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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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