Cleveland Sports Forum

civ ollilavad wrote:It's February. Time for Baseball!

I'm locked and loaded with nice tickets by the Indians pen for the April series in Oakland.

Locked them in today, and have the hard tix in this desk.

Can't wait.

Indians designated LHP Kelvin De La Cruz for assignment.
He was cleared to make room for Casey Kotchman on the 40-man roster. De La Cruz had a 4.19 ERA and 95/57 K/BB ratio over 86 innings with Double-A Akron last season. The 23-year-old left-hander has averaged 8.9 K/9 over six seasons in the minors, but his lack of command is holding him back. His future might be in the bullpen.

Feb 14 - 9:47 AM

One of my "discoveries". KdlC was very impressive for awhile. In case we choose to sign some more veterans, we have plenty more release-able "talent" on the roster. Wheeler and Garland both will require roster moves to come north.

Tony has started his Top 50 countdown, with Juan Diaz SS who can field well, hit a little, and was added to the 40 man roster. Tony has changed Tribe Insider to a subscription service which I'm probably not going to pay for. He still makes the headlines available.

NO. 49: #49 Shawn Morimando


The 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown continues with a young lefty the Indians selected in the 19th round of last year's draft out of high school. The Indians lured him away from college with a sizable bonus and really like his upside,

Tony has changed Tribe Insider to a subscription service

Yeah! And they doubled our tollway system.

Must need the money now that he's made it to the show.

2012 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #48 Will Roberts

The 2012 Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown continues with another pitcher from the 2011 Draft, this time a college righty that threw a perfect game for Virginia last season. Roberts is an advanced pitcher with a low ceiling

Tony's 2012 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #47 Alex Monsalve

February 18, 2012

The 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown rolls along with a Latin American catcher the Indians signed in July of 2008 to a then club record international signing bonus. Monsalve has since made his way up the Indians' system by moving up a level each year and has established himself as a legit Major League catching prospect.

[That might be, as usual for Tony, overstating it, but I rather like Monsalve. He has some offensive and defensive skills although the stats aren't dramatic in any area. He was far more consistent than Alex Lavisky last season, although I don't know if he has any particularly impressive skills, contrasted with Lavisky's big power possiblities. At only age 20 he'll be young for High A this year, unless he's really 23 and named Javier Lopez]

Comparative stats for the 19 or 20 year old catchers in our system in 2011:

Charlie Valerio age 20 in Arizona League 781 OPS 20bb/30k 50% caught stealing

Jake Lowery age 20 in NYPL 792 OPS 54bb/56k 35% caught stealing (only 25 games as catcher)

Alex Lavisky age 19 in NYPL 604 OPS 20bb/71K 33% caught stealing;
same guy age 19 in South Atlantic League 643 OPS 9bb/66k 7% caught stealing

Alex Monsalve age 19 in the SAL 668 OPS 31bb/96K 21% caught stealing

2012 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #46 Hector Rondon

We are moving along into the middle 40s of the IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown, and today a former Top 10 prospect Hector Rondon slides in at #46. Two serious elbow injuries the past two years have stalled his career and his future is questionable, but when he is healthy the goods are certainly there to be a top pitching prospect

[Don't hold your breath for Hector]

2012 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #45 Eric Haase

Up next in the 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 prospect countdown is a very promising catcher out of high school the Indians selected in the 7th round of last year's draft. Haase is very raw, but has a lot of potential and the athleticism and skills to climb up these rankings in seasons to come


[Another catcher. I left him off my comparison above. Here are his comparables:

Age 19, Haase batted 10 times with 3 hits and a walk and was 0/3 at nabbing basestealers. He's 5-10 so he must look like a catcher. I wasn't sure why we drafted another catcher so high with all other guys around let alone Santana and Marson in the majors, but I guess you can never have enough catcher, or too few 1st baseman and LFs were power.

2012 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #44 Tim Fedroff

Outfielder Tim Fedroff comes in at #44 as we continue with the IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown. He has had a good minor league career and made it all the way up to Triple-A Columbus last season

[IMO, Fedroff had an uninspiring minor league career until his reasonably successful 2011 got him "all the way up to AAA" at age 24. He doesn't have a lot of power, doesn't steal a lot of bases. He does draw a good share of walks so he is on base often, career OBP of 373, may or may not be a center fielder.]

Some guy who writes on the Tony web page provided this piece. Don't bet on his projections.

A Look Ahead: The 2016 Cleveland Indians
By Gregory Dew
February 20, 2012
At the dawn of the 2011 Spring Training, I debuted a column looking forward to a possible lineup for the 2015 Cleveland Indians.

Although I did preface the selections by stating the list was purely speculative and subject to the unpredictability of young players and the moves of the front office, looking at that list today is rather eye opening.

Two-fifths of my 2015 projected starting pitching staff, Drew Pomeranz and Alex White, are gone via the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. Another two, Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp, had significant injuries last year and the fifth, Matt Packer underperformed in Double-A.

Several of the positional selections look dubious as well. Tony Wolters, LeVon Washington, Nick Weglarz, and Chun-Hsiu Chen are still with the organization although for several reasons I am now questioning their inclusion on that 2015 list.

In spite of my questionable foresight in selections from last year, I still feel as though it is a worthwhile exercise to look ahead to the 2016 season. Particularly in light of the low rankings the Indian organization has received in the annual Minor League system rankings that have just come out. As has been discussed, the low rankings are by and large a result of the Indians having their high-upside talent congregated in the lower levels of their farm system. What better way to get a feel for that upside than by looking at a potential Major League roster?

As I did last year, I am going on the contractual obligations as they stand in 2012. I am not going to try and guess who may or may not sign any extensions. Obviously any extensions or trades will affect this list.

So without further ado, the 2016 Cleveland Indians:

Starting Pitchers: Josh Tomlin, RHP; Carrasco, RHP; Zach McAllister, RHP, Scott Barnes, LHP; Dillon Howard, RHP. Closer: Nick Hagadone, LHP

The projected pitching staff really is quite hazy. In addition to those listed above, in the coming years Jeanmar Gomez, David Huff, Felix Sterling, Jake Sisco, or Elvis Araujo could very well stake a claim to the 2016 starting staff as well.

As to the projected list, Tomlin and Carrasco earn their spots based on what they did last year and the assumption that Tomlin will continue to be a solid back of the rotation option and that Carrasco will make a full recovery from Tommy John surgery. Howard, the 2011 2nd round draft pick, should claim his spot in the rotation sometime in 2015 or 2016. McAllister and Barnes are essentially placeholders on this list. I could see them still in the rotation just as well as I could see Gomez, Huff, Sterling, Sisco, Araujo, or even Knapp, should he ever get over the injury bug.

As for the Tribe’s closer, Hagadone appears to be the heir apparent to Chris Perez. Hagadone has everything you’d want out of a closer, he just needs the opportunity to present itself a couple years down the line. Should something go awry with Hagadone, Austin Adams has the power arm to be a dominant closer as well.

For the starting rotation as well as the bullpen, there are options aplenty down on the farm, how they all progress during the coming years should be a fascinating thing to watch.

Hitters: Carlos Santana, C; Jesus Aguilar, 1B; Jason Kipnis, 2B; Francisco Lindor, SS; Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B; Michael Brantley, OF; Washington; Bryson Myles, OF; Chen, DH.

The everyday lineup should look pretty similar to the 2012 version. Where it is not, two outfielders will need to emerge as well as a shortstop.

Fortunately for the Indians, shortstop is a strong point in the organization, especially with the Tribe’s consensus number 1 rated prospect, Lindor, manning the position. Should he falter, Wolters, Ronny Rodriquez, Dorssys Paulino, or Jorge Martinez could all rise in his stead. In fact, Wolters was included as the SS on the 2015 list and he did nothing to disappoint last year. If opinions on Lindor weren’t so high, Wolters would still be included on the 2016 version.

Now for a weak point in the organization, raw power from the plate. Quite frankly, the Indians organization has not developed an elite power hitter since the days of Albert Belle, Jim Thome, and Manny Ramirez. Looking down the organizational depth chart, it is still an area of weakness. Three exceptions are Weglarz, Aguilar and potentially Myles. Weglarz has been a disappointment due to injuries while Myles may be a stretch to include as a power hitter, but he does possess a tantalizing combination of power and speed. Should he develop along his skill set, Myles could be a special multi-tool player.

Another multi-tool player, Washington, was included on the 2015 list as well, but he subsequently went out and had a disappointing year. He is still young with a very nice skill set, so he stays on this list for the second straight year, although he will need to begin showing something quickly. Another holdover from the 2015 list is Chen. As I mentioned earlier, I question his inclusion on this list. Not so much by his lack of hitting ability but because the Indians will probably want more flexibility in their line-up going forward. They may not want to be encumbered by a player incapable of playing the field.

Of course I said it once and I’ll say it again, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. One only need look at the travails of Matt LaPorta and Adam Miller to understand what can happen to a highly touted prospect. But to spout another axiom, there is safety in numbers. There are a great number of high upside prospects in the lower levels of the Indians Minor League system. Howard, Sterling, Sisco, Araujo, Knapp, Packer, Lindor, Wolters, Rodriquez, Paulino, Martinez, Weglarz, Aguilar, Myles, Washington, and Chen are all at AA or below, along with a myriad of other players with intriguing skill sets. Several are bound to emerge from the gauntlet of the coming years to become impact players for the Cleveland Indians, and maybe in 2016.

Boy is that a weak looking 2016 club. I guess he expects Masterson to sign with a good team. A rotation of Josh Tomlin, RHP; Carrasco, RHP; Zach McAllister, RHP, Scott Barnes, LHP; Dillon Howard, RHP is unimpressive. And his OF is amazingly bad -- but I don't see anyone in our farm system who offers any more upside. If that's we have to look foward to in 2016, we might want to skip this decade entirely.

If that's we have to look foward to in 2016, we might want to skip this decade entirely.

Best keep that thought to yourself

Here's the full Tony analysis of the now-traded Kelvin dlC, a former FaveOfCiv.

57. Kelvin De La Cruz – Left-handed Pitcher
Born: 08/01/1988 – Height: 6’5” – Weight: 190 – Bats: Left – Throws: Left

Photo: Lianna HolubHistory: De La Cruz, 23, is a left-handed pitcher the Indians signed as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in December of 2004. He had strained the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left elbow in April of 2009, and though he did not tear it or have surgery he missed the rest of that season. In 2011 he was on the disabled list in July with left shoulder inflammation which resulted in a five week layoff and when he returned he finished the season in the bullpen.

Strengths: De La Cruz is a tall, thin pitcher with good size and a long wingspan. His two-seam fastball sits at 91-93 MPH and has flashed 96 MPH, and gets good sink with it down in the zone. He showed some velocity gains last season, and as he gets stronger and harnesses his delivery there is a belief he still has some untapped arm strength. His plus curveball is a 12-6 hammer with real good depth and a swing-and-miss put away type pitch that is a weapon for him, and is considered by many to be the best breaking ball in the entire Indians’ system. He has a good feel for his changeup and it has the potential to be an average offering for him, but it is still a work in progress.

With De La Cruz’s big frame and stuff he has unlimited potential. His size and strong lower half allows him to get good leverage on hitters and get the ball on a downward plane. He has an aggressive, fearless approach where he challenges hitters and goes right at them. He loves to compete and just oozes confidence on the mound. He has a long way to go, but he has made steady strides in his ability to make adjustments inning to inning and pitch to pitch. He is very athletic and fields his position well. He has excellent makeup, speaks good English, and is a student of the game.

Opportunities: Fastball command, fastball command, fast command. That’s what it is all about for De La Cruz. He has been a high level prospect for the Indians for some time now and was even added to the 40-man roster because so, but he has stalled at the Double-A level because of his inability to develop his fastball command. He shows fastball command in spurts, but finding consistency with it is the problem. The Indians continue to work on getting him to better repeat his delivery, solidify his arm slot and release point, and strengthen his lower half, and feel if he does that his balance will improve and his fastball command will spike. He also needs to develop a better mental approach on the mound, be more focused, and show better composure when pitching in tight spots or when things do not go his way. He needs to get a better feel for pitching with understanding how to attack hitters and use his stuff. He showed more confidence with his two-seam fastball and curveball last season though his changeup is still inconsistent and needs work.

Outlook: After a disappointing 2010 campaign De La Cruz was looking to re-establish himself as one of the Indians’ top pitching prospects last season, but that did not happen and he has slid considerably as a prospect. The physical tools, stuff, and abilities are still there, but unless he can develop his fastball command he is never going to get over the hump and be a true Major League option. Last year at Double-A Akron he continued to be inconsistent and did not show any improvement as he had a nice strikeout rate (9.9 K/9) but walked way too many batters (6.0 BB/9). He had a 6.1 BB/9 rate in 2010 at Akron so a return trip last season did not help, and now it appears the Indians have resorted to putting him in the bullpen to hopefully fix the command issues. The Indians have not given up on him, but his future looks to be in the bullpen, a move which may help his fastball play up some. He has potential as a left-on-left Major League reliever that has the ability to get strikeouts. He should open the 2012 season in the Triple-A Columbus or Akron bullpen.