Diamonds In Single A: Looking Back Part 1

For the first column of the year, I thought it might be fun to revisit the players that this article focused on last year. As the year goes on I also plan to do more in depth revisits of the players to see how they are progressing up the minors, so not only will this space be used to promote lesser known players but will also show the success and failures of these players since they left Single A.

Last year this column ended up doing thirteen player reviews using stats. Of that group some are in A ball still, others have advanced as far as AAA, and yet others are no longer with the Indians organization. Two of the players were consensus top ten prospects and four others were considered by many to be in the top 30. So let’s take a look at all 13 players now, and I will bring up the main strength and weakness of these players' stats in small review.

The first player is Matt McBride, who was tearing the cover off the ball and was quickly promoted to AA. McBride is opening the season at Akron and last year hit 18 homeruns and 34 doubles, showing excellent power potential. His major weakness was his low OBP at .301, which is a major concern because around .380 is considered to be about the equivalent level of a .300 hitter. McBride did show enough power to make people take notice, and if he can transition back to catcher his stock will certainly rise.

Next up is Matt Meyer, who started the year in high A, yet finished it up in AAA. He was lost this off season in the Rule 5 draft during the AAA phase. While it was great to see him rise so far, his stats all took a major hit after he left A ball. His WHIP was over two at both stops, which is frankly atrocious. His strikeout rate also dropped over 1.5 per nine innings. Meyer still has a chance to see the majors with the Cardinals as a lefty specialist, but I don’t think the Indians saw him in their future to leave him unprotected in the AA phase.

Matt Brown was the next prospect this article focused on, and unfortunately he was cut by the Indians this off season. After a very good 2008 where he was one of the few consistent bats in Lake County, he suffered through injury issues last year which led to his being let go. The minors are a place where, unless you are a high prospect, there is always a new set of foreign kids or drafts classes pushing their way up, and if you are a marginal spec and get hurt you will be replaced and that is what happened to Brown.

It seems this article was on a bit of a kiss of death streak as the next player, Ryan Miller, was also released by the Indians. Miller had a phenomenal start to 2008 and looked like a player on the rise. The second half of the year he evened out, and 2009 was a season I am sure he would want to forget. He went from a starter to a pen guy, which seemed like a natural fit, but he struggled and posted a WHIP of 2.2 and just never seemed to find his feel. The Indians acquired a lot of arms via the draft and trades, and Miller was a victim of the numbers game.

Cord Phelps was next, and he broke the string of bad luck and is starting the year in AA. Phelps' biggest strength stat-wise last year was an OBP of .386, which was exceptional for a player at his level. He only hit .261, so he did an excellent job of working a count, making a pitcher work, and getting on base. The negative stat that jumped out was his very high strike out total as he struck out 97 times which came out to a rate of 1 strikeout in every 6 times he came to the plate. This year it will be very interesting to see if he can keep his rates solid as he faces a much harder level of competition. By all accounts he has very good defense, so as long as he continues to work counts and take walks he could be a starter some day.

Eric Berger was the next player and he is currently in Akron after spending a quarter of the season there last year. Berger is a player who is so steady, solid, and not eye popping he might be a bit under-rated. He won’t strike out a ton of batters or light up a radar gun, but he has put up very good numbers the last two years. If you look at traditional stats he won 10 games with an era of 2.50 combined for his two levels, and looking at newer stats his WHIP was 1.22 with a strike out rate of 8.3 per nine. He doesn’t give up the long ball and just seems to always go out and keep you in the game. I don’t think he will ever be a top ten prospect, but he might just end up pitching 10 years in the game as a solid back of the rotation innings eater who always gives you a chance to win the game. It will be interesting to see how he continues to pitch this year and if his stats continue to stay so steady as he progresses.  Thus far it doesn’t seem to matter the level as Berger has been the same pitcher.

Next week we will focus on the other half of the players from last year, and after that the season should have progressed enough to start looking at players this year and giving a solid stat base to try and find out who might be a player in Single-A to watch as they progress up the Indians farm ladder.

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Minor Happenings: White, Gardner Off To Great Starts

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

This is Part 2 of this week’s season opening edition of Minor Happenings.  If you missed the first part which posted yesterday, it went into detail about when Indians fans can expect Carlos Santana in Cleveland, who the number three catcher is right now in the organization, role changes for several players, and lots of comments from Triple-A Columbus Manager Mike Sarbaugh and Farm Director Ross Atkins.

Last night Paul Cousineau and I took part in our weekly on-line radio show “Smoke Signals” and talked about everything in regard to the Indians and how things have gone the past week.  You can hear the podcast from the show here.  It may take a moment to load up, but it will start automatically.  For future reference, this is our dedicated radio page for the show, and other shows on The Cleveland Live Radio Network can be heard here too.

In the coming days I will be posting lots of articles from players in Columbus I spoke to during my visit there last weekend.  So be on the lookout in the near future for articles on Scott Lewis, Wes Hodges, Carlos Santana, Jason Donald, Chris Gimenez, Frank Herrmann, and Josh Tomlin.  Also, as a quick reminder I will be in Akron tomorrow or Sunday and at Lake County on Tuesday.

And with that, onto the Happenings…

Dominating Pro Debuts

The Indians did not get to see two of their top three draft picks play for one of their minor league affiliates last year.  Instead, they had to wait until Instructional League in the fall to get their first glimpse of 2009 first round draft pick right-hander Alex White and third round pick right-hander Joe Gardner.  White did not sign until the August 15th deadline so it was too late to get him built up and pitch at an affiliate, and Gardner had an oblique issue which sidelined him and prevented him from pitching for short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley.  The Indians were very excited with what they showed in the fall, but the fans are now finally getting to see what all the excitement was about in the fall and why they were taken where they were in the draft.

White made his pro debut on Saturday night and pitched a dandy and earned the win by going five shutout innings and allowing two hits, four walks, and piling up seven strikeouts.   He finished the night throwing 79 pitches and pounded the bottom of the zone with his fastball-splitter mix while only mixing in a handful of sliders.  He had opposing hitters guessing all night on the splitter since he did a great job of repeating his delivery with his fastball and splitter which hitters had a hard time picking up.  He showed good command of all of his pitches, was well composed on the mound, and topped out at 96 MPH on the radar gun.  So it was a great beginning to his professional career, and with the first one out of the way it will be interesting to see where he goes from here as he settles into a routine.  He makes his second start tonight (Friday).

Gardner was just as impressive in his pro debut last Friday as he only went four innings, but that was in large part because he used up his 75 pitch count in striking out 11 batters in those four innings.  He followed that very good performance up with an even better one on Wednesday, this time getting the win and going five innings allowing one run on two hits, two walks, and piling up another seven strikeouts.   In two starts he is now a combined 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA and in 9.0 innings has allowed 5 hits, 4 walks and has 18 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a .152 batting average.  The key to his success has been a steady diet of hard stuff down in the zone, primarily his heavy sinking fastball which has kept hitters from lifting anything off of him.  His 93 MPH sinker, hard biting slider, solid changeup, and getting ahead in the count are the reason where in 27 possible outs he has recorded all of them via strikeout (18) or groundball (9).  Not one single out has been recorded in the air in his two starts so far.

Coach’s Corner: Charlie Nagy

While out in Columbus last week I had a chance to sit down and talk to new Triple-A Columbus Pitching Coach Charlie Nagy for a little bit about his return to the organization, the changes in the minors since he played there 20 years ago, and about the pitchers in the Columbus starting rotation:

On how it feels to be back:  "It feels great and I am happy to be back.  I was going to come to spring training as a special instructor as I had talked to Mark [Shapiro] about that.  Ross [Atkins] called and this opportunity came up with the turnover on the big league level, and it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.  I was with the Angels [Triple-A] affiliate in Salt Lake City a few years ago, and then I stayed at home for a couple of years to be around my kids.  You are out for a little bit of time and sometimes it is hard to get back, but I just jumped at the opportunity.  I knew once I got out of the game and I started working with the Indians organization again that this was the way I wanted to go and my direction was to get back on the field.  I did it for a couple of years with the Angels and really enjoyed it, and then just took some personal time off, and now I am back into it.  I love the game.  I am an Indian as I was drafted and raised as one, so when the phone rang it was just too good an opportunity to pass up.”

On how his big league experience relates to his pitchers:  "I don't know if it adds to the credibility or anything.  When I was with the Angels somebody asked me what position I played and I said ‘I was a pitcher’.  I think they just know that I was with the organization for awhile, and that's fine.  I have to earn their respect and just go out there everyday and not ask them to do anything I wouldn't do or haven't done.  Just work hard.  That's what I am here for.  I am here for them and hopefully they all improve and get a chance to move up."

On Carlos Carrasco: "A bad day for him should be the six innings like he had the other night, so it’s just about being consistent and going out there game in and game out.  A great day should be pitching deep into ballgames.  I told guys early on their main goal is to pitch innings.  The deeper they get into a game the more it means everything else is falling into place.  A lot of guys like to come into the season and say they want to win ten games, but those are things that are out of your control.  You can go out and pitch great and be 1-9.  You still gotta go out and dial it in and give your team a chance to win, and the more innings you pitch the better.  With Carlos it is just getting him to consistently go out there and pound the strike zone and work on controlling the running game, and he did a great job of that the other night.

On the knock that Carrasco has a tendency to be soft and give up big innings:  “You really can't work on that.  All you can do is talk to him as you can't throw him out in a situation and say work on it.  You just gotta talk to him and like anybody else they have to go out and do it and all of a sudden it will click.  Once it clicks one time then you recognize it.  Throughout the course of the year the game will speed up on everybody.  It sped up on me.  No matter what year there are going to be games like that and you have to be able to recognize it, and if you don't then it is going to be a short day for you and you will be in the clubhouse banging your head against the wall.  If you can just minimize damage at times then things will be okay.”

On Jeanmar Gomez:  "[We are not working on] too much as he is a strike thrower.  It’s just getting the slider down a little bit better and some depth to it and understanding [how to] pitch and working hitters and being efficient with his pitches.  He is aggressive as it is, but I think we have seen the affects of a long layoff for our starters.  Spring training for them ended almost two Thursday's ago, so ten days between starts doesn't really bode to well.  We are seeing those affects a little bit, so hopefully the second or third time everything will pick up for him.  He hung in there really well [Saturday night].  He is a competitor and he just pitched away from contact a little bit early in the game.  He was able to get out of it by only giving up a couple of runs, but he made it through the fifth which was huge."

On Hector Rondon:  "It is just getting him comfortable out there.  The other day he was just flying open a little bit and pulling stuff.  It is just being consistent as the game can speed up on you at times so it is just being able to recognize it and take a step back.  Even in good games you are going to have to get yourself out of a jam, and it is just being able to do that which he wasn't able to do the other day as things just kind of snowballed on him that one inning.  But he will be fine."

On Yohan Pino:  "He has a good fastball with some good movement and a good slider.  I think he throws a little harder than people give him credit for.  He is a competitor, and he is just learning about pitching.  All of these guys have great arms, but it needs to translate into getting guys out.  At this level and the next level it is about making your pitches when you have to."

On Scott Lewis:  "[His pitch count will be limited] early on since he is behind and spring training started late for him.  We worked him up to four innings and 75 pitches in spring training.  He probably had the longest layoff of them all as he had a little simulated game a few days ago.  He will be on a limited pitch count as we are building him up still, but he will go out there for five innings and x amount of pitches.  It's just getting back to where he was as it was a long layoff for him.  It is just him getting his rhythm back and his timing to allow him to make pitches again."

On the changes in the minor leagues now compared to when he played:  "I mean yeah, the stadiums are different and all the stuff that goes on with baseball now everywhere is different.  The internet, the media, and even down to the food everything is different.  We didn't have food.  We just brought our own from wherever and if you could get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you were lucky.  There were no clubhouse attendants, as I think the trainer did everything back then.  The game has changed and grown in that regard, but it's still baseball.  You still gotta go out and get guys out, and that is the beauty of the game."

Hagadone Off To Hot Start

Left-hander Nick Hagadone is off to a very good start in his first full season with the Indians as two starts into the season he is 0-1 with a 0.00 ERA and in 9.1 innings has allowed 7 hits, 3 walks and has 10 strikeouts.  He is pitching with very few restrictions as he is considered to be 100% recovered from the Tommy John surgery he had in June 2008.  The only real restriction set upon him at least in the early going this season is he will be limited to just 60-65 pitches an outing, which is somewhat similar to the pitch limit left-hander Scott Lewis was on when he was in Kinston during the 2006 season.  There is some play with the pitch count where he could go to 70-75 if an inning dictates it like what happened last Thursday (he finished with 71 pitches), but for now Kinston Manager Aaron Holbert will keep him close to the 60-65 pitch count mandate by the organization.

While the performance and stats have been good for Hagadone so far, everything has not been perfect for him in the early going as he has not had a good feel for his changeup and slider, so has relied on a heavy dose of fastballs.  This is fine now, but as he moves up to Double-A and Triple-A he won't be able to rely on his powerful upper-90s fastball as much and will need to use his secondary stuff much more often in order to keep hitters from sitting on his fastball.  It's not like he can't throw his slider and changeup as both are good pitches and developing, so hopefully he can find the feel of them again rather quickly so as to set himself up for a potential quick callup to Double-A Akron by the end of May.  Given his age (24) and roster status (Rule 5 eligible this year), he shouldn't be in Kinston for more than half the year as long as he is performing and showing improvement.

Highs & Lows

One of the more encouraging stories of the first week of the season is the return of left-hander Scott Lewis.  On Monday he started for Triple-A Columbus and was his old self as he went six strong innings allowing just one run on two hits, one walk, and had ten strikeouts.  He mostly pitched with a fastball-changeup mix, and then the final time through the lineup he mixed in his curveball more to give hitters a different look.  He finished at 80 pitches, just short of his 85 pitch limit and ended up putting forth arguably his best start since 2006 when he was with High-A Kinston.  A start like that is good to see from anyone, but especially from Lewis as he is a former high level prospect in the organization who seems to just be snake bitten when it comes to injuries.  He is back and is as healthy as he is going to be from the bicep injury he came down with last year.  I'll have more on his injury struggles and the tough year he went through last year in a player article on him likely sometime this week.

On the flip side, right-hander Jeanmar Gomez had a sub par outing in his Triple-A debut for Columbus on Saturday night.  Whether it was nerves or just him trying to get back on track from a long layoff since the end of spring training and his first start, he was just erratic all night and finished the night going five innings and allowed three runs on four hits, four walks, and had five strikeouts.  He followed that up on Thursday with another less than stellar outing going six innings and allowing five runs on nine hits, two walks, and had two strikeouts.  If you combine the two outings he is 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and .295 batting average against, so there is definitely room for improvement.  He is considered a strike-thrower, but his command has been off which has lead to an unusually high amount of walks and also more mistakes in the zone which have been pounded.  Surprisingly it's his fastball which has been giving him fits as he has had good command with his slider and changeup.

Rule 5 Update

Yesterday I provided an update on how the Indians' Rule 5 pickup right-hander Hector Ambriz is doing.  Here is a quick update on former Tribe farmhand left-hander Chuck Lofgren who was picked up in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft this past December and then had his full rights traded to the Brewers this past March, and also left-hander Matt Meyer who was selected in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft last December and is now with the Cardinals.

In two starts for the Brewers Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, Lofgren is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA and in 12.2 innings he has allowed 11 hits, 2 walks, and has 10 strikeouts.  He is off to a very good start, and is on the brink of getting that Major lLague opportunity in Milwaukee that a lot of fans in Cleveland thought would happen here.  Good for Chuck, as he has always been a favorite of the IPI, and I wish him much success and I hope he gets to realize that big league dream I know he has worked so hard for.

Things are also good so far at the outset of the season for Meyer, though he has barely pitched.  The tall lefty is pitching for the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, and in just one game covering 0.2 innings he has not allowed a run, hit, walk or recorded a strikeout.  There was a time two years ago when he appeared to be in the Indians plans as a situational lefty they wanted to develop for the bullpen, but command issues and some minor injuries plagued him to where he eventually fell out of favor with the club by the end of last season.  Still, it is good to see him get a fresh start with a new organization, and perhaps he can still make good on those big league plans the Indians had for him some time back.

Affiliate Notebook

Columbus Notes (5-3, 1^st place, 1 GU): Left-hander Jeremy Sowers joined the Columbus team when the season started; however, he was not immediately activated as he had some additional tests done on his sore left shoulder.  He was cleared to pitch earlier this week and added to the active roster, and is expected to pitch tonight (Friday) or on Saturday out of the bullpen. … Last season outfielder Chris Gimenez got off to a horrendous 0-for-21 start, and his struggles at the plate appeared to carry through the rest of the season as he never could get out of the hole he dug himself the first week and a half of the season.  In his first at bat this year he hit a two-run homer, and while he is not tearing it up he is off to a much better start in his first five games hitting .235 with 3 HR, 5 RBI, and a 1.080 OPS. … Last Friday night outfielder Jose Constanza hit his first home run in three years, as he did not homer in 824 at bats at Double-A Akron the past two years.  In fact, on Sunday afternoon he came close to hitting his second homer as he hit one of the middle of the right-center field wall.  In seven games he is hitting a blistering .435 with 1 HR, 5 RBI, and a 1.130 OPS. … First baseman Russell Branyan’s rehab assignment with Columbus has finished, and he has been transferred to Double-A Akron to continue the rehab assignment which ends on April 28^th.  He is expected to play first base tonight, and once he is able to play back-to-back full nine inning games at first he will be considered ready to go. … Right-hander Carlos Carrasco is off to a solid start for the Clippers as in two starts he is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA and in 12.1 innings has allowed 12 hits, 6 walks and has 12 strikeouts.

Akron Notes (5-3, 3^rd place, 2 GB):  Left-hander Eric Berger suffered a minor injury shortly before the start of the season as he has an oblique strain, which is much similar to the one that right-hander Joe Gardner had last year though not as severe.  Berger is expected to be back in the rotation in two to three weeks. … Left-hander Ryan Edell - who was expected to open in the bullpen - has temporarily filled Berger’s spot in the rotation, and in his one start he went 4 shutout innings allowing 2 hits, 1 walk and had 4 strikeouts. … First baseman Beau Mills missed a few games earlier in the week because of a bout with a stomach virus which had been going around the Akron clubhouse.  In six games he is hitting .217 with 1 HR, 4 RBI and a .671 OPS. … Right-hander Paolo Espino makes his second start for the Aeros tonight, and in his first outing was okay in that he went 5.1 innings and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks, and had 5 strikeouts.  He led the Carolina League with a 3.01 ERA last year, which was helped greatly by the addition of a cutter to his repertoire to attack righties. … Former Akron closer right-hander Randy Newsom is running the Boston Marathon on Monday for the Tufts Nutrition School.  You can check in during the race and see how he is doing by going to http://www.baa.org/ and entering his name and bib number (26819).

Kinston Notes (3-4, 4^th place, 2 GB):  Baseball America tabbed Kinston’s opening day five-man rotation as the fourth best in the minors.  The grouping of left-hander Nick Hagadone, right-hander Alex White, left-hander T.J. House, left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz, and right-hander Alexander Perez is quite impressive as all five pitchers are ranked as one of the Indians’ top 20 prospects. … Roman Pena is making the conversion from outfield to first base, a switch that came about late in spring training.  He has never played first base before, but considering the depth in the outfield in the system this is his best chance to hang on for at least one more season.  He strained his knee running the bases last weekend so missed a few games, but was back in the lineup for each of Kinston’s last two games. He has struggled at the plate in the early going as he is 0-for-12. … In his Carolina League debut, 20-year old lefty T.J. House put on an impressive display going 5 innings and allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk while racking up 10 strikeouts.  The 10 strikeouts were a new career high for him as the previous high was 7 last year at Low-A Lake County.  He will make his second start on Saturday night. … Right-hander Joey Mahalic made a spot start on Monday for the injured Alexander Perez, and put forth a very good showing by going 5 innings and allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits, 4 walks, and had 4 strikeouts.  Perez, who is shelved with right elbow tendonitis, is tentatively scheduled to pitch this Sunday, but if he can’t then Mahalic will get another spot start. … Second baseman Jason Kipnis has been battling some minor shoulder soreness which is why he sat out one game last week and DHed in another.  In five games he is hitting .333 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and a .929 OPS. … Outfielder Jordan Henry has missed two of the last three games because he is battling through a jammed finger he suffered earlier in the week.  In five games he is hitting .333 with 0 HR, 1 RBI and an .857 OPS. … The “K”-Tribe has lived up to their nickname in the early going with lots of “Ks” to go around.  Their hitters are second in the league with 71 strikeouts, and their pitchers are 1^st in the league with 76 strikeouts.

Lake County Notes (8-0, 1^st place, 3 GU):  The Captains are off to the best start in team history at 8-0, and their longest winning streak is 13 straight games which happened in July of 2003 during their inaugural season. … Outfielder Bo Greenwell is off to quite a hot start to the season as he is hitting .433 with 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 stolen bases and a 1.100 OPS in his first eight games.  He currently ranks 1^st in the Midwest League in batting average, RBI, and on-base percentage (.500). … Left-hander Chris Jones has been outstanding so far this season in his new role as a reliever.  In three outings he has combined to throw 8 shutout innings allowing just 4 hits, 1 walk and piling up 12 strikeouts.  He could be on the move very soon to High-A Kinston. … Not to be outdone, lefty reliever Francisco Jimenez has also been impressive in the early going where in three outings he has thrown a combined 6.2 shutout innings and allowed just 2 hits and 1 walk while racking up 5 strikeouts. … The Captains may be hot, but outfielder Delvi Cid is off to a very cold start where in six games he is hitting .214 with 0 HR, 2 RBI, has 6 stolen bases, and a .491 OPS.  He is a very confident player who has a good arm and great speed, so the opening season slump should not last long. … Infielder Argenis Martinez may not pack a lot of punch at the plate, but he may be the most exciting player to watch play defense.  He is widely considered the best defensive infielder in the Indians organization as he shows exceptional range and at times looks like an acrobat in the field.  In seven games he is hitting .217 with 0 HR, 2 RBI and a .597 OPS. … Last Friday night the Captains set a franchise record with 17 team strikeouts in the game, led by the 11 strikeouts that right-hander starter Joe Gardner had in his four innings of work. … Lake County's team ERA of 2.71 is ranked 4^th out of 16 teams in the Midwest League, and their .299 team batting average is 1^st overall in the league.  They are also 2^nd in the league in stolen bases (16).

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

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Offseason Happenings: Indians Gamble On Ambriz

For the first time in a long time the Cleveland Indians were participants and not just spectators in the Rule 5 Draft.  Going into yesterday's draft the Indians had not selected a player in the Rule 5 Draft since right-hander Neomar Flores from the Astros in the Triple-A phase of the 2004 Draft, and the last player they took in the Major League phase was infielder Travis Chapman seven years ago in the 2002 Draft.

They awoke from their seven year slumber yesterday to take not only a player in the Major League portion, but they also snatched up outfielder another player later on in the Triple-A phase of the draft as well.

The big pickup in the Major League phase was 25-year old right-handed pitcher Hector Ambriz who is an interesting arm they were able to scoop up out of the Arizona Diamondbacks system.  He throws a fastball that sits at 90-94 MPH and has touched 95 MPH, and complements it with a really good splitter which is considered his out pitch.  He is a polished pitcher who is considered a good strike thrower, though there are some concerns with his weight (6'2" 235 pounds).

Ambriz had an okay season statistically in 2009, going 12-11 with a 4.94 ERA in 28 combined starts at Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno.  In 156.2 innings he allowed 182 hits, but only walked 46 batters while striking out 135.

"Our scouts like his stuff," said Indians Assistant General Manager and Director of Scouting John Mirabelli in a phone interview after the draft yesterday.  "He has power pitches and has a very good history going all the way back to college of being a good strike thrower."

The Indians are loaded with internal options in the starting rotation for 2010, so the Indians plan on bringing Ambriz into big league camp in spring training as a candidate for their big league bullpen.  It is a role that after a lot of research and discussions with their scouts that the Indians feel may best fit him.

"He has been used exclusively as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, but our scouts feel like he has a chance to maybe be a little more effective in the bullpen," said Mirabelli.  "So he is going to go to major league camp and compete in that role.  His stuff has a chance to maybe play up in that role.  If you look at his numbers he was in a hitter's league in the PCL and in a hitter friendly ballpark in Reno, so with all of those considerations we think he has a chance to help."

With the move to the bullpen, there may be some thought that Ambriz will focus more on using just his two best pitches in his fastball and splitter, but Mirabelli doesn't think that will be the case as they like his entire arsenal of pitches.

"He also has a slider and a curveball," said Mirabelli.  "I think he will mix in all of his pitches.  We think his secondary pitches have a chance to have power to them and we think may have a chance to play up a little bit in a shorter stint out of the bullpen."

The pickup of Ambriz was not something that came out of nowhere.  The Indians have some history with him as they got a lot of looks at him back when he was pitching for UCLA the same year the Indians were heavily scouting left-hander David Huff who they eventually took with their supplemental first round pick in the 2006 Draft.  Ambriz would end up being selected by the Diamondbacks in the 5th round that same year.

"Oh yeah, we saw him a few times," said Mirabelli.  "I think Huff was the Saturday night starter and Ambriz was the Friday night starter.  So we have a history with him and track record, and I think if you put all those things into the evaluation I think we have a pretty fair idea of what we are getting.  [Rule 5 selections] are long shot gambles and there is not a whole lot of risk involved to us, and we thought this guy presented some things that could help us.  We'll see."

Horwitz Fills Outfield Depth Need

In addition to potentially filling a need in the bullpen with the selection of Ambriz, the Indians also filled another area of need in the outfield at Triple-A Columbus with the pickup of outfielder Brian Horwitz in the Triple-A phase of the draft.

Horwitz, 27, is not much of a prospect or anyone to get excited about from an impact standpoint, but he does serve a purpose as a depth outfield option the system suddenly lacked in the upper levels.  He really has no power and is an average runner and defender at best, but his biggest asset is his ability to make contact and hit for a good average.  In 2104 career minor league at bats he has only 243 strikeouts, which is an outstanding 9:1 AB/K ratio.  He also owns a career minor league batting average of .317 and a .781 OPS.

When putting together an early depth chart for the Indians minor league system last week I found they lacked a veteran option to use in the Columbus outfield considering Trevor Crowe and Michael Brantley are expected to be with the Indians next year and John Drennen and Nick Weglarz likely open the season by repeating at Double-A Akron.  With only Jose Constanza, Jordan Brown and Stephen Head as the likely everyday options in the Columbus outfield to start the season, the Indians needed another guy to throw into the mix.  I thought it would end up being a free agent signing (which they still may do), but for now Horwitz slides in as that fourth outfielder in Columbus.

"He is a right-handed hitting corner outfielder that provides some insurance and fills a need of ours with a lot of left-handed hitting outfielders," said Mirabelli.  "We think he provides some ability with the bat, he is a corner outfielder, a good athlete, and had a little bit of major league time this past year and held his own.  So I think he is a good guy to have at Columbus and see how he develops."

Big Opportunity Awaits Lofgren

While there is much excitement over the Indians pickup of Ambriz, the it was somewhat bittersweet knowing that left-hander Chuck Lofgren is no longer with the Indians after he was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers with the #13 pick in the Major League phase of the draft.

For all Lofgren has been through the last few years, it leaves me with somewhat of an empty feeling knowing that he could potentially realize his dream and make his major league debut with a team other than the Indians.  He performance and stock had dipped over the past two seasons for various reasons, but he never quit, battled, and persevered.  That hard work, persistence and dedication paid off for him this year with a nice year and now having the opportunity of a lifetime to live his dream.

According to a Brewers official I talked to after the draft yesterday, they plan to bring him into big league camp this spring with the idea of trying him out as a left-on-left reliever.  They have a need for a second lefty in the pen, and they like how effective he was this past season when facing lefties (.179 BAA) and how he has some deception in his delivery which can give left-handers fits.  Knowing that, the Brewers plan is to use him as a lefty specialist out of the pen where he faces one hitter or if the lineup that inning is a left-handed dominated lineup he would be looked at to get three outs.  He would obviously also be an option as a long man to pitch when the starter was ineffective or to save the bullpen when the game is well in hand.

"I feel honored to be selected by the Milwaukee Brewers," said Lofgren in a text message Thursday evening.  "I'm going to come into big league camp on a mission and I won't stop working until I get where I want to be."

Lofgren now sets out on a tough journey where the odds are stacked against him to stick on the Brewers big league roster the entire 2010 season.  Somewhere around 80-90% of all Rule 5 picks taken in the Major League phase are returned to their old team near the end of spring training or over the course of the season, so there is a good chance he could return to the Indians at the end of March.  But if anyone knows how to battle and beat the odds, it is Lofgren.

Indians Also Lose Meyer, Martinez

In the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft the Indians lost a couple of left-handed relievers with Matt Meyer going to the St. Louis Cardinals and Anillins Martinez going to the Florida Marlins.

Meyer, 24, is a big 6'4" 220-pound lefty who throws from a sidearm arm slot that can make left-handed hitters uncomfortable when facing him.  He sits in the low 90s and has a very good power slider that he has huge confidence in, and gets very good movement on his pitches.  Near the end of the season this year he toyed around with throwing a submarine ball and it has caught on where he is going with it and working on it this offseason.

Two years ago at this time Meyer looked like an up-and-comer as the Indians were excited with his work after Instructional League, but after two disappointing years and an inability to consistently find the strike zone with his fastball it appears he fell out of favor with the organization considering he was left off the Triple-A reserve list of 38 players.  In any case, he now gets a chance with a new organization which sometimes can breath new life and new results from a player, and his new submarine ball may be what he needs to get his career turned around.

Martinez, 22, has spent a lot of time in rookie ball, playing in a full season league all year for the first time this past season (2-3, 3.65 ERA, 36 G, 61.2 IP, 63 H, 30 BB, 53 K).  He throws a fastball-slider mix with the fastball clocking in at 87-90 MPH and has topped out as high as 92 MPH.  He is a strong and durable pitcher, so the Marlins picked up some depth for their system.

Nagy Rejoins The Tribe

The announced the rest of their Triple-A Columbus coaching staff yesterday.  A little over a week ago they made the announcement that Mike Sarbaugh would make the move from Double-A Akron and become the new manager in Columbus.  Former Indians fan favorite Charles Nagy has reunited with the organization, and will now serve as the pitching coach at Columbus.  Lee May Jr. has also been promoted from Akron to Columbus and will serve as the hitting coach.

Nagy, 42, returns to the Indians once again after his 13-year playing career in the organization ended in 2002.  He spent two seasons with the Indians as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations from 2004-2005 before leaving to join the Los Angeles Angels organization to serve as the pitching coach for their Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake from 2006-2007.

Indians Announce Minor League Awards

In addition to the Rule 5 Draft and Triple-A Columbus coaching staff announcements, the Indians also announced their minor league season award winners.  Catcher Carlos Santana took home the Lou Boudreau Award as the top minor league position player in their system.  In 130 games at Double-A Akron he hit .290 with 91 runs scored, 30 doubles, 2 triples, 23 home runs, 97 RBI, and .943 OPS.  Right-handed pitcher Hector Rondon took home the Bob Feller Award as the top minor league pitcher in the organization.  In 27 combined games at Akron and Triple-A Columbus, he went 11-10 with a 3.38 ERA (146.1 IP, 143 H, 29 BB, 137 K).

photo courtesy of Dave Nelson, MiLB

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Minor Happenings: Haley Up To The Challenge

"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.

This is part two of a large Happenings this week. Yesterday's piece was chock full of all kinds of goodies from Farm Director Ross Atkins, Lake County Pitching Coach Tony Arnold, Scouting Director Brad Grant, and all sorts of injury updates.

Be sure to also check out the radio interview that Paul Cousineau and I had on Thursday night with 2009 Indians 6^th round draft pick 1B Ben Carlson as well as the esteemed Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus on our weekly radio show Smoke Signals. We talked with Carlson for about 15 minutes, and talked about a litany of Indians prospects with Goldstein for over 30 minutes. Check it out!

Onto more Happenings.....

Indians Minor League Player Of The Week
(for games from June 11 through June 17)

Trey Haley (Right-handed Pitcher - Lake County)
2-0, 2 games, 2.45 ERA, 11.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 K

Low-A Lake County right-handed starting pitcher Trey Haley looks to be coming into his own, and continues to get better with each outing. The 6'3" 180-pounder came into the Indians organization last year as a 2^nd round draft pick out of high school. He was considered someone who was extremely gifted with a powerful fastball that can sit in the mid-90s and top out in the upper 90s, but he was also very raw as a pitcher. With a lot of work in Instructional League in the fall along with even more work in spring training and extended spring training this March through May, the Indians used all that time to work on some things with his mechanics and delivery and just give him a better foundation with which to build on as he went into his first full professional season.

In his last start on Tuesday, Haley gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in the top of the first inning, but then shutout the opposition over his final five innings of work allowing just one hit and one walk. The key to his success has been his ability to more consistently throw strikes and command the zone. His power fastball and slider have been electric as in his most recent outing he sat 94-95 MPH and had eight 96s in there as well. He still needs to work on throwing strikes more consistently, but this is a part of his game which will continue to be worked on over the course of the next several seasons.

To date, Haley is 2-3 with a 5.47 ERA in six starts and has allowed 20 hits, 19 walks, and 17 strikeouts in 26.1 innings of work. His two starts this past week were very good, and show that maybe he is not as much of a project as originally thought. He will celebrate his 19^th birthday on Sunday, so he is very young for the South Atlantic League. Nonetheless he is expected to be one of the anchors of the Lake County starting rotation from here on out until the end of the season.

Honorable Mention:

Matt McBride (OF - Akron): .375 AVG (6-for-16), 3 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K
Beau Mills (1B - Akron): .421 AVG (8-for-19), 3 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K
Lucas Montero (OF - Kinston): .320 AVG (8-for-25), 5 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 3K, 1 SB

Previous Winners:

06/04 to 06/10: Michael Brantley (OF - Columbus)
05/28 to 06/03: Donnie Webb (OF - Lake County)
05/21 to 05/27: Jordan Brown (1B/OF - Columbus)
05/14 to 05/20: Paolo Espino (RHP - Kinston)
05/07 to 05/13: Lonnie Chisenhall (3B - Kinston)
04/30 to 05/06: Nick Weglarz (OF - Akron)
04/23 to 04/29: Matt McBride (1B - Kinston)
04/16 to 04/22: Eric Berger (LHP - Kinston)
04/08 to 04/15: Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP - Kinston)

Drennen Starting To Heat Up

Since rejoining Double-A Akron from High-A Kinston on June 1st, outfielder John Drennen has been a completely different hitter hitting .328 (19-for-58) with 2 HR, 16 RBI, and a .974 OPS in 16 games. That is a complete reversal in his performance in his first stint with Akron earlier in the year when he hit .191 (13-for-68) up until May 11^th when he was shipped back to Kinston. Overall, in 54 combined games at Kinston and Akron he is hitting .259 (49-for-189) with 3 HR, 31 RBI, and a .780 OPS.

On June 9^th he arguably had his best game in two years when he had the game-winning hit with a two-run home run in the bottom of the 8^th inning and finished the game 3-for-3, was hit by a pitch, hit a double and home run, had 3 RBI, and scored 1 run. He fell a triple short of the cycle, something no Akron player has done in six years.

"I think it is just getting into a flow, seeing a good pitch and hitting it, and not missing it," said Drennen about his recent run of success. "I think that has been one of the biggest things for me."

Drennen the past two years has often found himself overmatched at the plate, which happens sometimes, especially if a player may have plateaued from a talent standpoint. But, it looks like he is making one last push to prove he belongs in Double-A and can still improve as a player and maybe someday realize that dream of being a big league ballplayer. He has shown more power and is starting to pound the gaps and lines like he did when he first broke into the system during his first full season in 2006. That line drive, gap-to-gap approach that the Indians loved when they drafted him has returned, now it is just a matter of how long it will stay.

"I'm basically just getting in the box and trying to see ball - hit ball," said Drennen about some of the adjustments he has made recently. "I have a tendency to chase pitches, and just kind of need to narrow that zone down and get a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it. Make sure I know that when I am in the box I am ready to hit that pitch in the zone."

Drennen has spent the better part of his career at High-A Kinston, playing there for two full seasons in 2007 and 2008 and parts of the 2006 and 2009 seasons. Being stuck there for so long has not discouraged him, even after he hit rock bottom from a performance standpoint last year when he hit .235 with 3 HR, 39 RBI and a .631 OPS. He has worked to improve and do what it takes to get to the next level and reassert himself as one of the Indians better outfield prospects.

"You just gotta plug on," said Drennen. "I wanna look back and say I left it all out on the line and did what I could do. You know you can play the game as you have played it your whole life. You learn a lot from failure, but today is always a new day."

Meyer Finally An Aero

It was a long time coming, but Double-A Akron left-hander Matt Meyer finally got the call and was moved up from High-A Kinston to Akron on June 6th. When camp broke this spring Meyer was very disappointed to return to Kinston for the third season in a row, especially after he had a solid season there last year going 4-2 with a 4.23 ERA in 42 games (55.1 IP, 48 H, 29 BB, 61 K).

The Indians informed him he was going back to Kinston to continue to work on improving his command, and to Meyer's credit he did not let the disappointment creep into his performance and he actually went out and made the adjustments needed to move up to Akron. In 19 appearances at Kinston, he was 2-1 with a 3.49 ERA and in 28.1 innings had allowed 19 hits, 9 walks, and had 25 strikeouts. His overall numbers don't show how dominating he was in Kinston, as most of the damage against him came in his first four outings (5.2 IP, 7 ER) while in his last 15 outings he had a 1.59 ERA (22.2 IP, 4 ER). Since coming to Akron, in four games he is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA (3.0 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 2K).

Meyer is being groomed as a left-on-left specialist, and getting lefties out was a strength for him in Kinston (.171 AVG, .456 OPS). Now that he is in Akron he will get more opportunities to matchup with left-handers since this is rarely done in the lower levels of the minors. He gets a lot of movement on his pitches, and his sidearm delivery and funky hitch in his follow through create a lot of deception which makes it hard for left-handers to pick up the ball against him. When he does face a right-hander, he has been working on throwing a two-seam fastball in order to keep the ball down and away from them and force them to pound the ball into the ground. Throwing strikes consistently will probably always be a problem for him, but with his size at 6'4 and 210-pounds along with his stuff he has a chance to maybe someday make a major league bullpen.

Opportunity Knocks For Arnal

He may be an afterthought by most fans, completely unknown by many others, and just an organizational player to the Indians, but Double-A Akron utility player Cristo Arnal is having a nice season to date and showing his value as a utility player. His career path has seen him jump all over the Indians affiliate map the past few seasons, having played several games at every full season level from Triple-A down to Low-A over the past three seasons. This year he has played in three games at Triple-A Columbus, 13 games at High-A Kinston, and 23 games at Akron and along the way has combined to hit .316 (37-for-117) with 1 HR, 10 RBI and a .784 OPS in 39 games.

He has always been used as a bench player filling in as needed to give a regular a day off or moving up a few levels as an emergency option. But given the chance to play this year he has performed well and made the most of it. He got a shot to play more regularly when Akron second baseman Josh Rodriguez went down with a hamstring injury several weeks ago, and has done a good job getting on base and playing solid defense. He has virtually no power to speak of, but has proven to be a tough out having struck out just 10 times in 117 at bats this year. He had the game of his life on June 1st when he went 5-for-7 with an RBI. He can play almost anywhere on the field as he has logged in time at first base, second base, third base, shortstop and the outfield. Heck, he has even made two appearances as a reliever. His defense will always be his hallmark, but whether or not he can hit will decide if he can maybe one day make a major league career out of being a utility player. He's off to a good start.

Single-A All Stars

The Carolina League and South Atlantic League All Stars will be on full display early next week when their respective league All Star games are played. At High-A Kinston, the Indians will be sending three representatives to the Carolina League vs. California League All Star game on June 23rd in in Lake Elsinore, CA. Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, second baseman Cord Phelps and left-handed starter Eric Berger were selected to the team. Chisenhall is expected to be the starting third baseman for the Carolina League All-Stars, and to date is hitting .282 with 13 HR, 51 RBI, and an .857 OPS. Second baseman Cord Phelps is returning to his home state as a utility infielder selection for the Carolina League All Stars, and to date is hitting .267 with 1 HR, 28 RBI, and a .772 OPS. Last, California native (born in North Carolina) left-hander Eric Berger is the other selection, and to date is 4-5 with a 2.33 ERA.

Over at Low-A Lake County, two players were selected to take part in the South Atlantic League All Star game which is to be played in Charleston, WV on June 23rd. Second baseman Karexon Sanchez and right-handed starting pitcher Alexander Perez have been selected to the Northern Division Team. The one glaring omission is outfielder Abner Abreu who leads the team in almost every category, though did not get hot until the start of May so it probably hurt his stock some. Plus, with 16 teams in the league it is hard to place more than 1-2 players on the All Star roster.

Draft Signings Update

The Indians to date have signed 17 of their 50 picks from the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, including 12 of their first 16. Here are the 17 signings to date:

3rd round pick RHP Joe Gardner (UC Santa Barbara)
4th round pick INF Kyle Bellows (San Jose St)
5th round pick RHP Austin Adams (Faulkner U)
6th round pick 1B Ben Carlson (Missouri St)
8th round pick RHP Cory Burns (Arizona)
9th round pick RHP Preston Guilmet (Arizona)
10th round pick RHP Brett Brach (Monmouth)
11th round pick LHP Kirk Wetmore (Bellevue CC)
12th round pick RHP Joseph Colon (Puerto Rico CC)
14th round pick SS Kyle Smith (Cal Poly)
15th round pick LHP Mike Rayl (Palm Beach CC)
16th round pick RHP Dale Dickerson (Nicholls St)
19th round pick LHP Nick Kirk (Northern Iowa)
23rd round pick LHP Daniel Jimenez (John A Logan College)
27th round pick RHP Tyler Sturdevant (New Mexico St)
33rd round pick INF Chris Kersten (La Tech)
48th round pick LHP Vidal Nuno (Baker U)

With North Carolina being eliminated on Thursday night from the College World Series, negotiations with top pick RHP Alex White are expected to heat up right away. It should be noted that while signing him is a high priority for the Indians, getting him into the organization right away is not. Due to his high innings count this year at North Carolina he will likely be shutdown, or just make a handful of appearances late in the season at Mahoning Valley or Lake County just to get his feet wet.

7th round pick OF Jordan Henry (Ole Miss) had arrangements made to meet with club officials this week to hammer out a deal. No word yet on how those talks have gone, but the Indians expect to sign all of their top 10 picks. 13th round pick RHP Jeremy Johnson (Washington St) likely will sign, and 18th round pick C Dwight Childs is supposed to sign soon as well. 22nd round pick RHP Merrill Kelly is uncertain whether he will sign, 30th round pick 3B Bryson Smith is having or just had an unknown surgery so no word yet on the extent of it, what it was, or how it has affected his signing status.

Here are some of the players who the Indians will be watching play summer ball as summer draft-and-follows:

Cape Cod League: 21st round pick OF Jeff Rowland, 31st round pick 2B Raynor Campbell, and 39th round pick 3B Brian Hernandez
Alaska League: 43rd round pick OF DJ Gentile
Other Summer Leagues: 24th round pick RHP Michael Hamann, 25th round pick RHP Blake Hauser, 38th round pick RHP Robert Sabo

The Indians will be following all of these players this summer and look to make a deal with some of them close to the August 15th signing deadline.

Affiliate Notebook

Columbus Notes (32-36, 2^nd place, 5.5 GB): Left-hander Chuck Lofgren has put up quality starts his last three times out. In four starts with Columbus, he is 2-2 with a 3.75 ERA. Prior to joining the Clippers, he was leading the Eastern League with a 1.48 ERA in eight starts for Double-A Akron. ... After playing in only six games during April, Andy Marte has taken over as the everyday third baseman for Columbus since Wes Hodges injured his shoulder on 4/28. He is currently hitting .294 with 7 HR, 32 RBI and a .792 OPS in 51 games. ... The Clipper bullpen has been magnificent in June, posting a 1.64ERA through the first 16 games (55.0 IP, 10 ER). That has pulled their collective ERA down to 3.82, nearly a run better than the starters' 4.73. Right-hander Vinnie Chulk has led the charge since assuming the closer role, throwing 5.0 scoreless innings in five games, notching a win and three saves in three opportunities (4 H, 4 K). Right-hander Masa Kobayashi has also had five scoreless games (5.0 IP) while picking up a win. Newly acquired Mike Gosling had allowed 1 ER in 8.0 IP in his three games this month (1.13 ERA) before being called up to Cleveland on Friday. ... While the bats have been somewhat cold of late, the Clippers remain the top hitting club in the International League hitting (.278). On the flip side, the Clippers pitching has the second worst ERA in the league (4.42). They also lead the league in both hits (616) and hits allowed (641).

Akron Notes (43-22, 1^st place, 5.5 GU): A little over a week ago on June 10^th, Double-A right-hander Jeanmar Gomez had his best outing since tossing a perfect game on May 21^st as he threw six shutout innings and allowed one hit, one walk, and had five strikeouts. This was much better than the three outings he had after the perfect game allowing 15 earned runs on 27 hits in just 16.0 innings for an 8.44 ERA. On the season he is now 8-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 13 combined starts at Kinston and Akron (81.0 IP, 62 H, 14 BB, 63 K). ... Last Friday, Aeros Manager Mike Sarbaugh earned his 400th career win in his 687th game as a manager in the Indians minor league system. Sarbaugh, who has never had a losing season in five previous seasons as a manager, is now 400-287 in his career for a .582 winning percentage. He has won championships with Mahoning Valley in 2004 and Kinston in 2006. ... Right-hander Brian Grening was very impressive in his Double-A debut on June 6th as he worked three scoreless innings of relief allowing just a single. He retired the final seven hitters he faced and notched three strikeouts in his first action of the year after starting the season in extended spring training. In his followup performance on June 10th, he went a scoreless inning. It was short-lived, however, as he was only added to the Akron roster temporarily and was reassigned to the Mahoning Valley roster this week. ... Right-handed reliever Vinnie Pestano leads the Eastern League with 18 saves (21 opportunities). On the season he is 2-1 with a 3.28 ERA in 25 games, and in 24.2 innings has allowed 20 hits, 9 walks, and has 20 strikeouts. He leads the Cleveland Indians player development system and is 4^th in all of the minor leagues in saves. ... Right-handed reliever Erik Stiller has been one of the key cogs in the Aeros bullpen this season. In his last eight appearances the former Princeton standout has allowed only four hits and one run in 14.0 innings, while striking out 10 and walking only six. After a brief stint as a starter while right-hander Hector Rondon was moved to the bullpen, Stiller has rediscovered his comfort zone in the bullpen as he is now 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA in 16 games as a reliever compared to an 0-3 record and 8.18 ERA in four starts.

Kinston Note (25-41, 3rd place, 12.0 GB): Kinston has added 26-year-old Ole Sheldon to its roster after sending first baseman Nate Recknagel back to Low-A Lake County. Sheldon was previously with the St. Paul Saints of the Independent League. The first baseman hit .340 with six homers and 19 RBI in 30 games during his first month with the Saints. In just 106 at bats, he scored 22 runs, ripped seven doubles, and slugged .575 with an on base percentage of .444. He leaves the Independent League tied for third in homers, fourth in slugging and eighth in average. Sheldon was a 14th round selection by the Houston Astros in 2004 and reached as high as Double-A Corpus Christi in 2008. He was released by the Astros in March and the Saints signed him as a free agent April 2. ... On Sunday, left-handed pitcher Ryan Miller had an interesting outing in relief. In the sixth inning he walked five, struck out three, threw a wild pitch and committed a balk in the inning, and Lynchburg scored twice without so much as putting the ball in play. Miller threw 35 pitches in the sixth inning, his only inning of work. He has walked 23 batters in 17.2 innings this season at Kinston. ... Kinston is now in their 23rd season as High-A affiliate in the Cleveland Indians organization, which currently is the longest affiliation of any team in the Carolina League. Kinston has put together quite an impressive run during their 22 full seasons as a member of the Cleveland Indians organization: 49 Carolina League End of Season All-Stars, 18 winning seasons, 16 playoff appearances, 11 Southern Division Championships, 9 Carolina League Managers of the Year, 6 Carolina League Pitchers of the Year, 5 Carolina League MVP's, 5 Carolina League Championships (1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, 2006). Over the last 16 seasons Kinston has the best winning percentage of any team in Minor League Baseball. ... Kinston is in the midst of a seven game losing streak, having lost 15 of their last 18 games. Starting May 10th, when Kinston was in first place in the Southern Division, the K-Tribe has had separate six, seven and eight game losing streaks. Since May 10th Kinston is 8-27.

Lake County Notes (30-35, 7th place, 10.5 GB): Last Friday, left-hander T.J. House suffered yet another loss and dropped to 1-7 on the season. However, his win-loss record is an example why a pitcher's record is often a poor reflection on how well (or bad) a pitcher is actually performing. House has been very good this season, but has not gotten very good support behind him defensively or at the plate offensively. He was masterful his last time out on Wednesday going seven shutout innings and in 13 starts this year is now 2-7 with a 2.74 ERA (69.0 IP, 55 H, 24 BB, 58 K). ... Left-hander Chris Jones' 2009 Captains debut came about two weeks ago, and so far in three appearances he has pitched very well going 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA. In 13.0 innings he has allowed 10 hits, 7 walks, and has 11 strikeouts. ... Last Saturday, first baseman Chris Nash hit the first inside-the-park home run in franchise history. I actually was there to witness it firsthand, and it was truly an exciting moment. To date, Nash is hitting .240 with 3 HR, 31 RBI, and a .650 OPS in 55 games. ... Fast rising 19-year old outfield prospect Delvi Cid continues to impress at the plate, and in 30 games with the Captains is now hitting .314 with 1 HR, 13 RBI, 12 stolen bases and a .771 OPS. ... Outfielder Abner Abreu is hitting .296 with 7 HR, 30 RBI, and a .821 OPS in 62 games. ... Right-hander Alex Perez is 5-2 with a 2.88 ERA in 12 starts, and in 65.2 innings has allowed 51 hits, 19 walks, and has 63 strikeouts.

Short-Season League Notes: Short season leagues are getting under way over the weekend. Last night, the Indians short-season Single-A affiliate in Mahoning Valley opened their season with a 6-5 victory. ... The Indians other stateside short-season affiliate the rookie level Arizona League Indians open up play on Sunday June 21st on the road against the Arizona League Rangers at 7:00 p.m. PST in Surprise, AZ. ... The Indians other short-season league team, the rookie level Dominican Summer League Indians, have been playing since May 30th. ... Right-handed pitcher Sandy Mendez was recently released.

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Diamonds in Single A: Matt Meyer

Welcome back everyone to this week’s Diamonds in Single-A. Over the last two weeks, this area has looked first at a starting pitcher and then a hitter, so this week’s focus will be on a middle reliever.

As every Indians fan this year is painfully aware, you can never have enough middle men in baseball, and while they tend to get ignored as prospects they are a very important part of building a contending squad. Especially in the lower levels a lot of middle relievers have a bad tendency to get overlooked with a team like the Tribe, where they will take projected middle relievers and make them starters to get maximum innings and exposure. This week’s article will take a look at middle man Matt Meyer.

Meyer was drafted by the Indians in the 15th round of the 2006 draft out of Boston College. He is a lefty who throws from a sidearm ¾ slot. As with many side arm pitchers, there is a bit of deception to his pitching that leads him to being very hard on lefties. It is because of this the Indians seem to be grooming him as a lefty specialist or, in baseball shorthand, a LOOGY (Lefty One Out GuY).

Year Level WHIP SO/9 BB/9 ERA H/9 HR/9 SO/BB
2006 A_SS 1.39 10.2 4.9 1.98 7.6 0 2.07
2007 A-/A+ 1.46 10.3 4.9 3.31 8.2 .7 2.11
2008 A+ 1.39 9.9 4.7 4.23 7.8 .3 2.29

In a word, Meyer is consistent. The only major changes to any of his numbers have been in ERA. The rise in ERA could be attributed to a bit of luck earlier on, as it is unusual to see an ERA that low with a WHIP that high. The second stat to jump out is his strikeouts per nine innings. It is very encouraging to see that even as he changed levels that his strike out rate stayed the same. As you get higher the worst of the free swingers get fixed or fail out. So far, Meyer has shown that he is able to strike out hitters at a phenomenal rate no matter what level he is at.

To give an idea of just how high that mark is, there are only three active players with a strike out rate over ten: Kerry Wood, Randy Johnson, and Pedro Martinez. The only relievers in the top ten are Arthur Rhodes, Mariano Rivera, and Tom Gordon. Just for the record, Rivera’s strike out rate is 8.2, which is good enough for tenth for active players. Meyer is therefore not only striking out players, his rate shows just how dominant he has been in the minors.

The other stat that jumps out – and is a bit distressing – is the walk rate per nine innings. Apart from the base concern about walking batters, there is also the concern that walk rates for pitchers can jump up as they advance and face more polished hitters. There is, however, very positive information on this concern, as so far this year Meyer’s WHIP is an excellent 1.1 while only walking 3.3 batters per nine innings.

We’re only a month in, so I don’t want to look too deeply at the numbers, but they are nonetheless still very positive. When you combine that improvement plus the fact he will rarely if ever give up the long ball, it is very easy to see why many think that, at the very least, Matt Meyer could be the Paul Assenmacher or Jim Poole type that the Indians have lacked for years.

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Goodyear Notebook: 4/5

McBride Shuffles Positions

At this time last year, Matt McBride was in the home stretch from surgery on his right labrum. Fast forward a year, and while McBride is healthy these days, his position seems to change by the day.

When the 2008 season ended, the Indians sent McBride to the Instructional League to get much needed at bats he missed since he was on the shelf for the first half of the season rehabbing his shoulder. It was in Instructional League where the Indians introduced him to the outfield and informed him that he would be moving out from behind the plate and to the outfield in 2009. He even went out and played in the outfield in the Hawaii Winter League to get some experience, and adapted well to the new position.

So here we are at the end of spring training, and now McBride is playing first base.

"I did not know [about another position change] until I got out here," said McBride during camp this past week. "Basically in my one-on-one when I got here they told me to catch the first two weeks. Then they said to do two weeks just strictly in the outfield and I did that. Then they said near the end of spring I would start working with the first basemen a little bit, and that is where they have decided to go with me. So now I have really been hitting first base hard and doing extra drills and trying to learn as much as I can while I am down here. I am picking up little things from the guys who have been playing there for awhile, but it has been going well."

The bulk of McBride's playing time this season will come at first base, though he was told not to rule out playing in the outfield from time to time. As for catching, that is likely a thing of the past in order to preserve his shoulder and he should not play there unless the team is strapped for some reason at catcher for a game.

McBride has taken to his crash course at first base well in spring training, though he is still trying to get a handle on a lot of the footwork at the position, fielding groundballs, getting to balls in the hole, etc.

"I think I am just trying to pick up all the little things like footwork, groundballs, where I should be for cuts, relays and other positioning," said McBride. "Bunt plays I have always been at it from the catching point of view, so that is different now. Through catching I am able to sort of know where I need to be, but now it is from a different perspective so I need to learn it at first base. The biggest thing is just getting acclimated to first base, like balls in the hole that I should let the second baseman get so I don't come off too far."

McBride's right shoulder is the reason he has been bounced around the field the past few months. The Indians love his bat and want to keep him in the lineup, but his lack of arm strength in his shoulder even after his surgery was concerning enough for them to make the move to the outfield and then to first base. McBride says his shoulder is pain free, and that it continues to get stronger everyday.

"It feels great," said McBride. "Throwing-wise, my arm strength is much better. I was throwing fine before, but my arm strength wasn't there, but now I can hold my own and it is feeling good. There is no pain involved with throwing, even when I was throwing down to second when I first came down here for spring training. I am really happy with the shoulder at this point from where it was last year at this time."

With the shoulder injury past him, and the positional changes about worked out, McBride is just happy to get his career back on track after a lost 2008 campaign.

"I am feeling good and am anxious for the season to start," said McBride.

Bryson's Rehab Right On Schedule

Right-hander Rob Bryson was sidelined late last season because of a tear in his labrum and rotator cuff. He had offseason surgery to repair the damage, although the rehab involved with such a surgery will keep him on the shelf the first half of the 2009 season, if not more.

Bryson has been in Goodyear, Arizona at the Indians new player development complex for awhile now rehabbing and will continue to work out at the new facility during extended spring training. It is tough for Bryson because he knows that right now he would normally be departing for a full season destination and getting ready for the new season to get going, but through it all has remained positive and committed to doing what he needs to do to come back at 100%.

"Rehab is a long process, and I am trying to stick with it, stay focused, and try to get healthy," said Bryson earlier this week. "So far so good, and the arm is feeling better than I expected it would. I honestly did not think my arm would feel this good considering the surgery and all the time I had off. I am just going to keep going through my throwing program and hope for the best."

Bryson just recently started a throwing program, but even though he has started to throw he is still doing rehab almost daily on the shoulder to get it back to 100%.

"Right now the rehab is cutting back a lot because I am starting to throw now," said Bryson. "I am doing a shoulder program on days that I throw, and on days I don't throw I do a pool restoration program just to keep the muscles loose."

Bryson just started throwing at the beginning of March. Before each throwing session he will stretch, do a pre-shoulder program with plyo balls, run and then throw. He started out throwing at 45 feet then went to 60 and right now is throwing at 75 feet. His next step will be 90 feet, but from there it depends how his shoulder reacts to the increased workload.

"From 90 feet I will go to 105 feet and then to 120 feet," said Bryson. "I will throw a good bit from 120 and if I feel good I will start my flat grounds. Hopefully sometime in May I will be able to throw flat grounds on the mound."

Right now, Bryson and the Indians have him targeted for a late June or early July return to game action.

"If I had to say when I will be back, I would say sometime in June or July I will start out in the Arizona League and then hopefully I will be healthy enough to go to Lake County or Kinston or wherever they want to send me," said Bryson.

Bryson's main goal in 2009 is to come back 100% healthy and get himself back on track for the start of the 2010 season.

"Right now, for the 2009 season, I am not expecting much at all," said Bryson. "If I get any innings at all and any season play, that would be more than what I am expecting. I just want to get healthy and hopefully pitch in Instructs or the Fall League or wherever it may be to get some innings and come back and be 100% for the 2010 season."

Stowell On The Shelf

Highly regarded 2008 22^nd round pick Bryce Stowell will open the season in extended spring training after he came down with bicep tendonitis about two weeks ago. The right-hander from UC-Irvine just started throwing last Saturday after being shut down for about a week by the organization, and is on a rehab plan which started on Wednesday with him throwing at 100 feet. Once he is back to 100%, he will be activated and likely go into the starting rotation either at Lake County or Kinston.

Stowell's injury came about due to his inexperience with handling an injury as he tried to pitch through some discomfort he was having, which ended up aggravating the injury enough to where he finally said enough was enough and informed the trainers.

"It was more of just a lingering issue," said Stowell earlier this week. "I had never been injured before on any level and I just didn't know how to handle it. I started throwing through it and I thought to myself there was no way. It got to the point where it was a little tender and they had to shut me down, but I am feeling good now that I started throwing these past few days. For the program they have me on I will be throwing like this for another week and then hopefully throwing sides in 12 days."

Stowell has no idea how long he will be sidelined, but it looks like he could be back sometime at the end of April or beginning of May. Through it all, he has been very appreciative with how the Indians have handled the situation, and how helpful they have been in the rehab process.

Even though he is injured and starting the 2009 season on the shelf in extended spring training, he has no regrets signing his lucrative deal last August to turn pro instead of returning for his senior season at UC-Irvine.

"No regrets at all," said Stowell. "Over the fall and winter I lived with three other guys who are still playing for my college team in Irvine. It was weird just sitting there and knowing I was not going to be with them this year. Now that I am out here I have no regrets whatsoever. I am just super excited to get things going. It is kind of tough watching everyone leaving here, but at the same time I am just really excited to get things going."

When Stowell does get back on the mound, he does not want to set any specific goals with that level he ends up at this year. He just wants to be healthy, perform, and continue to get better.

"The one thing I don't want to do is put a time limit on myself," said Stowell. "I feel a lot of guys do that and sometimes if you don't meet your expectations you feel really disappointed and let down. I continue to tell myself every day just to try and get better every day. I know that sounds kind of cliché, but at the same time you are in a business that is pretty repetitive as far as your daily routines go. I feel if you can work on that and kind of get better at something everyday no matter what it might be, that you are going to be successful. Personally I just want to become the best baseball player I can be and help out the organization as best as I can."

Meyer Down But Not Out

Left-handed reliever Matt Meyer had a camp to forget performance-wise and expectations-wise. He was hoping to open the year in Double-A Akron, but because of his performance and his command issues, the Indians decided that he would be better off returning to advanced Single-A Kinston for at least the start of the season.

Obviously, this was not good news to Meyer as he already pitched half a season in Kinston in 2007 and all of the 2008 season there. Unfortunately for Meyer, he along with a half dozen or so other pitchers are opening the 2009 season a level lower than they probably should because of the Indians fascination with veteran bullpen depth at the Triple-A level. Instead of giving some guys like Randy Newsom, Scott Roehl, Ryan Edell, Frank Herrmann, and others a shot at Triple-A to start the season, all have returned to Double-A Akron. As a result, there is a domino effect which has affected other pitchers in the organization like Meyer, Joey Mahalic, and Ryan Miller all repeating the level they spent all of 2008.

Right now, Meyer is going to do whatever it takes to find his way out of Kinston and get a chance in Akron.

"They said in my pre-camp meeting that I was fighting for a spot in Akron and that I was probably going back to Kinston," said Meyer. "My inability to throw strikes is the reason I am going back so I can learn to better command the zone better with my fastball. That will be the main thing in my development, and if I do that I will move on, and if not I guess I will be in Kinston forever (laughs)."

For a pitcher like Meyer, command and control are not his specialty, so he has his work cut out for him to get a handle on becoming more consistent in the strike zone.

"I have always been kind of a guy who isn't a strike-throwing pitcher, but I think I can still get outs and perform well enough to compete," said Meyer. "But right now it is about repeating the delivery and maintaining a consistent release point. I sort of dip my head down, so I am trying to keep my eyes more focused on the catcher's target. I am trying to find the zone with my eyes instead of just bringing them up and sweeping the zone with my eyes. Me and Hibby (Kinston Pitching Coach Greg Hibbard) are going to work on a throwing program and see how it translates into a game. It will be experimental so we will see how it goes."

Grening Heading To Extended

Extended spring training officially gets under way today as all the full season teams have departed leaving just a handful of players behind in Goodyear to await that call to a full season team. One of those players is right-hander Brian Grening, a 2008 38^th round pick out of Cal Poly.

Grening is part of a long list of relievers taken in the last two drafts staying behind in extended spring training waiting for a callup due to injury or performance issues from a pitcher on a full season roster. Grening came to camp and was given some specific areas to work on and will continue that work in extended.

"Most of my pre-camp meeting was about applying what I have learned," said Grening earlier in the week. "Those meetings are more of a get to know you and get on the same page thing. It is just about progressing and not regressing."

Like with any pitcher, Grening is always trying to improve something. Whether it be something like extending out front, making sure he is throwing with his foot down, or coming out of the same arm slot every time, he is doing whatever it takes to improve his standing in the organization.

He has a three-pitch mix of a fastball, curveball, and changeup, but has the most confidence in his fastball. He has shown good control in the past, but one thing he needs more work on is how to throw quality strikes.

"My fastball is my best pitch," said Grening. "Although offspeed pitches are great, you always go back to your fastball and it should be able to surprise the hitter more than anything. I don't walk a lot of guys, but there is a difference between having command with your pitches and throwing balls. You can throw strikes all day, but can you throw quality strikes, and [that is something I am trying to work on].

His curveball is more of a slurve, and he has also worked on adding more velocity to his changeup since he has had a tendency to telegraph the pitch in the past. He is trying to keep the same action on it as the fastball in order to try and get a few more swings at it.

Even though he is opening up the season in extended spring training, Grening is still positive that he will get a chance to prove himself this year, and when he does he wants to do everything he can to better establish himself as a player in the Indians organization.

"When I look back on the season I want to make sure that I have done everything they want me to do to earn a spot next year," said Grening. "Because I have seen a lot of guys where they come back and regardless of their spring they had trouble finding a spot. I want to make sure I perform to the best of my ability this season and do whatever it takes to earn a spot next spring. I don't want to end up here in spring training, perform well, and get tossed."

Notebook

Desert Wind: Wow, what a day it was on Friday at the complex as the winds were flat out crazy. Wind gusts had to be around 50 MPH at times, and because everything around the complex is not developed and nothing but endless fields of dirt, sand, rock and flat ground for miles, the wind really blows through there and when it does it creates a pretty nasty dust storm. The winds were so strong, the fence behind home plate on Field #2 was actually blowing into the field, and eventually the game on Field #1 was called in the 6^th inning because of the frequent stoppage of play because of the dust blowing across the field.

Shapiro Talks 2009 Draft: Check out this Q&A that Indians GM Mark Shapiro did on the upcoming 2009 Draft. Shapiro gives his typical diplomatic spin on everything, but there is some insight to be learned here if you look closely. Check it out here.

More Releases: I failed to report two other releases earlier in the week, as the Indians released outfielders Juan Valdes and Angel Rodriguez. As I mentioned the other day, the releases should be pretty much done, though there is still a player or two I did not list the other day that have been released. The Indians are done releasing players it seems, though I still think a catcher or two may be let go now that camp is over (a catcher may have been one of the guys not initially listed).

Extended Spring Training: Today, extended spring training officially started. I will have an article in the coming week about what extended spring training is, which will also include lots of quotes from manager Ted Kubiak who moreorless will be running things out there.

Prospect Videos: Check out the videos I shot the last two days of camp on the following players: Chris Jones, Lonnie Chisenhall vs. The Wind, Adam Abraham, Nate Recknagel, Kelvin De La Cruz, Trey Haley, Tony Sipp, Nick Weglarz, Carlos Santana, Beau Mills, Jordan Brown, Jose Constanza, and Hector Rondon.

Photos & Emails: I will be in touch with everyone sometime in the coming week who I promised photos to. I need to sort through the 3000 photos I took (I'm not joking), and once I organize them all I will be forwarding as requested. Also, I have a ton of emails to respond to, so if you sent me an email in the past week and have yet to get a response I apologize as I have just been slammed. I will reply soon!

And That's A Wrap: This concludes the coverage of the Indians 2009 minor league spring training. What a fabulous ten days it was out here, and many thanks to the players, coaches, coordinators and rest of the Indians staff for their help and patience with me. The season starts this week, and I will have previews for each of the four full season affiliates up throughout the week. Also, I have a nice article I did with Ross Atkins explaining how they infuse new talent into the organization which will post on Monday while I am in transit back to Cleveland. As for me, I am off to Sin City on Sunday morning for a much needed break before I head back Monday morning. See you all soon and thanks for reading!

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