Cleveland Sports Forum

rocky raccoon wrote:Do either Pomeranz or White have a realistic chance of being a true #1 starting pitcher?

If not, is there anyone else in the system with that kind of a ceiling?

From Tony's scouting reports either at the time of trades or drafting,

Pomeranz and Knapp could be # 2's and White could be a 3. I would note that Pomeranz has great K #'s so far and could turn out better than report from when he was drafted.

I have not seen any other prospects that are close to the majors that have been given the # 1 tag. How many real # 1's are there? 10 or 15?

Well, Cliff Lee never would have been scouted as having dominant stuff, but he made himself into an ace with above average pitches and great control.

It's very difficult to win the WS without a Horse at the head of the rotation.

Here are John Sickels ratings of the highest ceiling pitchers


2) Alex White, RHP, Grade B+: A quality inning-eater at worst, and could develop into a genuine ace if all goes well.



4) Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Grade B+: Could be Number One on this list a year from now as a power lefty and possible future ace.



6) Jason Knapp, RHP, Grade B: Has B+/A- talent, but concerns about durability and command worry me enough to keep him at a Grade B for now.

7) Joe Gardner, RHP, Grade B: Another guy with a power sinker, should chew innings.



9) Nick Hagadone, LHP, Grade B-: Could also rank much higher if command issues get better.

Hagadone seems to be confirmed as a reliever, that's where he's working now. No one better than those you guys have mentioned. If Knapp is healthy, and he's not assigned to any team at the moment, still hanging around in Goodyear, he and White and Pomeranz could make a very complement of starters. 3 No. 2's isn't bad.

We have a bunch more No. 3-5 possibilities: besides Gardner, there are T.J. House and Kelvin de la Cruz, Austin Adams and Ryan Blair (with 4 career pro innings to his credit); and some other draftees of 2010 have significant promise: Cole Cook, Michael Goodnight, but they're basically untested too.

Civ and Buck-

Thanks for the information.

Guys like Talbot are okay as fillers, but not for the long haul with a pennant contender. These are the guys that can be turned into good trade bait.

Tony's highlights for yesterday's games:

Around the Farm: April 12
Posted by Tony at 1:29 PM
Around the Farm takes a quick look at some of yesterday's performances by Indians prospects throughout the system. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday's game.

Dave Huff – LHP, Columbus: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R/ER, 3 BB, 1 K.
Huff’s line was pretty good through six innings as he allowed just one run on five hits and one walk. That’s a pretty good night for any pitcher. He went back out for the seventh and final inning of the night in what was a seven inning game because of the doubleheader, and things quickly fell apart. He gave up a hit to the leadoff hitter of the inning and then walked the next two batters. Jensen Lewis came in to try and put out the fire, but allowed all three inherited runners to score. On the night Huff threw 99 pitches, 60 of which were strikes. There is still some concern with the low strike percentage as he only threw 61% of his pitches for strikes last night and 55% for strikes the start before that.

Kelvin De La Cruz – LHP, Akron: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 5 K.
If you look at almost all of De La Cruz’s numbers after his first two starts there is not a lot not to like. His velocity is where it needs to be, and his numbers look pretty impressive with a 0.90 ERA, .097 BAA, and 10.8 K/9. That’s a nice, positive start to his season. That all said, the 7 walks in 10 innings (6.3 BB/9) is concerning, and was his biggest issue last season. He has worked around the walks so far, but eventually they will come back to bite him, and he needs to get that consistency back to his game that he lacked last year.

* Corey Kluber – RHP, Columbus: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 3 K. Pretty solid season debut for Kluber and what to be expected. Showing no side affects from the line drive to the head from a few weeks back.
* Jess Todd – RHP, Columbus: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR. In three games Todd has a line of 2.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R/ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 3 K. Ouch. Perhaps a hangover from missing opening day roster?
* Jensen Lewis – RHP, Columbus: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Lewis did not give up an earned run, but allowed three inherited runners to score. In three games so far he has a 0.00 ERA, but that is very deceiving as to how good he has been as in 3 innings he has allowed 5 hits and 3 walks. Houdini!
* Cord Phelps – 3B/DH, Columbus: 3-for-8, R, 2 K. In 6 games so far Phelps has played just 1 game at 2B while playing 2 games at 3B, 2 at DH, and 1 at 3B.
* Lonnie Chisenhall – 3B/DH, Columbus: 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB. Solid two games for The Chiz, and very good start to season with 5 doubles in 6 games (plus a homer).
* Jordan Brown – 1B/LF, Columbus: 2-for-6, R, HR, RBI, 3 K. Brown’s 7 strikeouts in 18 at bats in the early going a sign he is pressing. [Nothing to worry about Jordan;you have no future.]
* Luis Valbuena – SS, Columbus: 3-for-7, R, HR, RBI, 2 K. Say what you will about Valbuena but he showed last year and so far this year in a small sample size he has no problems facing Triple-A pitching.
* Jason Kipnis – 2B, Columbus: 1-for-7, K. Kipnis’ .190/.308/.333 start is not what he had in mind for the first week, but he has shown in the past he can get really hot really fast.
* Matt McBride – 1B, Akron: 1-for-4. A slow start for McBride as in 6 games he is hitting just .208/.240/.250. He is really the only true power threat in the Akron lineup, and with his lack of production so far no wonder the Aeros have had troubling scoring.
* John Drennen – DH, Akron: 0-for-3, K. Drennen and the rest of the Akron outfielder’s playing time has been affected due to the presence of outfielder Grady Sizemore who is with the club on a rehab assignment.
* T.J. House – LHP, Kinston: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 4 K. House had to leave after just 2.2 innings because of a very high pitch count.
* Marty Popham – RHP, Kinston: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. About as perfect a relief outing as you can get. Popham could be one of first callups to the Akron pen. [his first outing was a disaster, 4 runs in less than an inning]
* Jose Flores – RHP, Kinston: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R/ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Returned Rule 5 pick has a disaster of an outing to blow a K-Tribe win.
* Tyler Holt – CF, Kinston: 3-for-3, R, BB. 3 SB. Holt with a fantastic game reaching base four times and being a nuisance on the basepaths with 3 steals.
* Bo Greenwell – LF, Kinston: 2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI. Like last April, Greenwell is off to a very good .368/.400/.526 start…Mr. April?
* Abner Abreu – RF, Kinston: 1-for-4, R. While he has 6 strikeouts in 18 at bats so far, you have to be encouraged by the .333/.400/.500 start in 5 games. Confidence is key with him, and he needs it early.
* Adam Abraham – 3B, Kinston: 1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB. One of the more under-rated players in the organization, Abraham is not flashy and more one of those unsung guys who are great teammates and put up solid numbers. [He's old for his league. Has almost no chance as a prospect. How does Tony know that he's a "great teammate"??]
* Michael Goodnight – RHP, Lake County: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Two very good starts so far for Goodnight this year where in 10.0 innings he has allowed 3 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, and has 8 strikeouts.
* Nick Bartolone – SS, Lake County: 0-for-4, K. I’d say Bartolone could use a day off after an 0-for-16 slide his last 4 games, but almost the entire Lake County lineup is struggling. [and Tony forgot the 4 errors. He's a pretty bad young player]
* Jason Smit – RF, Lake County: 2-for-4, R, RBI, K. Smitty is red hot hitting .522/.577/.739 in his first 6 games this year.
* Anthony Gallas – LF, Lake County: 2-for-3, 2B, SB. A multi-hit night for the Cleveland native, one of only two players in the Captains lineup to do that.

Aeros were 6-2 winners Wednesday night. Joe Gardner 5 innings 1 run on 3 hits too many walks (4) and 2 K. Nick Hagadone continues sharp, 2 innings, 1 hit, no walks, 3 K

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... x&did=milb

BA featured lines of the day:

LoA Urshela, Giovanny 3B 5 2 3 1 .393 2B (3)

AA Gardner, Joe 5 3 1 1 4 2 3.27 W (2-0)

AA Hagadone, Nick 2 1 0 0 0 3 0.00

HiA Pomeranz, Drew 5.2 1 1 0 2 8 0.00 Only hit he allowed was to last batter he faced

Dont' expect Pomeranz to waste too much time in the Carolina League. Not that it matters much but his team lost 2-1. Tyler Holt fans 3 times, several others fan twice.

Adam Abraham with his 3rd homer. If he's a prospect he can't spend much time in Kinston either, although they could use a steady veteran hitter in this weak lineup

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... a_kinafa_1

Is Mike Rayl legit? 22-year-old 6-5 lefty in his 3rd minor league season has started out nearly as well as Pomeranz. Last night 6 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts. For the season 11 scoreless 2-hit innings with 11 K.

Captains win big: 13-1. Besides Urshela (see above), Levisky added 2 hits (but 3K, he's at 167), Gallas 2 doubles; Jesus Aguillar single, double, hitting 292; Monsalve a 3run homer.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... x_lcoafx_1

Drew Pomeranz has had an auspicious start to his professional career. (Carl Kline/MiLB.com)

Drew Pomeranz is just two starts into his pro career, but the Indians prospect is already making adjustments like a veteran.
After using his fastball effectively in his debut against Winston-Salem, Pomeranz showed an effective changeup in no-hitting the Wilmington Blue Rocks for 5 2/3 innings before surrendering the no-no and the lead in a 2-1 Kinston loss.

"I was really happy with my changeup today," said the No. 5 overall pick in the 2010 Draft. "I had a good mix of pitches -- what our coaches were looking for in terms of percentage of pitches. My fastball was a little bit up, and I ended up giving up a hit on a fastball that was up."

That hit was by Wilmington center fielder Whit Merrifield, who smacked a lined single to center to score Adam Frost. Frost had walked, stolen second and advanced to third on a poor throw to second by Roberto Perez on the steal attempt.

"One pitch made the difference between no runs and no hits -- at 3-2, I elevated a fastball," added Pomeranz of the critical delivery to Merrifield. "I have to learn from things like that. I have to throw that pitch inside where it was supposed to be, and he might not have hit it."

Merrifield was the last batter Pomeranz faced Wednesday. The left-hander exited after fanning eight batters and walking two with just the one hit and an unearned run allowed.

In 11 Carolina League innings to start his Minor League career, the University of Mississippi product has yet to allow an earned run, yielding just three hits while fanning 17 and walking two. He has yet to factor in a decision.

"The first outing, I pretty much went out there and threw all fastballs and did really well," said Pomeranz of his outing in which he struck out nine without walking a batter over 5 1/3 against the Dash. "But I think more for me right now, I need to develop my changeup and learn to throw my offspeed pitches for strikes more consistently."

Wilmington's Rey Navarro helped the Blue Rocks take the lead in the top of the seventh when he led off with a triple -- his third in the last four games -- off Indians reliever Brad Brach. Navarro, who is 11 for his last 22, scored on a John Whittleman groundout.

The negative result for Kinston doesn't divert the focus from the stellar first week for Pomeranz. The left-hander, who signed for $2.65 million at last August's deadline for drafted players, is a pure power pitcher with a mid-90s fastball and a power curve that many scouts believe is the best of the 2010 Draft class. Pomeranz, though, is trying to expand his repertoire.

"The word is that you need three pitches to dominate in the big leagues," said Pomeranz. "So my focus is to develop my pitches to where I can throw them where I want at any time. I got two or three rollovers on my changeup today, and I've just got to build on that."

Pomeranz, a 2010 Golden Spikes Award finalist, was perhaps the best pitcher in the history of the University of Mississippi. At No. 5 in the 2010 Draft, his was the earliest ever selection of any Rebel, and he passed Cardinals prospect Lance Lynn as the school's all-time strikeout leader as a junior. The first Rebel to be named SEC Pitcher of the Year, Pomeranz said pitching in the SEC has helped prepare him for jumping immediately to the Carolina League.

"The SEC's a tough conference, and it helps you because you know you have to bear down on every outing. That's just how I was raised to pitch anyway. You've got to throw your best game every time and throw your best every pitch. I had to bear down every single week."

As for the next step for a pitcher who has shown he may be too good for his level already, Pomeranz says a promotion is not on his mind.

"I'm here working on just showing them that I'm ready -- that's all I can do and throw my best. The rest is out of my hands."

Scott Barnes with a good outing against old freind Ryan Edell

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... x_reaaax_1

not sure how to format a box score

Cleveland Indians
Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Hector Ambriz, RHP Rob Bryson, RHP Connor Graham, RHP Antwonie Hubbard, RHP Alexander Perez, RHP Anthony Reyes, RHP Hector Rondon, RHP Danny Salazar, LHP Jeremy Sowers, 1B Nick Johnson, 1B Beau Mills, OF Nick Weglarz

BA notes these Tribe lines:

CLE AAA Putnam, Zach 2 1 0 0 0 1 1.69 Sv (2)
CLE LoA Blair, Kyle 4 6 3 3 2 7 4.50

If you guys can tolerate a Michigan alum pitching for the Indians, you might want to see Putnam in the bullpen this summer. He may offer more than Chad Durbin.

1-0 Victory for the Clippers on a Grady Sizemore homer and Jeanmar Gomez nifty 7-inning 8 hitter. He walked 1 and fanned 7. Donald 0-4 and the actual Clippers had two hits.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... x&did=milb