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Ronny Rodriguez (Photo: Brittany Chay)

Around the Farm: June 26, 2014

Rodriguez's four-hit game, Bradley's power outburst highlight the night on the farm

By Jim Piascik

June 27, 2014

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Around the Farm takes a quick look at some of yesterday’s performances by Cleveland prospects throughout the system. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game.

Ronny Rodriguez (3B, Akron): 4-for-4, 2 R

If Rodriguez's bad month had come in July, following a solid three-month span to start the season, it is possible his slump would not have garnered as much attention. But since Rodriguez's bad results came in April, they were quite noticeable for many. Yet, if we go month-by-month:

April: .130/.183/.148 line, .331 OPS, 12:4 SO:BB in 15 games

May: .269/.304/.471 line, .775 OPS, 18:5 SO:BB in 28 games

June: .299/.333/.390 line, .723 OPS, 17:4 SO:BB in 21 games

That April is just bad, yet Rodriguez started hitting and got his power back in May and June. Rodriguez was always a toolsy player and far from a finished product, and right now, he is showing those tools. Overall, Rodriguez is improving his approach, likely has a little more positive regression coming as his .287 BABIP continues to stabilize, and owns a nice Eastern League-average .123 isolated power on the season. At 22 years old, Rodriguez is still advanced for his age and, outside of one bad month, is not having a terrible 2014 season.

Bobby Bradley (1B, AZL Indians): 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO

Bradley reached base three times in his first two games without displaying the power that makes him stand out, but the 18-year-old changed that Thursday, getting the first two extra base hits of his professional career. All Arizona League stats will need to be taken with heaping loads of salt -- the ballparks, climate/environment, and inconsistent pitching make it a hitter's haven -- but it is hard not to be encouraged by Bradley's debut. It may be only three games, but Bradley has already shown everything that makes him special at the plate; now he just needs to keep it up over the next 2000 games or so.

•Zach McAllister (SP, Columbus): W (3-0), 7.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO We cannot really know how well McAllister is pitching until he is facing major league hitters again, but as of right now, the right-hander looks ready to step back into Cleveland's rotation. McAllister owns a 1.48 ERA and 20:5 SO:BB in 24.1 Triple-A innings this season.

•Bryan Price (RP, Columbus): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO. Price was not dominant Thursday, but this was the right-hander's first action in Triple-A this year. After going on the disabled list at the beginning of the season with a shoulder injury, seeing Price back at the level he should have started the year at is a good sign.

•Jesus Aguilar (DH, Columbus): 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO. With his 12th home run in 60 Triple-A games and another three times on base (pushing his on-base percentage to .376), Aguilar continues to make the case he should get a longer look at the major league level.

•Roberto Perez (C, Columbus): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO. Coming into the season, Perez's calling card on offense was his high walk and strikeout rates. He is maintaining those in 2014, but with 17 extra base hits in 45 games, Perez is showing some power to go with that patience.

•Carlos Moncrief (RF, Columbus): 2-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 SO. Moncrief's double gives him 11 extra base hits on the month, almost as many as the right fielder had (13) in April and May combined.

•Gabriel Arias (SP, Akron): ND, 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO, 1 WP. ND, 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO, 1 WP. Following a superb start his last time out (his first since coming back to Akron from Columbus), Arias was not as strong Thursday. Walks are not normally an issue for Arias, though, and this is probably more of a blip on the radar for the right-hander.

•Joe Wendle (2B, Akron): 0-for-2, 1 RBI, 2 SO, 1 SF. The day after a bad hop in the field gave Francisco Lindor a broken nose, Wendle fouled a ball off himself and left Thursday's game with what is preliminarily being called a sprained hand. It is simply not a good time to be a RubberDucks middle infielder.

•Jordan Smith (RF, Akron): 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB. That is two good games in a row for Smith, and while they do not outweigh the first 67 rough ones, it is possible the right fielder is beginning to recapture the approach that made him successful at every stop before 2014.

•Jake Lowery (C, Akron): 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SO. Lowery reached base twice Thursday as the 23-year-old continues to improve the farther he gets from his mid-April eye injury.

•Shawn Morimando (SP, Carolina): ND, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO. Morimando is pitching quite well in the Carolina League as he awaits another callup to Akron. The left-hander's big issue in 2013 was walking too many batters, and outside of reverting back to that form in the month of May, the 21-year-old is much better on that front this year.

•Clayton Cook (RP, Carolina): L (0-3), 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HBP. After missing so much time, it is not surprising to see Cook struggle out of the gate. The good news is the right-hander is throwing a fair amount of strikes and has posted a 16:6 SO:BB in 17.0 innings.

•LeVon Washington (LF, Carolina): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB. That is not an eye-popping statline, but Washington reached base twice on a night the Mudcats struggled to put much together offensively.

•Yandy Diaz (3B, Carolina): 1-for-3, 1 BB. The same goes for Diaz, who has shown some strong on-base ability this season, albeit without much power (.360 on-base percentage, four extra base hits -- all doubles -- in 18 games).

•Jeremy Lucas (C, Carolina): 1-for-3, 1 2B, 2 SO. The two strikeouts are a bit of an anomaly for Lucas, who owns a 42:34 SO:BB in 65 games this season. The double is not, however, as the 23-year-old owns a .159 isolated power in 2014, a solid mark overall and even better coming from a catcher.

•Luis Lugo (SP, Lake County): L (5-6), 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR. Lugo has given up five home runs in his last three starts, but beyond that hiccup, the left-hander is really showing his immense upside. The 20-year-old has 31 strikeouts in his last 21.2 innings and 83 in 67.0 innings on the season.

•Wander Beras (RP, Lake County): 1.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO, 5 WP, 1 BK. That is not a typo: five wild pitches, one per out recorded. Beras really just had a night to forget Thursday.

•Nellie Rodriguez (1B, Lake County): 2-for-3, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO. The strikeouts continue to be a concern, but a 75:36 SO:BB in 71 games is exceedingly bad for a power hitter. Rodriguez's .177 isolated power helps to alleviate some concern, as does the fact that at 20 years old, the first baseman is still relatively young for the level.

•Clint Frazier (CF, Lake County): 1-for-5, 1 2B, 2 SO. Like Moncrief in Columbus, Frazier's power is continuing to flourish in June, as the 19-year-old has eight extra base hits in 20 June games compared to 10 total in 42 games in April and May.

•Logan Vick (RF, Lake County): 0-for-2, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 SO. It is no surprise to see Vick only record walks and strikeouts here, as he employs an extremely passive approach at the plate. In Vick's 850 professional plate appearances, 318 -- over 37 percent -- have ended in a strikeout or a walk.

•Kieran Lovegrove (SP, Mahoning Valley): 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 0 SO. With a 2:10 SO:BB in 8.2 innings this season, Lovegrove is still refining his command and control in his first action above the Arizona League.

•James Stokes (RP, Mahoning Valley): L (0-2), 1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO, 1 WP. In his third trip to Mahoning Valley, Stokes suffered a setback Thursday in his attempt to get a second shot in Lake County.

•Shane Rowland (DH, Mahoning Valley): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI. As a backup catcher, Rowland plays sparingly, but the 22-year-old had the Scrappers' only multi-hit game Thursday.

•Steven Patterson (2B, Mahoning Valley): 1-for-4, 1 BB. This was Patterson's first game without a double, but the second baseman still reached base twice and has made the jump to pro ball seamlessly.

•Greg Allen (CF, Mahoning Valley): 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 HBP, 1 SB, 1 SAC. Allen has also made the jump to pro ball easily, stealing three bases and reaching base nearly half the time in his first five games.

•Thomas Pannone (SP, AZL Indians): W (1-0), 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 2 HBP. Cleveland's ninth round pick in 2013 is coming out strong this year, both in terms of performance and gaining experience. After Thursday, Pannone still only has 25.0 professional innings in his career.

•Willi Castro (SS, AZL Indians): 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 SB. Castro does not have a walk in six games, but the 17-year-old does have a steal, a double, two triples, and two home runs.

•Emmanuel Tapia (DH, AZL Indians): 3-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SO. The 18-year-old Tapia is having an impressive stateside debut, with eight hits -- four of the extra base variety -- in his first five games.

•Simeon Lucas (C, AZL Indians): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 PB. This year's seventh round pick got the first hit of his professional career, doubling to center in the second inning.

If you want to follow Jim on Twitter, he’s @JimPiascik. If you want to e-mail him, you can do so at jpiasci1@kent.edu

Ryan Merritt with another nice game tonight.

I think we do better when Swisher and Santana are riding the pine. We came back from oblivion without them. Now they are back and we are stuck in another rut. How good would Nelson Cruz look right now. I think he just hit his 25th homer to go along with his 66 rbi's.

I assume Gonzalez' promotion is temporary, while Lindor rests with his injury. He debuted hitless in AA.
Naquin left last night's game for the Ducks after he was hit by a pitch.
Not a good couple days for Akron.
I sure would be startled if the Indians recalled Joe Colon to pitch for Clevleand, despite Tony's rather bizarre suggestion. He's done well in Akron as a totally unheralded prospect. He will need to convince he can pitch in AAA before he moves to the majors.

Merritt and Mitch Brown both had good nights on Friday. The Captains finally hit for Brown (11 runs) to give him his first victory of the season. Both of those kids have had very steady performances of late. Cody Anderson started badly once again for Akron, allowing yet another homer, but settled in and finally made it 6 innings on a start, 3 runs allowed.

Here are BA's noted lines:

CLE AA Naquin, Tyler CF 3 0 2 1 .313 2B (12)
CLE AA Rodriguez, Ronny 3B 4 0 1 1 .247 2B (18)
CLE LoA Paulino, Dorssys LF 5 1 2 0 .229 2B (13)
CLE LoA Rodriguez, Nelson 1B 5 1 1 0 .232
CLE SS Mejia, Francisco C 3 0 1 2 .240 2B (3), BB (8) [19 year old catcher shows patience at bat]
CLE AA Anderson, Cody 6 4 3 3 3 6 4.93 L (2-7)
CLE AAA Barnes, Scott 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 3.69
CLE LoA Brown, Mitch 5.1 3 0 0 2 5 3.54 W (1-6)
CLE MAJ Bauer, Trevor 6.1 9 3 3 2 5 4.39 L (2-4)
CLE MAJ Crockett, Kyle 0.2 2 0 0 0 1 2.70

Merritt doesn 't get BA recognition. His line: 7.1 5 2 1 1 0 5 1.58 (8-2)
his most recent 9 starts:
7 innings 2 ER
6 2/3 IP 1 ER
5 innings 2 ER
7 1/2 IP 1 ER
7 innings 2 ER
5 innings 1 ER
7 2/3 IP 1 ER
8 innings 1 ER
7 1/3 IP 1 ER

Mitch Brown's monthly numbers:
April 6.10 ERA 1.75 WHIP
May 3.99 ERA 1.55 WHIP
June 1.71 ERA 0.95 WHIP

It seems some minor league pitching coaches must be doing a good job.

@IndiansAccounts: @CarolinaMudcats Ryan Merritt's 1.58 ERA is 3rd in all of @milb after another sensational start tonight: 7.1IP 5H 2R 1ER 0BB 5SO #Indians

But it's worth a promotion to Akron.

If Merritt were a position player he'd probably be going north; Aeros have lost Wendle and Naquin to broken hands and Lindor will be out awhile with a bruise to his face. Erik Gonzalez is subbing at SS. Tony Wolters is doing more infielding than catching. Since Bryson Myles was already on the DL, Anthony Gallas finally reached AA at age 26 a few weeks ago. Veteran Ollie Linton, Carolina player-coach, is also in Akron now to play OF. Adam Abraham has been shipped down from Columbus to add depth.

Gonzalez with his first AA hits today after an 0-9 debut.

Saturday:

CLE AA Rodriguez, Ronny 2B 5 0 2 0 .250 [in June 302/333/395, but still 18K vs 4 bb]
CLE AA Wolters, Tony C 3 2 1 0 .248 2B (10), BB (27)
CLE AAA Aguilar, Jesus 1B 4 1 1 0 .272 BB (33)
CLE AAA Moncrief, Carlos RF 5 0 1 1 .260
CLE AAA Ramirez, Jose DH 5 2 2 0 .316 2B (9) [first game back after his 2 weeks on the DL]
CLE HiA Rodriguez, Luigi RF 4 1 1 0 .267 BB (30), CS (3) [in June 369/488/600 16 BB exceeds his 13K]
CLE LoA Frazier, Clint CF 4 0 2 1 .247
CLE LoA Paulino, Dorssys LF 3 0 2 0 .235 BB (20)
CLE SS Mejia, Francisco C 4 0 2 1 .259
CLE SS Zimmer, Bradley CF 4 0 2 1 .267 BB (1)
CLE SS Merryweather, Julian 4 4 2 2 2 1 2.00 surprised he's considered worth listing; I guess any Top 10 round pick will be reported

BA plans to publish a midseason revised Top 10 shortly. Cleveland's is sure to change a lot. A couple of the preseason 10 have graduated and most of the rest have unimpressed. They were:

1. Lindor That wont' change
2. Frazier Not all High School high picks move to full season teams so his drab numbers aren't that offputting
3. Bauer Matriculation complete
4. Naquin Hit well except for the strikeouts
5. Cody Anderson ERA well over 5, homeruns galore
6. Paulino Has been converted to LF where his failure to develop offensively, regression to 1 HR, looks even worse
7. Ronnie Rodriguez No better his second time through AA than his first although as noted above is getter better
8. CC Lee Failed his first real major league test and not sharp in AAA
9. Jose Ramirez. For youngest opening day player in his AAA league he's been highly successful. Leads team in RBI!
10. Austin Adams Command improving. If your team's Top is full of middle relievers that's not a sign of organizational strength.

So if Bauer and Anderson and Paulino and Rodriguez leave the top 10, who's earned his way in?
The easy way to fill in will with be the high rated draft picks who haven't yet been able to show if they can play as pros. That's the way I imagine BA will re-create the Top 10 with Zimmer and Sheffield and Papi and maybe Bradley all being slotted in.

Harder to re-rank based on actual minor league performance. Who was rated close preseason:
11. Crockett, has graduated in record time
12. Francisco Mejia, was in my top 10 and shoots up into any list now I assume
13. Luigi Rodriguez, bouncing back from 2013 injury, has improved steadily and deserves return to the top ten.
14. Moncrief. Doing well but nothing special.
15. Aguillar, a great April, much less since.
16. Dace Kime, horrendous April, poor May, good June.
17. Joe Wendle, he's still a good hitter, but a 24 year old AA 2nd baseman is not top 10 worthy
18. Adam Plutko. Maybe quick work of Midwest League, less consistent in Carolina but rates significant rise in status
19. Erik Gonzalez. Impressed with his play in 2013 and has hit much better in 2014.

Others who have excelled ranked even lower or not at all:
22. Shawn Morimando, returned to Carolina after a decent 2013, I guess to work on command. Has looked good.
24. Mitch Brown, 2nd round 2012 pick had a disastrous Midwest debut but is far surperior at the same level in '14
And those who were not ranked even that high have been our most successful pitcher, Ryan Merritt, and position player, Giovanny Urshela, who leads the system in homers and RBI after early seasons of stellar defensive, modest offense.
And Joe's favorite Joe Colon who's 2.79 ERA imprsses, but not sure if he's become a prospect or simply our No. 1 organizational player. And lefty Luis Lugo and righty Robbie Aviles both still in Lake County.

So how to rate a Top 10 without Zimmer, Sheffield and Papi

1. Lindor
2. I have no idea. I suppose still Frazier. It sure is easier just to slot Zimmer in here.
3. Naquin although maybe he's now No. 2
4. Mejia, he's 19, considered an excellent defender and hitting too
5. Plutko. There's got to be some starting pitcher on this list.
6. Ramirez.
7. Gonzalez.
8. Luigi Rodriguez. There's always got to some Rodriguez on this list.
9. Urshela. But I doubt he'll get that rating by the pros.
10. Only one pitcher on here! Lee or Adams could still rate as projectible solid relievers. Morimando and Brown and Lugo and Merritt as potential starters.

That list is pretty amazingly unimpressive. It looks better as:
1. Lindor
2. Zimmer
3. Frazier
4. Naquin
5. Sheffield
6. Mejia
7. Papi
8. Plutko
9. Ramirez
10. Bradley

How good would Nelson Cruz look right now.

Couldn't look much worse than he did in the 9th inning of WS game 6 vs. St. Louis.

Sunday boxes:

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... md=2014062

Columbus, Akron, Carolina and Mahoning Valley all won. Only Lake County lost. Arizona didn't play.

Travis Banwart off the scrap heap has pitched well for Columbus. 7 shutout innings yesterday. Lee and Adams finished with 1 scoreless apiece. URshela with his 16th AAA double and 25th! of the season. Also has 4 triples and 12 homers.

Joe Colon 5 innings 1 run but 5 walks. Shawn Armstrong with a perfect 9th with 2 K. Gonzalez with his first 3 AA hits and a steal. Wolters 2 hits. Adam Abraham returns to AA and 2 doubles and homer and 6 rbi

For Lake County, Frazier singled; Rodriguez doubled and fanned 3 times, Paulino singled and fanned twice.

For Scrappers, Greg Allen with a pair of doubles; Steve Patterson singled and walked twice. Mejia an rbi. McClure singled and doubled. Cameron Hill 3 shutout innings.

BA's noted lines:

CLE AA Gonzalez, Erik SS 4 3 3 1 .231 BB (1), SB (1)
CLE AA Rodriguez, Ronny 2B 4 1 1 0 .250 2B (19)
CLE AA Wolters, Tony C 4 0 2 0 .252
CLE AAA Aguilar, Jesus 1B 4 0 1 1 .272
CLE AAA Moncrief, Carlos RF 4 1 1 0 .260
CLE LoA Frazier, Clint CF 4 0 1 0 .247
CLE LoA Paulino, Dorssys LF 4 0 1 0 .235 SB (3)
CLE LoA Rodriguez, Nelson 1B 4 0 1 1 .229 2B (15)
CLE SS Mejia, Francisco DH 4 1 1 1 .259

CLE AA Armstrong, Shawn 1 0 0 0 0 2 1.95
CLE AAA Adams, Austin 1 1 0 0 0 0 2.57
CLE AAA Lee, C.C. 1 0 0 0 0 1 3.38

Danny Salazar Final Line tonight

7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. 105 pitches, 74 strikes