Cleveland Sports Forum

I think this probably already was posted, but here it is again anyway. Dillon Howard parlayed a good high school career into a big bonus of $1.8M which should serve him well. On the other hand he has showed no serious interest in being a professional. Came into camp in bad shape two springs in a row. Now a drug suspension. Indians should have been able to judge his "character" well enough to know this kid was a terrible prospect.

"Indians minor league righthander Dillon Howard rapidly accelerated his downward momentum with a 50-game suspension he earned for testing positive for an amphetamine, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the minor league drug program.

The 2011 second-round pick out of high school in Searcy, Ark., spent the first half of this season in extended spring training and had not yet made an appearance. Howard, who turns 22 next week, ran up a 7.90 ERA over 41 innings in the in the Rookie-level Arizona League last season, a performance mitigated somewhat by elbow soreness, but then that explanation was mitigated by the fact that he showed up to spring training out of shape.

The Indians struck gold with their first pick in the 2011 draft, taking Francisco Lindor, perhaps the best all-around shortstop prospect in the game. In the second round, Cleveland selected Howard, who signed for $1.85 million, and has plummeted in standing from the system’s No. 2 prospect entering the 2012 season to the No. 25 prospect entering this year"

I don't post Tony's millon word daily columns often and when I do I try to delete the comments on the truly never-going-to-make it organizational players, but here's part of what he offers on Sunday games:

Dylan Baker (SP, Lake County): 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K

Baker had a near-perfect day on the mound and if not for the limitations with his pitch count he would have been given a chance for the complete game shutout. This is the kind of outing you want to see out of him as he is a high profile pick from last year’s draft and he has impressive stuff, so it is just about being more consistent with his outings. There are lots of other things with his mechanics, stuff and so on he is working on, but consistency from outing to outing is a big thing and was a problem for him early in the season. Of late, he’s really settled in as he has not allowed an earned run in three of his last four outings, and in his last four outings has thrown 27.1 innings and allowed just 4 runs (2 earned).

Jose Ramirez (SS, Akron): 2-for-5, R, K, SB
Ramirez has been playing a lot more shortstop of late because regular shortstop Ronny Rodriguez has been nursing a sore left hamstring. The numbers have not been as eye popping this year, but considering he will play the entire season at age 20, has proven he can play shortstop, and has maintained a good approach all year all while completely skipping the High-A level, he has more than proven himself worthy of a Top 10 ranking. His 30:26 walk to strikeout ratio in 304 at bats is incredible.

Cody Anderson (SP, Carolina): 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR
Since the start of June the Indians have really limited Anderson’s outings. He was going 6.0 innings on a regular basis before June 1st but in six June starts he did not go more than 5.0 innings even once and went 4.0 innings or less four times. The Indians are monitoring his workload again as he only threw 98.1 innings last year and can only go about 120-130 innings this season. He is now at 83.1 innings, so with about 10-12 starts left at about 4.0 innings an outing, that should put him right on track for his innings threshold.

•Tyler Holt (CF, Akron): 1-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB, K, 2 SB. A classic Holt kind of game getting on base three times, stealing two bases, scoring two runs, and playing great defense. He’s a solid depth option in the outfield for the Indians in the near future. { I doubt it}
•Jesus Aguilar (1B, Akron): 1-for-2, 2B, 2 RBI, K. Don’t worry, Aguilar did not leave the game because of injury. He was limited to just two at bats because he was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing a third strike call.
•Carlos Moncrief (RF, Akron): 1-for-4. A quiet day for Moncrief, one we are not used to after his blazing hot June where he hit .370 with 5 HR, 22 RBI and 1.087 OPS in 27 games for the month.
•Jordan Cooper (SP, Akron): 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R/ER, 4 BB, 3 K, HR. Cooper struggled with his command all day throwing 103 pitches but only 52 of them for strikes. For as off as he was with his command, he battled and was a third of an inning short of a quality start.
•Shawn Armstrong (RP, Akron): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Talk about being thrown right into the fire. Armstrong made his triumphant return to Akron after missing almost two months with a hand injury and came in and dominated in the ninth inning of a one-run ball game.
•Tyler Naquin (CF, Carolina): 1-for-5, 2B, RBI, K. Naquin continues to perform like a league MVP in Carolina as he is hitting .304 with a .823 OPS in 74 games, but I suspect he will spend at least the last four to six weeks of the season at Akron. [good year, but 823 is probably not MVP]
•Francisco Lindor (SS, Carolina): 2-for-4, BB, SB. Lindor reached base three times and swiped a bag; two things he has become well known for this season. He had a little bit of a hiccup with his performance earlier in the month, but he has bounced back nicely and is hitting .350 with a .888 OPS in his last 10 games.
•Joe Wendle (2B, Carolina): 2-for-5. Another multi-hit effort for Wendle - his second straight game and the seventh time in the last nine games. With the way he hits and the good approach he has, he would of already been promoted now if not for the presence of Giovanny Urshela and Jose Ramirez in Akron.
•Jerrud Sabourin (1B, Carolina): 1-for-3, R, 2 BB, K. Sabourin just keeps performing, which is great for him and continues to raise his stock a little bit every game. He has an exceptional 35-32 walk to strikeout ratio in 240 at bats, and continues to be a leader and play very good defense. [I honestly wonder how Tony knows that Jerrud is a leader; and if he watches videos to assess his 1st base difference. Maybe he does, but I recall again why I seldom read this stuff.]
•Jordan Smith (RF, Carolina): 0-for-1, R, K. HBP, Assist. Smith gunned down a runner from right field early in the game, but was hit by pitch and stayed in the game and scored a run before he was ultimately removed from the game for precautionary reasons.
•Dorssys Paulino (SS, Lake County): 1-for-4, 3B, RBI. Slowly but surely, Paulino is starting to settle in and play better at Lake County. His RBI triple in the third inning was the difference in the ballgame as the Captains won 1-0.
•Paul Hendrix (2B, Mahoning Valley): 1-for-1, R, 3 BB, PO. This was only Hendrix’s sixth game as a pro, but so far he is off to a solid start with a .294/.429/.353 triple slash line. He played shortstop in college but is going to play a lot more second base in the pros.
•Juan Herrera (SS, Mahoning Valley): 0-for-4, 3 K, E. It was not a very pretty night at the plate for Herrera, but he is still off to a good start hitting .306 with a .802 OPS in 13 games. The Indians are very high on him and think he has some true upside as a middle infield prospect. Could he be another Jose Ramirez?
•Nelson Rodriguez (DH, Mahoning Valley): 2-for-4, RBI. It has been a tough first full season for Rodriguez this year as he makes an adjustment to playing pro ball and playing every day. In 60 games he is hitting just .206/.313/.263, and his inconsistency has resulted in him not showing any of his raw power this season.
•Matt Whitehouse (SP, Mahoning Valley): 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K. It was not as impressive as his first two outings, but he threw three scoreless innings nonetheless. In three appearances he has thrown a total of 9.0 innings and allowed 1 run on 4 hits, 1 walk and has 7 strikeouts.
•Kyle Crockett (RP, Mahoning Valley): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K. In his pro debut Crockett had a perfect inning of relief. He is an arm that could really move fast and might be one the Indians consider in late July or mid-August as a solution to their left-handed relief needs. The odds are against that happening, but it certainly is possible. [Want to take odds on Crockett reaching Cleveland in 4 weeks??]
•Joel Mejia (CF, Arizona): 3-for-5, R, 3B, 3 RBI, SB. Mejia is off to a good start hitting .333 with a 1.133 OPS in six games and he has been one of the top performers for the AZL Indians through the first week-plus of their season.
•Clint Frazier (DH, Arizona): 2-for-3, RBI, K. Frazier played a full game, though has yet to play a game in the field. That could be coming next. He is now 7-for-17 at the plate in the early going of his pro debut.
•D’Vone McClure (LF, Arizona): 2-for-4, 2 2B, K. McClure needed a game like this to get him jumpstarted, and it is his first multi-hit game of the still young AZL season. That strikeout rate is still concerning as he now has 11 strikeouts in 27 at bats.
•Luis Gomez (SP, Arizona): 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R/ER, BB, 3 K. This was Gomez’s second start in the AZL and a bit different from his 4.0 scoreless innings on June 23rd when he allowed 2 hits, no walks and had 7 strikeouts.
•Jose Zapata (RP, Arizona): 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 4 K. After a rough first outing, Zapata has really settled in and now has 11 strikeouts in 7.0 innings.

Wonder why Carrot Top hasn't played in the field? Maybe they're changing his position.

There was something about a minor injury that they wanted to be sure was resolved, I think. He's still an outfielder. We are full up with infielders now after the highly successful Kipnis conversion and the collection of minor league prospects.

Danny Salazar went 5 shutout innings today for the Clippers. 2 hits no walks. 2 strikeouts. On a tight pitch count, he left after 64 pitches.

A far more efficient and far less flaky alternative to Bauer. The only reason I would not expect Tribe to use Salazar as our spot starter when next needed is the pitch limit he's working under. His WHIP in AAA is about 1.25; 12 walks in 32 innings. And he doesn't redesign his pitching approach each time on the mound.

Early in Akron's game tonight, Aguillar's 19th double scores Moncrief who singled. Both of those big swingers have reduced their strikeout frequency this year to about 22%. Moncrief has been over one-third K's in his Class A career.

Shawn Morimando Lefty with an ERA that just slipped under working for Carolina. 2 innings, he's fanned 3, has allowed 3 base runners but no runs. Lindor and Naquin with the 2 Mudcat hits.

Nellie Rodriguez finally getting comfortable at the plate; his 2 early singles lift his NYPL average to 275. 19 year old is supposed to be a slugger but hasn't hit one out for the Scrappers in a dozen games and managed only 1 in 47 games at Lake County (where he hit 194) But he drew plenty of walks so his OBP with the Captains was 305; its' 339 with MHV.

Frazier debuts in center field, adds two hits in 3 abs. Then his replacement in cf, Joel Mejia with his own 2 hit night including his league leading 4th triple.
Their Arizona teammates Ordomar Valdez had 5 hits and Gerald Bautista 3 in a 12 inning win. Starter Vizcaya 5 innings, no earned runs. Anderson Polanco 3 perfect innings, 4 K, ERA 0.90, WHIP 0.50

Scrappers lost 1-0, 2 shutout innings for Matthews, 3 for Sulser, 2 for Parades

Paulino with 2 doubles and a single and he climbs to 236 in Captains win. Blake Wood 1 scoreless innings.

Naquin 1 hit, Lindor 2, rest of Carolina 1. Mudcats with probably the worst record in baseball (I haven't looked it up but hard to imagine anyone's worse than 25-56) are clobbered 10-0. Morimando 4 1/3 2 earned runs 4 walks 5 strikeouts.

Aeros lose narrowly 3-2. Aguillar two doubles makes 20. Ushela single and double. Ramirez steal 26. Trey Haley 2 shutout innings of relief.

Clippers total 2 runs in a DH but win one of them. CC Lee in AAA 2013 debut, 1 1/3 innings, no runs, 2 walks, 3 K.

Boxes:
http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... d=20130701

Two more milestones for this year's surprise minor league offensive star, Carlos Moncrief. On the way to a 3-4 night featuring his 11th homer, Moncrief hit his first homer in 2013 off a lefty. And at game's end his average hit the .300 mark.

Luis Lugo only had the chance to pitch one scoreless inning before Scrapper game was suspended; for the short season he's pitched 16 innings, allowed 1 run.

Ronnie Rodriguez returned from the DL and picked up where he left off, 3 hits in 5 at bats, including a double. Up to .299. Still doesn't walk, 8 times for the season. But he's cut down on strikeouts, 16 in April (1 bb), 17 in May (4 bb), 9 in June-July (3 bb).
Aero relievers with mixed results: Austin Adams scoreless inning. Armstrong 2/3 1 hit 1 walk. Flores 3 unearned in 1 inning.
Ditto Columbus relievers: Guilmet 2 perfect innings with 2 Ks; Barnes loses the game in the 9th: walks one, allows 2 hits, retires none.

Robbie Aviles with a good start for Lake County: 5-4-1-1-3-3

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... d=20130702

another solid outing by lefty Matt Packer at Akron, 6 innings, 1 run on 5 hits. Not sure why he hasn't been promoted.

Goofy Trevor Bauer in his first 4 innings tonight has allowed 2 runs on 2 hits 3 walks a wild pitch and a hit batter.

Next 2 innings Trevor allowed a batch of hits but no more runs. Final line is 6-7-2-2-3-1

Helped by Catcher Roberto Perez gunning 2 basestealers and picking off a runner.

2 singles and a walk for Jose Ramirez and steals his 28th base.

Triple for Naquin, double for Jordan Smith and a single for Lindor are the only Mudcat hits and they are on their way to yet another loss, despite 5 innings only 1 run off not very good Michael Peoples

Captains up 9-3. Catcher Eric Haase with his 10th homer. Santander single and double. CF Logan Vick 3 hits.

Claudio Bautista triple and single is hitting 344 for Scrappers. Caleb Hamrick allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 4 2/3. He's still out there.

Bauer is a complete mess.

He certainly has regressed.

Arizona saw something the Indians didn't see.

Needs a few weeks off. Time for a mystery injury and a trip to Goodyear and start from scratch.