mahoning Valley and in 2010 at Low-A Lake County.

“I just want to get out of the bad habits and get back into what I have done my first few years in pro ball with a short swing,” Frawley said. “Just have a decent eye at the plate and try to get on base more. I am going to put a real emphasis this offseason on trying to build some endurance and strength so at the end of the season I can feel like I did toward the beginning of the season.”

Frawley has enjoyed a lot of team success in his three year career. In 2009 at Mahoning Valley they fell a game short of winning the NY-Penn League championship. In 2010 at Lake County they went through a memorable run in the playoffs to win the Midwest League championship. Last season at Kinston they made the playoffs the last weekend of the season but were ousted in the first round of the Carolina League playoffs.

The everyday grind each season is tough, especially in the minor leagues. But even with the ups and downs that baseball brings, Frawley would not trade it for anything right now.

“It has been a lot of fun,” Frawley said. “The experience over the last few years that we have had is unparalleled. [The season] is grueling, but I know I can speak for a lot of guys in that there is nothing else we would rather do. It is tough and it’s a long, long season, but if you can get to that ultimate goal of playing in the big leagues there is nothing better. It has definitely been one of the best experiences I have had.”

With last season now behind Frawley his focus this season is to be more consistent and show what he can really do. The eye issues may not be completely behind him, but he has a better handle on the issue so that it should no longer affect his play much in the future.

“[Last year] was definitely a long season, probably the longest of my life because it was so frustrating with all the problems I had,” Frawley said. “It will be good to go out there and get some at bats and show everyone the real hitter I am and not the numbers I put up [last] season.”

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 K-Tribe Chronicle: Going streaking up through the quad...

(Photo: Kinston Indians)

From the Reservation:

Streaking...not in the Will Ferrell sense, but in the we almost took the first half crown with a mad fury of wins sense...but we'll get to that in a second...

First and foremost, the K-Tribe Chronicle has taken a bit of a break, thanks to the month-long process of streamlining IPI with Tony, as well as a 72-hour jag known as the major league draft.  For all eight of you clamoring for its return, here it is, in all it's baby Tribe glory.  Instead of Mondays, Wednesday's will be it's new harbor, which should align all of the affiliates quite nicely, starting with Columbus on Monday, and ending with Mahoning Valley on Saturday.  Ahh, all is aligned with the world.  The Indians remain in first place..."Chiz" is back and belting hits all over the International League, and Austin Kearns is still with the big league club.  Yes...even I just puked a little in my mouth at that statement. 

What a long...extremely strange trip it has been during the first half of the season for the Kinston Indians.  How can we put it in perspective?  Well, the best hitter for the Indians has been second baseman, Justin Toole.  He's hitting a whopping .282, without a homer, and 19 RBI.  The best pitcher has clearly been Drew Pomeranz.  While his peripheral stats are outstanding, his overall record is still only 2-2.  Somehow, the K-Tribe managed to go on a tremendous tear from mid-May on, and nearly won the first half crown in the Southern division of the Carolina League.

How did it happen?  Was it smoke and mirrors?  Was it fantastic managing?  Was it clutch hitting, and outstanding, out-of-nowhere pitching?  Was there some sort of Kinston Voodoo out past the right field wall...past the giant Indian?  It was likely all of the above...and yes...including the Indians Voodoo...

Enjoy it folks, because the last half of baseball is about to begin in Kinston-ville.

The vacation's over...so let's get driving...

Where We Stand after the first half (week 10):

Overall Record: 38-31 (Second place in the first half, two games behind first half champ, Myrtle Beach)

The Offense:

I'd like to sit here and tell you that this offense is going to turn into something special, but I can't.  I'd like to tell you that there's one guy on this offense that is going to figure things out, and absolutely destroy Carolina League pitching, but I can't do that either.  Don't get me wrong, there are some prospects here, but Kinston is apparently the place where good hitters go to die.

Okay...it's not that bad...is it?

They are still last, or second to last, in nearly every offensive category as a team, and there isn't a soul in the top ten of any major Carolina League individual category either.  So how does this team score runs?  It's truly some sort of mysterious wizardry.  I've never seen a team score as many runs as the Indians have over the last month without a single player having multiple hits.  Seriously...this team is the prototype for the term team.  The come up with two-out hits, and homers out of nowhere unlike any team in the history of baseball.

You have to give Aaron Holbert some credit here for figuring out how to win with this club.  Let's be honest, Kinston hasn't really been able to hit the broad side of a barn since he's taken over, and yet he still manages to win ball games.  True, the Carolina League tends to be a pitcher's haven, but Kinston's offense has taken it to new levels.

There are a couple of guys who have come up from Lake County that are starting to breath a little life with their bats.  Of course, they both are hitting below .240, but for this team, that's challenging .400.

Six players to keep an eye on during the second half...

6. Abner Abreu: Oh, here we go again with this guy.  Every stinkin' year I pick this guy to be the next big thing, and every year, this guy makes me look like a complete idiot.  So, why not throw him up here again.  It's not like it can get any worse, can it?  Abreu has done absolutely nothing to justify this, and I likely am taking up space from another player that's actually going to light things up, but there's just so much natural talent with this guy.  If you've every seen him play, you can see what I'm talking about.  He's a tall, fluid kid, who runs like a gazelle, and has a nice, natural, but loopy swing.  He has that Darryl Strawberry feel to him (in the pre-coked-out-of-his-mind-years) in that he's a big, lanky guy with five-tool potential.  He can play any of the outfield positions, and he has a cannon of an arm.  Then, you watch him in front of the opposition's pitcher, and he starts looking like Miagi trying to catch that fly.  He swings at balls in the dirt...above his head...and yes...if there was a bull...he's swing at the ball that hit the effin' bull.  You can tell that he has no direction at the plate, and it seems to be getting worse.  So, why put him up here?  Optimism folks.  While I bash on him as though he wronged me in a former life (I'm not sure he didn't), I like the kid, and hope he comes through.  So, keep your eye on him in the second half...hopefully we'll see big things.  If not, I'll delete this and put someone else here that actually DID do something...so I look brilliant.

5. Casey Frawley: Frawley, at best, is a marginal overall prospect in the grand scheme of things, and he's not really done much to prove otherwise this season as Kinston's starting shortstop.  Still, he can be fun to watch at the plate.  Here's another kid with a big swing, as he never gets cheated out of an at bat.  Frawley strikes out once every four times he steps to the plate (Abreu nearly once every three times, but I digress), and he's only hitting .213 for the year.  With that said, he's still managed to hit eight homers (second on the team), and drive in 39 runs (first on the team).  Frawley really did kick off the streak that started the K-Tribe on their run in mid-May with walk-off homers and clutch hitting.  He fell back to the norm, but you get the impression that if he every learns how to walk up to the plate with a plan, there could be something more there.  

4: Adam Abraham: Abraham is a slightly better version of hitter than Casey Frawley.  He's equally as clutch, with a big more power.  He does seem to have a plan when he steps up to the plate, and he does walk an awful lot (his 35 walks on the season are tied for second with Roberto Perez).  What I like about Abraham is that while he's only batting .239 on the season, he does have a respectable .353 OBP to go along with his solid power.  His ten homers lead the team, and his 35 RBI are second.  Again, I don't know that Abraham is anything but depth in this system, but it's been fun watching him develop into a decent power hitter.  Hopefully he can continue to warm up as the summer draws, and close out with a big second half.

3. Tyler Holt:  Tyler Holt IS the best player on this team.  When he's on, this kid does everything the Indians drafted him for.  He gets on base, steals bases, and takes advantage of every opportunity.  He's hitting .265 on the year, which is third on the team, and has a line of .265/.383/.372.  He'll never hit for much power, but this kid screams prototypical lead-off hitter.  This is his first full season, and he's come through with a solid campaign so far.  Look for Holt to figure things out in the second half.  He's the type of kid that can let an at bat ruin his day.  When he controls his emotions at the plate, he'll become extremely dangerous.

2. Tyler Cannon: Tyler Cannon was absolutely shredding the ball in Lake County.  Then came the normally joyous news that he was getting called up to help out the offensively inept Kinston Indians, the Bermuda Triangle for hitters.  Cannon had a stretch to start his career at Kinston that had adults in the stands wondering why they couldn't do what he was doing.  The 3-36 stretch (.083) had me wondering if Cannon was going to follow in the footsteps of Jason Smit and retire (Smit had smoked the ball at Lake County, but was batting only .217 when he gave up).  Fortunately, Cannon stuck it out, and he's begun to show signs of returning to form.  Cannon is 7-13 in his last three games, with five runs, two doubles, a triple, a homer and five RBI.  He's walked three times, and only struck out two.  These were the types of numbers he was putting up at Lake County.  Cannon, a 12th rounder in 2010, is a shortstop by trade, but has played all infield positions with Kinston, as well as one game in the outfield.  I firmly believe Cannon may turn out to be the best offensive player on the team.  Unfortunately, it won't take him much.

1. Anthony Gallas: Gallas was an undrafted free agent when he signed with the Tribe last June, and he's turned into one of the better players in the low minors.  At Lake County, Gallas was hitting rockets when he was called up to Kinston, batting .314 with six homers and 21 RBI.  He's only played seven games with Kinston, but he's hit in six of those games, with three doubles and seven RBI.  He's only hitting .240, as all of his games have been of the single-hit variety, but his .400 OBP more than makes up for it.  If he can continue the power output that he showcased at Lake County, there's no reason to think that Gallas can't be extremely productive with Kinston in the second half.  While I don't believe he's got as much upside as Cannon, he may still ride that hot bat to a big second half.  By the way, Lake County has only won one game since his call-up. While there's more at play than Gallas being gone, his consistent bat certainly was missing.

The Pitching:

The strength of this club is certainly their pitching, but this team doesn't even resemble the K-Tribe staff that dominated the Carolina last year.  Top prospects Alex White, Nick Hagadone, T.J. McDonald, Kelvin De La Cruz and Joe Gardner called Kinston home last season, giving Kinston one of the most dominating staffs in the system from beginning to end.  This year, the rotation has been headed by Drew Pomeranz, who may just be the best pitcher in the entire system.  Past that, this rotation has absolutely no similarities to the power pitches of last season.

Kinston is still a tough place to come and hit.  They are second in the league in ERA, have given up the fewest hits and the second fewest runs/earned runs in the league.  They're also the second in the league in K's, which is surprising considering they don't really have an atypical strike-out pitcher in the rotation past Pomeranz.  Most of their starters are of the location variety, and while they are top-50 prospects, it's not because of their howitzer arms.

The bullpen is similar, with projects and wily hurlers, but they are once again anchored by the best closer in the league.  Minus Tyler Sturdevant, who can hit 95 on the gun, the bullpen is laced with guys that are either coming back (Adam Miller initially, Kyle Landis and Steven Wright currently), or trying to find their way (Jose Flores, Francisco Jimenez).

Overall, it's an extremely interesting mix of talent.  Are they legit prospects, or are they destined to call Single A home for the foreseeable future?


Six players to keep an eye on in the second half:

6. Clayton Cook:  Cook has been one of the most consistent K-Tribe starters in 2011.  He's not overpowering, but can pepper the strike zone with a low-90's four-seamer with movement, an real nice curveball that continues to improve, and a changeup.  I'm not sure he's got the stuff to remain a starter as he moves up through the system, but he certainly has done a nice job in Kinston this season.  Since May second, Cook has made eight starts, giving up only 13 earned runs.  If you take away his last outing, he's only given up ten runs in seven starts.  What's been most impressive has been his strike out totals, in particular during his June 4th and 13th starts, in which he whiffed nine batters each.  Cook is a top 40 prospect, and if he continues on this trajectory in the second half, his stock will certainly move up.  The question is...can it translate to Double and Triple A?


5. Marty Popham:  Who the heck is this guy anyways?  Is he a starter?  Is he a reliever?  At 6'6" and 235 pounds, what he is is big.  Like Cook, his fastball isn't blazing, but touches 93 fairly consistently.  With his size, there's no doubt that there's room for improvement with regards to his velocity.  He has a nice slider, and an average changeup to go with it.  Like Cook, he doesn't really have that plus pitch, so this is the issue that keeps Popham bouncing from start to relief.  Here's the thing though...Popham has been absolutely outstanding as a starter.  In his three starts for Kinston this year, he's gone 17 innings, giving up only two runs, without a single walk.  He's struck out 14.  Overall with Kinston, he's only given up nine total runs and struck out 30.  How many walks has he had at High A?  How about a big, fat goose-egg.  While Popham struggled at Columbus and Akron this year, I do believe it was because he was forced into that bullpen role.  If they stick with him in the rotation in the second half, look for big things from another hidden gem.  

4. Preston Guilmet:  Preston Guilmet isn't overpowering, and isn't a HUGE prospect in this system.  Still, like Cory Burns last season, he's become one of the best relievers in the system.  The K-Tribe closer was a ninth-round pick by the Tribe in 2009, and has a low-90's fastball, a nice slider, a change-up and splitter.   While he mostly depends on the fastball/slider combo, he can change things, and can throw the split for outs.  I'm not sure where Guilmet goes as he moves through the system, whether it be as a closer or as a top set-up guy, but either way, he's going to be heard from in the bigs.

3. T.J. House:  There was a time this year when I would have bet the farm that House wasn't ever going to figure things out.  Clearly, House has one of the best arms in the system, and he clearly had moments when you could really see it.  Still, his control issues have been a bit of an issue throughout the year, and his K's have dropped.  Then came the past four games, and things really started to click for the lefty.  He's gone 3-1 during those starts, pitching in 27 total innings.  He's given up a grand total of four runs during that time for a sparkling 1.33 ERA.  This included a complete game shutout.  His stuff, when on, is brilliant.  He has a fastball that sits at 92-94, and touches 96.  He has a plus slider when he's throwing it for strikes, and a changeup that has improved immensely in the past month.  He does have a curve that he throws on occasion, and when he completely figures that out, he could take another step towards ace status.  House is still only 21-years old, and while he's not a household name like Alex White and Drew Pomeranz, he could develop into a pitcher just as good, whether as a starter, or a reliever.  Watch House...not the show...the pitcher.  This could be the year he explodes onto the scene, and did I mention he's a power lefty?

2. Drew Pomeranz:  Okay, Pomeranz may not ever see Kinston again on his way to the big leagues, but just in case the Indians surprise, I'm putting him up here as the number 2 player to watch.  After watching his stuff this season, I can say that it's better than Alex White and Joe Gardner's stuff at the same time last season.  He has a natural, fluid motion, and can just destroy hitters with his fastball that sits in the 92-95 range.  Pomeranz can touch 97, and he really does a nice job working the plate.  His curveball is about as unnerving a pitch for hitters as his aggressive fastball, and may actually be his best pitch.  He throws a changeup a few times a game, but it's not good.  The two games I saw him pitch, he threw three change-ups, and they were all hits.  Still, if he ever figures out that pitch, look out.  I don't think Pomeranz will step field in Kinston in the second half, so we'll have to watch from afar...but...you just never know.  Might the Alex White injury have scared management into not moving him up too fast?

1. Giovanni Soto:  Soto has been outstanding this season, and I'm actually fairly surprised.  While he came to the Indians with a bit of hype in the Peralta deal last season, I can't say that I was impressed with his stuff, at least on paper.  Then I saw him pitch.  At first, you see this kid that looks like he could blow away in the wind.  He's 6'3", and can't be a pound over 150.  When you see him warm up, it's not that impressive.  He barely pops the glove, let alone spike the radar.  Then he faces live batting, and you see why he's so good.  First, his delivery puts batters off-kilter.  He has a slight pause in his delivery, and seemingly brings the ball out of nowhere.  On top of that, he can throw five different pitches, and uses them all, with wonderful speed changes, to keep hitters off balance.  His fastball has a bunch of movement, but rarely hits 90 MPH.  He also can throw a sinker, curve, cutter and a change-up.  He can command all of his pitches, and what's really interesting is that he'll likely put on a few pounds over the coming years.  With that, will he add velocity?  If the kid starts hitting 92-93 MPH, he'll immediately be in discussions with regards to being an ace.  Remember when Carmona threw strikes consistently, with movement?  I do believe that Soto's stuff is better, without the velocity.  With that said, keep an eye on this kid over the next couple of months.  He may just turn into one of the biggest steals in recent memory.  

First Half Awards:

Offensive player of the first half: Adam Abraham

Pitcher of the first half:  Giovanni Soto
Player of the first half: Giovanni Soto

Weekly Awards

Week 1: 3B-Adam Abraham
Week 2: CF-Tyler Holt
Week 3: SP/RP-Toru Murata
Week 4: SP-Clayton Cook
Week 5: SP-Giovanni Soto
Week 6: RP-Adam Miller
Week 7: RP-Tyler Sturdevant
Week 8: TBA
Week 9: TBA
Week 10: TBA
First Half: SP-Giovanni Soto 

Here comes week #11:

June 2011

23 @ Salem, 7:05 PM
24 @ Salem, 7:05 PM
25 @ Salem, 6:05 PM
26 vs. Potomac, 4:30 PM

The Rearviewmirror: Sayonara first half, and as we head back down the mountain, it's hard not to get a bit misty-eyed with regards to Kinston.  The second half will start the goodbye party in one of the best minor league cities in baseball.  Let's hope the K-Tribe can give them one last Carolina League title!


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: May 25

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.

Bo Greenwell - LF, Kinston: 2-4, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB.
Greenwell has been struggling at the plate lately, as well as much of the Kinston offense, so it was nice to see Greenwell and the offense as a whole have a break out game. Greenwell started the season off hot in April, hitting .304, but in the month of may, he's hitting .240. Greenwell has a tendency to fall back down to Earth, but not generally this early. He really needs to find some consistency and work through his slumps a lot quicker in order to have some success.

• Casey Frawley - SS, Kinston: 2-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI. Frawley has usually been the guy who performs in the games where no one else does in the Kinston line up. He's had an up and down year so far, but really has been an anchor in a sinking Tribe offense.
• Adam Abraham - 3B, Kinston: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K. Here's the other guy who has struggled with some consistency so far, where some at-bats, he'll really make the pitcher work and others where he gets worked.
• Giovanni Soto - SP, Kinston: 5.2 IP, 11 H, 5 ER/6 R, 2 BB, 2 K, HR. Soto just turned 20-years-old and is playing in a league where most players are much older than him. Soto has performed rather well and could end up being a guy to watch going forward.
• Columbus had a scheduled day off, while the rest of the affiliates were rained out.

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 5/22: Frawley's 3-run jack gives K-Tribe win

Casey Frawley (photo: T Lastoria)

Frawley's Home Run Gives Kinston a 6-5 Win

Casey Frawley’s three-run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning propelled Kinston to a come from behind, 6-5 victory Sunday afternoon in Frederick. With the win, Kinston (19-23) took the three game series from the Keys (23-19).

Trailing 5-1 going into the top of the seventh inning, Kinston cut into the Keys lead in an unlikely way. After a Justin Toole double, Delvi Cid hit a two-run home run. It was the first home run of the season for Cid and his first non infield hit in ten game for the K-Tribe this season. Cid’s sixth career home run cut the Keys lead in half.

Down 5-3 going into the top of the ninth inning, Frederick brought in the Carolina League leader in saves, Sean Gleason. Doug Pickens walked with one out. After Cid struck out, Tyler Holt walked to put two men on. Down to his last strike Frawley hit a home run over the left field wall, giving Kinston their first lead of the game. It was Frawley’s fourth home run of the season and his second in the last two days. The K-Tribe had hit just one home run on the road coming into the series with Frederick.

Preston Guilmet picked up his eighth save in as many attempts, giving up a hit and a walk, but coaxing a double play off the bat of Brian Ward to end the game. Guilmet has yet to give up an earned run this season.

Frederick started the scoring off of Kinston starting pitching T.J. House in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs in the frame, Tyler Townsend doubled and Tyler Kolodny walked. Miguel Abreu drove home Townsend with a run scoring single. Kolodny scored later in the inning on a wild pitch, making the score 2-0. Frederick increased the lead to 4-0 when Townsend hit a solo home run in the third inning and former ECU Pirate Dale Mollenhauer hit a solo shot in the fourth inning.

Frederick’s starter Nick Haughian was great early, facing the minimum through his first four innings of work. Kinston got to the Keys starter in the fifth inning. Adam Abraham walked. After Abner Abreu hit into a fielder’s choice Chase Burnette, Justin Toole and Doug Pickens followed with three straight singles. Pickens was of the RBI variety, scoring Abreu and making the score 4-1 Keys. Two straight ground-outs ended the bases loaded threat, however, as Frederick kept a three run lead. Frederick would add an insurance run as Mollenhauer delivered a two-out, run scoring single in the bottom of the sixth inning. House would last six innings, giving up six hits and five earned runs. He walked one and struck out three. Chris Jones would get the win for Kinston (1-0) pitching two scoreless innings of relief.

Kinston’s roadtrip continues on Monday night in Woodbridge, Virginia against the Potomac Nationals. Drew Pomeranz will get the start for Kinston, 7:05 pm first pitch. Kinston returns home to Grainger Stadium for a holiday homestand May 26th through June 2nd. Find us on facebook, twitter and at www.kinstonindians.com!

A Wild End for a Clipper Win

A wild game fittingly ended on a wild pitch, as the Clippers knock off the Durham Bulls with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings.

With Cord Phelps batting, a pitch got away from Bulls pitcher Mike Ekstrom and allowed Josh Rodriguez to score the game-winning run.

In his second appearance in Columbus, Nick Hagadone gets his first win after going one inning of relief and striking out one.

The Clippers, now 30-14, jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Bulls rallied back and tied it at six after scoring two in the eighth inning.

Joe Martinez started for Columbus, going five innings, allowing four runs and striking out four.

Jerad Head continues to swing a hot bat, going 2-4 with a home run and also scoring twice. Lonnie Chisenhall went 2-5, scoring twice and hit a monster shot off the top of the right field balcony in the seventh inning.

The two teams continue their four game set tomorrow at 6:35 p.m.

Aeros Lose Late, Drop Series Finale

Altoona second baseman Brock Holt broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Curve won the finale of a four-game series against the Akron Aeros 5-4 Sunday at Blair County Ballpark.

Right-hander Bryan Price allowed the Holt RBI single and suffered the loss for the Aeros.

Despite allowing a run in the top of the ninth inning, righty Noah Krol got the win for the Curve.

Aeros outfielder Tim Fedroff went 1-for-4 to extend his team-best hitting streak to 16 games.

The Aeros (21-23) scored first in the top of the fourth inning. Fedroff led off the frame with a single and advanced to third on a Juan Diaz single. Following a walk to load the bases, Beau Mills hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Fedroff and give the Aeros a 1-0 lead.

The Curve (22-20) tied things at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Jeremy Farrell solo home run to left field.

The Aeros broke the tie in the top of the sixth inning. Donnie Webb led off with a single and stole second with one out. Diaz followed with a single to move Webb to third. Following a strikeout, Mills drove in Webb and Diaz on a two-RBI single to give the Aeros a 3-1 lead.

Altoona got one run in the bottom of the seventh inning and two in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead.

The Aeros tied the game in the top of the ninth inning on a Matt McBride solo home run to left field off Krol.

Price allowed a run in the home half of the frame as the Aeros lost three of the four games to the Curve.

Akron will begin an eight-game homestand Monday against the Harrisburg Senators. The Aeros will give the ball to left-handed pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz, who is 2-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 2011. He will face right-handed pitcher Shairon Martis, who is 1-1 with a 3.08 ERA this season. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on Fox Sports 1350 AM or online at sportsradio1350.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m.

Dragons Stun Captains Again

Yorman Rodriguez singled home two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Dayton Dragons their second straight walk off win over the Lake County Captains 3-2 on Sunday.

After three scoreless innings, the Captains loaded the bases in the top of the fourth inning and took a 1-0 lead in the game when Alex Monsalve walked allowing Carlos Moncrief to score and the Captains led 1-0. The Captains added to the lead in the top of the seventh inning when Anthony Gallas doubled and Argenis Martinez singled him home and it was 2-0. Gallas has reached base in 23 straight games.

The Dragons cut the lead in half in the bottom of the seventh inning when Tucker Barnhart tripled off of reliever Trey Haley. Three batters later Theo Bowe grounded out allowing Barnhart to score to make it 2-1.

Captains starter Mike Rayl got a no decision despite working six scoreless innings allowing three hits, walking one and striking out five. Haley came on in the seventh inning and went 1.2 innings and allowed a run on two hits while striking out four. Clayton Ehlert (0-2) took the loss allowing the two ninth inning runs.

Dragons starter Chad Rogers did not get a decision pitching four innings allowing one run on three hits, walking four and striking out two. Painesville product Jamie Walczak (1-0) got the win hurling 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.

The Captains and Dragons wrap up their four game series on Monday at 7:00 PM with the Captains sending RHP Jordan Cooper (0-1 3.38) to the bump to oppose RHP Daniel Corcino (6-2, 2.83). The game can be heard on AM 1330 WELW and on the internet at captainsbaseball.com.

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 played in yesterday's game.

Chun Chen, DH-Kinston: 2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 R

Its only been 16 games, but an .887 OPS for a 21-year old catcher in the Carolina League is pretty good. Chen has 10 RBI since the call to Kinston, and has popped two HR's. The selection to the Futures Game and strong showing has resulted in some increased scrutiny on Chen, but he hasn't let it effect him at the plate. Chen is moving way up the prospect lists from where he was entering 2010.

Casey Frawley, SS-Lake County: 2-4, 2 HR (8), 5 RBI, 2 BB, 4 R, 2 K

Frawley had a monster day, including a 9th inning HR of a rehabbing Joel Zumaya. Frawley has been hot lately, putting up a .300/2/11 line over his past 10 games. He and Adam Abraham hit back-to-back HR's last night in the 2nd inning off of West Michigan starter Luis Angel Sanz.

• Jeanmar Gomez, SP-Columbus: W, 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), 4 K, 1 BB. Back to back solid starts for Gomez, and three in a row if you count his spot start in Cleveland. Still not missing a ton of bats with 78 Ks in 116 IP.
• Cord Phelps, 2B-Columbus: 3-3, HR (4), RBI, BB, 3 R, SB. Up to .365 in Columbus as breakout year continues.
• Lou Marson, C-Columbus: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R. "Tofu" Lou is flirting with the Mendoza Line...he's still a few points south at .193.
• Josh Rodriguez, LF-Columbus: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, R, K. Rodriguez has a higher OPS (.893) in Columbus than he did in Akron.
• Michael Brantley, CF-Columbus: 1-3, 2 BB. He can get on base in Columbus, why can't he in Cleveland?
• Joe Mahalic, SP-Kinston: 6 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 K, 3 BB. Three of the four hits given up by Mahalic were doubles.
• Kyle Bellows, 3B-Kinston: 2-4, HR (8), 2B, 3 RBI, R. Snapping out of a mini-slump, Bellows is 6-12 in his last three games with 3 of those hits going for extra bases.
• Clayon Cook, SP-Lake County: 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 K, 1 BB. 2nd solid start in a row for Cook, ERA stands at 3.59 for the season.
• Adam Abraham, 3B-Lake County: 3-5, HR (9), 2B, 5 RBI, BB, 3 R, K. Lake County's 3/4 hitters combined for 3 HR and 10 RBI last night in a wild 16-14 loss.
• Felix Sterling, SP-AZL Indians: W, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 4 BB. 18-year old out of the Dominican has 38 K's in just 28 IP; already 6'3, 200lbs and still has room to grow.
• Juan Aponte, C-AZL Indians: 3-4, 2B, RBI, R. Aponte is hitting .353 for the AZL Indians, but just 2 BB.
• Juan Romero, 3B-AZL Indians: 2-4, HR (3), 3B, 2 RBI, R. Romero is hitting just .203, but is showing some power; 6 of 14 hits have been for extra bases.
• Oswell Munoz, SP-DSL Indians: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 4 BB. Actually a bad start for Munoz, who has an ERA of 1.91 after yesterday's outing. It was the 1st time in his last 8 starts that he's given up more than one ER.
• Erik Gonzalez, 3B-DSL Indians: 3-4, 2 2B, R, K. Gonzalez is hitting .372 with 7 SB so far in the DSL.

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Minor Happenings: Haley Starting To Put It Together

"Minor Happenings" is a weekly column which 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.

Sometimes things are better late than never, and that’s the theme for Minor Happenings this week.  The piece is extremely short this week and also very late mostly because I have battled a bad stomach virus as well as made the trek this past Thursday to Myrtle Beach where I will be seeing High-A Kinston in action for a few games starting tonight.

A regular and much more thorough version of Minor Happenings, perhaps even two parts, will post at the end of the week.

Onto the Happenings…

Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from April 29 to May 5)

Trey Haley (Right-handed Pitcher – Lake County)
2-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 Games, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 HR, 4 BB, 12 K

What a week Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Trey Haley had last week, and he is the epitome of how fun it is to watch a talented 19-year old develop and grow into a pitcher right before your eyes.  Unlike last year he is now using his entire four-pitch arsenal, throwing both his two-seamer and four-seamer at will and mixing in an excellent curveball and a much improved changeup.

The biggest key for Haley though has been much improved command of his pitches where he is throwing consistent strikes and hitting his spots.  Last year in 77.2 innings he walked 65 batters (7.5 BB/9), but this year in 36.2 innings he has more than cut the walk rate in half as he has only walked 16 batters (3.9 BB/9).  He has also shown a lot more maturity on the mound this year.  He’s a big competitor, but often times last year his youth and inexperience often showed through as when he struggled things seemed to snowball on him.  This year, however, he looks better prepared to handle adversity and keep the damage to a minimum when things are not going right.

“He has been close the whole year as he has not been very lucky when he was out there his first few starts,” said Lake County Pitching Coach Mickey Callaway the day after Haley’s sensational seven shutout, nine strikeout performance last Tuesday May 4th.  “He kind of figured some of it out his previous outing as he had three walks and three strikeouts.  He was really using his pitches well.  He elevated it in his last outing and used his pitches better as he had very good command of the zone and actually pitched.  He is a lot more mature than last year from what I hear.  He has a lot of confidence, and that’s going to make him successful.  He matures daily; it’s unbelievable really.”

Honorable Mentions:

Kelvin De la Cruz (LHP – KIN): 1-0, 1.35 ERA, 2 G, 13.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 14 K
Shelley Duncan (OF – COL): .350 (7-20), 3 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K
Jared Goedert (INF – AKR): .364 (8-22), 5 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Beau Mills (1B – AKR): .417 (10-24), 6 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K
Cord Phelps (2B – AKR): .455 (10-22), 3 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Nick Weglarz (OF – AKR): .391 (9-23), 6 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K

Previous Winners:

04/22 to 04/28: Jason Donald (INF – Columbus)
04/15 to 04/21: Bo Greenwell (OF – Lake County)
04/08 to 04/14: Carlos Santana (C – Columbus)

Coach’s Corner: Phil Clark

Low-A Lake County hitting coach Phil Clark is in his first season with the Captains and his fourth season overall as a coach in the Indians minor league system.  After retiring from baseball as a player in 2000, back in 2007 a formed Indians player that he is good friends with connected him to the team and he ultimately landed a job with the Indians.  Last week I had a chance to sit down and talk to him about some of the hitters he has been working with so far this year:

On Bo Greenwell:  “I had him for his first year of pro ball back in 2007.  He has made tremendous adjustments in his swing ability and setup, and I think it has all come together this year.  He feels good about himself, which what I like about him as well is his confidence level.  What I am seeing is he is learning to excel.  Right now what I think it pushing him is his inner self.  He is a competitor and learning from his mistakes, which is important for hitters as if they have a bad at bat to come back and regroup and figure out what is going wrong.  He is starting to notice what pitchers are throwing, and our conversations are really starting to get advanced, so I like what he is doing right now.”

On Jeremie Tice:  “Coming in we spent a lot of time talking just about him and what he has done in the past and what he went through last year (injuries).  One of the things we did with Tice is we got his bottom hand and elbow strengthened and coordinated.  I feel like now mechanically he is in a good place and his swing path is good, just right now we are working on the mental part of baseball as he is still getting himself out at times.  With him it is just kind of balancing him out and we are starting to see some good stuff.  Right now he is trying to focus on driving balls through the middle of the field.  Pretty soon we should start seeing some power from him once he gets to know his swing better.  It’s him getting comfortable with his swing and ability, and I think he is going to hit some homers this year.  I don’t have any doubt about that.”

On Casey Frawley: “That bat to ball ability [is something we like].  I had him last year, and he is probably one of the few players I have spent hardly any time working on mechanics.  I am very careful with him as he seems to have a good feel for his swing.  Basically I let Casey come to me with questions, and our conversations are usually about approach.  He’s a pretty solid player I think.”

On Greg Folgia:  “He’s a guy who is just inconsistent.  He’ll go up and put some good swings and at bats together, and there is just an inconsistency situation there that we are trying to balance with him.  I don’t expect for him to be 100% like a major league hitter, but one of our challenges this year is on a daily basis let’s try to do the same thing.  He may not get the same results everyday, but still just try to stay consistent in thoughts and approach and he’ll get pretty close to it.  He’s a guy for me who no doubt has some pretty good bat to ball ability, there are just some grey areas where he just needs to be consistent.”

On Delvi Cid:  “We had a heavy load to start out and threw some things at him.  He is young still and has some raw ability.  With him it’s a case where his left-handed side when he came into the season his swing path, balance and body was a little off.  So one of the things we have done with him is we have taken him back to some of the things he has done a couple years ago, and he has responded very well to that.  He is a visual kid, as if he sees things and likes it he can imitate that.  That’s kind of what we are doing with him right now.  So he is starting to pick it up a little bit and get it going again.”

On Argenis Martinez:  “He has a tendency to have a rotational swing where he is allowing his body to swing the bat.  He is having to separate his hands for a nice fluid, quick swing from his body swing.  He is getting better and progressing all the time.  I look at his numbers right now, and I am pretty sure by the end of the season he will be doing pretty good with them.”

Indians Minor League Player of the Month
(for April)

Bo Greenwell (Outfielder – Lake County)
.405 (32-79), 22 R, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 11 BB, 9 K, 7 SB, 1.142 OPS

Low-A Lake County outfielder Bo Greenwell was a guy marked on a lot of lists coming into this season as an Indians prospect on the rise who could break into the Top 20-30 prospect rankings this coming offseason.  So far he has lived up to that hype as we are quickly running out of superlatives to identify his spectacular play to date.  When you go out and beat out the likes of Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis for Player of the Month honors, you know it was a pretty special month.

Greenwell has started to cool off of late as in his last eight games he is hitting just 5-for-26 (.192 AVG), showing that he is not superman and is mortal.  He is still hitting .352 with 4 HR, 27 RBI, and a 1.020 OPS in 29 games this year, and even with the small cold spell he is still 2^nd in the organization in batting average (Cord Phelps, .370), 2^nd in RBI (Shelley Duncan, 31), and 2^nd in stolen bases (Delvi Cid, 13).

To make note of a few other players, Triple-A Columbus catcher Carlos Santana used a monster opening week of the season to propel him to a very good month, and his teammate outfielder Jose Constanza is off to a blazing start in Columbus as well.  Double-A Akron infielder Jared Goedert showed flashes of his sensational April/May 2007 performance which put him on the prospect map, and High-A Kinston outfielder Jason Kipnis and left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone are off to great starts at the High-A level.

Honorable Mentions:

Jose Constanza (OF – COL): .365 (19-52), 15 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 6 BB, 3 K, 4 SB, 1.008 OPS
Carlos Santana (C – COL): .303 (20-66), 13 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 16 BB, 9 K, 3 SB, 1.043 OPS
Frank Herrmann (RHP – COL): 1-0-2, 0.90 ERA, 8 games, 10.0 IP, 7 H, 0 HR, 5 BB, 6 K, .200 BAA
Jared Goedert (INF – AKR): .351 (20-57), 6 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 5 BB, 15 K, 0 SB, .858 OPS
Cord Phelps (2B – AKR): .382 (26-68), 12 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 7 BB, 9 K, 1 SB, .940 OPS
Jason Kipnis (2B – KIN): .380 (27-71), 16 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB, 14 K, 1 SB, 1.050 OPS
Nick Hagadone (LHP – KIN): 0-1, 0.56 ERA, 4 games, 16.0 IP, 13 H, 0 HR, 8 BB, 20 K, .220 BAA
Bryce Stowell (RHP – KIN): 1-0, 0.63 ERA, 7 games, 14.1 IP, 15 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 12 K, .259 BAA
Casey Frawley (2B – LC): .361 (22-61), 10 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 8 K, 3 SB, .885 OPS
Chris Jones (LHP – LC): 2-1, 1.69 ERA, 5 games, 16.0 IP, 9 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 17 K, .161 BAA
Francisco Jimenez (LHP – LC): 4-0, 1.84 ERA, 6 games, 14.2 IP, 10 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 11 K, .200 BAA

April Fools

Here are a few players in the system who performed well below expected levels in April.  Obviously none of these guys are “fools” per se, but they put up poor performances which were not at all expected going in, so we can only think (hope) that it was just a bad month for most of them.

Rondon and Barnes were about as bad as they could be from a performance perspective in April, though each time out both are surely working on their development and improving in other areas not shown in the line score.  Mills appeared to suffer from a Double-A hangover the first month and appears to finally be snapping out of it.  Rivero is a tough one to figure out and get behind as he is so often hyped and talked about, but often delivers so little.  Abreu got off to another one of his patented slow April starts, and with May here we will see if he gets hot or if he truly is struggling with High-A pitching (I believe it is the latter).  Webb and Cid are two center field prospects who performed well last year who were thought capable of making a jump this year, and still might.  Last, Toregas has not done much at all at Akron, though would still be in line for a major league job in Cleveland if Mike Redmond or Lou Marson were to get hurt and miss any significant length of time.

Hector Rondon (RHP – COL): 0-3, 9.13 ERA, 5 G, 22.2 IP, 35 H, 23 ER, 8 HR, 9 BB, 22 K, .347 BAA
Beau Mills (1B – AKR): .169 (12-71), 9 R, 5 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 4 BB, 9 K, .505 OPS
Carlos Rivero (SS – AKR): .211 (15-71), 8 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 8 BB, 17 K, .525 OPS
Wyatt Toregas (C – AKR): .204 (10-49), 3 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, .592 OPS
Scott Barnes (LHP – AKR): 0-2, 8.80 ERA, 4 G, 15.1 IP, 19 H, 11 BB, 15 K, .297 BAA
Abner Abreu (OF- KIN): .230 (17-74), 12 R, 5 2b, 1 3B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K, .603 OPS
Donnie Webb (OF – KIN): .213 (10-47), 6 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 15 K, 1 SB, .515 OPS
Delvi Cid (OF – LC): .195 (15-77), 11 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 21 K, 9 SB, .452 OPS

Transactions Recap

There has been a flurry of activity of late, so I will catch everyone up with all of the official transactions in a listing below.  Please note, some moves on Saturday were made which are not listed below since they are not official (though have happened): left-handed Kelvin De La Cruz has been promoted to Double-A Akron, left-hander Ryan Edell was released, right-hander Brian Grening was sent to High-A Kinston, and right-handed starter Joe Gardner has been promoted to Kinston.

April 29:

Columbus Clippers - LF Jordan Brown activated from 7-day DL
Columbus Clippers - C Damaso Espino assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Kinston Indians - RHP Alexander Perez activated from 7-day DL
Kinston Indians - LHP T.J. House assigned to Lake County Captains

April 30:

Columbus Clippers - RHP Hector Ambriz recalled from Major League Rehab Assignment
Columbus Clippers - IF Niuman Romero traded to Boston Red Sox for cash
Kinston Indians - LHP T.J. House assigned from Lake County Captains
Kinston Indians - RHP Brett Brach assigned to Extended Spring Training
Miscellaneous - RHP Rafael Vera (Extended Spring Training) traded to Chicago White Sox for cash

May 1:

Columbus Clippers - RHP Joe Smith optioned from Cleveland Indians
Columbus Clippers - RHP Steven Wright optioned to Akron Aeros
Akron Aeros - C Miguel Perez assigned from Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Akron Aeros - C Alex Castillo assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers

May 2:

Akron Aeros - RHP Steven Wright received from Columbus Clippers
Akron Aeros - RHP Erik Stiller placed on 7-day DL

May 3:

Akron Aeros - RHP Kerry Wood received on Major League Rehab assignment
Lake County Captains - OF Jason Smit activated from 7-day DL
Lake County Captains - OF Chris Kersten assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers

May 4:

Columbus Clippers - SS Brian Bixler placed on 7-day DL
Columbus Clippers - OF Jerad Head assigned from Akron Aeros disabled list
Akron Aeros - C Damaso Espino assigned from Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Akron Aeros - C Miguel Perez assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers

May 7:

Columbus Clippers - RHP Jensen Lewis assigned from Cleveland Indians
Akron Aeros - RHP Kerry Wood recalled from Major League Rehab assignment
Akron Aeros - RHP Bryan Price activated from 7-day DL

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @tlastoria.  His new book the 2010 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is also available for purchase on Amazon.com or his site.

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Hunting Down Late Round Gems

Editor's Note:  This is a debut piece from Benedetto, an Indians fan out in Italy!  He has been a big fan of this site since day one and is an avid follower of the Indians from the other side of the pond.  Language can always be a barrier in sports, but stats never are, and he takes a quick look at some of the numbers the Indians late round picks from the 2009 Draft put up last year and singles out anything that may be interesting to note from those numbers.

In this new IPI feature I’d like to take a closer look at the players taken in late rounds of the MLB draft. Players selected, and signed, by the Indians from the 10th round and on. Usually they are players that get little attention, but I felt they deserved to be known and looked at closer.

I am not by any means a scout, so I’ll just take a look at their numbers and see who did well just through the cold numbers. For me, and hopefully for you, it’s just a way to track down those players that might fly under the radar and be bound for a breakout season. Here they are and please always consider the very small sample size.

ROUND 11: Kirk Wetmore - Left-handed Pitcher
Bellevue CC - 6’2 - 205 - L/L - Born 3/17/89 (20)
Resides in Maple Valley, WA - Scout: Uhey

AZL Indians (R): 11 Games (7 starts), 43 IP, 4.19 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 9 H/9, 9.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 3.22 FIP with .388 BABIP.

Analysis: Solid numbers, nice BB/K ratio.

ROUND 12: Joseph Colon - Right-handed Pitcher
No School - 6’0 - 167 - R/R - Born 2/18/90 (19)
Resides in Caguas, PR - Scout: Soper

AZL Indians (R): 11 Games (7 starts), 32 IP, 5.63 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 12 H/9, 7.3 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, 3.86 FIP

Analysis: Ugly numbers not helped by a very high BABIP. Horrible K/BB ratio. Not a good start.

ROUND 13: Jeremy Johnson - Right-handed Pitcher
Washington State - 5’11 - 186 - R/R - Born 1/7/87 (22)
Resides in Centralia, WA - Scout: Uhey

Mahoning Vally (A-): 19 Games (all in relief), 37 IP, 1.95 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 9 H/9, 7 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 3.23 FIP with a .317 BABIP

Analysis: Former college reliever continued to work in the pen, showed very good control, low K number but a fine 60% of groundballs . Good control and high groundball rates are usually good signs for a reliever.

ROUND 14: Kyle Smith - Shortstop
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo - 6’1 - 190 - R/R - Born 12/25/87 (21)
Resides in Visalia, CA - Scout: Sagisi

Mahoning Valley (A-): 51 Games, 190 AB, .242 AVG, .332 OBP, .279 SLG, .611 OPS, .037 ISO, .307 BABIP, 18% LD%, 9.5% BB%, 18 K%, 8 SB and 7 Errors.

Analysis:  So and so debut, showed no power but nice plate discipline. Monthly splits suggest that he got better as time went on.

ROUND 15: Mike Rayl - Left-handed Pitcher
Palm Beach CC - 6’3 - 185 - L/L - Born 11/1/88 (20)
Resides in Lake Worth, FL - Scout: Soper

AZL Indians (R): 10 Games (8 starts), 33.2 IP, 3.74 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 9.6 H/9, 11 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 2.90 FIP with a .388 BABIP.

Analysis: Nice K/9, good K/BB ratio, high H/9, very good FIP considering the high BABIP.

ROUND 16: Dale Dickerson - Right-handed Pitcher
Nicholls State - 6’2 - 210 - R/R - Born 9/11/86 (22)
Resides in Calhoon, LA - Scout: Pajari

AZL Indians (R): 21 Games (all in relief), 25.1 IP, 3.91 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 6.8 H/9, 8.5 K/9, 5.7 BB/9

Analysis: Not a very good start but still put up better number than in college. Bad K/BB ratio.

ROUND 17: Casey Frawley - Infielder
Stetson - 5’11 - 170 - R/R - Born 9/17/87 (21)
Resides in New Haven, CT - Scout: Soper

AZL Indians (R): 43 AB, .882 OPS but .422 BABIP
Mahoning Valley (A-): 150 AB, 293 AVG, 344 OBP, 387 SLG, 743 OPS, 0.94 ISOP, 350 BABIP, 18% LD%, 6% BB%, 18.7 K%.

Analysis:  Played mostly second base, nice debut, good plate discipline but not a lot of power. Good OBP but 8 errors in 51 games played.

ROUND 18: Dwight Childs - Catcher
Arizona - 6’1 - 170 - R/R - Born 7/23/88 (20)
Resides in Elk Grove, CA - Scout: Ewing

Mahoning Valley (A-): 43 AB, 093 AVG, 200 OBP, 163 SLG, 363 OPS, 070 ISO, 097 BABIP, 9% LD%, 6% BB%, 25 K%.

Analysis:  Numbers do look horrible, but 0.97 BABIP and extremely low LD% suggest a very unlucky stint; still too many K.

ROUND 19: Nick Kirk - Left-handed Pitcher
Northern Iowa - 6’1 - 200 - L/L - Born 12/16/86 (22)
Resides in Dubuque, IA - Scout: Abney

Mahoning Valley (A-): 21 Games (all in relief), 34.2 IP, 4.15 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 8.6 H/9, 10.6 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 3.17 FIP, 57% GB%

Analysis:  Good K/9 and GB%, groundball pitcher, FIP suggest that he should get better as defence behind him gets better.

ROUND 20: Kyle Smith - Right-handed Pitcher
Kent State - 6’6 - 220 - R/R - Born 9/5/87 (21)
Resides in Louisville, OH - Scout: Melendez

Mahoning Valley (A-): 6 Games (all in relief), 18 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 9.5 H/9, 6 K/9, 5.5 BB/9, 4.74 FIP

Analysis:  Too few innings, but too many BB.

ROUND 23: Daniel Jimenez - Left-handed Pitcher
John A. Logan College - 6’3 - 215 - L/L - Born 9/23/89 (19)
Resides in Park Ridge, IL - Scout: Armstrong

AZL Indians (R): 11 Games (1 start), 36.2 IP, 3.68 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 8.1 H/9, 6.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, FIP 4.13

Analysis:  Too many hits and not a lot of Ks.

ROUND 26: Antwonie Hubbard - Right-handed PitcherOklahoma - 6’3 - 250 - R/R - Born 7/30/88 (20)
Resides in Hooks, TX - Scout: Cullen

Mahoning Valley (A-): 13 Games (all in relief), 27.1 IP, 2.05 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 5.5 H/9, 9 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 2.48 FIP with a .249 BABIP.

Analysis:  Very good numbers in Mahoning Valley, no HR allowed, batting average against of .177. Nice debut. WHIP under 1. He’s ready for a breakout season.

ROUND 27: Tyler Sturdevant - Right-handed Pitcher
New Mexico State - 6’1 - 170 - L/R - Born 12/20/85 (23)
Resides in Littleton, CO - Scout: Ewing

Mahoning Valley (A-): 19 Games (all in relief), 36 IP, 2.75 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 8.5 H/9, 10.5 K/9, 3.25 BB/9, 2.48 FIP with a .357 BABIP.

Analysis:  Put up very good numbers in Mahoning Valley but 23 year old. He’s ready for some more advanced ball, next year will be crucial.

ROUND 28: Nick Sarianides - Right-handed Pitcher
Chattahoochee Valley CC - 6’1 - 200 - R/R - Born 8/29/89 (19)
Resides in Fortson, GA - Scout: Bartlett

AZL Indians (R): 14 Games (all in relief), 27 IP, 2.33 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 8.5 H/9, 10.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, FIP 2.48, 55% GB
Lake County (A): 4 games (all in relief), 5.2 IP, 3.18 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 6.4 K/9, 3.2 BB, FIP 3.38

Analysis:  Very good debut in AZ league and then promoted to Lake County at the age of 19 and did not miss a beat. Considering the age if he cuts down the BB might be bound for a breakout season.

ROUND 32: Matt Packer - Left-handed Pitcher
Virginia - 6’0 - 200 - L/L - Born 8/27/87 (21)
Resides in Germantown, TN - Scout: Mayer

Mahoning Valley (A-): 5 Games (all in relief), 11.1 IP, 2.38 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 6.4 H/9, 10.3 K/9, 0.8 BB/9, 2.32 FIP

Analysis:  Small sample size, but showed excellent control with 1 BB in 11 IP.

ROUND 33: Chris Kersten - Third BasemanLouisiana Tech - 6’3 - 220 - R/R - Born 12/28/85 (23)
Resides in Kiowa, KS - Scout: Cullen

AZL Indians (R): 180 AB, 328 AVG, 393 OBP, 528 SLG, .921 OPS, ISO 200, BABIP 430, BB% 6%, K% 26.7%

Analysis:  Played mostly 1B, lot of Ks. Numbers have been helped by a very high BABIP but power is there.

ROUND 40: Greg Folgia - Utility
Missouri - 5’11 - 190 - R/R - Born 3/31/88 (21)
Resides in North Wales, PA - Scout: Abney

Tony already broke him down

I can add: ISO 137, BB% 11.8, K% 17.6, GB% 28%, LD% 17% suggest a solid player.

ROUND 48: Vidal Nuno - Left-handed Pitcher
Baker U - 5’11 - 195 - L/L - Born 7/26/87 (21)
Resides in National City, CA - Scout: Abney

AZL Indians (R): 4 Games (all in relief), 7 IP, 5.14 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 12.9 H/9, 14.5 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, FIP 1,77 BABIP .534
Mahoning Valley (A-): 13 games (8 starts), 57 IP, 2.05 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6.8 H/9, 7.6 K/9, 2.2 BB, FIP 3.04, BABIP .262

Analysis:  Sleeper alert!  Ugly “classic” number in Rookie league due to a very high BABIP, like the very good numbers in Mahoning Valley reflect a quite low BABIP. Anyway command is a strength and the wonderful K/BB ratio make him look like a very, very good pick up for a 48th rounder.

I thought that this was a nice way to follow the guys that get selected in the late rounds and see how they progress and who might be a real steal and be headed for a solid career.  My plan is to follow them through their first complete year and then leave them in Tony’s hands, and next year look at the new ones coming in the 2010 draft.

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2009 Indians 17th Round Pick: CF Casey Frawley

In the 17th round, the Cleveland Indians select: CF Casey Frawley - Stetson University, 5"10" 170 lbs.

UPDATE (5:06 PM EST): Jeff Ellis
Casey Frawley was drafted by the Indians as a CF. In college he played SS/2B for Stetson college. He has good bat speed and a line drive stroke. Solid defender both in the OF and IF, where he has displayed a good arm and quick feet. He seems like the perfect utility player, he can play all over and has decent speed.

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