So this Plutko success this year is no fluke. He pitched through pain last year and had offseason hip surgery to fix it. He also changed his delivery to start this year. He went back to what he did in college. It is all coming together for him. I’m not so sure we shouldn’t put him or Bieber in pen for the rest of this year.

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Clippers RHP Adam Plutko over his last 4 starts with Columbus including tonight's no-hitter:

- 30(IP) 9H 3R 3ER 3BB 24SO 0.90 ERA #Indians

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#Indians Trio of RHP prospects Adam Plutko, Shane Bieber & Eli Morgan have been senational to date!

(AAA) Plutko - 53(IP) 27H 11R 11ER 10BB 43SO 1.87 ERA

(AAA/AA) Bieber - 65.1(IP) 43H 10R 8ER 3BB 61(SO) 1.10 ERA

(A+/A) Morgan - 62.2(IP) 44H 14R 13ER 11BB 74SO 1.87 ERA

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Columbus Clippers (C) Francisco Mejia is starting to heat up. Mejia is currently riding a 6 game hitting streak:

7-21 2R 1(2B) 1(3B) 1HR 5RBI 4BB .333 AVG .423 OBP #Indians

Guyer hitless again in his rehab; he's at 108.
Mejia coming around, maybe? Single double and sac fly. He cracks 200. 7 game hitting streak with 8 hits in 21 AB, 4 walks, 2 doubles, a triple, a homer. 381/480/714
Maybe Yandy's trying to change his swing; he had a single and struck out 3 times

Now that I'm checking out Yandy's stats for the year, his K total is much higher than in the past. Walks are up too.

1526 AB 258 BB [14%] 244 K [14%]
151 AB 36BB [19%] 40K [21%]

Another new old guy joins the Clippers bullpen. George Kontos a 33 year old recently dumped by the Pirates.

Plesac's scoreless streak comes to an end after 14 innings for Akron.
Meanwhile as of the bottom of the 4th, his teammates have drawn six walks, but have no hits. Bobby Bradley treading water at .175/281/390

Lynchburg double header rained out.

Lake County in a football game, trailing 14-7 early in the 2nd half. Benson with a double and 2rbi. Gonzalez single and homer [his 8th; ] and 2 rbi. Jones double.

For Gonzalez 6 of his homers are since May 14 and have come in 75 at bats. From May 17 to the moment he's gone: 65-11-26-10 six doubles, five homers. Still doesn't walk [2 in that stretch against 15 strikeouts] Slash line for those 2+ weeks: .400/418/723

Big News Alert


Indians Prospective @indiansPro
2 hours ago

Indians 20yr old RHP top prospect Triston McKenzie has finished rehab (sore right forearm) out in Goodyear. McKenzie leaves Arizona tomorrow and will join the (AA) Akron RubberDucks to make his 2018 debut.

2017 with Lynchburg - 143(IP) 105h 62R 55ER 45BB 186SO 3.46 ERA

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Clippers 5 Chiefs 1

Wilk 5(IP) 6H 1R 1ER 1BB 2SO
Barnes 3-4 2R 2B RBI BB 2SB
Mejia 2-3 R 2B RBI
Rodriguez 1-3 2B 2RBI BB

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SeaWolves 4 RubberDucks 3

Marabell 1-5 2RBI
Bradley 1-3 2BB
Speer 2.2(IP) 1H 0R 0ER 2BB 3SO
Pasquale 1(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 2SO

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Cubs 14 Captains 7

Gonzalez 2-5 R HR 2RBI
Cantu 1-2 R HR RBI BB
Laureano 1-4 R HR RBI
Benson 2-5 2B 2RBI
Friis 3-5 2R SB

Good news on McKenzie. I want Civale back next.

so far we have 4 pitchers who are excelling and all have stayed just as hot after promotions:
Morgan from LC to Lynchburg; Plesac from Lynchburg to Akron; Bieber from Akron to Columbus to Cleveland; Plutko from Columbus to Cleveland.

BA take on Sunday. It's pretty clear our system teaches selectivity. The guys may not hit much but they know how to take walks:

CLE AA Bradley, Bobby 1B 3 0 1 0 .184 2 BB (27)
CLE AA Castro, Willi SS 4 0 1 0 .250 BB (19)
CLE AA Krieger, Tyler LF 2 1 0 0 .193 2 BB (14)
CLE AA Mathias, Mark 2B 2 0 0 0 .245 2 BB (22)
CLE AAA Chang, Yu SS 5 0 1 0 .280 SB (2)
CLE AAA Haase, Eric DH 3 1 0 0 .214 BB (14)
CLE AAA Mejia, Francisco C 3 1 2 1 .205 2B (8)
CLE LoA Benson, Will RF 5 0 2 2 .201 2B (5), CS (4)
CLE LoA Gonzalez, Oscar CF 5 1 2 2 .268 HR (8)
CLE LoA Jones, Nolan DH 3 1 1 0 .232 2B (7), 2 BB (28)
CLE MAJ Allen, Greg RF 3 0 0 0 .263 BB (5), SB (3)
CLE MAJ Gonzalez, Erik 3B 3 0 0 0 .348
No pitchers.

Civ:

Do we have anybody else injured that we want back soon? If so go ahead and ask about him please. You seem to be bringing us luck.

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Indians Prospective @indiansPro

4 minutes ago

Akron RHP Aaron Civale to be activated off the 7-day DL and start on Wednesday for the RubberDucks. #Indians

Hmm, let me think about it.

Do we still care about Brady Aiken?

I picked Grant Hockin as my breakout pitcher, and his prospects would be helped if he were healthy and pitching.

Jonas Wyatt was a promising teen draft pick who had TJ surgery and came back to throw a couple innings last summer, it would be nice to see in a rotation, perhaps with the Scrappers next week?

I guess I'll settle for those 3.

So I took a look as pending rosters for Scrappers and Arizona [we have two teams now there I remember]

Wyatt is on the Arizona Indians 1 roster, along with last summer's top three draft picks:
CF Quentin Holmes; SS Tyler Freeman; RF Johnathan Rodriguez.

Team has a manager and coach but no players listed.
Neither roster includes George Valera. Nor Dominican SS Marco Gonzalez
Scrappers list is all inconsequential names.

Akron RubberDucks @AkronRubberDuck

We welcome the @Indians No. 2 prospect to the RubberDucks! Mckenzie is slated to start THIS THURSDAY on the road against the @FisherCats !! #QuAkron

All the teams were off yesterday except for Dominican teams.

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DSL Rays 3 Indians 0

Diarlin Jimenez 5(IP) 3H 1R 1ER 1BB 3SO
Jose Oca 3(IP) 1H 0R 0ER 0BB 3SO
Rocchio 2-3 BB
Marmol 1-3 2B BB

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DSL Rangers 10 Indians/Brewers 2

Maestre 1-4 R
Celesten 1-4 RBI
Tavares 2(IP) 0H 1R 1ER 4BB 1SO

Baseball Reference rushes out with "Draft Grades" for Day 1


First Round (No. 29 Overall): Noah Naylor, C, St. Joan of Arc Catholic (Ont.) HS

While there are some questions about Naylor's defense, his bat is one of the best among this year's high school crop. The younger brother of Padres prospect Josh Naylor, he possesses an advanced approach and plus raw power. He actually has a similar profile to current Indians prospect Francisco Mejia. The Indians always looked like a safe bet to go with a bat, and they get a guy who was arguably a top-15 talent. Regardless of where he lands defensively, it's his bat that made him a first-round pick.

Grade: B+



Compensation Pick (No. 35 Overall): Ethan Hankins, RHP, Forsyth Central (Ga.) HS

A 6'6" right-hander with an 80-grade fastball, Hankins was a candidate to go No. 1 overall before suffering shoulder tightness this season. He didn't show the same electric stuff upon returning, but the issue was muscular as opposed to structural. He's the biggest boom-or-bust arm in the class and could honor his commitment to Vanderbilt if his bonus demands are not met. The Indians will need to go well-above-slot here, so expect to see some reaches with the next few picks. This could be the steal of the draft if he gets back to his pre-injury form and the Indians can afford to take the risk.

Grade: A



Balance Round A (No. 41 Overall): Lenny Torres, RHP, Beacon (N.Y.) HS

Improved command and the further development of his changeup will be key for Torres to avoid winding up in the bullpen. However, with a mid-90s fastball and plenty of physical projection remaining, the upside is tantalizing enough to pounce. He also won't turn 18 until October and is one of the younger prospects in the class. Another high-upside pick by Cleveland.

Grade: B



Second Round (No. 67 Overall): Nick Sandlin, RHP, Southern Mississippi

Not surprising to see the Indians reach a bit for a college arm here, as they'll need to save some money to sign Hankins. Sandlin saved 20 games over his first two seasons on campus, before joining the rotation as a junior and going 9-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 95 innings. His undersized 5'11" frame still leaves him looking like a reliever long-term, but he could move quickly if he returns to the pen. Perfect type of player to target given the way their draft has played out so far.

Grade: A