Minor Happenings: A Lot Of Crowe-ing In Akron

"Minor Happenings" covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that cover each team.

In case anyone missed it, earlier in the week I did a feature on Lake County first baseman Dustin Realini.

I had a blast in Frederick, MD and Washington D.C. over the weekend. Kinston absolutely destroyed Frederick in the game on Friday night, with Beau Mills hitting two moon rockets for home runs. Speaking of Mills, I had a chance to speak to him, Nick Weglarz, Brian Juhl, Mike Pontius and Josh Tomlin at length, so be on the lookout for feature pieces on them throughout the month.

For anyone wondering, I plan to go to Buffalo on Sunday to see lefty David Huff pitch, and then sometime mid-week will visit Akron for the first time in about a month to hopefully see Scott Lewis in action for the first time.

Indians Minor League Player of The Month
(for June)

Trevor Crowe (Outfielder - Akron)
.400 AVG (42-for-105), 32 R, 10 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 16 BB, 13 K, 5 SB, 1.100 OPS

Akron outfielder Trevor Crowe had an incredible month, capping a remarkable turnaround to his season and resurrecting his fading prospect status. Finally healthy from the herniated disc that plagued him in spring training and the first two months of the season, Crowe put together one of the most impressive months seen by a hitter in the Indians minor league system in awhile. His play has more than earned consideration for a callup to Buffalo, which should be coming really any day. Crowe is now very much in the plans in the Indians outfield next year, possibly even later this year.

Crowe was also named Bank of America Eastern League Player of the Week on Monday for the week ending June 29th, the second week in a row he has won the award. Crowe is the first player to win back-to-back weekly awards in the Eastern League since Harrisburg's Dee Haynes in 2005, and is believed to be the first Akron player to ever do it. Crowe hit .464 (13-for-28) for the week with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 10 RBI, and 11 runs scored in seven games. Crowe had four multi-hit games and led the Eastern League in batting average, RBI, runs and on-base percentage (.531) for the week. He also slugged .821 on the week with a 1.352 OPS. Over his last 23 games, Crowe is hitting .417 with 15 extra-base hits, and has raised his batting average 144 points from .181 on June 4th to .325 today. On the year, Crowe is hitting .325 with 4 HR, 26 RBI, 9 stolen bases, and a .921 OPS.

Crowe was 4-for-6 with a game-tying RBI double in Akron's 11-10 comeback win last Monday, and went 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in Akron's 9-7 loss last Wednesday. On Friday night Crowe went 3-for-5 with four runs, four RBI, and a grand slam that highlighted a six-run seventh inning in a 16-6 win. Crowe hit a leadoff home run in the eighth inning Sunday afternoon that proved to be the difference in Akron's 7-6 win, and he also banged an RBI triple off the wall in right-center in the third inning to score the first run of the game.

For those wondering why Crowe has been out of the lineup in two of the last three games, he is battling a bruise on his chest that bothers him when he swings. It is nothing serious, and he should be in there on a more regular basis again starting tonight or tomorrow.

Honorable Mentions:

Hector Rondon (RHP - Kinston): 4-0, 5 games, 1.29 ERA, 28 IP, 10 BB, 34 K
J.D. Martin (RHP - Akron): 3-0, 0.56 ERA, 7 games, 16 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 19 K
Lucas Montero (OF - Lake County): .318, 4 HR, 12 RBI, .961 OPS
Luis Perdomo (RHP - Kinston): 3-0, 6 saves, 0.71 ERA, 11 games, 12.2 IP, 6 H, 8 BB, 18 K

Previous Winners:

May: Kelvin De La Cruz - Lake County
April: Ryan Miller - Lake County

Director's Cuts

Indians Farm Director Ross Atkins took some time this week to talk about Double-A Akron and the hot performances to date there:

On Trevor Crowe: "Trevor has been healthy. He had a herniated disc and he has worked extremely hard to get back quicker than we expected. He got off to a relatively slow start this year and we think the injury had something to do with it. Since then he has picked up to where he was a year and half ago. He has been absolutely on fire and is driving the ball all over the place. He is really making a hard case for us to get him out of the Eastern League. He can play all three outfield positions very well, and I think he can definitely be an everyday player in a major league lineup."

On J.D. Martin: "J.D. is going to be one of those great stories in the game. He has already been a potentially sad story because he was highly touted and then injured and he is not in the major leagues yet. I just believe in my heart that he is going to be one of those great stories like a Joe Borowski that just ends up being an integral part of a major league team somehow. Because of his drive and his courage he has probably the best baseball makeup in the organization, but unfortunately he does not have the best physical makeup as he has been injured a lot. His stuff is major league average some days. It is not across the board above average and some of it is below average, but he just has those intangibles."

On Randy Newsom: "He has been unbelievable. I don't think he has given up many hits at all to right-handed hitters. He must have more 1-3s than anyone in minor league baseball as anytime I see him pitch they are hitting a groundball back to him. The biggest test for him will be getting left-handed hitters out. There are not many right-handed specialists in the game and it is hard to carry that type of guy on your team at times, but they are there and they exist. For him to transition, he really needs to focus in getting the left-handed hitters out."

On Wes Hodges: "Wes is one of my favorite guys to talk about, be around and watch play. He is the kind of player you grew up watching on "This Week in Baseball" as he is that All-American, strong, athletic, powerful, very smart and great guy to be around. He is going to be a major league player for a very long time, and I think the Cleveland Indians' fans are going to get to know him well very soon."

On Josh Rodriguez: "He has power and speed. He is showing at least average ability at second base with the ability to play shortstop. I think he probably is more suited for major league second base, but he can play shortstop. Josh has settled in nicely. The more we play him at second base, the more natural that becomes. Offensively he has always been a guy who gets on base, gets his walks, and drives a few balls out of the park. He is very much on his way."

On All Star selections: "I think it is an affirmation for them as they were voted in by other managers at the minor league level. That is what's great about the minor league All Star game, as it is not just your statistics it is the other managers that watch you play and you stand out to them. It is a great experience for them to be in and around those caliber of players and start to experience the game on that level."

Indians Minor League Player Of The Week
(for games from June 26^th through July 2^nd)

Stephen Head (Outfielder - Akron)
.400 AVG (12-for-30, 8 R, 4 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K

Akron outfielder Stephen Head has quietly been having one of the better seasons no one is talking about. After he began the season in extended spring training to continue rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery, he was moved up to Akron about a week into the season. After a few games, he went back on the disabled list on April 16th with a broken bone in his right wrist (non-throwing hand). Surgery was not required, so Head only missed about two weeks and returned to action on May 3rd. Since his return, Head has been one of the most consistent performers in the Indians minor league system.

On the year, Head is hitting .320 with 7 HR, 29 RBI and an .860 OPS. His consistency is best demonstrated by his monthly numbers where he hit .357 in April, .303 in May, and .307 in June (in two July games he is hitting .556). In his last 14 games, he is hitting .421 (24-for-57) with 13 extra base hits (5 HR) and 14 RBI. He has split time at first base and outfield, playing 27 games at first base and 20 in the outfield. Head is considered the best defensive first baseman in the system, but was moved to the outfield late last year because of his athleticism and to give him more flexibility to play in Akron, Buffalo and even Cleveland. For a more detailed scouting report on Head, go here.

Honorable Mention:

Jordan Brown (1B - Buffalo): .458, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Ryan Edell (LHP - Akron): 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 12 IP, 10 H, 1 BB, 11 K
Lucas Montero (OF - Lake County): .360, 3 HR, 7 RBI
Lonnie Chisenhall (SS - Mahoning Valley): .480, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Josh Tomlin (RHP - Kinston): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Josh Rodriguez (SS - Akron): .385, 0 HR, 7 RBI

Previous Winners:

6/19 to 6/25: Trevor Crowe (OF - Akron)
6/12 to 6/18: Chris Gimenez (C - Akron)
6/5 to 6/11: Jim Deters (RHP - Kinston)
5/29 to 6/4: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/22 to 5/28: Chris Archer (RHP - Lake County)
5/15 to 5/21: David Huff (LHP - Akron)
5/8 to 5/14: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/1 to 5/7: Jeremy Sowers (LHP - Buffalo)
4/24 to 4/30: Jose Constanza (OF - Akron)
4/17 to 4/23: Hector Rondon (RHP - Kinston)
4/10 to 4/16: Wes Hodges (3B - Akron)
4/3 to 4/9: Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP - Lake County)

Columbus Move Still Not Confirmed

There is nothing new to report on the potential move of the Indians Triple-A affiliate to Columbus next season. The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues have sent memos to all minor and major league teams reminding them that any comments about affiliation changes could be viewed as tampering and the team would be subject to fines. As a result, the Indians are not permitted to negotiate with other cities until mid-September, and in the meantime they will not comment on the situation. Obviously, this does not preclude the Indians from doing things behind closed doors and reaching a handshake deal with Columbus already. You this kind of thing all the time in sports these days with teams reaching handshake deals with players to sign them before free agency even officially starts.

That said, as has been mentioned several times, the move to Columbus is a foregone conclusion. Columbus is looking to make a big splash with the opening of their new park, and the move of the Indians Triple-A affiliate into their home-state would be a coup for both them and the city of Columbus. It is a perfect match. A move to Columbus will help the Indians tap into the central-Ohio market that has otherwise been dominated by the Cincinnati Reds and even the New York Yankees who formerly had Columbus as their Triple-A home for many years. The loss of the Yankees was a big blow to the franchise, and they want the next best thing (the Indians) to help ease that loss. SportsTime Ohio could also use it as a way to move into the Columbus market and expand by offering up Columbus Clipper games on regular cable broadcasts, or even woo Ohio State University programming onto the network or the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets away from Fox Sports Net.

It should be noted that when Toledo built their new field in 2002, Buffalo feared that the Indians would leave them to move in-state to Toledo. The Indians used the new ballpark in Toledo as leverage and sent a list of needed improvements to Buffalo's Dunn Tire Park which Buffalo agreed to in spending over $200,000 to improve and expand the clubhouse, coaches offices, weight rooms, batting cages, and family rooms. The Indians at this point have made no such requests to Buffalo to make any enhancements to the ballpark. Also, the fact neither Columbus nor the Indians have extended their current player development contracts is another indicator that a move is in place. In June, the Indians extended their expiring player development deals in Akron and Kinston. Only the player development contracts with Buffalo and Mahoning valley are set to expire after this season, and Mahoning Valley and the Indians are expected to announce an extension sometime this month.

Hodges Working On A Routine

Third baseman Wes Hodges has been the most consistent offensive performer at Akron this year. In April he hit .265 with 6 HR, 20 RBI and an .822 OPS, in May he hit .347 with 1 HR, 21 RBI, and an .860 OPS, and in June he hit .314 with 2 HR, 21 RBI, and an .823 OPS. Overall, Hodges is hitting .307 with 9 HR, 64 RBI and an .831 OPS, and is ranked 13th in the Eastern League in hitting and 1st in RBI.

As consistent as he has been with that bat, Hodges appears to be wearing down some of late. Hodges has played in 82 of Akron's 84 games, and even though he hits fourth in the lineup he has amassed 306 at bats which is 6th in the Eastern League. One way to tell a player is tired is when they start to make more than their usual share of mental and physical errors in the field, and of late he has been making a lot of them. Hodges had just seven errors the combined in April and May, but in June he made eight.

This is one of the things a young player like Hodges is working on in the minors. It is not just about improving as a hitter and fielder, but also in developing a routine to handle playing everyday, which is something players are not used to coming out of college or high school when they played at most two to three times a week and for only about three months. And this is also why teams sometimes do not push a guy up through the system because he is having a monster two weeks or a good half season. There is usually more at play, and this is the case with Hodges.

Rondon Is The Future

Kinston right-handed starter Hector Rondon is racing up the prospect rankings, and is firmly establishing himself as one of the Indians best up-and-coming right-handed starting pitching prospects. The 20-year old is flat out dominating the Carolina League and has scouts buzzing about him. On Sunday, Rondon was impressive in throwing six great innings allowed just one run on two hits, three walks, and string out six. The performance gave Rondon a win in his six of his last seven starts after he was winless in his first nine starts of the season. Overall, Rondon is 6-3 with a 3.31 ERA and is ranked 1st in the Carolina League in strikeouts (89).

The key to his resurgence has been his ability to throw his offspeed pitches for strikes. Early in the season Rondon battled with the command of his curveball and changeup, but after a lot of work in bullpen sessions with Kinston pitching coach Greg Hibbard his fastball command has improved and his secondary pitches are much sharper. His confidence has also steadily increased now that he can more consistently locate his fastball and that the life in it has returned.

Earlier in the week, Rondon got a well deserved selection to the World Team in the Futures Game which takes place on Sunday July 13th at Yankee Stadium as part of Major League baseball's All Star celebration. Rondon was the only Indians minor leaguer who was hand chosen to play in the Futures Game, and this is the third straight year a Kinston player has been selected to play in the game. Last year, catcher Max Ramirez (now in the Texas Rangers' system) played for the World Team, and in 2006 left-hander Chuck Lofgren pitched for the U.S. team.

Indians Focus On Cabrera At Shortstop

When infielder Asdrubal Cabrera was originally optioned to Buffalo on June 11th, he was to split time at second base and shortstop. Those plans have changed. Recently, the Indians revised those plans and have put Cabrera on a plan to play eight of every ten games at shortstop. The change is so they can get a deeper look at Cabrera playing shortstop and evaluate his arm strength and accuracy throwing from the third base side of shortstop. The Indians also sent him down to Buffalo to regain his confidence as a hitter, and in 22 games at Buffalo is hitting .333 with 1 HR, 6 RBI and an 827 OPS.

The change in plans is a clear indication that the Indians are getting Cabrera ready for everyday play at shortstop and that incumbent starter Jhonny Peralta may be on the move. What that "move" of Peralta entails is unknown at this time, as it could mean a move to third base or possibly him being moved in a blockbuster trade to help change the makeup of the team. Either way, Peralta or Casey Blake should be on the move soon, and when that happens Cabrera will likely be inserted as the everyday shortstop in Cleveland for the remainder of the season and potential beyond.

Cabrera was involved in an incident last night in the ninth inning where he struckout and did not handle it well. Reportedly, Cabrera briefly raised his bat above his head while disputing the called third strike to the home plate umpire, and while walking back to the dugout he threw his batting gloves in disgust and accidentally hit the first base umpire. He will likely get a suspension handed down to him from the International League.

Perdomo Promoted

As expected, last week Kinston right-handed closer Luis Perdomo went straight from the Carolina League All Star game on Tuesday where he earned a save to Akron on Thursday. Perdomo's flight actually landed in Akron at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and by the time he got to Canal Park and changed into his uniform and made his way to the Akron bullpen it was the middle of the third inning. Barely having a chance to settle in, Perdomo was summoned in the sixth inning to warmup and he promptly entered the game in the seventh inning. Perdomo was unphased by the craziness of the last 24 hours and threw two scoreless innings, and ended up being the pitcher of record and getting the win when Akron battled back late from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2.

Perdomo has impressed with a fastball in the mid 90s and a wicked slider. He hasn't skipped a beat since his called from Kinston to Akron, and in two appearances since his callup is 1-0 throwing four scoreless innings and allowing two hits, two walks and striking out five. With right-hander closer Randy Newsom getting the promotion to Buffalo on Tuesday, Perdomo will likely assume the Akron closing duties. Perdomo is a little guy at 6'0" 170 pounds, but what he lacks in size he more than makes up for with his aggressiveness and not being intimidated with any situation he faces. In 31 games at Kinston, Perdomo was 3-1 with an 0.92 ERA and a league-leading 18 saves and opponents hit just .146 against him.

Chisenhall Heats Up

Indians 2008 first round pick infielder Lonnie Chisenhall is starting to heat up. After a slow start to his season where he hit .139 (5-for-36) in his first eight games, he has picked it up a ton by hitting .550 (11-for-20) in his last five games. Chisnehall's burst started on Saturday night when he went 3-for-5 with a triple and hit a walk off game-winning two-run home run in extra innings for an 8-6 Mahoning Valley win. The home run was his first professional home run in a promising career that has just gotten started. On the season Chisenhall is now hitting .286 with 1 HR, 5 RBI and an .839 OPS.

Chisenhall credits his recent success at the plate to him finally getting comfortable and adjusting to the better pitching he is facing as well as him being able to pick up pitches a little better. The Indians have let it be known that Chisenhall will likely spend the entire season in Mahoning Valley this year. Since he is only 19 years old, Chisenhall will not be pushed this year like previous high round picks in past seasons. It is possible if Mahoning Valley misses the playoffs that Chisenhall will get a callup at the end of the season to Single-A Lake County to participate in the playoffs there.

Young Impresses Early

Left-hander Russell Young had an outstanding game on Tuesday night for Mahoning Valley. Young had a perfect game through 4.1 innings, and gave up a walk and hit in the fifth inning before being taken out after that because of a restricted pitch count. The lone run Young gave up came on a misplay by second baseman Isaias Velasquez with two outs which would have kept the shutout intact. He finished the night going five innings and allowed no earned runs on just one hit, one walk and struckout eight batters.

Young is out of Dartmouth College and was selected in the 28th round of the 2008 Draft just four weeks ago. Young is 6'4" and weighs 205 pounds, and his formula for success early on has been his ability to get ahead of hitters by showcasing good control and keeping the ball down in the zone. In three starts, Young is now 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 11 innings, Russell has allowed 12 hits and three walks while striking out 14 batters.

Kinston Awards Sweep

Right-hander Josh Tomlin took home Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors this past week. On Saturday, Tomlin was as good as he has been all season where in a rain-shortened game that was called after six innings, Tomlin faced the minimum number of batters through six innings and gave up just one hit. The one batter who got a hit was promptly erased from the basepaths when he was caught stealing. The Carolina League All-Star is now tied with the team high in wins with six and is 7-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 22 games (8 starts) on the season.

Outfielder Jason Denham finished the Kinston sweep of the Carolina League awards when he was named the Carolina League Player of the Week. In an All Star break shortened four games, Denham hit .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles and six RBI. His outstanding week finished off a very good June where he hit .329 after hitting just .190 in May. He is hitting .378 (14-for-37) in his last ten games, vaulting his average from .227 to .261 for the season.

Denham and Tomlin join right-handed pitcher Jim Deters and outfielder Cirilo Cumberbatch as the other Kinston players to grab Carolina League weekly awards this season. It is the first time a pair of Kinston Indians have swept the weekly awards since pitcher Frank Herrmann and infielder Matt Whitney took the honors in August of last year.

All Stars Announced

On Wednesday, the Eastern League announced that Akron infielders Wes Hodges and Josh Rodriguez along with relief pitchers Randy Newsom and J.D. Martin were all named to the Southern Division All Star team. The Southern Division and Northern Division will square off in Manchester, NH on July 16th, and Akron manager Mike Sarbaugh and the rest of his coaching staff will lead the Southern squad as the defending Southern Division champions.

This is the second All Star selection for Hodges and Rodriguez, as both were named postseason Carolina League All Stars last year. Hodges is hitting .307 with 9 HR and 64 RBI, and Rodriguez is hitting .269 with 4 HR and 37 RBI. Newsom is making his second straight appearance on the Southern Division team as he was named an All Star last year. Newsom has 24 saves in 26 opportunities and is 5-0 on the season with a 1.75 ERA. Martin is making his first All Star appearance since 2001 when he was selected to the Appalachian League postseason All Star team. In 21 appearances (including three starts), Martin has gone 7-3 with a 3.26 ERA.

Also on Wednesday, the International League selected Buffalo left-handed reliever Rich Rundles to the 2008 All Star team. The best of the International League will take on the Pacific Coast League's All Star team in the 21st annual Triple-A All Star Game on Wednesday, July 16 at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, KY and will be televised live on ESPN2 at 7:05 p.m. Rundles, 27, has pitched well in his second season in Buffalo. In 32 relief appearances, he is 5-4 with a 3.48 ERA and has struck out 36 in 32.2 innings while holding opponents to a .213 batting average (lefties hitting .161).

The Month That Was In Kinston And Akron

What a month of June it was for Double-A Akron and advanced Single-A Kinston. After going 9-16 their first 25 games, Kinston has gone 34-23 since then and went 17-10 in June which was the second best record in the Carolina League for the month. For the month of June, right-hander Hector Rondon was the top pitcher in the league going 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA, striking out 34 which also led the league. First baseman Beau Mills hit six home runs in June which was second most in the league, and outfielder Jason Denham hit .311 for the month.

Akron capped off an awesome month of June going 21-8, which tied the second-most wins in a month in franchise history trailing only the 22 wins Akron put together in June 2002. No doubt, it was the Akron bats which carried them for the month as they hit .312 as a team and are the only team in the Eastern League to hit .300 or better in any month this season. They also scored 190 runs averaging 6.6 runs per game. Individually, outfielder Trevor Crowe led the Eastern League with a .400 average (42-105) with 4 HR, 24 RBI, 32 runs, and 5 stolen bases. Outfielder Jose Constanza was seventh in the league in batting average at .338 (27-80) and third baseman Wes Hodges was 10th with a .314 average (32-102) with 2 HR and 21 RBI in 27 games. In fact, the top four RBI men in June were all from Akron as Crowe and outfielder Bronson Sardinha led the league with 24 RBI, shortstop Josh Rodriguez was third with 22 RBI, and Hodges was fourth with 21 RBI. On the pitching front, right-handed reliever J.D. Martin made six appearances in the month and did not allow an earned run and only eight hits in 14 innings, and right handed closer Randy Newsom was perfect in eight save opportunities with a 2-0 record and 3.18 ERA. Their 20-win month is just the sixth time they have won 20 or more games in a month in franchise history, and the first time since August of 2005.

Transactions Log

The transactions wire has been busy the last week. Here is a quick rundown of most of the noteworthy transactions for the week:

Akron right-hander T.J. Burton was placed on the disabled list with a strained left calf and right-hander Luis Perdomo was promoted from Kinston to Akron. Burton missed time earlier in the year when he went down to extended spring training to revamp his delivery, and the results have been positive. In the eight games since he returned he was 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA. This was a "paper" move as Burton really is not injured.

Akron right-hander Randy Newsom was promoted to Buffalo, but no roster move was immediately made to replace him. Burton is expected to be activated to fill the roster spot once his seven day disabled list stint expires here in the next day or so.

Infielder Walter Diaz was promoted to Mahoning Valley on Sunday, taking the place of infielder Jason Rodriguez who retired. Diaz was promoted from the Gulf Coast League Indians where he was hitting .421 in five games. Rodriguez was a 15th round pick in the 2008 Draft and hit only .217 in six games before calling it a (short) career.

Last weekend, catcher Yamid Haad was activated on the Buffalo roster, while catcher Armando Camacaro was placed on the disabled list.

Right-handed reliever Juan Rincon was activated on Sunday, and first baseman Ryan Mulhern was place on the disabled list.

On Thursday, Captains closer Vinnie Pestano was promoted to Kinston. His roster spot will be filled at a later date.

First baseman Dustin Realini was placed on the disabled list with facial injuries and left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz was added to the roster from Akron.

Affiliate Notebook

Buffalo Notes (40-47, 4th place, 14.5 GB): Right-hander Adam Miller (right middle finger) saw Dr. Tom Graham in Baltimore on Monday. Dr. Graham was so encouraged by Miller's progress that if his rehab continues to go well he believes Miller could start a throwing program in less than two weeks. Miller is five weeks removed from ligament reconstruction, and was expected to be out until late July. ... Left-hander David Huff has been solid so far at Buffalo since his callup on June 6th, and in six starts is 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA. Huff has also shown impressive command, posting 38 strikeouts and just 3 walks in 32 innings pitched. ... In Game Two of their doubleheader on Saturday, right-handers Matt Ginter and Brian Slocum combined to throw a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 Buffalo win. It is the 10th one-hitter in Dunn Tire Park history, with right-hander Jeremy Guthrie tossing the last one-hitter in a complete game shutout on July 26, 2006 against Indianapolis. ... Outfielder Jason Cooper keeps moving up in the Buffalo record books. After his home run on Saturday night he now has 49 home runs, which is good for 6th on the all-time list. The players ahead of him: Jeff Manto (79), Russell Branyan (76), Bill Selby (60), Alex Ramirez (57), and Richie Sexson (52). ... Veteran infielder Tony Graffanino is close to being activated on the Buffalo roster. Graffanino is coming off ACL surgery last August and was recently signed to a minor league contract by the Indians almost two weeks ago. He'll likely be activated sometime in the coming week. ... The Buffalo starting rotation has been outstanding in their last 14 games going 7-1 with a 2.44 ERA and ten quality starts. In 85.0 innings they have struck out 63 batters and walked just 12. ... Friday night's game in Buffalo was suspended because of fog. It was the second time in Dunn Tire Park history that fog caused a suspension, with the first time coming in a game against Indianapolis on May 10, 1992 that was suspended in the sixth inning with the score tied 1-1 and was finished the next day.

Akron Notes (52-32, 1st place, 4.5 GU): On Monday, closer Randy Newsom nailed down his league-leading 24th save. The save also broke the season record held by Wilmer Montoya (23) back in 1996. Newsom was promptly called up to Buffalo on Tuesday, and it appears the Indians had him stick around in Akron for an extra week or two as a courtesy since he was close to the record. ... Outfielder Jose Constanza has swung a hot bat over the last two weeks as he has hits in 12 of his last 14 games. Over that span Constanza is hitting .377 (20-for-53) with 13 runs scored and just four strikeouts to five walks. He has increased his batting average by 26 points from .267 to .293. ... On Friday night Akron pounded out 19 hits and 16 runs, which were both season highs. Shortstop Josh Rodriguez tied a franchise record with two triples in the game, and in the seventh inning Akron hit for the cycle in the span of five batters with a Brandon Pinckney single, Wyatt Toregas double, Joe Constanza walk, Trevor Crowe grand slam, and Josh Rodriguez triple. ... Catcher Wyatt Toregas hit three home runs on Wednesday night, and is not hitting .308 with 5 HR, 12 RBI and a 1.152 OPS in 11 games since being reassigned from Buffalo. ... Outfielder Ryan Goleski is hitting .250 with 8 HR, 24 RBI and a .772 OPS. ... First baseman Matt Whitney is hitting .247 with 5 HR, 35 RBI and a .702 OPS. ... Right-hander Kevin Dixon is 6-5 with a 4.42 ERA in 16 starts.

Kinston Notes (8-5, 1st place, 0.0 GU, 43-39 overall): On Friday, first baseman Beau Mills racked up his second multi-home run game of the season. Mills' home run shots were both big blasts I got to see in person, with the second one a booming home run to deep right field that cleared the 30-some foot high fence and went out of the stadium. Mills missed some time on Sunday and Monday because of a rash and allergic reaction to something in both armpit areas that was very painful and effected his swing. On the season, Mills is hitting .267 with 11 HR, 50 RBI and an .822 OPS. ... Left-hander Tony Sipp was added to the Kinston roster on Sunday. Sipp had been pitching with the GCL Indians team in Winter Haven making two appearances and is finishing up his rehab from Tommy John surgery last July. He is not expected to stay in Kinston long, and will likely move up to Akron next as he continues to ramp his way up to Buffalo. He pitched on Monday night going a scoreless inning, and in four combined appearances in Kinston and the GCL he has thrown five shutout and hitless innings allowing one walk and striking out six. ... On Friday, right-handed reliever Vinnie Pestano made his Kinston debut in Frederick, MD. He picked up the win by throwing two shutout innings and recording two punchouts. ... Outfielder Nick Weglarz's modest 10-game hit streak came to an end on Saturday night. It was his second 10-game hitting streak on the season, and on the year he is hitting .257 with 7 HR, 31 RBI and a .794 OPS. ... With right-hander Luis Perdomo being promoted to Akron, no one has been anointed to the closer role (yet) in Kinston. Right-handers Neil Wagner and Vinnie Pestano are the leading candidates to take over the role, but for now it is expected to be the "closer by committee" setup for awhile. ... In their 17-3 blowout loss on Monday night, infielder Cristo Arnal took one for the team and pitched the last inning to save some of the bullpen arms and pitched a scoreless ninth with a strikeout.

Lake County Notes (7-7, 4th place, 2.5 GB, 48-36 overall): Outfielder Roman Pena's 17-game hitting streak came to an end on Sunday. On the season he is now hitting .303 with 7 HR, 53 RBI, and an .807 OPS. Pena is 12th in the South Atlantic League in hitting and 7^th in RBI. ... Left-hander Ryan Miller threw six shutout innings on Saturday, but did not figure into the decision. Miller has now gone eight straight starts since his last win on May 18th (two losses, six no-decisions) and on the season he is 7-2 with a 1.97 ERA in 15 starts. ... On Friday, right-hander Joey Mahalic picked up another win by going five innings and allowing two runs on seven hits. On the season, the 19-year old Mahalic is 6-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 10 appearances (8 starts). ... Outfielder Matt Brown's on-base streak ended at 21 games on Friday. On the year, the steady Brown is hitting .297 with 4 HR, 46 RBI, and a .746 OPS. ... Lake County is struggling at home with a 21-24 record, but they have been awesome on the road at 27-12. ... Left-handed reliever John Gaub has been impressive, and in 17 appearances is 0-1 with a 4.11 ERA but has a whopping 43 strikeouts in 30.2 innings and holding opposing hitters to a .206 batting average. ... Infielder Karexon Sanchez is hitting .245 with 8 HR, 42 RBI and a .729 OPS. ... Outfielder Adam White is hitting .238 with 3 HR, 27 RBI, 25 stolen bases, and a .665 OPS. ... Left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz is 6-3 with a 1.74 ERA in 15 starts.

Mahoning Valley Notes (7-9, 5th place, 4.0 GB): Catcher Doug Pickens is hitting .257 with 0 HR, 1 RBI, and a .710 OPS in ten games. Pickens was a 50th round pick in the 2007 Draft out of the University of Michigan, and this is his first professional season as he was a late signing last year and was not assigned to a team. He started the season in Lake County, a level he struggled at and probably was not ready for, and was sent to Mahoning Valley two weeks ago. ... Sunday's game between Mahoning Valley and Auburn lasted only one hour and 57 minutes. ... Mahoning Valley is hitting .244 as a team, which is 6th out of 14 teams in the league. On the pitching front Mahoning Valley has a 3.86 team ERA, which is 11th in the league. ... On Friday, right-hander P.J. Zocchi went five innings and only gave up two runs on Friday. On the season Zocchi is now 0-1 with a 5.60 ERA in four starts. ... On Monday, Brad Hinkle gave up just one run in five innings and allowed five hits, no walks and struckout three. The 6'10" right-hander is now 0-0 with a 3.95 ERA in three starts on the season. ... Third baseman Jeremie Tice is hitting .318 with 0 HR, 6 RBI, and an .831 OPS . ... Left-handed reliever Garrett Rieck is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in five appearances.

GCL Indians (5-5, 4th place, 3.0 GB), DSL Indians (16-12, 5th place, 2.5 GB) and Draft Notes: On Monday the Indians agreed to terms with their 8th round selection in the 2008 Draft, signing left-hander Eric Berger from the University of Arizona. The Indians have signed 20 of their 50 picks and 15 of the top 21. The only picks in the Top 21 not signed are: RHP Trey Haley (2nd), 2B Cord Phelps (3rd), RHP Zach Putnam (5th), OF Tim Fedroff (7th), LHP T.J. House (16th), RHP Mitchell Mormann (17th). ... In the GCL, outfielder Delvi Cid is hitting .324 with 0 HR, 4 RBI and a .748. ... Infielder Abner Abreu is hitting .267 with 2 HR, 3 RBI, and an .846 OPS. ... Third baseman Adam Abraham is hitting .222 with 1 HR, 7 RBI, and a .612 OPS. ... Left-handed starter T.J. McFarland is 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA in three starts. ... Right-handed starter Danny Salazar is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in two starts. ... On the DSL front, third baseman Kelvin Diaz (yes, that guy again) is hitting .346 with 4 HR, 25 RBI and a .988 OPS. ... Left-hander Elvis Araujo is 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA in six starts. ... Right-handed reliever Rafael Quintero is 4-0 with a 0.44 ERA in 10 appearances, and has 31 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.

All photos courtesy of Ken Carr, Carl Kline, Cleveland Indians, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Lake County Captains, Kinston Indians, Akron Aeros, Columbus Clippers, and Buffalo Bisons.

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Minor Happenings: Stevens Closing In On Callup

"Minor Happenings" covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that cover each team.

I am heading to Frederick, MD tomorrow for the weekend to see Kinston play, and then also enjoy a little R&R in Washington D.C. to do some sightseeing. This will be my second look at Kinston this year so I am excited to go. I have not seen them since the first week of the season almost three months ago....my has this season flown by.

In case you missed them, as promised here last week, I pumped out several player articles over the past week. On Friday I did a feature on Adam Davis' transition to catcher, Saturday I wrote about Akron closer Randy Newsom's success on the diamond and in the business world, on Sunday I wrote about Akron reliever Erik Stiller's success as an undrafted Princeton grad, and on Tuesday I wrote about up-and-coming starting pitching prospect Ryan Morris.

Also, I was in Lake County (again) this past Tuesday. I go there often because of all the affiliates it is the most accessible team for me since it is only 15 minutes or so from my house, but also because everyone, from the gameday staff to the coaches to the players are phenomenal there and easy to work with. Anyway, I have a previous conversation with Dustin Realini from my last visit hopefully set to post sometime this weekend, and during my visit on Tuesday I talked to right-hander starter Joey Mahalic and right-handed reliever Dallas Cawiezell. So look for those. Mahalic is an interesting kid, as his dad is a former NFL linebacker and wore #45 at Notre Dame the year before the famed Rudy Ruettiger wore it.

Indians Minor League Player Of The Week
(for games from June 19^th through June 25^th)

Trevor Crowe (Outfielder - Akron)
.514 AVG (19-for-37), 11 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB

Talk about a hot week. Crowe was not only sensational this past week hitting .514 and piling up six multi-hit games in the seven games played, but for the month of June he is hitting a .407 with 2 HR, 18 RBI and a 1.038 OPS. During his seven game tear, Crowe has raised his batting average 75 points from .234 to .309. Crowe had an 11-game streak of scoring a run and an impressive string of five consecutive multi-hit games snapped on Tuesday night when he went 0-for-3 at the plate, which he promptly bounced back from the next night scoring two runs and going 4-for-5 at the plate. On the year, Crowe is hitting .309 with 2 HR, 20 RBI, 7 stolen bases, and an .840 OPS.

Crowe was limited in the early going this season as he missed 35 games in April and May with a back strain. After being put on the disabled list just two games into the season, Crowe finally returned on May 16th and essentially had to use the rest of the month as his spring training after being out so long. Now that he is healthy, this month he has been able to do a lot more work in the cages which is something he could not do while he was hurt. He has also been able to apply instruction from coaches as well as get into a routine.

Crowe has been a hot and cold player during his time with the Indians. Last year, he hit .212 with a .566 OPS up until the start of July, and then from July 1^st on .310 and .838 OPS. In 2006, after a sensational Kinston campaign the first half of the season where he hit .330 with a .924 OPS in 60 games, he only hit .234 with a .643 in 39 games with Akron the second half of the season. Crowe has yet to put it together for a full season, although injuries have been most to blame. An ankle injury shortly after his callup to Akron in 2006 cooled him off, and the back strain two days into the start of this season quickly fizzled the start of his season.

Crowe was also named Bank of America Eastern League Player of the Week on Monday for the week ending June 22nd. Crowe hit .464 (13-28) last week with two home runs, eight RBI, four doubles, and nine runs scored in six games. With Crowe winning player of the week honors, it is the second straight week an Akron player has won the award as third baseman Wes Hodges won the award last week. Pitchers David Huff and Randy Newsom have also earned weekly awards this season.

Honorable Mentions: Jared Goedert, 3B, Kinston (.400 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI); Lucas Montero, OF, Lake County (.353 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 SB); Adam Abraham, 3B, GCL Indians (.313 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI); Brock Simpson, OF, Mahoning Valley (.367 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI); Hector Rondon, RHP, Kinston (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 9 K); David Huff, LHP, Buffalo (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K)

Previous Winners:

6/12 to 6/18: Chris Gimenez (C - Akron)
6/5 to 6/11: Jim Deters (RHP - Kinston)
5/29 to 6/4: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/22 to 5/28: Chris Archer (RHP - Lake County)
5/15 to 5/21: David Huff (LHP - Akron)
5/8 to 5/14: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/1 to 5/7: Jeremy Sowers (LHP - Buffalo)
4/24 to 4/30: Jose Constanza (OF - Akron)
4/17 to 4/23: Hector Rondon (RHP - Kinston)
4/10 to 4/16: Wes Hodges (3B - Akron)
4/3 to 4/9: Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP - Lake County)

Director's Cuts

Indians Farm Director Ross Atkins has been in Winter Haven the last few days checking out the Gulf Coast league team playing there and offered up some comments on the team and some players there:

On the GCL Indians: "This is an exciting time for a lot of 18 and 19 year olds. It is their introduction to pro ball, and it is a lot of fun for us to come down here and see their first professional outing or at bats. There are some really exciting guys here that are relatively under the radar. It is really fun and exciting for us to see guys like Carlos Moncrief who was taken relatively late in the draft and is up to 95 MPH. He is a big strong athlete, and a power arm potentially pitching out of the bullpen one of these days. Another name that is fun for us to see play is Abner Abreu, who is a young Dominican third baseman. People are mentioning Vladimir Guerrero when they watch him play. Not comparing, just mentioning. He is a really talented, young 18 year old third baseman with a lot of power and athleticism. They are five and six years away, but you can really dream on them. There is a lot of upside, and they are a lot of fun to have for our development staff."

On assigning players to the GCL: "We just try to put guys at a level where we feel like they will have success and competing against guys with similar skill sets and skill levels. The Gulf Coast League is a lot of high school and Latin players, and very few college players. So these guys are predominantly 18 and 19 years old.

On extended spring training versus the GCL: "It is a lot better. Now the rainouts are treated professionally. Every inning is treated professionally as we just don't end games or innings. Every pitch count and pitch is tracked. These guys are playing in the major league ballparks. It is a lot better environment than extended spring training, although extended spring training is a great process for young minor league players as they start to learn what it means to play everyday, the discipline and toughness it takes to wake up and have that energy level on a daily basis. It is a much needed step in the process in extended spring training, but now they have reached the reward as the umpires are here and the lights are on."

Coaches Corner: Ruben Niebla

This week, I had a chance to sit down with Lake County pitching coach Ruben Niebla and talk about some of the relievers on the Captains roster:

On Dallas Cawiezell: "He is a guy that pounds the zone with his fastball, and with his fastball being as explosive as it is at 92 to 95 MPH at times, he is going to be able to have a good year in this league. I think right now what he needs to work on is tightening up his slider, and repeating his delivery. He really still has some delivery stuff he needs to adjust, but for his progress up to this year he is really having a great year. He has been in very tight situations, and that is a very valuable guy for your team. He has a major league body, and he also has a split finger that could develop into an out pitch at the higher levels."

On Garrison Campfield: "He is a lower three-quarter guy. He sinks the ball from that angle and has a slider that goes opposite of his sinker. There are certain things you look for in a low three-quarter guy. Just making sure they are staying through their pitch consistently. They still have to get the ball out and get into a good ready position to deliver the ball. We have resources within the organization as well. I have a video of five different major leaguers that throw from the same angle, so I review those videos in what makes those big leaguers special and try to simulate it to Campfield to try and help him and figure out a consistent delivery. He averages 89 MPH and gets as high as 93 MPH. He has a good arm and throws the ball hard from that angle. He is a college guy that is really learning his role. He has not been pitching very long from that slot. Once he figures out a consistent release point for that pitch and is able to box it east to west he will start moving up in this organization."

On Vinnie Pestano: "He throws a low three quarter, a little bit lower than Campfield. He has a very good feel for it as he has been doing it for awhile. The one thing I can say about Pestano is he has the eyes for ninth inning leads because nothing rattles him. He is there to pound the zone and go after hitters, and if he is going to be beat it will have to be by hits. When you roll the dice like that and have the stuff he does, you are going to be successful most of the time. Closing is a mentality. When you find guys like that, you gotta make sure you put them in those situations and see what you are going to get."

On Kyle Landis: "He is one of those guys similar to David Riske where he has a deceptive live fastball. He is able to spot up that fastball to both sides of the plate. Right now our focus has been in him learning to be able to sink the ball with a two-seam fastball in under right-hander's hands. If he can do that with the slider he has going away from them he is going to be very successful as he is showing now. He is another guy who has an arm that bounces back well, he takes the ball and he pounds the zone, so there is a formula for success there."

On Josh Judy: "Judy is usually from 90 to 94 MPH and is another guy who has great life to his fastball. He is learning how to sink the ball, which is really going to help him in the future especially attacking left-handed hitters and getting easier outs. His slider at times is a swing and miss pitch, but also at times it is still a pitch that flattens out on him and they are able to hit it. So this is the reason he is here, to tighten those things up."

On former player Luis Perdomo: "Perdomo is having a great year in Kinston. Last year here for us he was our best guy out of the bullpen, and he was our closer as well. He takes the ball everyday. His velocity consistently sits around 92 to 95 MPH. He is very interesting, and he has put together two good years now for our organization."

Stevens Closing In On Call To Big Leagues

Buffalo right-hander reliever Jeff Stevens' season did not get off to as good as a start as he would have liked. While he is now in Buffalo, many people thought he would start the season there after his breakout campaign in Kinston and Akron last year when he went 6-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 49 combined appearances out of the bullpen. Instead, Stevens returned to Akron to start the season and his first few outings he was not throwing the ball well as in his first seven appearances he had a 5.40 ERA (11.2 IP, 7 ER) and allowed 14 hits, 2 walks, and had 15 strikeouts. Since then, however, Stevens has been sensational as in his last 18 games he has a 1.24 ERA (29 IP, 4 ER) and has allowed only 10 hits, 14 walks, and has 42 strikeouts.

Upon his callup to Buffalo on May 31^st, Stevens moved right into the closers role and has adapted well going 5-for-5 so far in save opportunities. In those five save appearances, he has absolutely blown away the competition seven innings and allowing no earned runs, two hits, four walks, and piled up 12 strikeouts. Two of those five saves have also been two inning saves. Overall, in 25 combined appearances at Akron and Buffalo this year Stevens is 5-1 with 6 saves and a 2.43 ERA and hitters are only hitting .169 off him. He also has 57 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched.

The most impressive thing with Stevens so far as his strikeout rate continues to be well above a strikeout an inning. Last year he seemingly came out of nowhere to post an 11.02 K/9, and it was apparent his transition to a bullpen role helped him immensely. He now can rare back and fire his fastball in the 92-93 MPH range and sometimes top out at 94-95 MPH, and mix in some nasty secondary stuff. His curveball is a very good pitch, one Ross Atkins claimed has the drop of a "wiffle ball".

Stevens is on the verge of a callup to the big league team. But, before the Indians make the move they want to be sure it is in a role where he would be a part of the regular bullpen rotation. He is a prized pitching prospect, so to call him up and pitch every five to ten days in the role that a Rick Bauer or Scott Elarton currently do would make no sense. He would be better off pitching every second or third day in Buffalo and getting regular work. What the Indians need to do is make sure he would be part of a regular five man rotation in the bullpen, and if that happens he will be in Cleveland.

Stevens New Pitch

Stevens might have started the season in Buffalo and already been called up to Cleveland by now, but he just added a new pitch to his repertoire that the Indians wanted to see him grasp and become comfortable with before moving him to Buffalo and throwing him out there in a big league environment.

"I am working on a slider," said Stevens in a recent interview. "I have not thrown it a ton in games, and it has been okay. I have kind of just been easing into throwing it along with my fastball and curveball. It is something to play off my fastball because if a guy sees it breaking a little bit he may back off or he might spin off it and miss it by a little bit because of that break."

Stevens has limited experience with the pitch, as it was something he toyed around with in the past but never really stuck with.

"In college I kind of threw it a little bit, although it was more like a cutter," said Stevens. "Then I kind of scratched that and did not really throw it until Instructional League last season. I threw it a couple times in the Arizona Fall League and then with Team USA I scratched it because we were trying to win. Then once this season started up I didn't really throw it in spring training, but once I got [to Akron] I began working on it with [pitching coach] Tony Arnold. It is going pretty well I think. I am throwing it every day at least with flat ground drills and also in games."

The addition of the new pitch came down from the higher ups in the organization who wanted Stevens to have a breaking ball with a different look that was thrown a little harder. It will provide yet another pitch in his arsenal to attack hitters and make his fastball and curveball more effective.

"I think it is organizational because they kept me at instructs trying to throw it," said Stevens. "At one point or another they probably decided it is something that is a lot harder. It is less likely to miss the strike zone. Like a curveball if you throw a bad one it is a lot easier to miss the strike zone where if you throw a bad slider you still kind of keep it in the zone. I messed around with it for three or four days and I was like 'alright I am going to throw it in a game, let's do it'. I remember it was at home against Harrisburg and I threw a couple good ones, also a couple bad ones, but I am starting to get a pretty good feel for it."

Aeros and Indians Extend Agreement

On Monday, the Indians and Akron Aeros extended their player development contract through the 2012 season. The agreement between the two clubs was set to expire after this season, so the Indians extended the agreement the maximum length allowed of four years.

"This is obviously an exciting announcement, and it's one that we are happy to release publicly today," Aeros General Manager Jeff Auman said on Monday. "The Indians player development staff is filled with quality personnel, and they are a pleasure to work with on every issue we are faced with on a daily basis. We are extremely proud to have been an Indians affiliate for 20 years and we look forward to continuing our relationship for many more seasons to come."

The extension keeps together a marriage between Akron and Cleveland that originally started in 1989 when the Akron team was located in Canton. Indians Director of Player Development Ross Atkins is a former Akron player (1998 and 1999) and is excited about the extension.

"We could not be more excited about continuing our relationship with the Akron Aeros," said Atkins. "The chance for us to have first-class resources in Double-A just 40 miles south of Cleveland is a separator for us. With the upgrade of the playing surface and the professionalism of Jeff Auman's staff, we know our Double-A staff and players are in very good hands."

This is the second player development contract extension announced by the Indians this season. Earlier this month, the Indians and Kinston extended their agreement through the 2010 season. Next on the docket could be Mahoning Valley where the player development contract expires at the end of this season, although it is but a formality that the Indians will sign an extension with them. They are expected to talk about an extension and officially announce it soon, perhaps sometime in early July. Lake County is currently signed on through 2010.

The most popular topic this year has been the expiring agreement between the Indians and Buffalo. To date, it is still expected that the Indians will not renew their affiliation Buffalo. Buffalo wants to keep their agreement with the Indians, but it is a foregone conclusion that the Indians will sign on with Columbus this September as their new Triple-A home. Nothing on this front will change until September when teams are allowed to sign on with other cities.

Sipp and McBride Return

Left-handed reliever Tony Sipp and catcher Matt McBride are finally back in action after sitting out the first half of the season recovering from major injuries. The two players are both near the top of the Indians prospect lists, and had been in extended spring training working their way back.

Sipp is the headline stealer, as he is a legit major league ready arm who would have debuted with the Indians sometime last season if his elbow had not come up lame near the end of spring training. He ended up sitting out the season, had Tommy John surgery last July, and underwent a rigorous rehab the past 11 months and is back to near 100%. He is pain free and his velocity is about back to where it was before his injury. Still, he will be monitored closely in his rehab and be restricted in his use and the amount of pitches and innings he throws the next month or two. He probably will not be 100% back and ready to go until spring training next year, but for now it is good to see him out there pitching in games that count. In two appearances in the Gulf Coast League, Sipp has thrown two innings, allowed no runs, no hits, one walk and struckout three.

McBride is recovering from offseason surgery to his right shoulder. McBride spent all of spring training and most of the last two months rehabbing, and recently started participating in games in extended spring training. Right now, McBride is only hitting and has yet to get behind the plate in a game, but that should be coming soon if he progresses well the next week or two. In three games McBride is hitting .143 (1-for-7).

Once Sipp and McBride get the all clear, they are expected to quickly move onto one of the full-season rosters. McBride will likely be assigned to Lake County or Kinston, while Sipp would likely go to Kinston or Akron and then eventually finish the season in Buffalo.

Exciting Montero Is One To Watch

Lake County outfielder Lucas Montero is quietly having a very good season. Montero has shown some thunder in his bat, pounding a grand slam home run deep into the grassy knoll in left center on Tuesday night. He has also flashed some lightning on the bases, racking up 31 stolen bases so far this season, which is second in the South Atlantic League (SAL). On the season, Montero is hitting .269 with 5 HR, 26 RBI and a .779 OPS.

Montero, 23, originally signed with the Indians in January of 2004 as an undrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic. Last year he had two separated stints on the disabled list for an injury to his hand that limited him to only 37 games at Lake County. Montero worked hard in the offseason to get stronger physically, and so far it has paid off. He has an aggressive approach at the plate, and is at his best once he gets on base where his speed is a nuisance to pitchers. Montero is very athletic, and actually did not start playing baseball until he was 15 years old. He is still very raw, but the skills and tools are there, especially on the bases.

One thing the Indians really wanted Montero to improve on this season was not only his health, but also his defense. His speed covers up a lot of mistakes, but he has to become better at his route running to balls and getting better jumps, and to date he has taken some good strides in this area. He has also shown a much stronger throwing arm than in previous seasons.

Cabrera Back In Form

Well, that did not take long. The Indians optioned out infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to Triple-A Buffalo on June 9th, and did so with the idea to get him everyday at bats, gain some confidence at the plate, and make some adjustments that the organization handed down for him to work on while in Buffalo. He has 10 multi-hit games out of the 15 games he has played there, and put up three consecutive three-hit games from Monday through Tuesday this week. Overall, in those 15 games games, Cabrera is hitting a ridiculous .426 with 1 HR, 5 RBI and a .994 OPS.

One interesting thing to note is he has primarily played shortstop, having played 14 of his 15 games there. It looks very obvious that the Indians may be getting Cabrera ready to assume full time shortstop duties in Cleveland, which could mean one of two things for incumbent starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta. That being he either will be traded, or that he could be moved to third base. Given his youth and friendly contract, it is very likely the latter happens where he moves to third base sometime this season. This would mean Casey Blake would be dealt before the July 31st deadline.

Pitching Honors

Kinston Indians right-hander starter Carlton Smith was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending June 22nd. For the week, in two starts Smith went 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA going 11 innings while giving up eight hits, one run, one walk and striking out six hitters. In his start last Tuesday 6/17, Smith threw seven shutout innings and struck out four for the win. He followed that start up with a good outing on Sunday where he went five innings and allowed one run on xx. On the season, Smith is now 5-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 15 starts.

While he did not win any awards, Buffalo lefthander David Huff was awesome on Saturday night going seven shutout innings and allowed just five hits (all singles), did not walk a batter and struck out nine. It was easily his best outing so far in Buffalo, and he is now 6-2 with a 2.18 ERA in 15 combined starts in Akron and Buffalo.

Graffanino, Rincon Signed to Minor League Deals

The Buffalo Shuttle continued to stay very active this week as on Tuesday the Indians announced the signing of infielder Tony Graffanino and right-handed reliever Juan Rincon to minor league contracts. Both players will be assigned to Buffalo in the next few days, which means another two players will be given their release or assigned elsewhere.

Graffanino, 35, owns a career Major League batting average of .267 (743-2787) with 144 doubles, 21 triples, 58 home runs and 302 RBI over 12 seasons with six different teams. In 2007, Graffanino hit .238 (55-231) with nine home runs and 30 RBI in 86 games for the Brewers before suffering a season-ending right knee injury in August. He underwent surgery in August for a torn meniscus and later in December for a torn ACL on the knee.

Rincon, 29, was recently released by the Minnesota Twins on June 12th after appearing in 24 games this year out of the bullpen where he went 2-2 with a 6.11 ERA in 28.0 innings of work (33H, 19ER, 16BB, 20K). During each season from 2004 to 2006 Rincon appeared in at least 70 games and recorded an ERA under 2.91. His 81 holds from 2004-07 were the second most in the American League over that four-year span.

Affiliate Notebook

Buffalo Notes (36-44, 4th place, 13.5 GB): On Thursday, catcher Chris Gimenez got a well deserved callup to Buffalo, and catcher Wyatt Toregas was reassigned from Buffalo to Akron. This is a move that should help both players as Gimenez needed to be challenged at a higher level (.339 AVG, 1.024 OPS in Akron) and Toregas needed to take a step back and regain his confidence (.219 AVG, .610 OPS in Buffalo). ... On Friday first baseman Michael Aubrey was activated from the disabled list. Aubrey is hitting .321 with 1 HR, 7 RBI and a .793 OPS in 21 games at Buffalo. To make room for Aubrey, infielder Chris De La Cruz was reassigned to Kinston; however, was recalled two days later to fill the roster spot left vacant after the Indians traded infielder Aaron Herr to the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations. ... Buffalo's four game winning streak from June 17^th to June 21^st was their longest of the season. ... For those interested in seeing the progress of the new Huntington Park complex in Columbus, OH which almost certainly will be the Indians new home for their Triple-A affiliate, click here. ... Catcher Yamid Haad has been outrighted to Buffalo, although no official transaction has taken place. When Haad is activated, Armando Camacaro likely will be reassigned to Akron. ... First baseman Jordan Brown is hitting .273 with 1 HR, 21 RBI, and a .701 OPS. ... First baseman Ryan Mulhern is hitting .254 with 7 HR, 26 RBI, and a .756 OPS. ... Outfielder Brad Snyder is hitting .236 with 5 HR, 28 RBI, and a .690 OPS.

Akron Notes (46-31, 1st place, 2.5 GU): Outfielder Stephen Head has been swinging a hot bat of late. In a double-header sweep on Saturday, Head reached base all eight times he came to the plate in the two games going 4-for-4 with a home run in game one, and then in game two he doubled twice and drew a pair of walks. On the year Head is hitting .306 with 3 HR, 20 RBI and a .773 OPS in 46 games. ... Third baseman Wes Hodges has been even hotter than normal over the last three weeks while reaching base in 23 straight games, the longest active streak in the Eastern League and the third-longest for Akron this season behind shortstop Josh Rodriguez (27) and catcher Chris Gimenez (26). His 59 RBI on the year lead the Eastern League, and overall he is hitting .316 with 9 HR, 59 RBI and an .860 OPS. ... On Saturday, left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz was called up from Single-A Lake County to Akron to make a spot start in a double-header that night (5 IP, 4 R). To make room for him on the roster, outfielder Nathan Panther was placed on the disabled list with a strained left calf. When De la Cruz was sent back to Lake County, Panther was reactivated. ... Last Thursday, right-hander Steven Wright went 5.2 innings in his Double-A debut and allowed just one run on four hits. ... Right-handed reliever Scott Roehl has worked 7.2 consecutive scoreless innings, lowering his ERA by more than a run to 3.23. ... Akron's loss in the finale of their road trip on Sunday snapped their franchise record 11-game road winning streak. The previous high water mark was eight consecutive road wins which was set in 1992 when the team was in Canton. ... Akron trailed 9-3 going into the bottom of the fourth inning on Monday and came back to win. It was the fourth win in the month of June where they came back from a deficit of five or more to win.

Kinston Notes (5-1, 1st place, 1.0 GU, 40-35 overall): In the Carolina League vs. California League Single-A All Star game in Myrtle Beach, SC on Tuesday, infielder Niuman Romero walked in his only plate appearance and scored a run. Right-hander Josh Tomlin worked a perfect shutout inning and had one strikeout, and right-handed closer Luis Perdomo worked a third of an inning recording the final out of the game on a strikeout and earning the save. ... Super utility player Jerad Head has been much better in June. The 25-year has rebounded from a rough May when he hit .130 and is hitting .290 in June with an .807 OPS. He homered on June 18th for the first time since May 25th, and his .222 average is the highest it has been since May 11th. ... On Thursday, Kinston put up 13 runs on 10 hits and sent 18 men to the plate in the second inning, with the first 11 men reaching before an out was recorded. The inning was highlighted by a Jerad Head three-run triple and Jared Goedert grand slam home run to the deepest part of the park in left-center. ... On Saturday, right-hander Hector Rondon picked up his fifth win of the season and struck out a season high nine batters. Rondon was magnificent in going seven innings without giving up an earned run, and only allowed three hits and did not walk a batter. Rondon is now in second place in the Carolina League in strikeouts with 83, two behind the leader. On the season Rondon is now 5-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 15 starts and has 83 strikeouts in 75.2 innings pitched. ... First baseman Beau Mills is hitting .268 with 9 HR, 47 RBI and an .821 OPS. ... Right-handed closer Luis Perdomo is 3-1 with 18 saves and a 0.92 ERA. He has a 0.92 WHIP and 43 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched.

Lake County Notes (2-5, 7th place, 3.0 GB, 43-34 overall): On Saturday, right-hander Joey Mahalic put forth his best outing of the season going six innings, and allowing two hits and no walks while striking out a season high seven batters. He retired the first 12 men he faced. On the season the 19-year old is 4-2 with a 4.50 ERA in eight starts. ... Adam Davis is still progressing in his transition to catcher. He has one error and nine passed balls in 13 combined games at catcher in Kinston and Lake County. He has done a good job shutting down the running game, and is 9-for-22 (40.9%) in cutting down would be base-stealers in those games. On the season Davis is hitting .195 with 5 HR, 19 RBI and a .594 OPS in 47 games. ... Right-hander Paolo Espino was added to the roster on Saturday. Espino has battled some shoulder issues this year, and looks like he is back to full strength. He is expected to stay in Lake County for awhile, and pitch out of the bullpen. ... On Wednesday, first baseman Dustin Realini was placed on the disabled list and will be out four to six weeks from injuries sustained an accident after the game on Tuesday night (no details yet), and left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz was added to the roster from Akron. ... All-Star outfielder Roman Pena currently is in the midst of a 14-game hitting streak which is the longest of any Lake County player this season. Outfielder Matt Brown, whose 12-game hitting streak just ended on Monday, and first baseman Dustin Realini shared the previous high of 12 games. Pena is hitting .312 with 6 HR, 49 RBI and an .820 OPS n 73 games. ... Outfielder Matt Brown has reached base in 21 straight games. On the season Brown is hitting .291 with 4 HR, 42 RBI, and a .736 OPS. ... Outfielder Adam White leads the league in runs (57). On the season White is hitting .239 with 3 HR, 24 RBI, 22 stolen bases, and a .676 OPS.

Mahoning Valley Notes (5-4, 3rd place, 1.0 GB): Left-hander Kaimi Mead made his professional debut on Thursday going two innings and giving up three runs on four hits, a walk and three strikeouts. In his second start on Tuesday night Mead was much better going five shutout innings and allowed five hits, no walks and piled up five strikeouts in obtaining his first professional win. The Honolulu native was an 18th round pick of the Indians in the recently completed June Draft, and was the Pac West Conference Player of the Year at Hawaii Pacific where he went 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA. ... Right-hander Michael McGuire, who turns 22 on Sunday, has impressed early. The University of Delaware product is an astounding 6'7 tall and weighs 240 pounds. In three appearances out of the bullpen McGuire is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA. He has held batters to an .059 batting average and struck out seven in five innings of work. He struggled in his second outing with his command, walking three, which has been his only real blemish early on. ... Outfielder Brock Simpson is off to a hot start, hitting .367 with 0 HR, 4 RBI and an .844 OPS in eight games. ... Catcher Doug Pickens is hitting .438 with 0 HR, 1 RBI and a 1.071 OPS in five games. ... 2008 1^st round pick shortstop Lonnie Chisenhall is hitting .129 (4-for-31) with 0 HR, 1 RBI and a .367 OPS in seven games.

GCL Indians and Draft Notes (2-4, 5th place, 2.0 GB): Right-hander Danny Salazar was awesome in his stateside debut on Tuesday, going five shutout innings allowing four hits, one walk and striking out six. He was a guy I really, really was impressed with in spring training. He is only 18, and shows great composure and gets it in there. ... Shortstop Walter Diaz is hitting well at .429 (6-for-14) in four games. With guys like Mark Thompson and Matt Willard struggling in Lake County, since Diaz is a college guy and older he could be someone who moves up real soon to replace one of those two in Lake County. ... Right-hander Steve Smith, a 25th round pick this June, has signed and been assigned to the GCL squad. ... The Indians signed 24th round pick shortstop Kevin Fontanez. Fontanez just turned 18, and the Indians have assigned him to the GCL team. ... On Wednesday the Indians signed 11th round pick right-handed pitcher Matt Langwell from Rice University and 19^th round pick first baseman Nate Recknagel from the University of Michigan. As of this writing, their assignment had not been disclosed.

Photos courtesy of Ken Carr, Carl Kline, Lake County Captains, Kinston Indians, Akron Aeros, and Buffalo Bisons.

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Minor Happenings: Scott Lewis Returns To Akron

"Minor Happenings" covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that cover each team.

I'll be in Lake County tonight to see the Captains again and get a look at left-handed starter Ryan Morris for a feature piece that is coming soon. If you missed them, be sure to check out feature pieces on Lake County outfielder Roman Pena and Buffalo first baseman Jordan Brown which posted earlier this week. Also, I talked to a major league scout for another team last week and got some good insight on how their organization views some of the Indians prospects.

Indians Minor League Player Of The Week
(for week of June 5^th through June 11^th)

Jim Deters (Right-handed Pitcher - Kinston)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 games, 10 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Kinston right-hander Jim Deters had a heck of a return to the starting rotation last Thursday. Making his third sport start of the season, Deters went on to throw a complete game nine-inning shutout allowing just three hits, no walks, and struck out five in 87 pitches. Deters must have been in a celebratory mood as his great game came just a day after his 25th birthday and on the same night as his wife's 24th birthday. Deters was back in the bullpen on Tuesday and pitched a scoreless inning of relief. On the season Deters is 3-2 with a 3.13 ERA in 18 appearances (3 starts).

Deters' gem last Thursday was the first complete game shutout thrown by a Kinston pitcher since left-hander Aaron Laffey threw a seven inning complete game shutout on May 16th, 2006. The last nine-inning complete game shutout came when left-hander Keith Ramsey threw a perfect game for Kinston on the last day of the regular season at Myrtle Beach in 2004. For his efforts, Deters was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week.

Honorable Mentions: Ryan Goleski, OF, Akron (.480 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI); Roman Pena, OF, Lake County (.361 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI); Niuman Romero, SS, Kinston (.348 AVG, 2 HR, 6 RBI); Chris Gimenez, C, Akron (.474 AVG, .722 OBP, 0 HR, 1 RBI)

Previous Winners:

5/29 to 6/4: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/22 to 5/28: Chris Archer (RHP - Lake County)
5/15 to 5/21: David Huff (LHP - Akron)
5/8 to 5/14: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/1 to 5/7: Jeremy Sowers (LHP - Buffalo)
4/24 to 4/30: Jose Constanza (OF - Akron)
4/17 to 4/23: Hector Rondon (RHP - Kinston)
4/10 to 4/16: Wes Hodges (3B - Akron)
4/3 to 4/9: Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP - Lake County)

Director's Cuts

Indians Farm Director Ross Atkins provided a smorgasbord of comments on several players in the system as well as on some of the new talent coming into the system after last week's draft:

On Asdrubal Cabrera: "It has been an unbelievable whirlwind for him. He came into the system and went right to Triple-A. Then last year we asked him to start at Double-A and he handled that very well and was basically the best player in the league and took that right into the playoffs and was hitting home runs and making gold glove type plays. I think this year with him struggling and getting off to a slow start, what we want to do is get him back to the success he enjoyed in the minor leagues. It is easier to do when the talent level is lower, and he is such a gifted player. If I were to summarize what he has to do to get back to the major leagues, is to trust his hands as a hitter. That is what Derek Shelton has asked him to do, and there are some specific drills that are in place."

On Lake County: They are having some fun. With pitching and defense they have put together a lot of good games and are two games up in first place. It is a good team that is a lot of fun to watch. There are a lot of upside arms as Kelvin De La Cruz has gotten up to 95 MPH, you got at least two guys in the starting rotation with sub-two ERAs and there is some dominance in that pitching staff. They have really done an exceptional job as a team and they are a lot of fun to go and watch.

On Luis Perdomo: Luis has been great. He has an above average fastball, and flashes a plus slider. Unfortunately, he uses the slider too much because in the Carolina League you can. He really has an impressive arm for a guy who is only 5'10". He can run it up there to 94 MPH, and has an 86 MPH slider with depth. His fastball use needs to increase before we get him up to the upper levels, but we should see him above the Kinston level shortly.

On Lonnie Chisenhall: First and foremost, in player development we love youth and tools. He has both of those things. He is 19-years old, he has hit ability, he has power, and he has a plus arm. We are very excited about his athleticism and his ability to play short. The thing we love about being 19 is we have some time to develop him. Most likely it will be a traditional path where he plays at Lake County and Kinston, and then at some point his performance will start to dictate where he belongs. If he is dominating a level we will get him out of there. John Mirabelli and Brad Grant delivered those two attributes of youth and tools to us, and if we can hopefully see that in his performance that is what excites us.

On Trevor Crowe: You know, it is interesting. It has been such a tough run for Trevor. The injuries, and this year another one to his back that he tried to play through a little bit too long potentially thinking he might be an option for the major league team in spring training. That set him back a little bit and he is just starting to get settled in. I don't think the .200 batting average is what we will see here in the next few weeks. His hard hit percentage and his on-base percentage are both creeping up. He is such a good athlete and hard worker that eventually the numbers will start to pan out and match his tools.

On Chris Gimenez: He is on-base almost 50% of the time. When he comes to the plate you think he is going to get to first or hit a double. He is walking about 25% of the time which is unheard of. The thing about Chris that is so intriguing is he is one of those guys that everybody in our system is pulling for. From player to coach to front office, he has got to be one of the best makeup guys in our system. He is tough, he is smart, he is durable, and any crack that is there he breaks wide open. Those are the guys we love to talk about.

On Josh Rodriguez: We have challenged him to get on-base, be it hit ability or [walks]. If you are a middle of the diamond player, on-base ability has significant value. He drives the ball out of the park to all fields, and actually most of his power comes to right and right-center. He stole 20 bags last year and is a very good base-runner. Defensively we would like to work hard to keep him at shortstop as we know he can play second base.

On Josh Tomlin: He is a converted shortstop, and has a lot of athleticism. When a pitcher is extremely athletic the ability to make adjustments is quicker. We have seen the depth of his slider improve much faster than most of our pitchers. We have seen his command improve much faster than most of our pitchers. I think that is a tribute to his athleticism and fortitude obviously. He has been up to 92 MPH this year, and we did not expect that. So he went up to Triple-A and made a spot start and it did not phase him in the least, so that is a good sign.

On David Huff: He has really been impressive this year. Every time we expect that maybe there will be a hiccup there just isn't one. He answers every challenge and is an extremely tough individual. Our expectations and standards of him have been very high because of his talent and ability. We are comparing him to the likes of Laffey and Sowers as opposed to the likes of a Ryan Edell on his own team in Akron. We are comparing him to the guys who are competing against teams like the Detroit Tigers. Because of that we are asking a lot of him and he has answered the challenge. He has a very good feel to pitch, and his fastball command is unbelievable. He mixes in a curveball, but mostly mixes in a slider and changeup. He pounds the zone with his fastball and he reminds me a lot of Tom Glavine. Now they are different in subtle ways and obviously Glavine had an incredible career, but just the way they pitch and command the baseball is very similar.

On the draft assignments: I think a majority of this draft will go in to fill out the Mahoning Valley roster because it was predominantly college players. We'll have some high school power arms in the Gulf Cost League.

On Jeremie Tice: He drove the ball out of park at the College of Charleston at a great clip. We can't believe he got to the 6^th round and we are excited to have him. He is very athletic where we know he can play third, and down the road he may catch as well.

Mirabelli On The Draft

Indians Director of Scouting John Mirabelli may not be as involved with the First-Year-Player Draft as much as he used to be since Director of Amateur Scouting Brad Grant has assumed most of that role. But, Mirabelli still has heavy input into what selections the Indians make and offered up some comments on their first round pick as well as some of their scouting methods:

On Lonnie Chisenhall: "Well, we saw him as a high school junior and then he went to the University of South Carolina his freshman year. So we had a pretty good track record with him. The funny thing about picking 29^th is you never know what is going to come your way. He was a guy we targeted early because we thought we might have a chance to get him. So we scouted him pretty heavily since February this year. We think eventually he is going to be a third baseman. He is 6'2 and plays shortstop now, and we think it is good for his development to stay there for the short term, but I think after he gets through his first season his future is at third base. He is a line drive gap-to-gap hitter. Right now it is a very patient, polished approach to hitting. We feel like he has a chance to develop power in the future and that his hitting approach and his ability right now should lead to power in the future. Signability is very good."

On signability: "Part of the process with all the players we selected is ‘do you have the desire to get your career started now' and the resounding answer we got from all the top ten guys was ‘yeah, we are ready'. So there are still some negotiations to be had, but we think Lonnie and the rest of our top ten picks are ready to go."

On the rest of the draft: "Each kid, each situation, each round brings a different set of circumstances. That's what we have our 20 full-time area scouts for. It is their job to get out there and know these players and find out what their drive and desires are right now."

On scouting in general: "I have seen Chisenhall in person. Mark [Shapiro] does not see them, but we have a very thorough process. We have a national crosschecker who sees the player. We have a regional crosschecker who sees the player multiple times. Brad sees the player. And of course the area guys do too. We probably have 10 to 12 to 15 looks that we see them, so we feel pretty good about the evaluation when you put them all together what kind of player we have."

On their draft: "I would have to sum it up as one with upside which is what we were looking for. We were looking for talent. We were not looking by position or to take pitching, hitting or a catcher. We wanted talent and upside, and that is what we went for."

2008 Draft Wrap

The 2008 Draft has come and gone, and there are various opinions on how good or bad the Indians did. Dennis Nosco did a live blog of the draft on Day 1 and also did a very nice post-draft writeup on Tuesday. While I do not agree with everything he says, the man has a passion for the draft, knows what he is talking about, and makes many great points. For a complete listing of all 50 of the Indians draft picks, go here.

The Indians have already signed a few of their picks in the last 48 hours. Here is a listing of the players who have signed already:

Round 9: Clayton Cook, RHP, Amarillo (TX) High School, 6'3, 175, R/R, Born 7/23/90
Round 10: Donnie Webb, OF, Oklahoma State U, 5'11, 190, S/R, Born 4/30/86
Round 13: Adam Abraham, INF, Univ. of Michigan, 6'0, 215, R/R, Born 3/27/87

I don't keep up on the draft much, which is why Nosco is someone I turn to for analysis and insight into the draft from a media/fan perspective and also why I like to talk to scouts about the players picked. Just to bring some balance to the first round pick, I had a conversation with a top scout for a rival major league team the morning after the Indians selected Lonnie Chisenhall with their first round pick:

"Every team had Chisenhall going in the first round, and at least half the clubs considered him one of the top bats in the country. Everyone knew he wasn't going to make it through the supplemental first round. They got extreme value for where they were picking, and I think everyone had the guy ranked low b/c of the off-field issues. But I'm telling you, there is so much upside in that lefthanded bat--he's going to be a good one."

So just thought I would forward that along. No one is right or wrong here. It is way too early to really grade any pick. It is just about providing the information and letting people make their own opinions.

Going Pro vs. Going To College

For many high school seniors who were selected in the draft this year it brings an interesting dilemma to the table for them. Do they sign with the major league team who drafted them and get a headstart on their professional career, or do they pass on the chance and instead go to college to improve their draft stock when then become draft eligible again as a college junior? Also, is it more beneficial to go to college to maybe mature more as a player and person as well as also enjoy the whole college experience?

Some players feel the college experience helped them immensely, and Buffalo first baseman Jordan Brown is one of them.

"Without a doubt, [going to college helped]," said Brown in a recent interview. "It is more than being a player. It teaches you to be accountable for your own actions. That is something that I definitely took out of being in Arizona. I understood what made me a player, that work ethic was important, sometimes things don't always go your way, and that you needed to bring it every day. It gives you a little taste of it, it is about 52 games, not 140. You play on weekends. You get a mental break if you have a rough series, which helps. It is one of those things where college players are maybe more apt to have a better idea of what they are doing. I heard a study that there is a higher percentage of college players who make it to the big leagues than high school players, but that there is a way higher All-Star rate with high school players than college players."

Huff Struts His Stuff In Buffalo

As I mentioned was going to happen a week ago last Tuesday on my blog, left-hander David Huff was officially moved up to Buffalo on Friday and he made his Triple-A debut the same night. Huff was as advertised in his first Buffalo start, going six innings and allowing just one run on three hits. He was actually in line for the win, but closer Bubbie Buzachero blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning. While Huff had a lot of nerves before the game, once the game started he was business as usual on the mound and calm, cool, collected, and in control the entire time. He was in few jams, and his fastball consistently clocked in at 90-91 MPH.

In his follow up start on Wednesday night, Huff was not nearly as effective, going five innings and giving up four runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out seven. He threw an amazing 64 strikes in 78 pitches, so his troubles on the night were probably the result of being around the plate too much.

Huff was told going into the season that he would be fast-tracked, and he certainly has been, although his own performance in Akron helped dictate that. After he missed most of last season with a strained ligament in his pitching elbow, he finished the year rehabbing it and looked great when he returned to action in the Arizona Fall League. The Indians told him he would be moved up to Triple-A around midseason provided there was room for him to move up and he performed well at the Double-A level. Huff held up his end of the bargain going 5-1 with an Eastern League-leading 1.92 ERA in 11 starts at Akron, and the Indians obliged by sending him to Buffalo.

Indians officials are excited with Huff's ability to command his fastball and throw strikes. Huff is in Buffalo to stay, and now is considered the next starter the Indians would turn to in the event they have a need for a long term solution in the rotation this year. While he likely would not be called up for a spot start, if one of the remaining five starters in the rotation are traded or hit the disabled list, Huff is in line for a callup.

Beam Me Up, Scotty

With the promotion of Huff to Buffalo, a spot in the Akron rotation was opened up for left-hander Scott Lewis to be activated from the disabled list. Lewis was slated to begin the year in the Akron rotation, but in the last days of minor league camp in the spring he strained a lat muscle while throwing in the bullpen. The injury ended up sidelining him the first two months of the season where he spent the entire time in extended spring training in Winter Haven rehabbing the lat to get ready for his return to action.

In his first start of the season on Friday night he was his old self and showed no rust going five scoreless innings and retiring the first 14 batters he faced. With two outs in the fifth inning his perfect start ended when he gave up back to back singles before he recorded the final out and his night was finished. Lewis finished the night allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out three.

Lewis was 7-9 with a 3.67 ERA in 25 starts for Akron last season. Given his previous success in Akron and that he is on the Indians 40-man roster, he likely will be moved up to Buffalo quickly if he proves healthy and performs well for five to seven starts.

Davis Now At.....Catcher?

For those wondering why Adam Davis disappeared off the face of the Earth for the last few weeks of May, you now have your answer. Davis last appeared in a game in Kinston on May 18th and then was promptly sent to extended spring training not because he was hurt, but to get a quick crash course to learn the catching position. After two weeks of instruction, the Indians activated him at Kinston again and were pleased with what he showed in a handful of games, so decided to send him down to Lake County so he could get regular playing time at catcher.

I have no idea why Davis was converted to catcher, and this is something I hope to find out more about tonight when I am at Lake County. I hope to get a chance to speak to him directly about it as well as some of the coaching staff. In any case, since his return he has been on a power tear with a double and four home runs in just 25 at bats. Also, in his first three games behind the plate he has caught four of eight men stealing.

Speed Demons

Speed is the hardest tool to find in baseball as so few burners exist in the game today. That is not the case in Lake County as outfield duo Adam White and Lucas Montero have been burning up the basepaths this season. White is currently ranked 9^th in the South Atlantic League with 20 stolen bases, and Montero is ranked 2^nd with 26 stolen bases. As a team, Lake County is ranked 5^th out of 16 teams in the league in stolen bases (75).

White is the more highly publicized of the two, as he was a 9th round pick out of West Virginia University in last year's draft. Scouts and Indians officials love his speed, and some who have been in the organization for over a decade say he is the fastest player they have seen since they have been with the Indians. White is consistently timed from home to first at 3.8 seconds which is exceptional since a right-handed hitter on average times at 4.3 seconds from home to first. There are times when White has come in at around 3.12 seconds, which is unheard of. White is still raw and learning how to use his speed to his advantage with things like bunting, taking good leads on the bases, and getting good jumps to the next base.

On the season White is hitting .257 with 3 HR, 23 RBI and a .710 OPS, while Montero is hitting .250 with 3 HR, 20 RBI and a .722 OPS.

Comeback City

What a week of comebacks for the Akron Aeros. In three straight games from Saturday through Tuesday, Akron came back from deficits of 10-0, 6-0, and 6-1 to win and is a big reason they are currently enjoying a seven game winning streak. It all started on Saturday night where they entered the top of the 6th inning down 10-0. Through five innings, Portland had put up 10 runs on 13 hits and the Akron offense was completely shutdown to no runs on three singles and had only brought the minimum 15 batters to the plate the first five innings. Akron proceeded to then erupt for 11 runs over the final four innings, and came away with a miraculous 11-10 win. Akron scored three in the 6th, four in the 7th on a key two-run triple from shortstop Josh Rodriguez, two in the 8th on a clutch two-out single by outfielder Trevor Crowe, and then two in the 9th with infielder Brandon Chaves plating the go-ahead-run with two outs on a sharp single up the middle.

Not even 24 hours after rallying for the dramatic 11-10 win on Saturday, Akron did it again on Sunday afternoon by coming back from six runs behind to secure a 7-6 victory. Akron was down 6-0 going into the top of the 6th inning and scored one in the 6th, three in the 7th and three in the 8th inning to win 7-6. The big blows were a pair of three-run home runs, one by catcher Armando Camacaro in the 7th inning and the other by first baseman Matt Whitney in the 8th inning which gave Akron the lead for good.

After an off-day on Monday, Akron was back at in on Tuesday as they were behind 6-1 going into the bottom of the 7th inning. Akron scored one in the 7th, one in the 8th, and then down 6-3 going into the bottom of the 9th inning scored five runs for the win. Outfielder Ryan Goleski socked a three-run walkoff home run to give Akron the 8-6 win.

Stiller Works His Way Through Struggles

Akron right-hander Erik Stiller has had an up and down experience so far since being called up to Akron on May 8th. After dominating at advanced Single-A Kinston earlier in the year when he went 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in nine appearances and piled up 27 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched, Stiller has found the Double-A waters to be a little tougher to navigate. In nine appearances at Akron, Stiller is 3-1 with a 5.51 ERA and has 14 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched. Of late, Stiller has experienced some success in his last two outings by combining to throw five shutout innings.

Stiller's rise in the system is somewhat of a success story as he was an undrafted free agent signing out of Princeton in 2006. Although, in a funny way, it is hard to call it a success story when the guy is coming from Princeton and passing up a six figure job to toil in the minor leagues making peanuts. The Indians like Stiller's fastball, and it shows very good life. Since coming into the organization he continues to add velocity and recently has topped out as high as 94 MPH on the radar gun. The key to Stiller's success will be the development of at least one quality secondary pitch he can use to keep hitter's honest, and a lot of his struggles have come off opposing hitters touching up his off-speed stuff. It is a growth opportunity, and something he will work hard to continue improving.

Affiliate Notebook

Buffalo Notes (30-36, 4th place, 10 GB): The Indians signed left-hander John Halama to a minor league contract late last week and he debuted in the Buffalo rotation on Sunday going six innings giving up three runs, four hits, two walks and struck out four. Halama, 36, was pitching for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Independent Atlantic League this year, and in eight games he was 4-1 with a 1.88ERA (56.2IP, 47H, 13H, 12ER, 8BB, 48K). ... With the signing of Halama, this is the second time the Indians have found an arm they liked on the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. On May 31^st, the Indians signed Blue Crabs' right-hander Dan Reichert and assigned him to Buffalo. The Southern Maryland roster also has a pair of former Bisons in outfielder Eric Crozier (2004) and left-hander Keith Ramsey (2004). ... First baseman Jordan Brown's most recent blog on MiLB.com is up. Brown hit his first home run of the season on Monday night, and on the season is hitting .282 with 1 HR, 15 RBI, and a .745 OPS. ... First baseman Michael Aubrey is day-to-day after leaving the game on Monday night with a muscle twinge in his back. Aubrey is hitting .294 with 3 HR, 23 RBI and a .786 OPS in 170 combined at bats between Akron and Buffalo this year. ... Outfielder Brad Snyder is hitting .257 with 5 HR, 27 RBI, and a .759 OPS.

Akron Notes (36-26, 2nd place, .5 GB): Akron has been one of the hottest teams in the minors the past month. On May 4th they were 13-18, which was their low-water mark of the season, but since then they have gone 23-8 and are currently riding a seven-game winning streak. They also are within a half game of first place in the Eastern League's Southern Division which is as close as they have been since the first week of the season. ... Shortstop Josh Rodriguez is in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak, which is the longest hitting streak of the season for anyone at Akron this year. Oddly enough, Rodriguez's batting average has not increased much as he is only hitting .262 (17-for-65) during the streak with four doubles, three triples, and 12 RBI. On the season Rodriguez is hitting .270 with 2 HR, 23 RBI, 7 stolen bases, and a .731 OPS. ... Outfielder Bronson Sardinha saw his 12-game hitting streak end on Wednesday night. The Hawaii native is hitting .278 with 1 HR, 15 RBI and a .704 OPS in 13 games at Akron. ... Right-hander J.D. Martin returned to Akron on Wednesday following a brief stint with Triple-A Buffalo where he appeared in just one game allowing a run in two innings of relief. ... Catcher Chris Gimenez is having quite the season offensively, as in his last ten games he is hitting .375 and also has walked 11 times. On the season, he is hitting .327 with 4 HR, 18 RBI and has a .978 OPS. His 47 walks and .478 on-base percentage lead the Eastern League.

Kinston Notes (33-32, 2nd place, 8.5 GB): Kinston right-handed pitchers Steven Wright and Luis Perdomo were named to the Carolina League All-Star team on Tuesday. They will head to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Carolina League vs. California League All-Star game on June 24th. ... Shortstop Niuman Romero is making the most of a chance to play every day while regular starter Carlos Rivero was out resting a bum ankle. A career .242 hitter who has not hit more than two home runs in a season in his five years in the Indians organization, Romero has hit a career high four home runs this season and credits his newfound success to all the work in the batting cage this season with a focus on keeping his swing short and hitting down through the ball. Rivero returned to the lineup on Monday night after a ten day absence. ... Utility man Jerad Head started the season well hitting .283 in April, but a lousy May when he hit .130 saw his batting average take a dive. Head has shown signs of coming out of it though, and is hitting .286 in June and has raised his batting average from .186 to .205. ... On Sunday, outfielder Nick Weglarz's modest nine game hitting streak and 12-game on-base streak came to an end. On the season, Weglarz is hitting .270 with 6 HR, 26 RBI, and an .841 OPS. ... Kinston posted the second best record in the Carolina League in May, going 17-12. Kinston also had the third best ERA in the league (3.83). ... Kinston is second in the Carolina League in team fielding percentage with a .974 mark. First baseman Beau Mills (.993, 3 errors) and third baseman Jared Goedert (.958, 5 errors) lead the Carolina League at their respective positions in fielding percentage. ... Kinston has won 11 of their last 16 games, and since April have the second most wins in the Carolina League with 24 (Myrtle Beach #1 with 27). Kinston has lost only one series since the end of April.

Lake County Notes (39-27, 1st place, 2 GU): With four games to go in the first half, Lake County's magic number to clinch the division title is now down to three. ... Over the weekend, the South Atlantic League announced that right-handed reliever Dallas Cawiezell has been added to the Northern Division All Star team. Cawiezell is 22-years old and from Longrove, Iowa, and on the year is 2-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 21 appearances out of the bullpen. ... First baseman Dustin Realini's on-base streak came to an end on Wednesday night. He had reached base via a walk or hit in 28-straight games before going 0-for-3 at the plate and not drawing a walk last night. On the season he is hitting .306 with 3 HR, 28 RBI, and an .866 OPS. ... On Friday, left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz went five scoreless innings allowing three hits, two walks, and struck out seven. On the season he is now 5-3 with a 1.60 ERA in 13 starts. ... On Saturday, left-hander Ryan Morris struggled through 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on four hits, walking a season high six, and struck out three. On the season Morris is 6-1 with a 2.56 ERA in 12 starts. ... Left-hander Ryan Miller is in a bit of a slide, as in his last four starts he has allowed 15 walks and not pitched more than four innings in three of the starts. He is now 7-2 with a 2.07 ERA in 12 starts. ... Right-hander Vinnie Pestano continues to roll in the bullpen, and is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and has 13 saves in 24 appearances. He is ranked 6^th in the league in saves.

Photos courtesy of Ken Carr, Carl Kline, Lake County Captains, Kinston Indians, Akron Aeros, and Buffalo Bisons.

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