Cleveland Sports Forum

Might want to start using his given first name:

Blaze Ka'ai Tom
Age: 25 (May 29, 1994)
Birthplace: Honolulu, HI
Bats/Throws: L/R Ht: 5' 9" Wt: 190
Draft: Round 5 (2015, CLE)
School: Kentucky

Not even Brian Giles size, Brian was 5-11, but his production has been highly impressive. After a silent April he took off in Akron, went to Columbus and finished there with better stats than in AA. overall:
27 doubles
10 triples
23 homers
290/380/532

BA's Classification All Stars and All Minor League All stars posted; We fare fair

AAA no one
AA no one
High A Jones 3B 286/435/428
Low A Benson as DH 272/371/604
SS A Lavastida C 335/410/481
SS A no 4 pitcher: Hankins 1.40 ERA 1.06 WHIP 1.10 K/BB

Link to the Columbus box:

https://www.milb.com/gameday/bulls-vs-c ... ame=601408

Johnathan Teaney, reliever, added to our AZL contingent. Season opens today.

I’ve lost track, how many homers Bradley have now? I know he’s well over 30.

They are going to have to quit screwing around and put Reyes in LF next year. Got to get Bradley’s bat in lineup next year. And that lineup should have serious power.

And lots of K’s.

BA's Indians MVP of 2019:

Of all the footprints 21-year-old third baseman Nolan Jones is leaving as he advances through the minor league system, what stands out the most are his consistently impressive on-base percentages.

That’s a product of Jones' continuing maturity as a hitter and his unerring strike-zone judgment, two traits that the Philadelphia-area high school product had when the Indians drafted him in the second round in 2016.

Considered one of the top prep bats in that class, Jones has been exceedingly efficient at getting on base since turning pro. That includes this year when he boasted a .410 on-base percentage through 116 games. That equaled his career mark.

Prior to his July 5 promotion to Double-A Akron, his .435 OBP at high Class A Lynchburg led led the Carolina League by a wide margin, which is why league managers recognized him as having the best strike-zone judgment in Best Tools balloting.

The lefthanded-hitting Jones had hit .275/.410/.443 this season with 14 home runs and 87 walks.

Jones' performance had been steady year over year. His lowest OBP in pro ball came in his 2016 pro debut, when he reaches 39 percent of the time in the Rookie-level Arizona League.

Since the day he was drafted, Jones has been considered one of the top prospects in the organization. He has climbed up the ranking from No. 8 all the way to No. 1.

Given Jones' play this season, It’s not difficult to envision a path for him to a role in Cleveland.

The Indians are not expected to pick up the 2020 club option on Jason Kipnis. Indians officials believe third baseman Jose Ramirez’s best position is actually second base, which could eventually create a spot for Jones, and his plus grade arm, at third base.

— Shortstop Tyler Freeman, perhaps the best pure hitter in the system, has a case for the Indians' minor league player of the year. He hit .308 through 112 games at a pair of Class A stops.

— Triple-A Columbus slugging first baseman Bobby Bradley led the International League with a career-high 30 homers.

Bradley has 33 homers now, counting postseason.

so maybe next year Reyes moves back to the outfield, and Bradley gets a good shot at DH. IF they prefer the less exciting but more multidimensional Bauers at 1st and DH then Bobby could be dealt. I'd like to see him get a year in the majors before we send him elsewhere.

Looks like Mercado is a keeper in center. What they going to do with Zimmer?

Columbus takes game two behind some fine pitching from Logan Allen. lefty we got in the multiman Bauer deal. He could be the first lefty in our rotation in a decade as soon as next year. And big hitting by veteran catcher signed only when Haase was recalled to the majors Sept 1.

On the mound, third-ranked Indians prospect Logan Allen (1-0) was strong for six innings, yielding a run on four hits and two walks while fanning six. He's won his last three starts, including two outings in the International League playoffs.

Ryan Lavarnway's tenure with Triple-A Columbus only encompasses a handful of games, but his impact has been enormous.

The Indians catcher blasted two homers and tied a career high with six RBIs on Wednesday to power the Clippers to a 7-4 win at Huntington Park for a 2-0 series lead over the Bulls in the best-of-5 Governors' Cup Finals.
Lavarnway, who also played for the Yankees and Reds organizations this season, joined Columbus on Aug. 30 and collected four hits across 11 at-bats in the final four regular-season contests. He played in two of the four semifinals games against Gwinnett, finishing with a hit and an RBI in the series. The Yale product said playing in Columbus as a visitor has always been a treat, and his numbers agree. In 2018, the California native went 11-for-35 with three homers at Huntington Park. In a smaller sample size as a road player this year, he collected four hits -- three long balls -- and five RBIs in eight at-bats.

"It's been an absolutely crazy year for me with changing teams as many times as I did," Lavarnway said. "I've always liked hitting in this ballpark here, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to call this my home team even if it's just briefly. ... It's been tough to find the consistency. Having four different hitting coaches, four different managers. You just go out, do the best you can and you enjoy playing baseball."

He wasted no time with the bases loaded in the first inning Wednesday. On the sixth pitch from Josh Fleming (0-1), the 32-year-old cranked one over the fence in right-center field for a grand slam.

In the fifth with Mark Mathias on base, Lavarnway went to right-center again off the southpaw for his second tater of the game. That tied the veteran backstop's career high in RBIs, also accomplished in the Majors this season when he blasted two dingers for the Reds on July 19. In the Minors, he last posted a two-homer, six-RBI game on July 16, 2009 with Class A Greenville. He also went yard twice on June 20, 2016 for Double-A New Hampshire.

"I don't think I've had a two-homer game since 2011 and now I've had three since the All-Star break," Lavarnway said, leaving out his Eastern League good fortune. "Hopefully that's a good sign for me personally swinging the bat. I've been trying to make some adjustments and hopefully they stick."

Bradley Zimmer chipped in two hits and a run while Mathias scored twice for Columbus.
"Nothing like catching a guy for the first time in the Championship Series," Lavarnway said. "But he's got good stuff. He had the command later in the game that he didn't have early in the game, but he had good enough stuff to get away with it. I think there were a little bit of shadows early in the game and he got away with pure stuff. And then later in the game, he was commanding it more and it was just dominant."

Fleming allowed seven runs -- six earned -- on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts for the Bulls.

Game 3 will take place Friday in Durham.

BA noticed, too:

Logan Allen, LHP, Indians. Allen fired six strong innings as Triple-A Columbus beat Durham in game two of the International League championship series. The lefthander allowed one earned run on four hits and two walks. He also struck out six batters. It was a quality performance from Allen, who had allowed 19 earned runs in 22 1/3 innings during the regular season in the International League since coming over to Cleveland.

Jhon Torres, part of the package for Mercado, make the Rookie League All Star; big slugger type could make it to St. Louis in around 2023.

civ ollilavad wrote:BA noticed, too:

Logan Allen, LHP, Indians. Allen fired six strong innings as Triple-A Columbus beat Durham in game two of the International League championship series. The lefthander allowed one earned run on four hits and two walks. He also struck out six batters. It was a quality performance from Allen, who had allowed 19 earned runs in 22 1/3 innings during the regular season in the International League since coming over to Cleveland.

I wonder if the Tribe had him working on some changes when he first came over. That's never going to be quick.

Whatever it is, something went better for him so that's a great sign.

looking at his track record, he had put up good stats at every level before this season. Had trouble at AAA for the Padres and not any improvement when he got to Columbus, until recently.

The other big lefty we got in the Trevor Trade, Scott Moss, has a lower prospect rating but looked really good at Akron and after promotion to Columbus, but he's been shut down.

Old Old timer Mitch Talbot is scheduled for game 3. Kyle Dowdy game 4 if necessary. Chiang and everyone else game 5 if necessary.

remember Mitch Talbot? won 10 games for the Indians as a rotation regular in 2010; 2-6 in 2011; spent the rest of 2011 and 12 and 13 in AAA. Then off to the independent leagues; returned to Columbus for the second half of 2018, ditto in 2019; by now he's 35. 5 walks tonight in 4 innings but only 1-9 deficit for the Clippers.