Clippers Notebook: Pestano is working his way back

By Michael Rich

June 16, 2014

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The Columbus Clippers closed the road trip by splitting the final two games in Charlotte highlighted by a 14-2 outburst in the Tuesday afternoon game. Jesus Aguilar hit a pair of three-run homers to pace the offense in a game that included eight extra base hits and five home runs.

Waiting for the Clippers on the return home was the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, but Columbus was ready for them, taking all four. Vinnie Pestano converted both saves in the first two games preserving one-run leads in each game. Tyler Holt hit his first home run of the year (at either level). His next one will tie a career high.

They completed the sweep with big-margin victories in the final two games. Jesus Aguilar hit a three-run homer in the third inning of Saturday night’s 7-0 win over SWB. Zach McAllister, C.C. Lee, Gabriel Arias and Frank Herrmann combined for the shutout.

In the finale, the Clippers got what was probably the first inside-the-park home run in Huntington Park history in the second inning of Sunday night’s game. The Clippers broke it open with a three-run shot to left by Carlos Moncriefin the seventh and added four more in the eighth to complete the sweep over the RailRiders with an 11-3 win.

Pestano working his way back

There was a time when people would say, when referring to solid middle relief, “He’s no Vinnie Pestano.” In fact, the phrase was so common, that it was used in the hit television show 'How I Met Your Mother'. After a rough first week in Cleveland this season, Pestano found himself back in Columbus.

Pestano's fall has been swift, so much that he is even being edited out of syndicated TV.

“About two weeks ago, we were in Louisville, and randomly the TV was on and that episode was on and they completely cut that part out of the episode,” Clippers reliever Vinnie Pestano recalled. “So I guess that’s when you know how far you’ve fallen off is when TV starts cutting you out of episodes to save time.”

So what happened?

“I had a solid spring, but it kind of tapered off at the end,” Vinnie Pestano said. “I didn’t have very good outings. I kind of took that into the regular season and I found myself here shortly after. But, I got right to work with Tony Arnold and Luke Carlin. I just started piecing everything together. First identifying what I was doing wrong and then trying to fix it. It’s been a little bit of a process trying to fix those things one-by-one.”

Mechanics were a big part of his problem.

“Yeah, it definitely has been mechanics,” Pestano affirmed. “The ball coming out of my hand, the life the ball’s got on it, what it’s doing after. The swings I’m getting now are swings that I was used to getting. It’s been a welcomed sight to see; to see guys not on pitches because that was something there for a while, where it didn’t really matter what I threw, guys looked like they were on it. Getting a little bit of that late life and deception has been big lately.”

Lately, he has pitched like the solid Vinnie Pestano of old. From May 3 to the present, Pestano has pitched in 16 games and has given up just one run. Opponents are batting .179 against him and he has a WHIP under one (0.80).

“But probably about the last three or four weeks or so, I’ve been able go out there and just feel comfortable and consistent with my mechanics when I’m on the mound, which is a huge benefit,” Pestano said.

He converted a pair of saves, closing out one-run victories on Thursday and Friday night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“He’s been throwing the ball well lately,” Clippers manager Chris Tremie said after Thursday night’s save. “It looks like he’s got some deception. He’s got some up-shoot to his fastball. He threw a couple of breaking balls (on Thursday night) and has been throwing some. He looks really good right now.”

After Friday night’s save the praise continued in the manager’s office.

“He’s got life to his fastball, a little up-shoot to his fastball,” Tremie said. “He looks like the Vinnie that has had so much success in the big leagues right now.”

The phrase, “he’s no Vinnie Pestano,” is starting to be commonly said once again in the Buckeye state, and potentially in the Major Leagues very soon.

Catching Wind

Jesus Aguilar, 1B
7 G, 10-30, 7 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K, .300 BA since 6/8

Aguilar returned to the lineup last Sunday with a homer in his first at-bat. It was his Tuesday performance that turned heads when he homered twice, both three-run shots in a three hit performance that led the Clippers in a 14-2 win at Charlotte. He added a third three-run shot on Saturday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The last week has been reminiscent of the first week of the season when he belted three homers and was batting .448 through eight games with a trio of doubles.

Jose Ramirez, INF
7 G, 13-30, 5 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, 3-6 SB, .433 BA since 6/4

Ramirez quietly had a great week. Flying a little bit under the radar because of teammates’ hot streak, Ramirez has been the catalyst at the top of the lineup. The one-two punch of Ramirez and Tyler Holt has almost guaranteed a base runner aboard for Jesus Aguilar and company in the middle of the order - though he has not played in a game since Thursday night’s win over SWB.

Carlos Moncrief, OF
12 G, 14-45, 9 R, 3 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 4 BB, 10 K, .311 BA since 6/1

Since June began, Moncrief has four homers. On Sunday night, he hit a three-run homer in the seventh to break the game open. While his bat is becoming a big impact for the Clippers, his arm continues to prevent runners from advancing the extra base. He has 13 outfield assists this season, which is already three away from matching his total from last season. In 2011, he recorded a career high 21, but the word is out. Moncrief has a cannon so base coaches are not sending their runners when the ball is hit to right.

Lost at Sea

Elliot Johnson, INF/OF
12 G, 8-41, 9 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 7 BB, 12 K, 3-3 SB, .195 BA since 6/1

Johnson is one of the few bats in the lineup that has struggled lately, but he continues to be used at just about every position on the field, including as a pitcher in one game (May 29). Johnson has been the left fielder the last couple of starts as the Clippers continue to carry only three true outfielders with Matt Carson on the DL. That said, he has struggled in June. He was 1-for-3 in the Sunday blowout win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with three runs scored, a pair of RBI and a double so maybe things are turning around for the utility player.

By the Numbers

With the win on Sunday night, Clippers manager Chris Tremie has achieved 500 victories in his career as a Minor League manager, also putting him over .500 during his tenure as Clippers manager. His career record is now 500-516 over nine seasons and 107-106 in two seasons with the Clippers. All nine seasons have been in the Indians organization.

Cody Anderson (Photo: Brittany Chay)

IBI Hot List: Anderson's struggles continue into June

By Tony Lastoria
June 16, 2014
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It’s been awhile since we last posted a Hot List. Such is the way things work once the draft season kicks in. In fact, for fans of Tribe Happenings, that piece has also been missing on Monday’s because I simply have not had time to write it thanks to all of the pre and post-draft stuff. Now that things are finally starting to settle down things should begin to get back to normal again this week at IBI with the weekly minor league columns from me.

In this week’s Hot List I showcase the Top 15 performances for the month to date as well as the Bottom 5 performances as well. As always, I include insight, information and more on each player listed.

This listing is a quick rundown through the hottest and some of the coldest players in the Indians system over the past seven days. In no way does it rank or list players based on value; it is simply a snapshot of the best and worst performances from the past week without any discrimination regarding whether a player is a prospect or not. In a way it is sort of like Around the Farm as it includes brief comments about each player, but the performances for the week are ranked.

The Hot 15

1. Tyler Naquin (OF – Akron): .404 AVG (23-57), 12 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 10 K, 3 SB, 1.014 OPS. Naquin has been red hot in June and is currently in the midst of a 17-game hitting streak. After a slow start to his season when he hit just .200 with a .523 OPS in his first 16 games, he has since hit .361 with a .913 OPS over his last 50 games. The Indians challenged him this season to be more aggressive on the bases, and that is something he is doing with 14 stolen bases – just one less than his total all of last season.

2. Luis Lugo (SP – Lake Co): 3 GS, 3-0, 2.16 ERA, 16.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R/ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 22 K, .161 BAA. Lugo is a guy that has scouts drooling. He is left-handed, can command the baseball, has lots of upside to him still, has a good pitcher’s frame and is able to get swing and miss. Every time I ask scouts about players that they see at Lake County, Lugo’s name is the first one that comes up. He’s an attractive prospect for the Indians and really showing improved stuff this season and might be a trade chip this summer.

3. Jesus Aguilar (1B – Columbus): .333 AVG (10-30), 7 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K, 1.142 OPS. Aguilar just continues to pound Triple-A pitching as he went back to Columbus this week after a short callup to Cleveland and piled up production numbers. Remember those home and away splits that I and many others made a big deal about early in the season? They are starting to level out as he is hitting .306 with 7 HR, 19 RBI and .960 OPS in 30 games at home and is hitting .273 with 4 HR, 13 RBI and .885 OPS in 19 games on the road.

4. Shawn Morimando (SP – Carolina): 3 GS, 1-0, 1.47 ERA, 18.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R/ER, 0 HR, 8 BB, 14 K, .115 BAA. Morimando has had a very nice repeat season at High-A Carolina. I am still puzzled as to why the Indians promoted him to Akron just for one start, though while they have not said so I think some changes in the upper levels with the makeup of the rotations had an effect on that decision. I would be surprised if Morimando is not moved up to Akron sometime this week during or just after the Single-A All Star break.

5. Carlos Moncrief (OF – Columbus): .311 AVG (14-45), 9 R, 3 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 4 BB, 10 K, 1.024 OPS. To date, Moncrief is having almost a carbon copy of his 2013 season. Last season at Double-A Akron he hit .241 with a .655 OPS in April, and this season at Triple-A Columbus he hit .240 with a .630 OPS in April. In May last year he hit .264 with a .746 OPS and in May this year hit .236 with a .645 OPS, and in June last year hit .370 with a 1.087 OPS and in June this year is hitting .311 with a 1.024 OPS. He has a long way to go this month and the numbers are a little down overall, but this is encouraging.

6. Will Roberts (SP – Akron): 3 GS, 2-1, 2.41 ERA, 18.2 IP, 15 H, 8 R (5 ER), 0 HR, 3 BB, 16 K, .231 BAA. Roberts has pitched better this season and has really solidified himself as a backend of the rotation starting pitching prospect for the Indians. His stuff is just a little better across the board which has helped him see a slight improvement in his ability to get swing and miss which has in turn lowered his home run and hit rates some and seen his strikeout rate go up a little.

7. Ryan Merritt (SP – Carolina): 2 GS, 0-0, 1.42 ERA, 12.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R/ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 10 K, .196 BAA. While the Indians seem determined to get Morimando to Akron, another pitcher who is as deserving of a promotion to Akron is Merritt. In fact, one can even argue that Merritt’s pitchability and advanced command probably make him better prepared to handle the Double-A level. In any case, Merritt had an exceptional first half of the season at Carolina going 6-2 with a 1.66 ERA in 12 starts and has been pegged to start the All Star game for the Carolina League.

8. Joe Sever (INF – Carolina): .382 AVG (13-34), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K, .859 OPS. Sever has shot out of the gates since his return from a hand injury suffered on opening night when he was hit by a pitch. He is kind of in prospect limbo because he does not have a set position, is coming off injury and so many new players are coming into the organization from the draft, but he picked a good time to both return to the lineup and also play well.

9. Luigi Rodriguez (OF – Carolina): .367 AVG (11-30), 5 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 9 BB, 8 K, 1.033 OPS. Rodriguez has played well of late, and probably the most encouraging thing is the improved approach at the plate with the 9 walks to 8 strikeouts. He is walking at a good clip (14.1%) which is actually outstanding, but he still has a problem with his discipline as a 21.5% strikeout rate even with such a high walk rate is a problem he continues to work through.

10. Jose Ramirez (INF – Columbus): .368 AVG (14-38), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K, 3 SB, .929 OPS. Like Aguilar, Ramirez continues to perform well at Triple-A even with the interruption of a promotion to Cleveland where he received limited playing time. Ramirez really struggled in his short stay in Cleveland (2-for-25) but that is not a true representation of what kind of hitter he is and how he can impact a lineup in several different roles and with his speed on the bases. I look forward to his next opportunity, which may not be until September unless one of Cabrera, Aviles or Kipnis gets hurt.

11. Claudio Bautista (INF – Lake Co): .317 AVG (13-41), 7 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 0 BB, 8 K, 2 SB, .911 OPS. One of my favorite prospects in the Indians lower levels of the system. He is not a high level prospect by any means, but there is some upside to his bat and he has some versatility where he can potentially help a Major League roster someday. After a rough start to his season he has really begun to turn things around the last month.

12. Dorssys Paulino (OF – Lake Co): .317 AVG (13-41), 10 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 8 BB, 2 K, .903 OPS. The power is still missing, but Paulino is starting to perform and put up the at bats that are expected of him as a top prospect and as one of the Indians best hitting prospects. A lot of that is because of a more patient and disciplined approach where he has drawn 7 walks and struck out just 1 time over the last 11 games. If he begins to find consistency with his approach, then the power numbers could spike as he gets better pitches to hit and puts better swings on them.

13. Alex Lavisky (C – Akron): .342 AVG (13-38), 6 R, 3 2B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K, .796 OPS. Lavisky has had a very good season to date; a season not often talked about all that much so far. He’s mainly filled a backup catcher role, but with Tony Wolters out temporarily he has taken advantage of the increased playing time and played well. The approach at the plate is still the biggest concern with him, but he’s a very good backup catching prospect because of his solid defense and the excellent way he handles a staff and is a leader on the field.

14. Tyler Holt (OF – Columbus): .306 AVG (15-49), 9 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 11 BB, 11 K, 3 SB, .841 OPS. Holt has had a very consistent, strong season to date in 59 combined games between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. He doesn’t hit for much power at all, but he is showing an improved ability to square up balls and make good contact, is getting on base at a great clip and is playing above average defense. He’s a player that some scouts have kept tabs on as a possible fourth outfielder option, something the Indians are keeping tabs on as well.

15. Dace Kime (SP – Lake Co): 3 GS, 1-2, 2.45 ERA, 18.1 IP, 14 H, 7 R (5 ER), 1 HR, 10 BB, 19 K, .219 BAA. There was some strong deliberation for this final spot among other players like Mitch Brown, Justin Sellers, Todd Hankins, Joe Wendle and others who have played well this month, but Kime got the nod because of his performance and how he seems to be turning things around. The command still comes and goes, but the quality of his outings have drastically improved since the beginning of the season. This is great to see and I can’t wait to see how he digs in and performs in the second half.

The Cold 5

1. Cody Anderson (SP – Akron): 3 GS, 0-2, 7.24 ERA, 13.2 IP, 16 H, 11 R/ER, 5 HR, 7 BB, 11 K, .291 BAA. Often times a player’s performance in a late season promotion to a higher level doesn’t mean a whole lot and does not provide much insight into how that player will perform the next season at that same level. Well, going by what Anderson showed in three outings last year at Akron his numbers this season are almost in line with his poor debut at Akron last year. The Indians are trying to make some adjustments to his delivery to improve his command and get some zip back to his fastball as he has really seen a decrease in the quality of his stuff. His drop to a 5.6 K/9 might be one of the more disappointing developments in the system this year.

2. Adam Miller (RP – Akron): 4 G, 0-1, 22.85 ERA, 4.1 IP, 10 H, 11 R/ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 5 K, .435 BAA. Miller got off to a hot start and there were many – including me – that were hoping he could build off that hot start and turn it into a great season at Akron and potential callup to Cleveland in September. Based on how he is pitching to date those hopes have all but vanished. He has actually pitched well as a whole this season and has been up to 96-97 MPH with his fastball and his numbers are much better than his ERA suggests, but he is pretty much just a one pitch pitcher at this point as he can’t find much consistency with his slider.

3. Jake Lowery (C – Akron): .133 AVG (4-30), 2 R, 3 2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 13 K, .490 OPS. Lowery had the unfortunate experience with suffering a right orbital fracture two weeks into the season and missing about seven weeks, so he never really got a chance to get his season on track and just returned to the lineup about 10 days ago and is still trying to get his timing and feel for the bat back. Even smaller injuries have a way of ruining a season, so hopefully Lowery can get things going and get back to being the performer he was last season. He’s a productive bat with some power that the Indians could really use to vault his prospect ceiling a little.

4. Joseph Colon (SP – Akron): 3 GS, 1-2, 6.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 21 H, 12 R (10 ER), 1 HR, 6 BB, 10 K, .350 BAA. Just as all of the accolades were starting to he showered on Colon for a hot start and for establishing him as one of the Indians best starting pitching prospects, he struggles for a few outings. This is likely just a hiccup in his performance and the typical like of a sinkerballer who sometimes will have days where a team piles up hits and finds all the holes in the infield. He’s been strong in his outings, but one thing worth monitoring is how he does in the second half and if he tires a little as he is already at 73.2 innings this season and only threw 92.0 innings all of last season in the minors.

5. Logan Vick (OF – CAR/LC): .174 AVG (9-46), 3 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, .582 OPS. Vick has had a very strange season. He is drawing a good amount of walks but he may be patient to a fault which in turn has affected the quality of his at bats and he has struggled to hit when behind in the count. The strikeouts are high and he is just not making much good contact at all, and while he has stolen 7 bases he has been caught 8 times. He was also recently reassigned to Lake County. It has been a tough year for him all around.

Follow Tony and the Indians Baseball Insider on Twitter @TonyIBI. Also, his new book the 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider which profiles the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is available for sale.

I'm starting to share Tony's optimism that we have some mid range talent in the system behind the top couple

Only Scrappers and Clippers in action last night. Perpetual Class A OF Jorge Martinez fanned his first three times up, then homered twice for a 2=1 Scrapper win.

CLE AAA Aguilar, Jesus 1B 3 2 1 1 .294 2 BB (26)
CLE SS Mejia, Francisco DH 4 0 1 0 .385
CLE AAA Adams, Austin 1 0 0 0 0 2 3.10
CLE AAA Lee, C.C. 1 0 0 0 0 1 4.97
CLE MAJ Bauer, Trevor 6.2 8 3 3 4 6 4.20 W (2-3)

Justus Sheffield (Photo: USA)

2014 MLB Draft: June 17th signing update

By Tony Lastoria

June 17, 2014

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The Indians have a lot of high profile draft picks in town this week to visit Progressive Field and be around the big league team and of course to finalize their contracts. One such high profile player officially came off the board on Monday as Justus Sheffield signed his deal with the Indians, and a few more should become official today or tomorrow.

I will continue to post these signing updates on a daily basis on things I see and hear, though as we get further away from the draft and players officially sign or decline to sign, the updates will become much less frequent.

- The Indians have officially signed 1st round compA pick left-handed pitcher Justus Sheffield. No terms of the deal have been released, but it would be surprising if he doesn’t end up with the $1.6 million bonus that was leaked out on draft night and that everyone denied for the past 10 days. He will go to Arizona to get prepared to pitch again and throw in some games in rookie ball.

- As noted here in previous updates that they would sign, the Indians have also officially signed 12th round pick right-handed pitcher Jordan Dunatov, 19th round pick right-handed pitcher Argenis Angulo, 21st round pick outfielder Bobby Ison and 23rd round pick outfielder David Armendariz.

- 3rd round pick first baseman Bobby Bradley is still in town and was at the Indians game last night. There is still no word on a signing, but he is 100% going to sign so news on that front should be coming in the next day or so.

- 4th round pick left-handed pitcher Sam Hentges will make his final high school start today in the Class 3A state championship game at Target Field in Minnesota. The championship games were rained out on Sunday and Monday, which is why he will get a chance to pitch again. After his high school season is completed today he is set to come to Cleveland later this week to visit the team and city and most importantly talk with the front office about a deal. It would be a surprise if he leaves Cleveland without a deal since the parameters of a deal were already worked out on draft night.

- 8th round pick right-handed pitcher Micah Miniard has agreed to his deal with the Indians. I noted in a previous update that he told me he was definitely signing, and according to Chris Cotillo he has agreed to a $350K bonus which is almost $200K above slot. He should report to Arizona in the coming days.

- 24th round pick outfielder Jodd Carter’s signing should become official on Wednesday. He is scheduled to report to Arizona that day, complete a physical and sign his contract.

Follow Tony and the Indians Baseball Insider on Twitter @TonyIBI. Also, his new book the 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider which profiles the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is available for sale.

You'd better go watch ACab and then re-think that post sea.....

Lake County and Carolina were off again yesterday and their league all-star games were played. The only LC representation was C Eric Haase who went 0-1 and pitcher Jordan Milbrath [who is far from being a prospect but did pitch well for about six weeks before stumbling of late] who was battered for 4 runs in 1 inning. In the Carolina game, Erik Gonzalez was 1-4 playing third base and Ryan Merritt who has been consistent all season started and pitched a perfect inning.

In actual games, BA has these highlights:

CLE AA Lindor, Francisco SS 6 3 3 1 .280
CLE AA Rodriguez, Ronny 3B 4 3 3 2 .236 2 2B (15), HR (4), BB (12) [finally caught fire in June]
CLE AA Wendle, Joe 2B 6 1 4 3 .265 2B (16), 3B (4), SB (4) [poor April, hot bat since then]
CLE AA Wolters, Tony C 5 1 1 0 .264 2B (8)
CLE AA Armstrong, Shawn 1 1 2 2 0 2 2.22
CLE AAA Barnes, Scott 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 3.18
CLE MAJ Crockett, Kyle 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 1.29 [unlikely to return to Columbus other than due to some roster juggling requirement]

Only game completed was for the Aeros. Others off for all star breaks or postponed.

Joe Wendle with a couple more hits. Anthony Gallas with his 2nd AA homer. Joe Colon pitched 8 innings, 2 runs on 9 hits.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x&sid=milb

Lindor just hit a 2 run double to put the Ru ... Akron on top.

Dace Kime tonight ... 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2BB, 8 K

Hopefully he's getting back on track. Had hopes for him after last year, but he's been getting smacked around so far this season.

Kime has been steadily improving. His first starts in April were godawful, with WHIP of about 2.5. May was OK. June has actually been very good. Glad someone else is watching.

Thursday box scores:

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... d=20140619

Lots of games played with a couple makeup games as doubleheaders. Some highlights besides Kime's:

Giovanny Urshela with a double and rbi in each of the Clippers' two games. An excellent defender is now a hitter, too.
Carlos Moncrief with a gun of an arm in RF, hitless in the opener, 3 run homer in the nightcap. has half of his 8 HR in June
Hagadone took a loss with 3 runs in 2 innings.
Austin Adams a 1-2-3 inning.
TJ House 7 runs in 6 innings.

Lindor doubled, tripled, batted in 2.
Naquin singled and struck out 4 times.
Will Roberts, I don't think he's a prospect, but he's been pretty solid this year: 8-4-2-2-0-7

Luigi Rodriguez single and 3 walks.
Cole Sulser 10 runs in 4 1/3. Only 9 earned.

Dorsyss Paulino finally hits first homer of the season (7 in short season 2012; 5 in full season 2013). His walk/strikeout rate has improved dramatically this month as has average as his OPS by month in 2014 reflects: 580/541/937

2013 5th round lefty Sean Brady 4 1 hit scoreless K-less innings for the Scrappers. Zimmer hasn't played yet.

AZL team debuts tonight.

Incomplete roster showing for the Arizona team, with none of this year's draftees. Current short list includes a large Far East contingent:

Pitchers: Ping Hseuh Chen; Shao Ching Chiang; Naoki Hashimoto; and 2nd baseman Takoya Tsuchida

Thursday highlighted lines:

CLE AA Lindor, Francisco SS 5 0 2 2 .282 2B (8), 3B (4), CS (7)
CLE AA Wolters, Tony C 4 0 1 0 .260 2B (9)
CLE AAA Moncrief, Carlos RF 3 1 2 3 .250 HR (8)
CLE LoA Paulino, Dorssys LF 4 1 1 1 .241 HR (1)
CLE AA Armstrong, Shawn 1 2 0 0 0 1 2.15 Sv (10)
CLE AAA Adams, Austin 1 0 0 0 0 1 3.00
CLE LoA Kime, Dace 5 3 1 1 2 8 5.22 W (2-9)
CLE MAJ Crockett, Kyle 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1.23 W (1-0)
CLE SS Brady, Sean 4 1 0 0 2 0 5.63

From Ice Cold to Certifiably Hot, Dace Kime cracks the BA Hot Prospect list for his past two starts this week:
7. Dace Kime, rhp, Indians

Team: low Class A Lake County (Midwest)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: 2-0, 0.77, 2 G, 2 GS, 11.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 17 SO, 3 BB

The Scoop: It hasn’t been a great season for Kime, who entered the year as Cleveland’s No. 16 prospect after the organization made him its third-round pick last year out of Lousiville. He finished April with 26 runs allowed (21 earned) in 19 innings, and he otherwise hasn’t done much to inspire confidence as a 22-year-old pitching in the Midwest League. Yet in his last two starts, Kime has flipped a switch, looking more like the pitcher the Indians thought they were drafting with a solid fastball and a plus curveball. Kime could ultimately end up in the bullpen, but his last handful of starts have been a step in the right direction.