Cleveland Sports Forum

Aeros win courtesy of Jordan Cooper who is pitching better than prior seasons. 9th round righty was 2.19 at Carolina this year and now is at 3.61 for Aeros. 5 1/3 shutout innings, 7 K, 3 H, 3 BB. In relief Stowell retired the 2 men he faced; Lee the 6 he faced, 3 on strikes -- rehab coming along just fine. Bryson won't be around much longer, 2 runs in an inning his ERA over 7 after a failed attempt at AAA.

At bat: Aguillar his 8th homer and 3 RBI gives him an impressive 55. Moncrief ahead of the HR pace with 9 and added his 11th double.

Aguillar hitting stats: 265/340/424/764
Moncrief tops those: 289/356/451/807 strong RF arm

Mudcats with the only loss in the system, outside the big club, in the nightcap of a twin bill. In the opener Naquin, Lindor and Jos Wendle each with a pair of hits. Luigi Rod hitless in return from DL. In the second game LIndor singled and walked, Naquin took the game off, Jordan Smith with a pair of hits.

Also, Naquin stole his 9th base, Smith ditto, Wendle his 2nd and 3rd, Lindor his 16th and 17th and made two errors, nos. 13 and 14.

Offense stats:

Lindor age 19 300/375/400/775 and the 17 steals
Naquin age 22 311/375/468/843
Smith age 22 271/321/429/750 not enough power for RF
Wendle age 23 312/398/539 LH hitting 2nd baseman; not rated highly but he's looking good at bat

Where is "carrot top" going to play?

Not just one but two rare wins for the woeful Captains. Besides Paulino, 20 year old catcher Eric Hasse also homered, his 6th, and doubled, his 13th in the opener. Hasse: 257.309/444 9th round pick in 2011.

3rd rounder in 2011 Jake Sisco has an era of 3.25 after his outing, but 5 walks in 5 2/3 rather mars the effect.

"Where is "carrot top" going to play?"

First he plays for the Altoona Farmers Market team and then moves on to Legume City to play in the Vegan League.

I think Arizona Rookie League first.

Civ what's up with LaPorta, is he hurt again?

Well he's not been in the lineup for awhile. I will try to look it up.

IL notes: Salazar maturing on mound
22-year-old right-hander among league's youngest players

By John Wagner / Special to MLB.com 06/17/2013 10:00 AM ET

Danny Salazar has started slowly since his mid-May promotion to Columbus, posting a 1-1 record and 4.81 ERA in his first six starts.

[Not true actually. His first starts totaled 9 2 hit shutout innings with 9 strikeouts. Then he hit a slump: 3 starts 13 1/3, 20 hits, 13 runs, 5 walks, 12 K. Last start was solid 5-4-2-2-0-8]

But Salazar knows all about slow starts -- and how to overcome them.

The 23-year-old didn't pitch above Class A Advanced for the first five years of his career, partly because he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010. So when the right-hander started this season 2-3 with a 2.67 ERA for Double-A Akron and earned a promotion to the Clippers, he naturally was pumped.

"I have played [professionally] for six years, but this was my first time in Triple-A," Salazar said. "I was waiting for this call and I was pretty excited.

"This is my second year on the 40-man roster, so this is a big year for me. Now I'm a little bit closer to the Major Leagues."

Salazar was coming off a breakthrough season in which he posted a 2.68 ERA in 16 starts for Class A Advanced Carolina and a 1.85 ERA in six starts for the Aeros.

"Mentally, I know how to pitch more," he said. "When I was younger, I was just throwing the ball. Now I think a little bit about how I'm going to attack guys.

"If you face a good hitter but know how to pitch, you can keep them from making good contact against you. Sometimes hitters will hit the ball hard, but if you make good pitches you can get hitters out."

Columbus skipper Chris Tremie also managed Salazar last season in Akron.

"He has a good, live arm," Tremie said. "His fastball sits in the mid-90s and he has a good breaking ball and changeup. He's really come a long way with his composure and his ability to repeat his pitches. He's an exciting young pitcher to watch."

Last year, Salazar's fastball gained some life, sitting in the 94-97 mph range. As a result, the native of the Dominican Republic has put more effort into refining his slider.

"In Spring Training, I started working on it," he said. "I think I'm getting better and I think I'm starting to get it. I'm also feeling better when I throw it because I use it more."

Tremie said he doesn't worry that Salazar is one of the younger players in the International League.

"Danny's a mature kid," the manager added. "Even though he's just 22, he's not a 22-year-old in the way he conducts himself, and that's a real positive sign.

"Along with some really good stuff, he's got a very bright future."

While earning the promotion to Columbus was exciting, Salazar breaks into an even bigger grin when asked how he will feel when he gets the call to the Major Leagues.

"That's going to be a big moment," he said. "But I'm still waiting for that -- and that's not my decision. I'm just trying to do a good job here. I want to pitch well here first."

More typical results Sunday with all 4 of our teams losing.

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... d=20130616

Some highlights:

AAA Phelps 2 hits. Chis single and double. Barnes perfect innings. Price 3K in 1 inning.

AA Moncrief single, triple, walk. Up to 294. For June: 434/483/755/1238. Stowell 1 1/3 3 K no one on base. For the season 33 2/3 IP 17 BB 46 K. Trey Haley 2/3 2 runs 3 walks. ERA over 9.

Hi A Jordan Smith single, double, single, steal. Luigi Rodriguez single and 3 walks. Wolters steals a base and throws out one of two stealing against him.

Low A Haase HR #7

Scrappers debut today. I see Luis Lugo, big young lefty, scheduled to start. He has a lot of talent. Recall when big young lefty Sabathia pitched here. Didn't stay long.

Another interesting pitcher for Mahoning Valley is Caleb Hamrick, 8th round, 2012 pick.
His predraft analysis:

Another attractive Texas high school pitcher who probably can't be diverted from college, Hamrick is a 6-foot-3, 225-pounder who repeatedly has reached 93 mph with his fastball this spring. The Dallas Baptist recruit usually works at 88-91 mph with his heater and pairs it with a promising slider. Also a righthanded-hitting slugger, he has participated in the last two International Power Showcases.

Maybe Alex Paredes, 21 year old RHP, 6-3 175. 2.95 in Arizona last summer, 44 K in 40 IP.

2013 8th rounder Trevor Frank is here and lots of lower picks. We'll hope to see more top 2013 picks after more signings. Waiting for Kime, Crockett and Plutko.

Some interesting young position players with the Scrappers too, although not sure if 19 and 20 year olds will be competitive against generally older competition. The players to watch are:

2012 7th round: Josh McAdams a.k.a. Josh Schubert 6-4 19 year old BA likes. Last spring's analysis:
Schubert is in the process of legally changing his last name from the current McAdams. By any name, he's one of the toolsier preps hitters in Georgia, a high-risk, high-reward player with significant upside. He's 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, and he runs well for his size, a tick above-average now, though he will wind up a fringy or below-average runner as he fills out. Otherwise, it's not hard to project on Schubert, a righthanded hitter who flashes plus raw power when he makes consistent contact. He'll likely wind up on a corner, and his strong arm makes right field a logical future location. Teams that believe in Schubert's bat have to believe he'll refine a raw approach at the plate, relying in part on his impressive batting-practice displays. He committed late to High Point, and scouts consider him signable, which may get him to get picked in the first two rounds even though the scouting consensus appears to peg him as a third- to fifth-round talent.

2012 15th round 1b Nellie Rodriguez who tried Lake County but was generally overmatched although he was patient enough to draw lots of walks.

2012 13th rounder of Tyler Booth, he's fast but he's probably not better than prior versions of the same player: Jordan Henry and Trevor or Tyler Holt.

Also here is 23 year old Tom Hamilton's son.

Full roster:

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... 5&sid=milb

Roster includes the famous Sicrnaf Loopstok although he's not reported as having signed. Will have to keep an eye on that