Five Prospects With The Most To Prove in 2012

Cord Phelps (Photo: IPI)

Being in the minor leagues is all about proving yourself, but for these five players, 2012 will be even more critical on their quest to proving that they belong in the Cleveland Indians' long-term plans.

Two weeks ago, I listed the five most exciting prospects for 2012.Continuing on with this theme, now I'll take a look at the five Tribe prospects with the most to prove in 2012. Whether they're on here because of injuries, poor performance or failure to live up to expectations, all five of these players need a big 2012 season to reestablish themselves as marquee, top-shelf prospects.


Cord Phelps, 2B, Columbus
In 163 games at the AAA level, Phelps has flat-out raked and justified his ranking as IPI's ninth best Tribe prospect going into 2011. His .303/.380/.498 slash line, .877 OPS, .381 wOBA (137 wRC+), 20 HR and 94 RBI more than justified his promotion over Jason Kipnis in early June. While those like me were begging for Kipnis at that point, it was hard to argue with promoting Phelps.

Unfortunately for Phelps and Tribe fans, his brief, 35 game major league stint was a disaster. Phelps had terrible offensive stats (.155/.241/.254 slash line, .494 OPS (39 OPS+), .231 wOBA (39 wRC+), -0.9 fWAR in 80 PA) and struggled defensively (five errors in only 75 chances). Phelps ended up back in AAA while Kipnis solidified his hold on the second base job later in the season.

While Phelps won't be able to prove himself at the major league level this year, he will need to impress as the everyday second baseman in Columbus in order to rebuild his stock. If he keeps producing at a high level in AAA, he'll get another shot in the majors. With the lack of middle-infield talent the Indians have in the higher levels of the minors, one injury will give Phelps his chance to prove himself again. He'll need to work hard this year to be prepared for that moment, whenever it comes.

Nick Weglarz, OF/DH, Akron
After top prospects Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall were promoted to the big league club and Alex White and Drew Pomeranz were traded to the Colorado Rockies, it would only make sense for IPI's number five prospect before the 2011 season, Nick Wegalrz, to move right on up to the top spot, right?

After a rough 2011 campaign that had him battling numerous injuries throughout the season, Weglarz will need to impress in 2012 in order to see AAA again, let alone make it to the majors. Weglarz's plate discipline and on-base abilities did not erode in 2011 (2011/pre-2011: 25.0/20.4 K%, 20.9/15.1 BB%, .360/.382 OBP), but his power disappeared. Before 2011, Weglarz owned a .455 SLG and had 23 HR and 87 RBI per 650 PA. In 2011, that dropped to a .306 SLG and 11 HR and 45 RBI per 650 PA.

For a player that does not rate well defensively at all, Weglarz needs to produce at a very high level with his bat in order to have any worth to the Indians. Hopefully Weglarz will be fully healthy in 2012 and get back to hitting for the power we had grown accustomed to seeing out of him.

Jason Knapp, RHP, Carolina (DL)
Considering that the non-Jason Knapp part of the package the Indians got in return for Cliff Lee holds a backup to marginal starting catcher (Lou Marson), a utility infielder (Jason Donald) and a middle of the rotation starter - if he comes back from Tommy John surgery the same guy (Carlos Carrasco), there are still a ton of expectations on Knapp's shoulders to become an ace.

Unfortunately, IPI's pre-2011 sixth best prospect has only logged 156.3 IP in his minor league career. He's been wildly impressive in that brief time (3.63 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 1.196 WHIP, 12.0 SO/9, 4.1 BB/9, 2.93 SO:BB), but it's all for nothing if Knapp can't stay healthy.

The good news is that Knapp is still only 21 years old. It's certainly not a good sign when a player has had as many arm/shoulder/elbow problems as Knapp's had, but he's still got plenty of time to figure things out. Though it wouldn't be ideal, if Knapp could stay healthy as a bullpen guy, he has the stuff to be a major force. It's easy to write off Knapp right now, but he's still young and has time on his side. Maybe 2012 will be the year he stays healthy and starts moving up the minor league ladder.

Beau Mills, 1B, Columbus
As if a list like this could exist without Beau Mills on it. The 13th overall pick in the 2007 draft came into 2011 as a major disappointment. Being a first round first baseman and only owning a .267/.332/.434 slash line, .766 OPS, .346 wOBA (108 wRC+) and 18 HR and 100 RBI per 650 PA can do that. The RBI total looks nice, but attached to the rest of that line, there was no denying Mills had become a non-prospect.

While he still counts as a non-prospect going into 2012, in 2011, Mills finally looked like the guy the Indians thought they were getting when they drafted him. Between Akron and Columbus, he posted a .289/.347/.513 slash line, .860 OPS, .377 wOBA (133 wRC+) and 30 HR and 111 RBI per 650 PA in his 391 total PA. There are still holes in his game, but 2011 was certainly a step in the right direction for Mills.

Since this is Mills' age-25 season, it very well could be his make-or-break year. Between Matt LaPorta, Russ Canzler and Mills, the first baseman slot at AAA will be very competitive. Also considering the fluid situation the Tribe has at first base at the big league level, if Mills were to take the final step in his development, the first base job would be his for the taking. The Indians won't just give him the job, though; he'll have to hit out of his mind and force the Tribe's hand. It's unlikely Mills will finally make it to the majors and fulfill the promise he held as a first round pick in 2007, but stranger things have happened. You just never know in baseball.

LeVon Washington, OF, Lake County
LeVon Washington also made my five most exciting prospects in 2012 list because of his athleticism, but he also has a lot to prove in 2012. Headed into the 2011 season, Washington had numerous achievements and accomplishments heaped on him before he'd really played professional ball. He'd been drafted in the first round in 2009 by the Tampa Bay Rays, the second round in 2010 by the Indians, and had been named IPI's seventh best prospect. The sky was the limit for Washington.

Like many before him, however, the harsh reality of baseball sent Washington crashing to the ground. His .218/.331/.315 slash line, .647 OPS, .311 wOBA (93 wRC+), 7 HR, 37 RBI, 28 SB, 65 R per 650 PA at low-A Lake County was hardly cause for celebration. 2012 will likely see Washington repeating Lake County, hoping to reestablish himself as a top prospect.

There were good things that came out of 2011 for Washington. First, his 14.0 BB% is a good sign for someone with that kind of speed. If he could stop striking out so much (25.4 K%), he'd get on-base a lot more and be able to make things happen with his legs. Second, last year was only his age-19 season. If he were to catch fire this year and finish the year at Akron, he'd be well ahead of his development. There is still plenty of time for Washington. Third, 2011 seems to have been a wakeup call for Washington. Anyone following him on Twitter @L_wash can tell that. It seems that Washington now realizes that he can't skate by on raw ability anymore. If he's dedicated himself to working hard, it's possible he'll be bringing #WashTime throughout the Indians' minor league system this year.

Like I said earlier, being in the minor leagues is all about proving yourself at the level you're at so you can continue climbing the ladder toward the major leagues. If a player is in the minors, then they inherently still have something to prove. For Cord Phelps, Nick Weglarz, Jason Knapp, Beau Mills and LeVon Washington, however, there's a little extra they need to do in 2012. If these five prospects don't impress in 2012, they'll be left behind for the next hot wave of young ballplayers. It's on them to make themselves into can't-miss prospects again.
 

If you want to follow Jim Piascik on Twitter, he's @DarkestDiamond.

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Instructs Spotlight: Jordan Smith

Jordan Smith (Photo: IPI)

The “Instructs Spotlight” is a weekly feature piece on a player from the Cleveland Indians farm system that is participating in the Fall Instructional League out in Goodyear, Arizona from September 14th to October 14th.

Instructional League wraps up today as the final game in the Fall Instructional League for Indians players is today at 9:00am here in Arizona. The advanced Instructional League team will play one final game tomorrow before wrapping up their fall league play. Aside from those players rehabbing from injuries, by 4:00pm on Friday all players in the Fall Instructional League program will depart home for the offseason.

With this being the final spotlight piece in Instructional League, what better way to end it than to put the spotlight on a player who really had a good season this year at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley and is a promising prospect. That player being third baseman Jordan Smith.

Smith, 21, was the Indians’ 9th round pick in this year’s draft out of St. Cloud State in Minnesota. He hit close to .350 all season at Mahoning Valley, but he hit just .197 in his final 17 games and finished the season hitting .300 with 0 HR, 47 RBI and a .794 OPS in 65 games. In addition to the good run production, where he also impressed was with his eye as he had more walks (35) than strikeouts (30).

Smith hits the ball well to all fields and really shows good patience at the plate and an ability to make consistent, hard contact. He did not hit any home runs at Mahoning Valley, but with his size (6’4” 200 pounds) he has the frame and strength to start turning some of those doubles into home runs once he better adjusts to wood bats and starts filling into his body more.

Smith played both outfield and third base in college, and he played both in his pro debut at Mahoning Valley this year as he played 45 games at third base and 19 games in the outfield. For now the Indians appear intent on developing him as a third baseman as that is where he is getting all of his work in Instructional League. He shows good athleticism and a strong arm at third and his bat certainly looks like it will play there.

“I have played a lot at both positions,” Smith said in a recent interview for the IPI. “I am comfortable at both so it doesn’t really matter where I play. Third is where I will be, but to just give me a little break or a breather they may play me in right as an off day type thing.”

At this time about four months ago Smith had no idea he would be playing pro ball, much less what team he would be playing for. As a draft eligible sophomore his future was pretty much in his hands as he could go back to school and still be eligible in next year’s draft and even the 2013 Draft if he did not sign as a junior.

Even still it was an excruciating experience for Smith on draft day. Going into the draft he felt that if he were picked before the 15th round that he would sign, and that is exactly what ended up happening.

“I was actually at practice in the Cape Cod League and I tried to keep my phone on me,” Smith said. “Then I got a call from the Indians that they picked me. I looked at my phone as I did not know what round I went in. I had like a 100 texts so I was trying to figure it out, and then my sister called and told me.”

With Instructional League wrapping up Smith will go home to Minnesota and continue to work out and get ready for his first full season next year. As a player from a cold weather state he will be challenged with how he goes about getting in the required reps in the cages and on the field to stay on top of things, but his former college has the facilities to accommodate him.

“I will go home and work out and practice with the local teams to stay in shape,” Smith said. “We have a dome that is on our football field so we practice in there. It works out well for practices and batting cages and whatnot.”

Smith certainly impressed this season with his good eye, approach, and developing power and size at the plate. It is what makes him such an interesting prospect to watch next year to see what he does in his first full season. The focus for him this offseason will be to get stronger, continue to work on his consistency, and to hone in on his defense at third base.

“There is always room for improvement,” Smith said. “I will just continue working on the small things. I am trying to go out there and be consistent and just have the same approach every day and play good defense. I want to hit over .300 and keep the errors down and keep doing what I need to do to climb the ladder.”

Notebook

I’m currently out in Arizona for the final few days of Instructional League and to see some of the Arizona Fall League action. Here are some notes from Instructional League:

Left-handed pitcher Scott Barnes is in Arizona rehabbing from surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ACL that he suffered back in early July. He is about 12 weeks into his rehab and it is going well, and he will remain in Arizona for most of the rest of the offseason to continue his rehab. He is expected to be ready to go by the start of spring training, although it remains to be seen how conservative the Indians will be with him when he returns.

Outfielder Nick Weglarz is in Arizona rehabbing his left elbow. It is getting better, but the rehab process is still ongoing. The best thing for him this offseason will be to get some much needed rest and use the time wisely to come into spring training 100% healthy and in the best shape of his career as next year is a big year for him.

Right-handed pitcher Jason Knapp is in Arizona rehabbing from right shoulder surgery. Things are going well for him and he is still expected to be ready for the start of spring training. He threw soft toss yesterday from about 30 feet.

Chad Huffman is in Instructional League this week to get him ready for the Arizona Fall League. He is expected to join up with his Arizona Fall League teammates sometime this weekend or early next week and when he does he will play first base. He spent a good amount of time with coach Anthony Medrano after practice yesterday taking a lot of groundballs at first base.

The Indians top two prizes in the International market this July - shortstop Dorssys Paulino and outfielder Anthony Santander – spent a lot of extra time after practice working with Latin America Field Coordinator Minnie Mendoza on bunting and other hitting fundamentals.

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 Tony Awards: Biggest Disappointment

Nick Weglarz (Photo: IPI)

Today we continue the IPI postseason awards with the announcement of the Biggest Disappointment, the one year end award no one wants to win.  This award goes to the player who was a highly rated prospect coming into the season who performed poorly.

Here are the 2011 Tony Awards so far:

Rookie of the Year: Cody Allen (RHP)

Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Bellows (3B)

As with any season, no matter how good things go there will always be a few players who fall short of expectations. The toughest thing to balance is considering who truly had a poor season since a lot of these players had their season’s affected by significant injuries, and in an evaluation process that is something that teams very much consider. Either way, the great thing is most of these players will get a chance next year to make the necessary corrections and could very well be next year’s Comeback Player of the Year.

Again, these awards are simply for fun to hand out at the end of the year, though this is one award that is not really “fun” to hand out.  Also, the Cleveland Indians in no way whatsoever had any input in these awards.

Onto the nominees…

Biggest Disappointment Nominees:

Nick Bartolone (SS/2B – Lake County)

.219 AVG (78-for-356), 41 R, 12 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 26 RBI, 25 BB, 70 K, 11 SB, .537 OPS

Bartolone was not a highly rated prospect coming into the season, but he was a 6^th round pick in 2010. His biggest area of strength was supposed to be his defense, but whether it was early nerves or just a rough patch he struggled at the start of the season with 16 errors in the first two months (37 games). He also struggled at the plate early on where he was hitting under .200 well into June, which cut into his playing time some for the rest of the season.

Kyle Blair (RHP – Lake County)

3-5, 5.02 ERA, 24 G (14 GS), 82.0 IP, 81 H, 7 HR, 40 BB, 72 K, .259 BAA

Blair was a 3^rd round pick in 2010 that the Indians paid a handsome bonus to, and he came into the 2011 season as the IPI’s 14^th ranked prospect. His numbers were not up to par for what is expected of a high profile college pitcher pitching in Low-A, especially one of his stature. However, he was battling a knee issue for most of the season so it probably had a big affect on him, especially with his command issues all year.

T.J. House (LHP- Kinston)

6-12, 5.19 ERA, 25 GS, 130.0 IP, 133 H, 12 HR, 66 BB, 89 K, .269 BAA

House came into the 2011 season as the IPI’s 11^th ranked prospect and he also returned to High-A Kinston to pitch for a second consecutive season. Considering his lofty prospect ranking and a return trip to a league he pitched well in the previous year, he should have pitched much better this year. His ERA ballooned and the numbers that were not good were the significant increase in both his home run rate and walk rate as well as the decrease in his strikeout rate.

Corey Kluber (RHP – Columbus)

7-11, 5.56 ERA, 27 GS, 150.2 IP, 153 H, 19 HR, 70 BB, 143 K, .263 BAA

The Indians traded right-handed pitcher Jake Westbrook for Kluber in July of 2010, they added him to the 40-man roster last offseason, and he was the IPI’s 29^th ranked prospect coming into the season. His performance took a step back this year and he had some very notable issues with his fastball command. He made some progress in the second half of the season and the Indians are still high on him, but from a performance perspective it was a disappointing year.

Jason Knapp (RHP – Kinston)

DNP

Knapp came into the season as the IPI’s 6^th ranked prospect and he was also one of the key players the Indians received from the Phillies in exchange for Cliff Lee back in July of 2009. So far his career with the Indians has been a disappointment, but not because of performance but because of injuries. There is no doubt he has the talent.  The Indians just have to find a way to keep him healthy. His recent should injury and surgery put a huge question mark on his future.

Alex Lavisky (C – Lake County/Mahoning Valley)

.203 AVG (90-for-443), 48 R, 28 2B, 0 3B, 13 HR, 52 RBI, 29 BB, 137 K, .621 OPS

Lavisky was an 8^th round pick in 2010 that the Indians gave a seven figure bonus to in order to woo him away from college. He also came into the season as the IPI’s 17^th ranked prospect. He showed some potential with the power and production numbers and was first class as expected as an individual. He also did a nice job behind the plate this year. But the bat-to-ball and the high strikeout rate is very concerning, and something that will be a huge focus for him going forward.

Giovanny Urshela (3B – Lake County)

.238 AVG (120-for-505), 57 R, 24 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 46 RBI, 14 BB, 69 K, .608 OPS

Urshela came into the season as the IPI’s 23^rd ranked prospect. He slipped slightly as a defender this year partly because it is believed he was not in good shape coming into the season. He is still a top notch defender, but he needs to be more committed in his offseason workouts this year. He also took a step back in his performance at the plate where it was hoped he would show more power, discipline, and bat-to-ball ability.

LeVon Washington (OF – Lake County)

.218 AVG (65-for-298), 35 R, 9 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 49 BB, 89 K, 15 SB, .647 OPS

Washington was a 2^nd round pick in 2010 that the Indians gave a seven figure bonus to and he came into the season as the IPI’s 7^th ranked prospect. He did not live up to expectations as a defender, base-runner or hitter, but a lot of that probably had to do with some of the significant issues he had before and during the season with his hip surgery and leg injuries. Injuries are not an excuse though, and I expect him to come back strong next season.

Nick Weglarz (OF – Akron)

.179 AVG (24-for-134), 25 R, 8 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 36 BB, 43 K, .666 OPS

Weglarz came into the season as the IPI’s 5^th ranked prospect and has been in the IPI Top 10 for four years running. He suffered a significant knee injury in spring training running to first base, and from that point his season got untracked. He still showed the patience he has always been lauded for as he had a .360 on-base percentage even though he hit just .179, but his power completely disappeared and he was only able to play in 41 games all season.

And the Tony Award goes to….Nick Weglarz

As mentioned at the top, this is a tough award to hand out since I respect the hard work that a lot of these players put into their seasons and careers.  I am always more for talking about the positive things with regard to the Indians’ minor league system, but to be balanced I know from time to time I have to be fair and talk about the things that are not good too.

Sometimes things just do not go well because of injuries or for various other reasons. But in the end there are players who make progress over a season, and there are players who do not.

Weglarz just had a forgettable season. The season was a disappointment on many levels for him, but most of the disappointment stems from yet another injury that forced him to miss a huge chunk of the season. While I often give players a pass when they suffer injuries over the course of the season, it was hard to do so in this case.

There is no doubt that Weglarz was not 100% when he returned from his knee injury. He had almost no drive in his swing and was not making very consistent hard contact. His eye was still fine as he drew his customary high amount of walks and the strikeouts remained about the same.  But his power numbers cratered with a .306 slugging percentage as compared to his .455 career slugging percentage coming into the season.

Weglarz’s injury was a big blow to the Indians this year considering their need at the Major League level with outfield help almost all season. He came into the season on the 40-man roster as a legit big league option that was about ready for a chance should the opportunity and need arise. The opportunity and need both arose quickly in May and June when Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, and Travis Hafner went down with injuries, but he himself was down with an injury as well so the Indians moved on to other options.

It was a big league opportunity lost this season that Weglarz may have a hard time getting again.  He turns 24-years old in December, so his age is no longer on his side. His injury history is also a huge red flag going forward as he has now finished four of his last six seasons on the disabled list including the last three seasons in a row.  His primary goal this offseason will be on getting 100% healthy and coming into camp in the best shape possible so as to better help avoid the injury bug.

Weglarz will probably remain on the 40-man roster this offseason and he has options remaining, so there are no immediate roster issues with him for next year. This should allow the Indians to be patient with him for one more season to see if he can stay healthy and get that coveted big league opportunity and be the impact player everyone has felt he can be for so long.

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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Tribe Happenings: Carrasco likely out until 2013

Carlos Carrasco will likely not return until

the start of the 2013 season. (Photo: AP)

Some news, notes and thoughts from my Indians notebook…

Carrasco to have major surgery

The Indians got some bad news this week as after lots of tests and consultation with doctors it was decided that right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco would undergo ligament transplant surgery – more commonly known as Tommy John surgery – on his right elbow. He will have the surgery this coming Wednesday in New York and it will be performed by Dr. David Altcheck.

Carrasco, 24, has been bothered by the elbow for most of the season. After just five starts to open the season he was placed on the disabled list on April 28th with inflammation on his right elbow. He returned on May 11th and really looked to settle in with a great June going 4-2 with a 1.90 ERA in six starts.

But Carrasco’s struggles with the elbow started to return again in July, and it showed with his performance where in five July starts he went 0-5 with a 9.13 ERA. He made one final start on August 3rd against Boston and actually put forth his best outing since June when he went seven strong innings and allowed three runs, but a few days after the game he was placed on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation again. After he did not respond well to treatment he and the Indians searched for answers and ultimately the decision was made to have the Tommy John surgery.

According to head Indians trainer Lonnie Soloff, the MRI of Carrasco’s elbow showed that he had been pitching with a bad elbow for some time as it showed damage to the elbow from some time ago. Carrasco revealed to the Indians that he has actually hurt the elbow when he was 14 years old, but instead of any rehab or surgery he just stopped throwing for several weeks.

Amazingly, after that injury as a young kid Carrasco went on to get signed as a free agent by the Phillies at 16 years old and never showed signs of the injury while pitching in the minors. In a five year span from 2006 to 2010 he averaged 165 innings pitched a season, which is incredible considering almost all of that time was in the minors.

The injury was only found this season because Carrasco had issues with the elbow and supposedly this is the first time in his career he has ever had an MRI on his elbow. He never had an MRI when he signed with the Phillies and never had an MRI after that, even when he was traded to the Indians. Both the Phillies and Indians never knew of his condition until the problems with the elbow this season started to surface.

The surgery on Carrasco’s elbow this week will keep him out for 12-18 months. Every player responds differently to the surgery and some could be back as soon as 12 months - like Nationals’ right-handed pitcher Steven Strasburg. Others respond slower and some suffer setbacks along the way, so it is why his recovery process could take up to 18 months.

With the twelve month anniversary of the surgery to come next September and near the end of the 2012 season, Carrasco is expected to miss all of next season. If he pitches anywhere it will likely only be in a few rehab games in the minor leagues next September and then in fall or winter league action after the season. The hope is that with a whole offseason next year to continue his rehab that he will be ready to be an option for the starting rotation when spring training opens in 2013.

Lee trade blues

With Carlos Carrasco now undergoing major surgery on his elbow, the Indians have now lost two players to significant injury that they received from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee deal consummated back in July of 2009. The Indians received Carrasco, right-handed pitcher Jason Knapp, catcher Lou Marson and infielder Jason Donald in the trade.

The other player to suffer serious injury setbacks is Knapp who has had two major shoulder surgeries since the trade. He had one surgery in the fall of 2009 and then another this past June after he experienced more discomfort with his shoulder earlier in the year. The Indians are hopeful that Knapp will be 100% and ready to go at the start of next season, but with two shoulder surgeries on his resume his chances to make it to the big leagues are starting to look long.

With Carrasco and Knapp going down with serious injuries, a lot of people have declared the Lee trade a bust. From a results standpoint it is hard to argue against that; however, it does not mean the Indians made the wrong decisions at the time of the trade.

Prior to the injuries – which no team can predict – Carrasco was viewed as a near ready Major League starter who could be a good #2 or #3 starter in the big leagues. He showed that ability this season before succumbing to the injury. Knapp was viewed as the best or second best pitching prospect in the Phillies’ system at the time of the trade, and one of the best in all the minors. Marson has turned into one of the best defensive catchers in the bigs, and Donald is a solid infielder.

So why didn’t the Indians have an MRI on Carrasco or Knapp performed at the time of the trade?

The Indians - or any club in baseball for that matter - cannot perform an MRI on a player when they are acquired in a trade. When a player is signed as a free agent an MRI can be performed, but in a trade it cannot since the player is still the property of the other team. All the Indians or any other club can do in a trade is request all of the medical information the former club has on file, everything from doctor notes, x-rays, or previous MRIs that were done prior to the trade and then take all that information and have their doctors look over the information.

In addition to the information given to them by the other club, the Indians can give the player a thorough physical evaluation. After the physical and review of medical records, the doctors will either clear or not clear the player and based on that finding it is up to the front office to make a decision. In the case of Carrasco and Knapp they were both cleared by team doctors as there were absolutely no red flags, so the Indians okayed the trade.

As a result, the Indians had no idea how damaged Knapp’s shoulder or Carrasco’s elbow were. If the Indians could have had an MRI performed on them, trust me, they would have. It is just an unfortunate outcome for them with the trade, and another example of how there is never a guarantee with any player received in a trade.

Taking the bull by the horns

Much credit goes to the Detroit Tigers as they took matters into their own hands this past week and for all intents and purposes clinched the AL Central by sweeping the White Sox and Indians in back-to-back series’. While both the White Sox and Indians are both still alive mathematically, with a 9.5 game lead with less than three weeks left in the season the division race is over. It is but a matter of counting down the days until the Tigers officially clinch the division.

The amazing thing is going into the play on August 19th the Indians were 1.5 games out of first and tied in the loss column with the Tigers. The Indians and Tigers opened a three game series in Detroit that day and the Tigers swept the Indians right out of Motown and have been blazing hot ever since. Since August 19th the Tigers have gone 17-4 and the Indians have gone 9-13 pushing them from 1.5 games back to 10.0 games back in just three weeks.

The Tigers are a very talented team and look to have finally gotten things together. With Justin Verlander and that lineup coming together they could surely do some damage this offseason and are a team that should be a tough matchup for anyone this postseason.

The Indians on the other hand showed their youth and inexperience down the stretch, and injuries just eventually caught up with them. Even so, it has been a successful season and with a return to full health and a key move or two in the offseason should bring hope to a lot of people they can win the division next year.

Pomeranz and White in the big leagues

Right-handed pitcher Alex White has now made four starts for the Colorado Rockies at the big league level and has really struggled in the early going. In those four starts with the Rockies he is 2-1 with a 8.18 ERA, and in 22.0 innings he has allowed 27 hits (including NINE home runs!), 11 walks, and has 14 strikeouts.

Somehow, someway White has earned a win in each of his last two times out as on September 3rd he went just five innings and allowed four earned runs and then last night went five innings and allowed seven earned runs on five home runs.  He has been bothered with some command issues as he has not been able to consistently command his pitches in the zone which has resulted in a high walk rate (4.5 BB/9) and hit rate (11.1 H/9) and an outrageous home run rate (3.7 HR/9). The sample size is small, but surely the Rockies did not expect this from him in the early going and you really have to wonder how healthy that middle finger is.

Left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz has been called up by the Rockies and is expected to make his big league debut today. It is a surprising reversal of fortune as just last week he was expected to be done for the season after having an emergency appendectomy, but he recovered well and has been able to get back on the mound much sooner than expected.

Pomeranz has only made two appearances in the Rockies’ minor league system since being acquired from the Indians on July 30th (officially on August 15th). In those two outings he has been dominant throwing a combined ten shutout innings allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out seven. He has just five appearances above the Single-A level, so it is interesting to see the Rockies push him up so quickly, especially this late in the season.

Remembering 9/11

Today marks the ten year anniversary since the horrific events that transpired on September 11, 2001. It is a day that no American that was old enough to witness it will ever forget, and today we honor all those who perished that day. Additionally, I’d also like to thank all of those in the military as well as all of the police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and so on who continue to put their lives on the line everyday for us.

Parting shots

Designated hitter Travis Hafner has been taking part in a running program as he continues to work his was back from his right foot injury. If he continues to respond well to treatment there is a chance he could be activated sometime this week. … Right-handed pitcher Josh Tomlin got the all clear on Wednesday that his right elbow is okay to begin a throwing program. The Indians are hopeful that he will be back to pitch before the end of the season, though with the recent bout of injuries you have to wonder if they are playing with fire here and it best to just shut him down. ... Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is responding well to treatment on his oblique injury and is expected to return to the lineup this week, possibly at the start of the Rangers series on Tuesday.

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). Use discount code 2Z6F362B to receive 40% off the book through the site store!

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Minor Happenings: Barnes is having breakout year

Scott Barnes (Photo: Lianna Holub)

"Minor Happenings" is a weekly column which recaps 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.

Okay, time for take two of Minor Happenings this week. If you missed take one yesterday, I sort of used it as a catchup to get caught up on things from the time missed the last two weeks because of the draft coverage.

Due to some family committments and being out of town in Florida, this piece is shorter than it normally would be. Time permitting tonight or tomorrow morning, I plan to have a third take to Minor Happenings this week to post some other news and notes, hopefully Friday afternoon or maybe sometime Saturday.

Onto the Happenings....

IPI Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from June 9th through June 15th)

Scott Barnes (Left-handed Pitcher - Columbus)
2-0, 0.73 ERA, 2 G, 12.1 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 15 K, .186 BAA

Scott Barnes

When you win eight straight games, usually it means things are clicking both with pitching and hitting. That is the case for Triple-A Columbus as they had tons of guys who had a great stretch of games over the past week. The two obvious standouts were second baseman Jason Kipnis who is on fire at the plate and left-handed pitcher Scott Barnes who is coming into his own as a starting pitching option for the Indians in the near future.

I don't take the easy way out and just award co-Player of the Week awards, even though in this case Kipnis and Barnes certainly deserve to share the award. But I side with Barnes in this case because of not only the dominating performance, but also the strides he has made this season. Plus, well, I am partial to left-handed pitchers since I was one myself. Sorry Kip.

All joking aside, Barnes has been quite serious of late on the hill and in 11 games (10 starts) for Columbus this year is 5-1 with a 3.97 ERA. Overall in 13 appearances (12 starts) with Double-A Akron and Columbus he is now 6-1 with a 3.59 ERA, and in 67.2 innings has allowed 59 hits, 29 walks, and has 84 strikeouts. His talents are starting to finally shine through, especially since he has learned to better control his effort level and get better at controlling his emotions. He has seen an improvement with his stuff as his fastball has been up to 96 MPH this year and his breaking ball is showing more depth, which make his plus changeup an even more effective pitch for him. There is no doubt that he is the second best left-handed starting pitching prospect in the Indians system behind the highly touted Drew Pomeranz, and if he keeps this up could be Top 10 bound in next year's prospect rankings in the organization.

Barnes has not made it yet, but with him on the verge of a big league opportunity - likely next year - he is looking like a steal in the Ryan Garko trade from July 2009. With so many options ahead of him this year it seems unlikely that he would get the call to Cleveland this season and start his option and service clock. He is up for roster protection at the end of the season and surely will be protected and will be yet another big league pitching option for the Indians in 2012 and beyond.

Honorable Mentions:

Jason Kipnis (2B - COL): .500 (11-22), 7 R, 3 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1.587 OPS
Ezequiel Carrera (OF - COL): .400 (6-15), 5 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 1 K, 3 SB, 1.150 OPS
Chad Huffman (OF - COL): .368 (7-19), 7 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K, 1.162 OPS
Jared Goedert (1B - COL): .353 (6-17), 2 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 1.154 OPS
Jesus Aguilar (1B - LC): .444 (8-18), 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.167 OPS
Marty Popham (RHP - KIN): 1-0, 1.38 ERA, 2 G, 13.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, .114 BAA
Bryan Price (RHP - AKR): 0-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 G, 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, .296 BAA

Previous Winners:

06/02 to 06/08: Beau Mills (1B - Akron)
05/26 to 06/01: Anthony Gallas (OF - Lake County)
05/19 to 05/25: Tim Fedroff (OF – Akron)
05/12 to 05/18: Steven Wright (RHP – Lake County)
05/05 to 05/11: Cord Phelps (INF – Columbus)
04/28 to 05/04: Chun Chen (C – Akron)
04/21 to 04/27: Chad Huffman (OF – Columbus)
04/14 to 04/20: Alex White (RHP – Columbus)
04/07 to 04/13: Drew Pomeranz (LHP – Kinston)

Director’s Cuts

Here are some comments this week from Indians Farm Director Ross Atkins as well as Amateur Scouting Director Brad Grant on some players in the system or recent draft picks:

Jason Knapp

Atkins on Jason Knapp: “It is really unfortunate. He is obviously very talented, and injuries are something we deal with and he will have the best resources and all of our effort. The great thing about Jason is he is one of the most committed and disciplined 19 and now 20-year olds that I have ever been around as far as sticking to a plan and having a disciplined approach to a routine. His process through the first rehab was remarkable. He was up to 98 MPH at the end of last summer after that first procedure which was a significant one. There are still so many unknowns in the medical field about shoulder procedures, and I think it is something that we as an industry are still learning a lot about, but we are confident he is in very good hands. We expect him back in spring training."

Atkins on David Huff: "He has been a really, really great story for the last couple of weeks for us. He has made some adjustments to his delivery and he has gotten a little bit more aggressive with his lower half and thus positively affecting what happens with his upper half within his delivery. His fastball is back up to 94 MPH and he is throwing his fastball by guys, and there seems to be more tilt to his breaking pitches. One of the things that has been most encouraging is David has relied heavily on his changeup in the past, and I don't think he has consciously gone away from it he is just having more success with his fastball and slider and not needing to go to it as much. He is excited and his words to us were that it is the first time he has thrown a ball by a guy in a long time. He punched out ten guys his last outing, and that is extremely encouraging and we feel like we now have potentially another Major League option."

David Huff

Grant on Francisco Lindor: "He is a very exciting player. He is a unique player for us as he is 17 years old and has the ability to stay at shortstop. He is a very instinctual player and does things very easily, and his hands and feet work very well. He brings some offense to the other side of it as well as he is a very advanced high school hitter with a line drive approach and he has some power at the same time. He won the Aflac home run hitting contest this past summer, so he is able to drive the ball out of the ballpark from both sides of the plate."

Grant on Dillon Howard: "Another great pick for us, and we will see how things play out over the course of the summer. We are getting a big 6'4" right-hander with a very good feel to pitch. What is kind of unique about Dillon is his ability to pitch with his fastball as a high school kid. A lot of high school kids when you walk in have the stuff as they can throw 91-94 like Dillon does, but they are not able to command the fastball like Dillon does. He can place his fastball to both halves of the plate and go up and down with it, and he mixes in a curveball as well has a very good feel for a changeup. He is an advanced high school pitcher."

Grant on Jake Sisco: "Another big, young 19-year old right-handed pitcher. Jake also throws 90-94 and really has good life to his fastball and has good sink and tailing action to it. He has two different breaking balls too as he has a curveball and a slider, and a feel for a changeup. [His] ball will dive at the bottom of the plate and allows a lot of hitters to roll over and induce a lot of groundballs. He is a big right-handed pitcher that we can move into our system and develop as a starter who is still only 19 years old."

Grant on Jake Lowery: "A guy who had a very successful year this year at James Madison. He is a left-handed hitting catcher who put up some big offensive numbers there this year. He has both as he put up home run numbers and put up average numbers too. We think he will hit for a high average, and the home run power side of it will come a little bit. Behind the plate he has a plus arm as he can really throw behind the plate. He is still working on the development side with catching, and is something we will work on once he gets into the system. We got him for his bat and offensive potential, but we still feel like he can stay back behind the plate too."

Grant on Will Roberts: "Another guy who has had a great college career. He is doing great things right now for the University of Virginia still advancing into the College World Series and we will see where things go from there. He is a guy who has a very good feel to pitch with his fastball. He can throw 90-93 and really locate his fastball down and out and locate it where he wants and get a ton of outs with it. A lot of pressure on him and innings pitched in big games, and he has shown an ability to handle those big games and pressure situations which is big."

Grant on Bryson Myles: "Bryson wanted to get out and get his pro career started. He brings a unique skill set that we do not have much of as he has that speed and power combination. He stole 100 bases in the last two years, so an exciting guy to get into the system and start developing. He was a football player before and has only been playing baseball for the last couple of years. So we have an athlete and have that deep power that we can start to develop. There is a lot of upside in left field and right field."

Infirmary Report

It has been about a month since I did one of these, and always good to catch up once a month to see how some of the walking wounded in the Indians minor league system are doing. Here is an update on just about every injured player in the system:

The big news of the week was the season ending shoulder surgery that right-handed pitcher Jason Knapp underwent. The surgery was a procedure to stabilize and tighten the anterior aspect of his shoulder, and was performed on Tuesday in New York by Dr. David Altchek. He is currently resting and sometime in August will begin his rehab to get him up to full strength for the start of spring training next year. It is possible he continues the rehab this fall in Instructional League, though if he throws he likely would be limited to sim games or bullpens if he gets that far. What a big blow to him and the organization, and hopefully this is the final hiccup for him.

Donnie Webb

Shortstop Tony Wolters is 100% healed from the hamate bone injury to his right hand and has been playing in extended spring training games out in Arizona the past few weeks. He is with short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley and should be the everyday shortstop for them. Their season kicks off tomorrow night.

Triple-A Columbus outfielder Donnie Webb was placed on the disabled list this week with a left forearm injury. Even if he gets healthy quickly, he could find it hard to get back into the lineup at Columbus or Akron with how crowded the outfielder situation is at both places.

High-A Kinston first baseman Jeremie Tice left the game Saturday with a leg injury after fielding a throw at first base. He has yet to be placed on the disabled list, so it appears to be a day-by-day thing for him.

High-A Kinston outfielder Bo Greenwell will be sidelined for about four to six weeks with a broken left pinky finger. He injured the finger in the first inning of Sunday's game after he was hit in the hand with a pitch.

Giovanni Soto

High-A Kinston left-handed pitcher Giovanni Soto has been sidelined and placed on the disabled list with left triceps soreness. No ETA on when he will be back, but he is not expected to be out long.

High-A Kinston right-handed pitcher Toru Murata left his last appearance on June 4th with a lat inury. He is close to returning, and could be activated when Kinston begins play after the All Star break next week.

Low-A Lake County left-handed pitcher Mike Rayl is working through a minor shoulder injury. He has not pitched since May 30th, but will be back on the mound tonight for Lake County.

Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Trey Haley re-injured his groin in an appearance on June 1st and has not pitched since. There is no ETA when he will return, but he is supposedly close to returning.

Chisenhall temporarily sidelined

Triple-A Columbus third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall has missed the last three games for precautionary reasons as he hit his head pretty hard on Friday night while sliding into third base. He is day to day, and probably will be back in the lineup in the next day or so. The minor injury came at a good time as it has provided an excuse to shut him down for a few days and give him some relief since he is clearly pressing of late at the plate. In his last three games he is 0-for-13 and in his last seven games is just 2-for-27. In 60 games he is now hitting .250 with 5 HR, 30 RBI, and a .734 OPS.

Even with the slide of late at the plate, Chisenhall is pretty much ready to make the big league club at any moment. Remember, this is a guy many people thought was ready after he hit .500 this spring out in Arizona. The swing is there and he should become a solid contributor for many years for the Indians. He may not become an impact guy, but certainly should at least be a solid defender and hitter along the likes of Casey Blake. The biggest thing this year is the strides he has made with his defense, particularly his throwing. Once he gets going again offensively, it would not be a surprise to see him called to Cleveland, which seems imminent.

Lavisky reassigned

Indians highly touted young catching prospect Alex Lavisky has been reassigned from Low-A Lake County to short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley. The move should not be seen as a demotion and more as a great development opportunity and a pre-planned one as Mahoning Valley manager Dave Wallace is also the organization's catching coordinator. Having Lavisky able to work with Wallace on a daily basis is a great development opportunity for him, and will also let him kind of take a step back and relax a little more at the plate with a clean slate. In 49 games for Lake County he hit .207 with 8 HR, 24 RBI and a .643 OPS, and had 66 strikeouts in 184 at bats.

The move will also allow All Star catcher Alex Monsalve to get much more playing time in Lake County. We saw the Indians do the same thing last year when Roberto Perez and Chun Chen shared catching duties the first half of the season at Lake County, and then in the second half Chen was sent to High-A Kinston while Perez became the full-time leader of the Lake County team.

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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Minor Happenings: Pomeranz off to rocking start

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

"Minor Happenings" is a weekly column which recaps 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.

Ah, the first Minor Happenings report of the 2011 season. Now the baseball season has officially started, at least for me.

I’m sorry to say that the season debut of Minor Happenings is kind of abbreviated today as I did not have the time to devote to the piece like I usually do because of my recent health issues. Nonetheless the show must go on and I have pretty much summarized everything that was noteworthy in the first week of action in the Indians farm system.

At the moment I still plan to visit Triple-A Columbus this weekend, so I am looking forward to some last minute baseball and seeing some old friends before my big surgery next Thursday which will lay me up for awhile and prevent me from going to any games in the short term. Hope to see some of you Clippers and Indians fans in Columbus this weekend!

Onto the Happenings…

Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from April 7th to April 13th)

Drew Pomeranz (Left-handed pitcher – Kinston)
0-0, 2 G, 0.00 ERA, 11.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 17 K, .088 AVG

High-A Kinston left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz has had about as perfect a professional debut as a pitcher can have. He has been nearly flawless on the mound allowing no earned runs and just three hits and two walks in 11 innings while blowing away 17 hitters for strikeouts. He has had two no decisions, but a lot of that is due to some poor run support and an 80-pitch count which has prevented him from being able to finish six full innings in either start.

In his debut in the Kinston season opener last Friday, Pomeranz threw 5.1 two-hit, shutout innings with no walks and nine strikeouts. He relied heavily on a low 90s fastball in the initial outing where he threw just a few curveballs and only one changeup all game. In his follow up outing yesterday he was excellent once again going 5.2 innings allowing one hit, an unearned run, two walks and eight strikeouts. This time he had a much more balanced pitch mix where he mixed in his plus curveball a lot more and featured his developing changeup a lot more.

Right now it is all about developing Pomeranz’s strike throwing ability so he is more consistent with pounding the zone with all of his pitches. He also needs to focus on developing his changeup. With the way he pitched in spring training and so far in his first two outings, there is no doubt that if you were to have a running Top 10 prospect list for the Indians all season that he is the #1 player in the Indians’ system right now.  He is simply just dominating hitters right now and has the stuff that hitters just can't recreate when hitting against pitching machines.

With two dominating starts in the books Pomeranz is not being challenged at the High-A level, and if he keeps this up another few starts the Indians may have to find a way to push him up to Double-A Akron. That may be tough because at the moment the rotation in Akron is stacked with the likes of Kelvin De La Cruz, Matt Packer, Austin Adams, Scott Barnes, and Joe Gardner, which are all high profile pitching prospects for the Indians. Injuries and performance will factor into things, so it remains to be seen what the Indians may do with Pomeranz until those things occur, but it looks like barring an injury to one of the aforementioned five pitchers in Akron that Pomeranz will be in Kinston for awhile and may potentially be there through May.

Honorable Mentions:

Cord Phelps (INF – COL): .440 (11-25), 5 R, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 1.317 OPS
Lonnie Chisenhall (3B – COL): .292 (7-24), 3 R, 5 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 1.018 OPS
Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP – AKR): 2-0, 2 G, 0.90 ERA, 10.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 BB, 12 K
Adam Abraham (3B – KIN): .353 (6-17), 3 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, 1.419 OPS
Jason Smit (OF – LC): .462 (12-26), 4 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 8 K, 1.202 OPS
Giovanny Urshela (3B – LC): .393 (11-28), 6 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, .969 OPS
Tyler Cannon (INF – LC): .350 (7-20), 5 R, 0 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1.009 OPS
Mike Rayl (LHP – LC): 2-0, 2 G, 0.00 ERA, 11.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
Michael Goodnight (RHP – LC): 1-1, 2 G, 0.90 ERA, 10.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K.

Director’s Cuts

Indians Farm Director Ross Atkins has been out at Double-A Akron taking in games this week, and here are some quotes from a recent interview this week:

On the Akron rotation: “They have all been really good, each guy to a man. Scott Barnes, Kelvin De La Cruz, Austin Adams, Matt Packer, and Joe Gardner, they have all looked very strong and like major league pitchers. They are limited by their pitch counts at this point and are not going deep into games. They have had strikeouts and have put the ball consistently over the plate and seem to be in a good position to start the season. The strikeouts are high but we need to get the walks down. They are all putting the ball on the ground and in play and seem to be heading in the right direction.”

On Austin Adams: “He is a converted shortstop who is extremely athletic. He has a natural delivery that really allows for him to not only have power but also throw strikes. The power and tilt of his breaking ball has really progressed. There is not a lot with his delivery that we would like to change, but the subtle things we have asked him to do he has been able to do because of his athleticism. He has been up to 99 MPH and his first outing was exceptional as he went six innings and allowed no runs with seven or eight punchouts. Sometimes the Double-A transition is somewhat of a bottleneck for guys, but the early signs are that has not been a problem for him.”

Captains No-No

The Low-A Lake County Captains final home game last year was a thrilling on-field celebration after claiming the 2010 Midwest League Championship. It would be hard to top that magical night, but on Monday night the Captains arguably did just that. In their first home game since the 2010 championship clincher, three pitchers combined for a no-hitter in the Captains’ 2011 home opener.

Right-handed fire-baller Trey Haley got things started throwing the first three innings before leaving because of a 55-pitch limit and allowed a run on no hits, two walks, and had four strikeouts. The one run came as the result of a bout of wildness where he had two walks and two wild pitches in the third inning. If he can ever harness his command he arguably has the best arm in the system and can go places, and he showed some great power on Monday night by getting his two-seam fastball up to 99 MPH.

Left-hander Francisco Jimenez pitched the next 4.0 shutout-hitless innings and allowed just one walk and had two strikeouts. He picked up the victory and continues to live up to his vulture status in the bullpen as he is now 16-1 out of the bullpen in 51 career relief appearances with Lake County. Right-handed closer Clayton Ehlert pitched the final 2.0 innings of shutout-hitless ball and did not allow a walk or record a strikeout.

De La Cruz-ing

Double-A Akron left-handed pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz is looking to re-establish himself as one of the Indians’ top pitching prospects. He is still very much in the long term plans of the organization since he is still on the 40-man roster, but he had an inconsistent season last year where in 26 combined starts between Akron and High-A Kinston he went 7-8 with a 5.01 ERA (127.2 IP, 120 H, 72 BB, 105 K).

De La Cruz had problems all last season with his consistency, mostly with throwing strikes which led to a high walk rate. Some of that was due to some apprehension on his part in coming back from a serious elbow injury in 2009 which sidelined him almost all season and nearly resulted in Tommy John surgery. In his struggle to regain confidence with his health, his command suffered. The hope right now is that he is in a good frame of mind to go out and attack and not worry about reinjuring himself, and so far this spring that has been the case.

De La Cruz looks like a more confident pitcher this year. The velocity has been there this spring and he looks to be in the best shape of his career thanks to a dedicated offseason workout routine. He has really shown a lot of confidence in the early going with his two-seam fastball and slider, though his changeup is still inconsistent. It’s hard not to like his numbers after two starts where he is 0-2 with a 0.90 ERA (10.0 IP, 3 H, 7 BB, 12 K), but the walks are still a concern as seven in twelve innings of work is not good. He is still working on some of his inconsistencies with repeating his delivery and finding a consistent release point, and the hope is that when he does a noticeable spike in his command will follow.

Soto keeps impressing

High-A Kinston left-handed pitcher Giovanni Soto continues to impress since being picked up from the Detroit Tigers last July for infielder Jhonny Peralta. The 19-year old had a very good Carolina League debut on Monday where he went 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on three hits, one walk, and had eight strikeouts.

Soto’s cutter is a major league quality offering and one of the best in all the minors, but is also a pitch he tends to rely on too much. The Indians have instructed him to cut back some on the use of the cutter and instead have him incorporate more fastballs into his pitch mix. The hope is that by featuring his fastball more he will show more velocity, and so far he has as he has been up to 93 MPH this season. The improved velocity and usage of his fastball should only help the effectiveness of his curveball, changeup and cutter.

Considering Soto has seen some velocity gains this year, if he continues to carry over his success from last year into this season he is going to shoot up the Indians prospect rankings by the end of the season. The High-A level and the age 19 to 20 year is when right-hander Hector Rondon saw huge velocity gains, so perhaps some of the same at least happens with Soto this year.

Random Notes

Triple-A infielder Cord Phelps has been a man of many positions so far this season as he has played two games at shortstop, two games as the designated hitter, one game at third base, and one game at second base. His rotation among those spots should continue as it allows him the opportunity to be an everyday player and keep his hot stick in the lineup where in six games so far this year he is hitting .440 with 2 HR, 7 RBI and a 1.317 OPS.

Triple-A Columbus third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall is off to a solid start at Columbus in what is expected to be a tune up for a potential call to Cleveland in June or July. In six games he is hitting .292/.393/.625 with six of his seven hits going for extra bases. He is pure hitter in every sense as he pounds the ball to all parts of the field and wears out the gaps.

Don’t look now, but Triple-A Columbus infielder Luis Valbuena looks to be the first player in line for a callup to Cleveland if the need for an infielder arises. The Indians have to figure out how to add infielder Jason Donald back into the mix here real soon, and he may not even be a sure thing to go to Cleveland when he is healthy. Valbuena is showing he can hit Triple-A pitching where in five games he is hitting .412/.474/.647, which may be a very small sample size but he did hit .313/.427/.604 in 25 games at Columbus last year too.

Double-A Akron right-handed pitcher Austin Adams is being featured as a full time starter this season which increases his value a ton and puts him into top ten prospect consideration. In his first game as a full fledged starter he did not disappoint on Sunday going six shutout innings and allowing just two hits, one walk, and struck out six. He was a strike machine all night throwing 50 of his 73 pitches for strikes (68.5%) and first pitch strikes to 17 of the 21 batters he faced.

Double-A right-handed pitcher Joe Gardner has had a solid start to the season. In two starts he is 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA, and in 11.0 innings has allowed eight hits, eight walks, and has five strikeouts. He really struggled in the first two innings of his first start due to him being a bit overanxious in his Double-A debut, but since then he has settled in. The walks are a concern and something to monitor, and it will be interesting to see what happens to his good K-rate now that he is in Double-A.

Double-A Akron right-handed reliever Connor Graham had a tough luck injury on the eve of the season opener when he had to leave the exhibition game between Akron and Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday April 6th. He complained of discomfort in his right shoulder, and has since been removed from the Akron roster. There is no ETA on when he will return.

Double-A Akron left-hander Matt Packer has made one start so far going 5.2 innings and allowing four runs on five hits, one walk and has three strikeouts. He actually had a dandy of a game going as he had a one hit shutout going through five innings before he tired in the sixth inning to allow four runs on four hits and a walk.

High-A Kinston third baseman Adam Abraham is off to a nice start hitting .353 with 3 HR, 6 RBI and a 1.419 OPS in six games to start the season. He is a grinder type who comes to the field every day and is a good guy in the clubhouse, and appears to have established himself as a favorite in the organization due to his versatility to where he can play third base, first base, and catcher. He’s looking like the next Jerad Head-type player in the system.

High-A Kinston left-handed pitcher T.J. House had a rough first start to his season on Tuesday night where he lasted just 2.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits, one walk, and had four strikeouts. He did not leave early because of injury, but was just gassed as he was in trouble all night and had to pitch out of a lot of jams and had to be removed because of his pitch count. He left the game throwing 73 pitches.

Right-hander Jason Knapp is expected to join Kinston sometime in the coming weeks, potentially once Drew Pomeranz is promoted. He is currently in extended spring training building himself up and to be ready to pitch when called upon. He is not hurt, but since he only pitched 28.1 innings last year the Indians are delaying the start of his season in order to control his workload this year since he will only pitch 80-100 innings this season.

If not for lefty Drew Pomeranz’s sensational start, all the talk right now might be on the great start by Low-A Lake County left-handed pitcher Mike Rayl. In two games he is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, and in 11.0 innings has allowed two hits, no runs, three walks, and has 11 strikeouts. He is a soft-tossing command and control lefty, and is a guy the organization likes and who has some helium. Could he be in line for a Matt Packer-like breakout this year?

Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Michael Goodnight is putting the foundation together for a big year. In two starts he is 1-1 with a 0.90 ERA, and in 10.0 innings he has allowed three hits, one earned run, three walks, and has eight strikeouts. He was a high profile draft signing last year getting $315,000 to sign, which was well overslot for a 13th round pick.

Outfielder LeVon Washington will probably join Low-A Lake County soon once he is cleared and considered game ready. He had offseason surgery on his hip and was slowed in spring training by a minor knee injury, so he is working himself into regular game shape since he was a few weeks behind the players when they broke camp two weeks ago. He may just stay in extended spring training and play games there until short-season leagues kick up in June, but I have a feeling we will see him in Lake County soon.

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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Minor League Notebook: 4/1

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

New look, same old Berger

Left-handed pitcher Eric Berger looks a lot different these days.

If you saw Berger you would almost thing he was wearing a costume.  Gone is the short haircut and clean shave, and in is much longer and free flowing hair and a mustache that would make Rollie Fingers proud.

The image change is just Berger showing another side of his unique personality, but he says there really was no inspiration for the change and that it was just something that happened.

“There was no inspiration,” said Berger about going with the big mustache.  “I just didn’t shave in the offseason and when I cleaned up I just left it as I never had a moustache before.  I figured I would try something new and the guys seem to enjoy it.  It’s just a different look and a different year, so I am having some fun with it.”

New look or not, the soon to be 25-year old pitcher in three weeks knows he needs to have a much better season than the one he had last year.  In 23 combined starts at Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus last year Berger went 5-6 with a 4.90 ERA.  It wasn’t a terrible year, but he really struggled in the early going because he was recovering from an oblique injury at the end of spring training and then he struggled at the end of the season when he got a call to Columbus (5 GS, 5.84 ERA).

Berger struggled with his command last year, mostly the result of an inconsistent release point in his delivery which he had trouble correcting when he was a little off in games.  Maintaining his delivery and learning how to make quicker adjustments to re-find his release point is something he has focused on in spring training.

“When you lose your release point its how quickly can you get it back,” said Berger.  “I don’t want it to be the next inning or batter, I want it to be the next two or three pitches.  I think that is the biggest thing is when you lose the release point to get it back as soon as possible.”

Berger doesn’t have dominating stuff as he throws a low 90s fastball and compliments it with a good curveball and developing changeup.  He added a new wrinkle to his arsenal late last year when he began incorporating a cutter into his pitch mix.  He really likes the pitch and plans to use it a lot more this season.

“I’m looking forward to throwing the cutter more this year,” said Berger.  “At the end of last year I started mixing it in and now I am looking to use it a good amount as I like it a lot.  So far I have been getting some good double play balls from righties and getting it on their hands a little bit.  I’m looking forward to going fastball in to cutter in so it looks like I am doubling up the fastball and it sneaks in on them.”

In addition to getting better with the cutter and maintaining his delivery, Berger wants to improve his strike throwing ability and more consistently pound the zone.  If he can get better with throwing more consistent, quality strikes, as a left-hander he has a chance to pitch in the big leagues.

“I just need to throw first pitch strikes, get ahead in the count, and double up when necessary,” said Berger.  “I need to get the strike percentage up in all categories and [if I do that] I think I will be good.”

Notebook:

Knapp slowed:  The Indians are being very cautious with right-handed pitcher Jason Knapp this spring.  He is not hurt, but the Indians have him on a very conservative throwing program and he will not be ready to open with an affiliate when camp breaks today.  He is expected to remain in Arizona for an undetermined amount of time to allow him time to get himself ramped up to pitch in games and at the same time improve the strength of his shoulder.  Since he threw just 28.1 innings last year he is going to be really restricted with his inning workload this season, so one way to do that is to delay the start of his season.  When he is ready to pitch, he is expected to be assigned to High-A Kinston.  The best guess as to when that might occur is sometime before the end of May.

Goedert smash: Infielder Jared Goedert may be on the 60-day disabled list, but he is playing spring games out in Arizona and will continue to do so until the early part of May.  Playing with Akron on Friday, he played first base and went 1-for-3 at the plate with a solo home run.

Pictures please:  As noted a few weeks back, I was able to take a lot of pictures of players while I was at camp out in Arizona.  For those who I have made arrangements with already, I will be sending them to you soon.  I have a couple thousand pictures to sort through, edit, and file away, and I plan to have that all done by next weekend.

Akron recap I: On Thursday, Akron lost to Kinston 5-1 in a 12 inning B-game to give right-handers Mitch Talbot (5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K) and Josh Tomlin (5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 4 K) each a lot of work.  Outfielder Jordan Henry (3-for-6, 3 2B, K) and catcher Doug Pickens (2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB) did all the damage offensively.   

Akron recap II: On Friday, Akron lost to the Padres 8-4. Center fielder Jordan Henry (2-for-2, R, 2B), shortstop Juan Diaz (2-for-2, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB), and third baseman Kyle Bellows (2-for-4, 2B) paced the offense.  Lefty Kelvin De La Cruz went 4.0 innings (3 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and was followed with lefty Nick Hagadone who went 2.0 innings (2 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 1 K) and lefty Eric Berger who went 2.0 innings (3 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 2 K).

Kinston recap I: On Thursday, Kinston beat Akron 5-1. Outfielder Greg Folgia (1-for-6, R, HR, 2 RBI, K) and second baseman Ronald Rivas (2-for-4, R, BB) were the main contributors at the plate.  On the mound lefty Scott Barnes (3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K), righty Austin Adams (5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and lefty Giovanni Soto (3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 3 K) all chipped in.

Kinston recap II: On Friday, Kinston beat the Padres 8-7.  Right fielder Bo Greenwell sizzled at the plate going 3-for-5 (3 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), and got some assistance from third baseman Adam Abraham (1-for-3, R, HR, 3 RBI) and second baseman Ronald Rivas (2-for-3, RBI, K).  Righty-hander Clayton Cook pitched a dandy of a game going 5.0 innings (2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K).  Lefty Chris Jones struggled and in 1.0 innings (4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K), and righty Adam Miller got some working going 1.0 inning (0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K).

Lake County recap I: On Thursday, Lake County beat the Reds 5-1. Second baseman Jorge Martinez (2-for-2, R) and DH/3B Tyler Cannon (2-for-2, 2 BB) were the offensive stars of the game.  Righty Michael Goodnight went 5.0 excellent innings (1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K), and lefty Kirk Wetmore went 2.0 good innings (2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) and righty Trey Haley went 1.1 innings (2 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 3 K).

Lake County recap II:  On Friday, Lake County lost to the Padres 2-1.  The Captains managed just four hits, with third baseman Giovanni Ursehla doing all of the damage (1-for-3, R, HR, RBI).  Lefty Mike Rayl had a nice showing on the mound going 4.0 strong innings (0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K), and righty Kyle Blair followed him up by going 4.0 innings (4 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB,  0K).

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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