Minor Happenings: Pino, Espino Come Up Big In Playoffs

"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.

Here is the final regular Minor Happenings of the season with all the last minute nuggets from my notebook as well as updates on the minor league playoffs and comments from Farm Director Ross Atkins.  While this is the last regular edition of the Happenings, there will still be a few more smaller pieces posted before the end of the month with any last minute news and notes.

This is also probably a good time to announce that the Minor Happenings as we have come to know it over the past five to six years is due for a major change next season.  With technology changing by the day, it just makes no sense to sit on some of these items all week to post in a weekly recap.  With that said, the piece will continue to evolve like it did this year with the separate team notebooks posted weekly.  The same information will still be posted, but the piece will likely be broken up into two to three pieces over the course of the week.  More on all that next year when we get set to open the 2011 season.

Next week I will be posting a special edition of the Happenings with a year end discussion with Ross Atkins.  If you have a burning question you would like asked about a player or anything else, please e-mail me at tlastoria@indiansprospectinsider.com.  I can’t guarantee your question will be asked, but I will certainly consider it.

Also, we are getting close to the 5^th annual Tony Awards, which is the year end piece which profiles all the big performers and big disappointments in the season that was.  I will be doing it a little different this year where instead of one big posting, I will be unveiling the awards separate in successive days for Offensive Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Reliever of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Biggest Breakthrough, Biggest Disappointment, and my All-Indians Team.  Look for that at the end of the month.

I will be in Lake County this weekend to see the Captains hopefully win the Midwest League championship, so Go Captains and hope to see some of you there cheering them on!

Onto the Happenings…

Pino, Espino Shine

Triple-A Columbus is on the verge of the International League Championship, but they would not have gotten this far without the return to form of right-handed pitcher Yohan Pino and the emergence of right-hander Paolo Espino.

Pino struggled through his first full season in the Indians organization going 10-9 with a 5.75 ERA in 26 starts (145.2 IP, 175 H, 47 BB, 114 K).  The Indians received Pino as the player to be named later from the Twins in the Carl Pavano trade last year, and it was thought that he could potentially provide some depth to the big league team this year.  But, after a great April start where in four starts he was 3-0 with a 3.47 ERA, things quickly went downhill from there in May ( 6 starts, 5.45 ERA), June (5 starts, 7.36 ERA), July (4 starts, 5.47 ERA), August (6 starts, 6.09 ERA), and September (1 start, 9.00 ERA).

Of course, after all those struggles and the start of the playoffs, what does Pino do?  He goes out and pitches two gems in the postseason.  He picked the right time to get his game back on track with his best two outings of the season where in his first playoff game last Friday he went 7.0 one-hit shutout innings and then followed that up with an extraordinary 8.0 innings outing where he allowed one earned run on three hits.  The key to his success is his ability to command and locate his fastball, and for the better part of the season it was very flat and he was just leaving it out over the plate, but it has had a lot more life of late.  A lack of truly dominant stuff leaves him little room for error, and it looks like at this point he will be depth option once again at the Triple-A level for the Indians next year.

Espino has had a very good, consistent season, one where he has filled a need in the rotation both at Columbus and Double-A Akron.  He showed his versatility to pitch in any role this year with Akron as he pitched both as a starter and reliever and in 21 appearances (15 starts) he was 9-4 with a 4.00 ERA (101.1 IP, 95 K, 35 BB, 92 K).  He was promoted to Columbus on August 3rd to fill a starting pitching need there because of a staff ravaged with the callups of right-handers Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez and also with Carlos Carrasco temporarily sidelined with a forearm issues.  Since arriving in Columbus he has helped stabilize a staff in need of it and in seven starts went 3-3 with a 5.62 ERA (41.2 IP, 43 H, 12 BB, 32 K).

Espino’s numbers in Columbus are a little deceiving as he had two disastrous outings against Toledo where he went 4.0 innings and allowed 8 runs in each, but in his six other starts (including one playoff outing) he allowed 2 runs or less in each outing and in five of those six outings has gone at least 7.0 innings.  His success is based on his ability to consistently throw strikes, his no-fear approach, and a deadly curveball that when it is on can be unhittable.  Having his cousin catcher Damaso Espino around this year both at Akron and Columbus has also helped him relax and pitch to the best of his abilities.  He's eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, so it will be interesting to see if his recent success brings interest from the Indians or another team to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason.

Director's Cuts

Indians’ Farm Director Ross Atkins has been taking in a lot of the playoff action around the Indians’ system the past week, and this week offered up some comments on the postseason as well as some players still playing and some who are done:

On David Huff: "He really has [accomplished some things in Triple-A].  It is really one of the most challenging things that we experience in player development helping that young major league player who is coming back to the minor leagues to focus on a goal with the right outlook and energy, and he has done that.  It reminds me of Cliff Lee in 2007 when he came back to Buffalo and had to do some similar things.  Some of it is based on just performance which is typically related to adjustments that need to be made on the fundamental or mental side.  It's a struggle and is really tough for those guys, in comparison to the young 22-year old who has never tasted the major leagues and has nothing but up to go.  I think after the initial transition, since then he has been remarkable.  The initial transition was tough, but he has been incredible his last two starts I think from a mental and performance standpoint just how he is going about it, the work he is putting in, the adjustments he is making, how open-minded he has been, and just how consistent his effort has been.  He has been a leader throughout the playoffs for that team.  There were a couple of adjustments and some things that we wanted as an organization that were uncomfortable for him, and that is very normal.  It is usually more rare when a player takes to an adjustment immediately, especially when they have had such incredible success in the minor leagues.  It is hard as you want to use what brought you there, and then you realize what you have at the major league level is not quite good enough and to go back to the minor leagues and make subtle adjustments is tough.  He has done that.  He has moved over on the rubber, he is using his breaking ball better, and his fastball command has been much better as it is on the plate and he is getting it in on right-handed hitters better and I think more firm than it was earlier in the season."

On Alex White: "Alex has been everything we could have possibly imagined in a person, a performer, and a pitcher and then some.  His strength and maturity, how he approaches each time he throws and in-between just warming up out to 60-90-120 feet just playing catch to begin his day, he takes it very seriously.  We try to teach that and instill that in all of our players and he came with that innately.  Just like with any professional if there is anything they try to excel at and be the best at what they do they have to take it very seriously, and he does.  On top of that he has a ton of ability.  He really has been impressive, has been very open-minded about suggestions, and has handled the progress and process of development as well as anyone we have ever had."

On shutting down White: "The first thing that comes to mind is his workload as he reached his workload in the minor leagues and made strides that were positive.  The second thing to talk about is what puts us in the best position to get to the World Series and sustain it, so you always have to think big picture and long term.  With Alex we are going to do the best that we can to get the most out of the minor leagues and put him in the best position to have long term success.  I think this year was a very good step towards that.  Next year he will come into spring training and be in the major league mix.  I think there are still some strides to be made this offseason and it will be a productive one for Alex.  We are working through a delivery adjustment where in some cases it would be considered significant, but because of his athleticism it is really not a significant one."

On Matt Packer: "We really have had some good stories in player development this year, which is really a combination of scouting a player development.  Packer was not really highly touted in the 2009 Draft.  In 2008 he led all of college baseball in ERA and was the collegiate pitcher of the year, but in 2009 did not have quite that year and lost some velocity and fell in the eyes of most amateur scouts.  This year he recouped some of that velocity and got back to pitching the way he was in 2008 and all the while developed.  He added a great pickoff move and controlled the running game, and showed an elite feel for three pitches with a developing curveball.  His fastball-slider-changeup combination is as good as Jeremy Sowers and Scott Lewis was, and his curveball is another weapon.  He is similar to where those guys were starting early in their careers with really much less of a profile and pedigree to start his minor league career."

On Lonnie Chisenhall: "If you eliminate the one month he had where he was playing with some pain in his shoulder and just look at the other months, he really had an exceptional year.  He finished the year with an .800 OPS and had a .900 OPS the last month when it is the hardest time to do it at the end of the year.  At 21 years old turning 22 that is exceptional at the Double-A level.  Absolutely a very positive year, and I think a year of growth for Lonnie.  Very good results in 2010 as far as we are concerned and I feel like a lost of positive steps forward."

On the importance of playoff games: "They are great and a great develop opportunity.  Any start is valuable for a young, developing pitcher.  When you only get to play every five days and get those 105 pitches, they are priceless.  Then you take them into an environment where regardless of what you have done or where you have been where it could potentially be one of the last games of the season and could turn into a ring, there is a heightened anxiety level and a heightened level of pressure and anticipation.  So how that is handled and how effective they are in those environments makes for great development."

On the value of OPS: "Really what it comes down is what historically people seek in batting average.  All stats are valued, just some are more significant than others.  I think the OPS stat is a more encompassing stat and tells you the whole picture.  You look at a player like Travis Hafner as a great example and this is a down year for him.  He has a similar batting average as he has had in years past, but there is a 200-300 points difference in OPS which is on-base and power.  You add those facets to batting average, how much power do they have and the slugging percentage and how much they get on base and then you have OPS.  That is just a more telling stat of overall production than batting average, although batting average is very much an important stat.  So it is easy when you are generally speaking about a player to just to go to OPS because of it being more indicative of their overall production for any given year."

Abrupt Ending For De La Cruz

Double-A Akron left-handed pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz sat out the final two weeks of the season as he had reached his 125-130 inning threshold.  Coming off a severe injury scare last year with his elbow, the Indians really wanted to monitor his innings workload this season.  While he was shutdown he remained with the team and continued to workout with them throwing bullpens, doing delivery drills and working on his conditioning.

The sudden end finished off an up and down, inconsistent season for the 22-year old De La Cruz where he impressed in the early going at High-A Kinston where in six starts he was 2-2 with a 2.91 ERA ( 34.0 IP, 22 H, 8 BB, 28 K), but upon moving up to Akron in mid-May he went 5-6 with a 5.77 ERA in 20 starts (93.2 IP, 98 H, 64 BB, 77 K).  He pitched well in his first two outings with Akron going 1-1 with a 1.64 ERA, but then the wheels fell off on his season as his performance declined and he really struggled with his command in just about every outing the rest of the way.

De la Cruz really struggled with the walks the last three months of the season, a problem that the Indians felt was just as much mental as it was mechanical.  They worked on some things to help his composure and pace on the mound, and though the results did not show in his performance at the end of the season, he showed better composure and balance with pitching through the ball.  While the numbers were not up to the standards expected from a top pitching prospect, the Indians felt like he showed progress this season, especially off the field with his preparation and routine between each start and his mental approach to those starts.

Ultimately, considering De La Cruz had missed almost all of last season with a left elbow strain, the most important matter this season was that he remained healthy all year.  His command was absent for most of the year and was something he really struggled with, though any time you have a player coming off of a serious elbow injury the command can often be the last thing to return.  Everything else with the physical tools and abilities were very much present, and he still has some very good stuff.  It just all boils down to him getting that command back, something that will be his number one focus this offseason and in spring training next year.

Hagadone's Command Blues

Double-A Akron left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone had a sub par season going 3-5 with a 3.57 ERA in 29 combined appearances (17 starts) with High-A Kinston and Akron.  It was sub-standard mostly because while he was hard to hit (.226 BAA) this year and averaged more than a strikeout an inning with 89 in 85.2 innings (9.4 K/9), he gave up way too many walks with 63 in 85.2 innings pitched (6.6 K/9).  His command problems plagued him all year, and to help counteract the problem the Indians completed a pre-planned move to the bullpen with about six weeks left in the season.  After moving to the bullpen, Hagadone finished the year going 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA and .229 BAA  in 12 relief appearances (22.0 IP, 19 H, 16 BB, 18 K).  The walks were still there, but the quality of his stuff improved.

The move to the bullpen was something the Indians told Hagadone back in January that he would transition into late in the season.  The Indians feel Hagadone is best suited as a bullpen guy because he is such a highly intense competitor.  As a starter his consistency with repeating his delivery for five to six innings and 80-90 pitches was a constant battle because he has a lot of effort in his delivery, but as a reliever the need to consistently repeat his delivery is less important.  He also has had inconsistent command, which is typically easier to cover up in the bullpen over one or two innings rather than as a starter going five to seven innings.  His stuff is still not all the way back to where it was prior to Tommy John surgery in June of 2008, but it is close.  The command is usually the last thing to come, but it did show signs of improvement in the bullpen, so it will be interesting to see how he fares next season, likely at Triple-A Columbus to start.

Inconsistency Hinders Berger

It was a year of inconsistency for Double-A Akron left-handed pitcher Eric Berger who in 23 combined appearances between Triple-A Columbus and Akron went 5-6 with a 4.90 ERA (112.0 IP, 109 H, 72 BB, 90 K).  He started the season off on the wrong foot as he came down with an intercostal strain at the end of spring training which caused him to miss about the first six weeks of the season, and when he returned he spent the next several weeks scrambling to get caught up and back to where he was physically in spring training.

Berger, 24, got a surprise call to Columbus in July mostly because the Indians had limited options, and his command issues were exposed with 20 walks in 24.2 innings over five starts.  He worked on his mechanics all year to improve on the inconsistency with his command since he has a tendency to rush his delivery which causes his arm to lag, and in the end showed some improvement.  After leading the organization with a 2.50 ERA last season, it was a frustrating year and in some ways a cold dose of reality of how injuries and moving up the minor league ladder can affect performance in a negative way.

Perez A Defensive Gem

Low-A Lake County catcher Roberto Perez had a solid first full season hitting .217 with 6 HR, 38 RBI, and a .699 OPS.  The 21-year old catcher obviously needs to work a lot on being better with his bat-to-ball, but he showed good strides with his approach at the plate this year.  He walked 80 times, and while he only hit .217 he got on base at a .360 clip which is exceptional for a defensive-minded catcher.

Perez, 21, flourished defensively behind the plate this year, and is now one of the most highly regarded defensive catchers in the minors.  He handled the Lake County pitching staff exceptionally well all year, called a good game, was a leader on and off the field, and showcased a lot of good major league skills behind the plate.  He led the Midwest League with a .997 fielding percentage and was second in the league throwing out runners at 40% (50-for-125).  His quick, powerful, accurate right arm and ability to control the running game is definitely an asset.  One area that he is still refining defensively is his pitch calling in situations he knows a team will run, as well as maintaining good tempo and footwork with his throws.

Packer On Standby

Double-A Akron left-handed pitcher Matt Packer has been working out and traveling with Columbus since the early part of this week.  He has been in Columbus mostly as insurance in the event an injury occurs or a pitcher is called up to Cleveland.  It is not a coincidence that he arrived in Columbus right after right-hander Mitch Talbot came up lame in his last start, as the Indians appeared to really be considering adding a pitcher from Columbus to assume Talbot's spot in the rotation for however long he was out.  They instead decided to move Justin Masterson back into the rotation for Talbot's next start on Saturday, and then Talbot is expected to be back for his next start.

For now Packer, 23, is just taking in the Columbus title run as a spectator and very likely will not pitch in either of their two possible remaining games.  He finished the season 9-7 with a 2.04 ERA in 30 combined appearances (18 starts) between Low-A Lake County and Akron.  His 2.04 ERA was second best in all the minors, second only to Brandon Beachy of the Gwinnett Braves (1.73).

Playoff Update

Triple-A Columbus and Low-A Lake County are currently in the final round of their respective league's postseason.

Columbus currently leads 2-1 in their best-of-five series with Durham, and can finish off the series and win the Governor's Cup with a win tonight in Durham.  Here is the remaining schedule for the two possible playoff games:

Game 4: Friday 9/17 @ Durham (RHP Paolo Espino), 7:05PM EST
Game 5: Saturday 9/18 @ Durham (RHP Corey Kluber), 7:05PM EST (if necessary)

If Columbus is able to close out the series with a win, they will move on to the Triple-A championship game this coming Tuesday in Oklahoma City against the Pacific Coast League champion.  It would mark the first time in Columbus franchise history that they have played in the game.

Lake County's series is tied 1-1 in their best-of-five series after last night's marathon loss that went 18 innings.  No matter what, a league champion will be crowned in Lake County this weekend as the final three games are in Lake County (hopefully it is the Captains celebrating).  Here is the remaining schedule for the final three possible playoff games:

Game 3: Saturday 9/18 @ Lake County (LHP Giovanni Soto), 6:30PM EST
Game 4: Sunday 9/19 @ Lake County (RHP Brett Brach), 6:30PM EST
Game 5: Monday 9/20 @ Lake County (LHP Vidal Nuno), 6:30PM EST

Development Contracts Extended

The Cleveland Indians on Thursday announced that they have extended the player development contracts for both High-Kinston and short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley for two years through the 2012 season.

The 2011 season will be the 25th for Kinston as a Cleveland Indians affiliate, which is the longest relationship in the Carolina League.  In the K-Tribe's 24 years (1987-2010) as a Cleveland Indians affiliate, they have enjoyed 19 winning seasons, 17 playoff appearances, 11 Southern Division Championships and five Carolina League Championships. In 24 years, more than 115 former Kinston Indians players have reached the Major Leagues. During the K-Tribe's 24 years as a Cleveland affiliate, the Indians have missed the Carolina League Playoffs in back-to-back seasons only once.

The 2011 season will be the 13^th for Mahoning Valley as a Cleveland Indians affiliate, a relationship that has been in existence since Mahoning Valley’s inaugural season in 1999.  Forty-six former Scrappers have played in the major leagues, 21 of which are currently on active MLB rosters, including C.C Sabathia, Victor Martinez, Ben Francisco, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Ryan Church. Nine former Scrappers are on the Indians active roster including Fausto Carmona, Jensen Lewis, Tony Sipp, Josh Tomlin, Chris Gimenez, Jordan Brown, and Trevor Crowe. Asdrubal Cabrera and Mitch Talbot, also on the Indians active roster, played in Mahoning Valley during the 2010 season on rehabilitation assignments.

For those wondering, the player development contracts for Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus are through 2012 while Low-A Lake County is through 2014.

Random Notes

Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Brett Brach had another very good year going 5-9 with a 3.46 ERA in 24 combined appearances (22 starts) between High-A Kinston and Lake County (122.1 IP, 119 H, 29 BB, 92 K).  He picked up right where he left off from last season in his pro debut where at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley he went 5-2 with a 2.19 ERA in 15 starts (78.0 IP, 62 H, 20 BB, 61 K).  He had a better second half of the season (5-5, 3.20 ERA) than first half (0-3, 4.03 ERA), and the uptick in his performance in the second half was helped by a subtle change in his delivery where he kept his eyes fixated on home plate during his delivery, something he was previously not doing as he would dart his eyes just before he made his motion to home plate.  The small change allowed him to be a little sharper spotting his pitches.

There are a lot of similarities between Low-A Lake County left-handed pitcher Giovanni Soto and right-handed pitchers Hector Rondon and Jeanmar Gomez when they were in Lake County three year ago. All three pitched at the Low-A level at 19 years of age and have a rail thin physique, though Soto is the only one of the three who actually performed well.  Soto doesn’t have the fastball either of those two had at this stage, but his secondary stuff is more advanced.  He is also a little better of a strike thrower than Rondon and Gomez were at Lake County, and the advanced command and feel for his secondary stuff really takes advantage of the hitters in the Midwest League where they mostly have poor discipline, hence the very good numbers this year.

High-A Kinston left-handed pitcher T.J. House had an unspectacular, but solid season going 6-10 with a 3.91 ERA in 27 starts (135.2 IP, 135 H, 61 BB, 106 K)..  In a lot of ways, his performance this year largely went under the radar.  His command was inconsistent all season, but even though he often labored through many of his innings and starts he found a way to keep his team in games.  In addition, for a 20-year old in the Carolina League he held his own and has proven to be a durable, reliable starter.  Next year he should open with Double-A Akron, which is where his prospect mettle will truly be tested.

High-A Kinston right-handed pitcher Travis Turek had a good season going 4-3 with a 3.73 ERA in 41 relief appearances this year (79.2 IP, 82 H, 30 BB, 45 K).  He is a sinker-baller who doesn't strike out a lot of batters because he pitches more to contact, as evidenced by his below average strikeout rate (5.1 K/9) but high ground ball rates the past two seasons with a 2.31 GO/AO this season and 3.03 GO/AO last year.  The Indians worked with him this year on some of his game preparations such as to be more prepared in knowing his opponent better.  He is a former high school middle infielder who had limited experience pitching before he turned pro, and had a two year detour in his career after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2006, so he is still picking up on some of the finer points of pitching.

Low-A Lake County has had some late season injuries which have taken away from some of the depth on the pitching staff with several pitchers out for the rest of the year.  Right-handed reliever Nick Sarianides is out with a strained rib cage muscle and back, right-handed pitcher Antwonie Hubbard is out with a sore right elbow, right-handed starter Clayton Cook is sidelined with a sore shoulder, and right-handed reliever Jeremy Johnson has a fractured back though amazingly is pitching through the injury after he was told no further damage could be done pitching with it.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI.  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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Minor Happenings: Aguilar Powers Rookie-Level Arizona

"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.

Okay, as mentioned over the weekend, I have a lot of catching up to do with Minor Happenings this week since I was out on vacation for almost two weeks.  With that in mind, today’s edition is simply just to catch up on things from while this piece was absent, namely to hand out two Player of the Week awards, recap the All Star games, and give an update on some injuries.

Over the course of the next four days another two to three editions of Minor Happenings will post to get caught up on everything else, so be on the lookout for them!  Also, I was in Kinston last weekend and took lots of video and conducted a lot of interviews with players and coaches, so all of that should be posted in the coming days/weeks as well.

Tonight I am heading out to Akron, so hope to see some of you there.

Also, once again, congrats to Josh Tomlin on the outstanding debut last night!  Let’s hope it is the start of something special.

Onto the Happenings…

Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from July 8^th to July 14^th)

Jesus Aguilar (First Baseman – Arizona)
.360 AVG (9-for-25), 6 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0 BB, 8 K, 1.113 OPS

Rookie-level Arizona doesn’t receive a lot of attention due to its location and a lack of any media presence, but it was hard to not notice the sensational performance for the week of first baseman Jesus Aguilar.  After a very slow start to his season where after 12 games he was hitting .156 with a .449 OPS, he has gotten hot of late where in his last ten games he is hitting .351 with a 1.042 OPS.  His recent surge has him now hitting .271 with 7 HR, 22 RBI and an .810 OPS in 28 games on the season.

Aguilar, 20, is an interesting Latin prospect who had a very good season in 2009 for the Dominican Summer League (DSL) team hitting .305 with 5 HR, 46 RBI and an .872 OPS in 55 games.  He was one of my Top 10 Latin players coming into this season in my book, mostly because of his raw power and enormous size for his age (6’3” 241 pounds).  He appeared to show an advanced approach at the plate last year in the DSL with 31 walks to only 24 strikeouts, but he has struggled this year in this department as he has just 5 walks but 32 strikeouts in Arizona.

Aguilar is big and powerful and hits the ball a long way when he squares up the bat with the ball.  He is only an average defender at first base, but he does have some versatility where he can play some outfield.  He is still very young which could mean even more size and power is still coming.  If his plate discipline improves, he has a lot of upside as a power hitting first baseman and is someone to keep an eye on going forward.

Honorable Mentions:

Tim Fedroff (OF – AKR): .450 (9-20), 2 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 1.026 OPS
Beau Mills (1B – AKR): .353 (6-17), 4 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, .918 OPS
Matt McBride (OF – AKR): .333 (6-18), 4 R,  1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K, 1.177 OPS
Bo Greenwell (OF – KIN): .478 (11-23), 2 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.042 OPS
Chris Kersten (1B – LC): .400 (8-20), 1 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1.050 OPS
Chase Burnette (1B – MV): .385 (10-26), 6 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K, 1.025 OPS
Giovanny Urshela (3B – MV): .385 (10-26), 2 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K, .780 OPS
Nick Bartolone (SS – AZL): .393 (11-28), 7 R, 2 2B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 5 SB, .933 OPS

Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from July 15^th to July 21^st)

Jason Kipnis (Second baseman – Akron)
.571 AVG (16-for-28), 8 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K, 3 SB, 1.565 OPS

There was no shortage of great performances for this week as a half dozen players could have easily laid claim to Player of the Week honors, especially in previous weeks.  But, one player clearly had the best week of anyone in a super human performance, that being Double-A Akron second baseman Jason Kipnis.  With his recent tear he is now hitting .325 with 6 HR, 17 RBI and a .924 OPS in 39 games at Akron, and overall this year between High-A Kinston and Akron in 93 games is hitting .311 with 12 HR, 48 RBI, and an .891 OPS.

The Indians so far this season have been impressed with the way Kipnis has performed at each level and remained consistent all season.  Especially considering this is his first year playing second base and how most players often suffer a little on the offensive side of things because they are concentrating so much on their defense.  However, since he made the switch to second base last fall, Kipnis has looked right at home and comfortable both in the field and at the plate.

The offensive output is not really a surprise as Kipnis was considered a pretty good bat coming out of college.  The problem was his size and a lack of a true defensive position, but the move to second base appears to have removed those two issues as his transition to second base from the outfield has gone better than the Indians could ask.  Really, at this point, he just needs to continue to gain more experience and repetitions at second base.

Kipnis could be a big league option as soon as by the middle-to-end of next season, depending on the Indians need or their urgency to get him up to Cleveland, especially considering hot hitting second baseman Cord Phelps is a level above Kipnis at Triple-A Columbus and Jason Donald is already in Cleveland.

Honorable Mentions:

Carlos Carrasco (RHP – COL): 1-0, 2 G, 0.00 ERA, 10.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, .121 BAA
Paolo Espino (RHP – AKR): 1-0, 2 G, 1.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, .220 BAA
Austin Adams (RHP – KIN): 1-0, 2 G, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, .188 BAA
Alex Kaminsky (RHP – MV): 1-0, 2 G, 1.80 ERA, 10.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, .167 BAA
Casey Frawley (INF – LC): .364 (8-22), 6 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K, .944 OPS
Donnie Webb (OF – KIN): .421 (9-21), 5 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1.145 OPS
Jerad Head (OF – AKR): .500 (10-20), 9 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1.695 OPS
Matt McBride (OF – AKR): .364 (8-22), 3 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K, 1.144 OPS
Cord Phelps (2B – COL): .480 (12-25), 7 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K, 1.167 OPS
Nick Weglarz (OF – COL): .435 (10-23), 6 R, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K, 1.345 OPS

Previous Winners:

07/01 to 07/07: Matt McBride (OF – Akron)
06/24 to 06/30: Michael Brantley (OF - Columbus)
06/17 to 06/23: Jason Kipnis (2B – Akron)
06/10 to 06/16: Jared Goedert (3B – Columbus)
06/03 to 06/09: Josh Rodriguez (INF – Columbus)
05/27 to 06/02: Paolo Espino (RHP – Akron)
05/20 to 05/26: Kyle Bellows (3B – Kinston)
05/13 to 05/19: Carlos Santana (C – Columbus)
05/06 to 05/12: T.J. McFarland (LHP – Kinston)
04/29 to 05/05: Trey Haley (RHP – Lake County)
04/22 to 04/28: Jason Donald (INF – Columbus)
04/15 to 04/21: Bo Greenwell (OF – Lake County)
04/08 to 04/14: Carlos Santana (C – Columbus)

All Star Roundup

In the Double-A and Triple-A All Star games played on July 14^th, several Indians participants played well.

In the Triple-A All Star game pitting the International League against the California League, the Indians had two players representing them from Columbus, right-hander Josh Tomlin and outfielder Jose Constanza.  Tomlin pitched a scoreless inning allowing one hit and had one strikeout, and Constanza entered the game as a pinch runner in the 8^th inning and did not have an at bat.  The International League won 2-1 in a game played in Allentown, PA.

In the Eastern League All Star game, the Indians had a very strong presence in the 10-3 win the Western Division squad had in a game played in Harrisburg, PA.  Right-handed pitcher Paolo Espino struck out the side in his one hitless-shutout inning of work and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall went 1-for-3 with an RBI and walk while also scoring a run.  But, outfielder John Drennen by far had the most impressive night of any Indians All Star this year as he went 2-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI in the game.

Drennen, 23, seems like he has been with the Indians forever.  He is having arguably his best season as a pro since being selected in the 1^st round of the 2005 Draft out of high school in California.  He is hitting .310 with 4 HR, 41 RBI and an .803 OPS in 82 games for Akron this year, and has been a model of consistency all year hitting .271 with a .725 OPS in April, .316/.843 in May, .313/.771 in June, and .333/.871 in July.  Also, surprisingly, as a left-handed hitter he has hit lefties better this year (.337/.817) than righties (.299/.798).  He is due for a promotion to Triple-A Columbus, but because Columbus has an overstuffed roster of outfielders, he likely will not move up until the Indians clear the decks of some outfielders in Columbus or Cleveland (Kearns, Crowe).

Infirmary Report

Here is an update on some injuries in the system over the past few weeks:

Triple-A Columbus right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco left the game in the fourth inning last Tuesday because of pain in his right forearm.  The Columbus coaching staff initially took him out for precautionary reasons and he did not miss his next start this past Sunday, but the problem occurred again on Sunday and he had to be taken out after the fourth inning.  The injury is not considered serious and is being labeled more as right forearm soreness.  The Indians have decided to skip his next start to give him some additional time to recoup and see if the cramping in the forearm goes away.

Triple-A Columbus outfielder Nick Weglarz sprained a ligament in his left thumb on Monday night making a diving catch for a ball.  He is still being evaluated to determine the severity of the injury and more should be known in the next couple of days.

Triple-A Columbus right-handed pitcher Yohan Pino could be activated off the disabled list soon from his bout with right elbow soreness.  He threw a bullpen recently, and if he is cleared it is possible he could be activated in time to fill in for Carrasco’s next scheduled start on Friday.

Triple-A outfielder Ezequiel Carrera could be on his way back to the disabled list after he injured his hamstring while rounding first base last night.  He is expected to be out for at least the next several days.

Double-A Akron right-handed pitcher Anthony Reyes, who is basically on a major league rehab assignment, made his first real appearance last night for Akron going three shutout innings.  He is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and has had no setbacks to date in his rehab.  He will make another start for Akron on Sunday, and then likely go to Triple-A Columbus.  Indians manager Manny Acta said that barring any setbacks Reyes will pitch in Cleveland this year.

High-A Kinston first baseman Jeremie Tice has been battling a minor Achilles heel injury which has caused him to be in and out of the lineup for most of the last two weeks.

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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IPI Inbox: Miller's Progress Is Slow, But Encouraging

It's time for another edition of the IPI Inbox to post some answers to some of the questions I have received recently regarding the Cleveland Indians. Be it the draft, the big league team, or the minor leagues, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Onto the Inbox...

Dan wrote: Hello, I know Adam Miller's career may very well be over, but is there any update on him that you know about? Do you know anything about his current health or timetable?

There is some encouraging news on the Miller front. Nothing with him actually pitching to live hitters or being anywhere close to pitching in games yet, but the fact that to date (knock on wood) he has not had any setbacks since the one he had in the winter. I talked to him this past March in spring training and he provided details on how things were going, and then I provided a quick update on him last month where he was progressing out to 60 feet with his throwing.

Currently, Miller is getting set to be stretched out to 120 feet early next week and if he can tolerate the hand and arm speed at that distance then bullpens could be in the near future for him. He still very likely will not pitch anywhere this season, but if things do work out in the best case scenario where he continues to not have any setbacks then it looks like he could possibly pitch in live games at some point this season. That could happen at the end of the season in August for rookie level Arizona, though I believe the target will be to have him pitch in the Fall Instructional League which starts up in mid-September.

Jsdowd wrote: What's Jose Constanza's place in the Indians plan? He doesn't seem to be mentioned in the outfield mix ever. Do they feel he is a AAAA player? Is he potential future trade bait? He seems to have fairly solid consistent numbers throughout his career.

Charlie kind of hits the nail on the head in his Clippers’ outfield writeup when he writes about Constanza:

Constanza is probably out of luck when it comes to a big league future with the Cleveland Indians organization. He is blocked by a franchise player, a better prospect that is 3 years younger and a similar player that was a 1st round pick. He could provide some speed off the bench, but having a pure pinch-runner that isn’t a huge plus-defensive outfielder is a luxury most teams can’t afford to put on the 25-man roster. Constanza seems to be an example of just how easy it is to get squeezed out in the ruthless process that determines who gets to play in the Majors. (I recommend reading the piece as it is a very good read and Charlie goes into more detail on Constanza as well as Michael Brantley and Trevor Crowe.)

So, Charlie sums up my thoughts on Constanza perfectly. I love Jose, but unfortunately he is kind of a redundant player in the upper levels since we have Brantley and Crowe already on the big league roster. Brantley is the better prospect, though I would make a strong case that Constanza is a better prospect than Crowe. The reality is though that Crowe was a first round pick and is already on the big league roster, and sometimes politics and money gets in the way of making baseball decisions. In any case, while Constanza is very likely not going to make it to Cleveland this year, what he is doing is showcasing his talents to scouts for the 29 other teams every night. Unless he is rostered by the Indians this offseason, he will be a minor league free agent and very likely will sign elsewhere where he probably has a better shot of achieving his big league dream.

Tyler S. wrote: There have been many pitching callups from Lake County to Kinston this year. When do you think that a hitter could be called up to Kinston and who could be the first to be called up?

Good question Tyler. Right now the Lake County team does not feature many bats that have impact potential even in Triple-A or Double-A. The strength of the team all year has been the pitching and catching, and I think the first position player to move up will be one of the two catchers Roberto Perez or Chun Chen. Chen is an advanced hitter but much more raw behind the plate, whereas Perez is considered a Major League caliber defensive catcher now though still needs work on the bat. It depends on what the Indians feel translates better at the High-A level in Kinston, the offense or defense, and which one of those areas they feel the player will be best equipped to handle the challenges at that level.

My guess is because of Perez’s very advanced catching game they move him up to Kinston and leave Chen in Lake County to catch full time and really hone in on that area, but I go back and forth on this as it could certainly go the either way. In any case, one of those two catchers should go to Kinston soon, likely within the next week. Also, infielder Casey Frawley and outfielder Bo Greenwell are very deserving of a call up and will get one at some point, possibly within the next week as well.

Elliot T. wrote: I don't understand why the Indians can't find a place for Jordan Brown's bat right now, never mind if his defense is spotty. Instead we have Branyan and Kearns playing 1B and LF, logging a prodigious number of Ks, and Brown, part of the Tribe's future [I hope] is stuck at Columbus.

Unfortunately, there is no place for Brown's bat right now because the two positions he plays the Indians have veterans Branyan and Kearns playing there everyday. Obviously, you and I prefer Brown over either guy, but until Kearns/Branyan are injured or traded, I don't see Brown coming to Cleveland. He is more than deserving, and once Branyan and/or Kearns are likely dealt at some point between now and the end of July, then he will be here. They have to play them now in order to show their trade value. I'd be surprised if come August 1st he is not here unless he is injured, which has been his problem this year as he’s missed a lot of time with the knee injury in spring training and then the back spasms a few weeks ago. But once he does get here he could sure add a different dynamic to the offense with his ability to make consistent contact and hit for average, something I think this lineup desperately needs.

Frank wrote: Although we're only one third of the way through the season do you think it's accurate to say the organization is pleased with the progress of Joe Gardner? There was mild to significant trepidation at his draft selection by many experts and was compounded by not pitching during short season. Interesting stat is he has only taken one official lost since spring 2008.

If you want to point to the biggest surprise or breakout performance of the year, to me it has to be Gardner. I saw him in the Fall Instructional League when he dominated in his last outing there with his nasty sinker and was pretty high on him myself going into the season, though hedged a little considering he had yet to pitch a true professional inning. But so far he has proven any doubter wrong and has arguably been the best pitcher in the entire minor league system this year. Even though he was considered to be kind of raw coming out of college, he has dominated both Single-A circuits in High-A and Low-A and probably will at some point be pushed up to Double-A Akron to be challenged. But the organization is extremely pleased with what he has shown. He still has a long way to go, but the progress he has made in such a short amount of time is impressive and exciting.

KP wrote: Will Pino get up this year? I think he will be a free agent after this year. He is currently not on the 40 man roster. Thoughts?

Probably not. The Indians already have a pretty full roster with pitching, and the next guys they will look to for relief help will be Jess Todd and Joe Smith. For starters, they will go to Aaron Laffey and Carlos Carrasco first, so with that in mind he is at best the third option either as a reliever or starter. The only way it appears that Pino and others in Columbus like Josh Tomlin and Vinnie Pestano may have a shot is if the injury bug hits the big league team and those first options listed above are used up. They could be September callup possibilities, but I think they will let Pino and Tomlin carry out the year in Columbus and see how things stand in the offseason with deciding whether to roster them or not.

Jim F. wrote: Tony, I noticed that a couple of the international players the Indians signed over the winter were not on the Dominican roster. The biggest name not on the roster is SS Jorge Martinez who was supposed to be the Tribe's best signee. Another name is pitcher Jonathan Cedeno. Are these players in Arizona and scheduled to play in the states or did they come up short during drug testing or with passport problems?

Martinez, who impressed in the Fall Instructional League, is set to begin his professional playing career at rookie-level Arizona this year and is completely skipping playing in the Dominican Summer League (DSL). As for Cedeno, he is in the DSL though not on the roster. He is not a prospect.

Speaking of the Arizona League team, they kickoff play next week and will have a very good mix of Latin players with promise on the roster. In addition to Martinez, players like catcher Alex Monsalve, outfielder Dioris Robles, first baseman Jesus Aguilar, and when he is cleared to pitch left-hander Elvis Araujo should all be part of the team. Third baseman Giovanny Urshela is highly regarded and will likely be in Low-A Lake County for the second half of their season or short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley once their season’s starts tomorrow.

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Minor Happenings: Donald Could Join Indians Very Soon

"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.

I will be in Akron tonight (Friday) to finally get my first look at the team.  They, like the parent club, have been on the road for a majority of the first three weeks of the season, but they kick off their second home stand this weekend.  Be on the lookout for lots of Akron player articles in the coming weeks.  Next week I head to Myrtle Beach for a week to get my first look at High-A Kinston.

In case you missed them, this week I posted player articles on Joe Gardner and his smoking start, this being Scott Lewis’ last chance, and I updated and re-posted my article on extended spring training.

SportsTime Ohio’s weekly TV program “Indians Minor League Magazine” kicked back up this week.  The show is a half hour and airs every Tuesday evening from 6:00-6:30 PM EST, though is re-aired several times a week.  I am doing the writeups and recommendations for them for their “Diamond In the Rough” feature, which you can see along with the entire show in the video I posted to my site.

Onto the Happenings….

Indians Minor League Player of the Week
(for games from April 22 through April 28)

Jason Donald (Shortstop/Second Baseman - Columbus)
.440 (11-25), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 3 K, 2 SB

Triple-A Columbus middle infielder Jason Donald is off to a very good start this season as in 21 games he is hitting .333 with 2 HR, 13 RBI, has 6 stolen bases and a .938 OPS.  He has really done it all so far, be it defensively by rotating between second base and shortstop and playing solid to above average defense at both positions, or offensively where he is running the bases well, making consistent contact and hitting the ball with authority, and getting on base at a great clip.  At the moment he ranks 11^th in the International League in hitting, 2^nd in runs (16), 2^nd in hits (27), 10^th in on-base percentage (.432), 15^th in OPS, 10^th in stolen bases, 14^th in RBI, and 2^nd in doubles (8).

Donald's hot start pales in comparison to the start he got off to last year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies organization and also with Columbus when he was traded to the Indians at the end of July for Cliff Lee.  He battled a left knee injury and later a back injury when he was with Columbus, and it showed in his performance as he hit just .236 with 1 HR, 16 RBI, and .629 OPS in 51 games last year at Lehigh Valley, and then hit just .257 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and a .750 OPS in 10 games for Columbus before his season ended prematurely in mid-August because of his back injury.

Donald looks to be back to being the prospect he was after the 2008 season where he ignited his prospect stock by hitting .307 with 14 HR, 54 RBI and a .888 OPS in 92 games for Double-A Reading, and then after that season had a sensational performance in the Arizona Fall League hitting .407 with 5 HR, 17 RBI and a 1.233 OPS in 25 games.  He is a player who at the time of the Cliff Lee trade looked bad because of his sub par performance due to injury, but he may finally be showing the true player he is capable of being and that he had more value than originally thought when the Indians acquired him.

With second base wide open in Cleveland, Donald is very much the favorite to become the everyday starter at that position by the end of the season.  With Luis Valbuena struggling in Cleveland and Donald shining in Columbus, it is only a matter of time before the Indians turn to Donald to see if he can help provide a spark to the team and struggling offense.  Valbuena would either go down to Columbus where he would continue to play second base everyday and play some shortstop and third base, or he could stick in Cleveland as the utility player, a role many think he will ultimately move into in the near future once Donald settles in with the Indians.  Valbuena would be able to platoon initially with Donald to help Donald’s initial transition to his first big league exposure and Valbuena would also be able to play third base and shortstop.  If this were to happen then infielder Mark Grudzielanek would be released.

Honorable Mentions:

Wes Hodges (1B – COL): .346 (9-26), 2 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K
Brian Bixler (INF – COL): .333 (7-21), 5 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K
Josh Tomlin (RHP – COL): 2-0, 2 G, 1.13 ERA, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Lonnie Chisenhall (3B – AKR): .370 (10-27), 3 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
Karexon Sanchez (INF – KIN): .333 (8-24), 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K
Jason Kipnis (2B – KIN): .435 (10-23), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K
Nate Recknagel (1B – KIN): .333 (8-24), 7 R, 1 2B, 0 3b, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 8 K
T.J. House (LHP – KIN): 0-0, 2 G, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 11 K

Previous Winners:

04/15 to 04/21: Bo Greenwell (OF - Lake County)
04/08 to 04/14: Carlos Santana (C - Columbus)

Director’s Cuts

Indians’ Farm Director Ross Atkins shared some thoughts this week on three Triple-A Columbus Clippers who could be on the move to Cleveland soon:

On Hector Ambriz: "He has been great.  He had a small hiccup in spring training where he had some elbow soreness and tightness.  This has essentially been his spring training and he has been unhittable.  I think the subjective comments are his pitches and stuff are as good as anyone we have there in Triple-A.  He is striking guys out and touching mid 90s along with an above average slider.  He has really been more than impressive so far.  His rehab assignment will come to an end [soon] and we will have to make a decision."

On Carlos Carrasco: "He has performed well.  He is flashing an above mid-90s fastball.  He is showing more fastball than what we have seen in the past as he has been up to 97 MPH and is striking guys out as well.  I think there is still development left for Carlos.  As with any player the consistency and the transition to the major leagues is more difficult than it is for a young hitter.  That development is finding ways to not only to continue to find a way to refine your pitches and the way you attack hitters, but how you refine the way you attack a game.  How is your focus, are you your best for 105 pitches every five days, and are you preparing for each of those pitches to be able to give your best effort against an AL Central lineup?  It is a great challenge.  We are going to find out how he handles that.  He has certainly made strides and is maturing as a starting pitching prospect."

On Jason Donald:  "He was injured when we had him at the end of last year.  He was coming off a knee injury and then injured his back, so we never saw him at 100% and now we are.  He is performing on both sides of the field and running the bases well.  He is stealing bases, he is going first to third easily, he is scoring from first, he is driving the ball out of the ballpark, he is hitting for average, getting on base, and playing solid defense at second and short.  So he is certainly a middle infield prospect and making himself an everyday middle infield player with a chance to impact a major league team here real soon."

On The Move?

In addition to Jason Donald, there could be some other players at Triple-A Columbus who may be on the move very soon.

First off, right-hander Hector Ambriz is the first player likely heading for a callup to Cleveland as he is currently on a 30-day rehab assignment which started on April 8th and will expire on May 7th.  With that in mind, the Indians need to make a decision on him over the course of the next week as once his rehab assignment ends, per Rule 5 Draft rules, he must either be activated on the 25-man big league roster or offered back to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  As many will recall the Indians picked him up in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft this past December, and after battling some arm soreness in spring training is looking like he is 100% and ready to get a crack at the Indians big league bullpen.  In seven appearances with Columbus he is 0-0 with a 1.13 ERA, and in 8.0 innings has allowed 9 hits, 1 walk, and has 15 strikeouts.  The Indians have every intention of keeping him, so it is just a matter of whether they call him up to Cleveland next week or they complete a trade to obtain his full rights so they can option him to the minors instead.

Right-handed starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco is about ready for a big league callup, so if an injury occurs or performance issues affect the Cleveland starting rotation he will be called up right away.  The problem for him is that Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Dave Huff and Mitch Talbot are all for the most part pitching well, and Justin Masterson is getting an extended look in the rotation.  The only chance at the moment for Carrasco to get to Cleveland anytime soon would appear to be an injury, though you have to wonder if Masterson's issues with getting lefties out and his inconsistency from start to start will eventually wear on the Indians to where they make the move (finally) to put him back into a setup role in the bullpen and then call up Carrasco.  At the moment in five starts Carrasco is 2-1 with a 3.49 ERA and in 28.1 innings has allowed 29 hits, 14 walks, and has struck out 25 batters.

Outfielder and first baseman Jordan Brown was just activated from the disabled list on Thursday and played his first game of the season on Thursday night going 1-for-4.  If he proves to be 100% and he shakes the rust off his bat and gets back to his 2009 form at the plate right away, Brown could be in Cleveland very soon.  The Indians are wondering if Matt LaPorta is still playing hurt, which would help explain his precipitous decline in his power this spring, and they may consider shutting him down to make sure he gets himself back to full health.  If this happens, it could finally be the open door that Brown has needed to get a chance in Cleveland, and he could also add a much needed boost to a struggling offense in Cleveland.  The Indians could always opt to go with outfielder Trevor Crowe as their first option to replace LaPorta since Austin Kearns has assumed everyday left field duties and Crowe is more suited as a fourth outfielder, but with the offense struggling and Brown's bat available, it may be too hard to pass him up this time.  Michael Brantley would also be in the mix too.  The knee injury he suffered in spring training is really unfortunate as had he been healthy he may have already gotten the call to Cleveland, but time will tell and barring another injury setback for him he should still see time in Cleveland at some point this year.

Coach’s Corner: Chris Tremie

Former Low-A Lake County and High-A Kinston manager Chris Tremie is enjoying his new role this year where he is splitting duties as the rookie level Arizona League Indians manager and also as the organization’s catching coordinator for the minor leagues.  Rookie ball doesn’t kick up until late-June, so currently Tremie is visiting all the catchers in the system to see how they are doing and also to assist with their continued development.  I recently spoke with him at Lake County while he visited there, and this is what he had to say about some of the catchers in the system and what they are working on this year:

On Carlos Santana: "The English is something he is working on.  He is also refining his catching skills as well and he is doing a good job.  He has a good strong arm, so he is just refining his release and getting rid of the ball quicker and continuing to work on it.  He is playing well, and it is just a matter of refining his [catching] skills."

On Roberto Perez:  "In the few games I have seen him play he has really done a nice job behind the plate.  He had a good spring training and we look for him to continue to play, learn and do what he is doing and continuing to get better as he goes.  He's doing a pretty good job all around as a catcher.  He blocks the ball well, he receives it well, he does a good job with pitchers calling a game, and is throwing extremely well, so he is doing a nice job all around behind the plate."

On Chun Chen:  "He is doing well.  He is throwing the ball better, getting rid of it quicker with more consistently, and he receives the ball well and is a good blocker.  [He is a converted third baseman] so he just needs playing time to continue to grow.  He is on the right track and has done a good job.  He just needs experience behind the plate.  It is not one skill [he needs to hone in on], it is just repetitions behind the plate and with his throwing making sure he is consistent with what he is doing."

On Doug Pickens:  "He can also play first base and swings the bat well, and had a good second half in Kinston last year offensively.  He does a nice job behind the plate receiving the ball and working with pitchers.  He does a nice job and he is in a position now where he is getting a chance to play regularly behind the plate, first base and DH a little bit.  So he gets to do multiple things which is good for him."

On Alex Monsalve:  "The main thing I see out of him is athletic ability.  He is a good athlete behind the plate.  He has arm strength and he has some tools to work with back there.  He is at the beginning stages of catching so he is just working his way up.  There is a lot of ability there and we just have to give him time to settle into the catching position and see where we go from there.  He is a young kid who is 18 years old, is athletic, has arm strength, and is strong.  We think he is going to have the ability to hit with some power.  His biggest strength is his overall natural ability right now and as he plays more I am sure that we will have other things we really like.  Right now it is just the overall package which is pretty nice and that we are pretty excited about."

On Dwight Childs:  "He had a good spring behind the plate.  Even though he is thin in stature, he blocks the ball well, moves well, receives well, and throws really well.  So defensively he has some tools and is a pretty good catcher."

Rondon's New Slider

While the Triple-A Columbus team is in first place and the offense is lighting up the scoreboard, not everything is all warm and fuzzy these days in Columbus.  In particular highly touted right-handed starting pitcher Hector Rondon has really struggled in the early going this season where in four starts he is 0-2 with a 8.66 ERA.  In 17.2 innings he has allowed 35 baserunners (27 hits, 7 walks, 1 hit batter) and an eye popping seven home runs.  These are not the kind of numbers expected after Rondon went 11-10 with a 3.38 ERA last year in 27 combined appearances (146.1 IP) between Double-A Akron and Columbus and allowed just 11 home runs all year.

Having pitched for half a season in Triple-A last year Rondon is really not going through an adjustment process to the league.  His problems in the early going are mostly centered around a lack of fastball command and the development of a new slider which have hurt him.  His fastball has always been his bread and butter pitch, but his inability to locate it consistently has really hurt him considerably as the hitters have not missed his mistakes.

But the thing that may really be affecting Rondon’s performance in the early going is a new slider he is working on.  The slider has been tweaked where it is now more of a slurve as the Indians have worked to take some velocity off it to have more separation between it and his fastball.  It has the velocity of a curveball in that it sits in the upper 70s, but has the depth and break of a slider.  He has been throwing the new slider a lot in games in order to develop a better feel for it, and so while he is adjusting to the new pitch there obviously are some growing pains and inconsistencies that come with it, and we just may be seeing that in the early going.

Rondon's last start on Sunday was encouraging as he went five innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits, two walks and had six strikeouts.  His command of the zone was much better, and more importantly his slurvy breaking ball showed improvement.  Of course, all of this could just be an overreaction to a small sample size as he still has another 24 or so starts to make this year.  Plus it could be "just baseball" as one team (Indianapolis) has been the culprit in both bad starts where he is 0-1 with a 18.90 ERA against them (6.2 IP, 19 H, 5 HR, 3 BB, 6 K), whereas in his other two starts against other teams he is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA (11 IP, 8 H, 2 HR, 4 BB, 11 K).   Still, the question now will be if the breaking ball continues to improve and he becomes consistent with the command of it along with his fastball, and he will get a chance to prove that in his next start tonight.

Development Is White’s Focus

High-A Kinston right-handed starting pitcher Alex White is quickly learning about the ups and downs of the professional game as well as managing his pitch count.  At North Carolina he would often be allowed to go 100 pitches in a game and sometimes 110-120 which let him easily pitch into the 7^th or 8^th inning most times out, but in the minor leagues it is a whole different ball game as the Indians keep their starters at the Single-A level to a strict 75 to 85 pitch count.  Because of this, he has often exhausted his pitch count by the end of the fourth or fifth inning, and often doesn’t factor into the decision in the games he pitches.

To date, in four starts White is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA and in 18.2 innings has allowed 18 hits, 11 walks and has 20 strikeouts.  The walk total is kind of high and shows how he has been inconsistent with his command which has led to a lot of high pitch count, high effort innings.  He is learning a hard lesson on the importance of location and being efficient with his pitches at the professional level, and ultimately will be better for it as if he just went out and blew people away to start his career it may not be as effective in getting through the importance of this area of development.

White has mostly thrown the ball well and has lived up to his scouting report in that he has been aggressive and constantly goes right after hitters.  Like Rondon, you also have to take his actual performance and stat line with a grain of salt as he is really working on developing his slider, which is his third best pitch in his arsenal.  Being forced to use his third best pitch more than he is used to can have a significant affect on his actual numbers, but from a development standpoint it is important he continue to develop and refine that slider into the potential plus offering the Indians think it will become.  He had lost the feel for the pitch in college, so the focus is really on getting that feel back for him and give him three plus pitches in his arsenal to be the dominating starting pitching prospect he was expected to be as a 1^st round pick.

There was some talk that White may not be in Kinston for long, but I have a hard time seeing him not in Kinston until at least the Carolina League All Star break at the end of June before potentially moving him up to Double-A Akron.  So he should get at least another 8-10 starts for Kinston and see how he fares in the development of his pitches, command and location.

No Second Thoughts

So far so good in the transition from the outfield to second base for High-A Kinston infielder Jason Kipnis.  So far this season in 18 games for Kinston he is hitting .343 with 2 HR, 8 RBI and has a .937 OPS.  He has surprising power for a player who is only 5’10” 175-pounds, and he has a keen eye at the plate.  His polished approach has shown itself in the early part of the season so far, and his recent adjustment with his swing to shorten it and work on hitting the ball up the middle has paid off and allowing him to have more success at the plate.

But the bat has never been a question for Kipnis as it was always where he would fit from a position standpoint on the diamond.  In the offseason the Indians started the process of a baseball makeover for him as they converted him from the outfield to second base in the Fall Instructional League, and after he impressed with his performance and the way he really took hold of the new position in Instructional League it was full steam ahead this season with the move to second base.

By converting Kipnis from an outfielder to a second baseman, his bat becomes much more special at his new position of second base whereas in the outfield it becomes average at best.  He has made a few mistakes in the field so far this season such as some positioning on certain pitches or with relay throws from the outfield, though this is to be expected as he learns the nuances of the position and his confidence and knowledge grows.  Since the start of Instructional League last fall he has worked out almost daily on his technique and defense at second base by taking part in drills and instruction.  The way he has settled into the position has impressed even the Indians as he is much further along with his development at second base at the moment than they ever thought he would be at this point.

With the depth at the position above Kipnis and him needing to really hone in and focus on his defense, he could spend the entire season at Kinston, or possibly be an August callup to Double-A Akron much like third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was last year.

Random Clippings

Triple-A Columbus right-handed pitcher Jeanmar Gomez is off to a slow start as in four starts he is 1-2 with a 5.57 ERA and in 21.0 innings has allowed 25 hits, 12 walks, and has 16 strikeouts.  Of all the pitchers in the Columbus starting rotation he is the most inexperienced as he is pitching above Double-A for the first time in his career, and it is showing.  The Indians understand that there will be a hiccup with his performance at the outset in his first exposure to the Triple-A level, but they expect him to show some development and improved performance over the course of the season.  At the moment his problem has been his inconsistent command and not attacking hitters, so as he gets more confidence and attacks the strike zone more consistently his performance will hopefully improve.

Columbus right-handed pitcher Yohan Pino is pitching himself into the big league mix.  While he is not on the 40-man roster, he is certainly in the discussion should the Indians need a starting pitcher after Carlos Carrasco is summoned.  After an impressive big league spring training where he opened up some eyes he is off to a solid start this year for Columbus where in four starts he is 3-0 with a 3.47 ERA and in 23.1 innings has allowed 22 hits, 6 walks, and has 25 strikeouts.  He has been the Clippers most consistent starting pitcher to date and is making the most of an opportunity to put himself into the big league pitching discussion all year.

Utility player Brian Bixler has been a man of many positions.  In 17 games he has started eight games at third base, five games at shortstop, two games at second base, and two games in the outfield.  The Indians picked him up from the Pirates in the offseason with the idea of him filling a utility need at the Triple-A level and potentially at the big league level this year.  In those 17 games played he is hitting a solid .293 with 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 stolen bases, and has an .839 OPS.

Infirmary Report

Here is a quick update of some injuries in the system.  Last week Jordan Brown and Alexander Perez were both in this listing, but as noted they were activated this week (Thursday):

Triple-A Columbus left-hander Scott Lewis found himself back on the disabled list on Wednesday with left elbow soreness.  It is still too early to determine how long he may be out, but in the meantime left-hander Jeremy Sowers was added to the Columbus roster in his place.

High-A Kinston outfielder Jordan Henry is still working his way through an injured left index finger.  There is no estimated time of when he will return.  Utility player Adam Davis was added to the roster while Henry is out.

High-A Kinston outfielder Donnie Webb is temporarily sidelined with a tweaked hamstring that he has been battling since he initially hurt it in spring training.  He has not been added to the disabled list, and is expected to be back in the lineup sometime this weekend.

High-A Kinston right-handed reliever Santo Frias is on the disabled list with an elbow issue, which is not a good sign.  He is out indefinitely.  Right-hander Brett Brach was called up from extended spring training and replaced Frias on the active roster.

Former Player Update

In the offseason, the Indians lost three players from their player development system in left-handed pitcher Chuck Lofgren (Major League Rule 5 Draft), left-handed pitcher Matt Meyer (Triple-A Rule 5 Draft), and third baseman Jesus Brito (Brian Bixler trade).  Here is a quick update on how they are doing just skimming over the box scores and stat lines:

Lofgren has made four starts for Triple-A Nashville and is 3-1 with a 4.71 ERA.  In 21.0 innings he has allowed 20 hits, 8 walks, and has 12 strikeouts.  So far it looks like he has continued his solid though not spectacular play he had at Triple-A Columbus this year, and he could factor in at some point this year into the Milwaukee Brewers big league pitching staff.

Meyer has made seven appearances for Double-A Springfield (St. Louis Cardinals) and is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA.  In 3.2 innings he has allowed 7 hits, 6 walks, and has 2 strikeouts.  Just looking at his numbers with 13 base-runners in 3.2 innings, it appears he is still struggling with his command and walking too many guys.  It’s a shame as he is more talented than his numbers indicate, but he just can’t effectively control his pitches.  He may be nearing the end of the road with his minor league career as the Cardinals may not stick with him much longer if his performance does not improve.

Brito has played in 19 games for Low-A West Virginia and is hitting .250 with 1 HR, 8 RBI, and a .709 OPS.  He had a very interesting year last year for the Indians at the short-season levels with 32 extra base hits in 60 games, but only has four extra base hits in 19 games so far this season.

Affiliate Notebook

Columbus Notes (14-8, 1^st place, 1.0 GU):  With Scott Lewis out injured, right-hander Josh Tomlin will slide into the starting rotation at least in the short term.  Newly rostered Jeremy Sowers will pitch primarily out of the bullpen for the time being. … To make room on the roster for the recently activated Jordan Brown, the Clippers removed catcher Damaso Espino from the roster and assigned him to Mahoning Valley (paper move).  Espino is still with the team, just not active.  With Espino no longer on the roster, Chris Gimenez will now serve as the backup catcher in the short term. … Outfielder Trevor Crowe is hitting .286 with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 5 stolen bases, and a .668 OPS in 19 games.  He was involved in an interesting play a few games ago where he tried to score from second base on a wild pitch, a la Kenny Lofton in the 1995 ALCS.  He was called out on a close play at the plate and after he argued the call was thrown out of the game. … Infielder Brian Buscher missed a few games this past week because of a sore lower back.  In 15 games he is hitting .235 with 2 HR, 8 RBI, and a .731 OPS. … Outfielder Jose Constanza’s .373 batting average (19-51) is ranked 5^th in the International League. … Catcher Carlos Santana and outfielder Shelley Duncan are tied for second in the league with 19 RBI, and Santana’s 5 HR ranks him 3^rd in the league and his .453 on-base% is 4^th in the league. … Eight of right-handed reliever Saul Rivera’s nine appearances have been scoreless while seven have been hitless (10.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K) and his .100 opponent average (3-30) is second lowest among relievers in the league.

Akron Notes (8-12, 6^th place, 5.5 GB):  Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall had his 11-game hitting streak come to an end on Wednesday night.  During the streak he batted 17-for-47 (.362) with 3 2B, 3RBI and 5 runs scored.  He has reached base safely in 17 of his 18 games this year and overall is hitting .333 with 0 HR, 5 RBI and an .805 OPS. … Left-handed starter Eric Berger was activated from the disabled list on Monday, as he took the spot of right-hander Connor Graham who went on the disabled list with a finger injury.  In Berger’s first start he went 2.2 innings and allowed 5 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks, and had 2 strikeouts. … Left-handed pitcher Ryan Edell had a rough start last Thursday night going 3.0 innings and allowed 7 runs on 10 hits, 1 walk and had 2 strikeouts.  In three starts this year he is 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA and in 13.0 innings has allowed 15 hits, 2 walks, and has 11 strikeouts. … Second baseman Cord Phelps leads the Eastern League with a .375 (24-64) average and his .437 on-base% is 5^th highest in the league. … Infielder Jared Goedert has tallied 12 RBI over his last 11 games and is batting .340 (18-53) on the year which qualifies for the 5^th highest average in the league. … Right-handed reliever Vinnie Pestano has allowed just 1 earned run in his 8 games (8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 K). … Right-handed reliever Omar Aguilar has struck out 16 in 10.1 innings over six appearances.  His K/9 of 13.94 is 3^rd highest among relievers in the league. … Akron hitters lead the Eastern League with a .268 average while Akron pitchers have a 5.44 ERA which is the worst in the league.

Kinston Notes (8-12, 3^rd place, 7.0 GB):  Right-handed pitcher Alexander Perez was activated off the disabled list on Thursday and made his season debut on Thursday night going 3.0 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, 1 walk and had 3 strikeouts.  To make room on the roster, left-hander T.J. House was reassigned to Lake County (this was a paper move).  Right-handed pitcher Joey Mahalic will piggyback with Perez on his start days. … Left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland has been impressive in the early going to Kinston as in three games he is 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA and in 13.1 innings has allowed 1 run on 9 hits, 3 walks, and has 8 strikeouts.  He was impressive and efficient in his last outing on Sunday where he threw six innings of shutout relief and only threw 60 pitches. … Catcher Doug Pickens is hitting .342 (13-38) with 2 2B, 2 HR and 8 RBI in 12 games this year.  He has tallied 6 RBI over his last three games. … Infielder Karexon Sanchez has hit safely in each of his last eight games (10-30) with 7 RBI, and his season .422 on-base% is 4th highest in the Carolina League. … Outfielder Abner Abreu has gone 10-for-36 over his last 9 games to raise his average from .100 to .197. … Right-handed reliever Steve Smith has finished seven games this year which is tied for the league high. …Left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone is 0-1 with a 0.56 ERA in four starts (16.0 IP, 13 H, E R, 8 BB, 20 K).  His ERA is the lowest among all qualifying pitchers in the league.

Lake County Notes (16-5, 1^st place, 2.5 GU): Right-handed starting pitcher Clayton Cook had an excellent outing on Wednesday night – his best so far this season – where he went 6 innings and allowed no runs, 3 hits, 2 walks and had 2 strikeouts.  In four starts this year he is 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA and in 19.0 innings has allowed 15 hits, 12 walks and has 13 strikeouts. … Right-handed starting pitcher Trey Haley put up his best outing of his pro career to date on Thursday night going 7 innings and allowing 1 run on 2 hits, 3 walks, and had 3 strikeouts.  In five starts this season he is 1-0 with a 4.68 ERA and in 25.0 innings he has allowed 25 hits, 11 walks and has 13 strikeouts. … Outfielder Bo Greenwell continues to lead the Midwest League with his .405 average (30-74) and 23 RBI while also has 6 2B, 2 3B, and 3 HR.  He is batting .463 (19-41) in 11 games on the road and is 9-for-16 (.563) with 2 HR and 6 RBI against left-handed pitchers. … Infielder Casey Frawley’s .365 batting average is 6^th highest in the league. … Third baseman Jeremie Tice is batting .324 (22-68) in 17 games this year with 7 2B, 1 HR and 17 RBI.  He is tied for 4^th in the league in RBI. … Right-handed starter Joe Gardner is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (18.0 IP, 6 ER) in four starts with 32 strikeouts.  His 32 strikeouts are tops in the league and 2^nd in all of the minors.  His K/9 ratio of 16.0 leads all the minors. … Left-handed pitcher Chris Jones is 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five games (16.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 17 K).  His 0.63 WHIP is tied for 3rd for lowest in the league and lowest among left-handed pitchers, and he has limited opponents to a .161 batting average (9-56) which is 5th lowest in the league.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

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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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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