Cleveland Sports Forum

Well, the Yankees signed Gomez, but the Indians got a right handed 3rd baseman.

Indians Sign Dominican Third Baseman Henderson D’Oleo

July 2, 2014 by Ben Badler

The Indians have signed 16-year-old Dominican third baseman Henderson D’Oleo for $165,000. He’s a 6-foot-4, 190-pound third baseman who’s best tools are his righthanded power and arm strength. He trained with Hector Acosta, who also trained Julio Cabrera, a Dominican outfielder who signed with the Indians today for $200,000.

Another right handed power guy for a corner spot.

Indians Sign Dominican Outfielder Christopher Cespedes

July 2, 2014 by Ben Badler

Dominican outfielder Christopher Cespedes has signed with the Indians for $200,000. Cespedes is a 16-year-old righthanded hitter whose main tool is his power potential. At 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, he fits best as a corner outfielder. He trained with Jhon Carmona.

And a CF'er and pitcher...

Indians Sign Dominican Outfielder Julio Cabrera

July 2, 2014 by Ben Badler

The Indians have signed lefthanded Dominican outfielder Julio Cabrera for $200,000. He’s a 16-year-old who has impressed some scouts with his ability to hit in games with a line-drive stroke. He has a strong, compact frame at 6 feet, 185 pounds with around average speed and a strong arm, with a chance to stay in center field. He trained with Hector Acosta.

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Indians Sign Dominican Righthander Leonardo Rodriguez

July 2, 2014 by Ben Badler

The Indians have signed 16-year-old Dominican righthander Leonardo Rodriguez for $300,000. At 6-foot-7, 200 pounds, Rodriguez has plenty of projection to add to his a fastball that touches the low-90s. With his arm speed and size, he projects to be a power pitcher with the potential to reach the mid-90s or better, with his breaking ball and changeup still in their early stages. Rodriguez pitched in the Dominican Prospect League.

Merritt with another good game. 7 ip, 5 h, 1 ER, 5 k

@CLBClippers OF @ItsTHoltBaby extended his hitting streak to 6 straight games. During the streak 10-25 8R 1(2B) 1HR 3RBI 2BB 2SB .400 AVG

(Tyler Holt)

Bobby Bradley 2-4 w/ a dbl and RBI today.

Looks like another of our picks is about to make his debut.

Justus Sheffield @Topsheff42: Ready to toe the rubber!

@IndiansAccounts: Another tremendous start tonight by AZL #Indians RHP @caseyshane23. Shane's line: 5IP 1H 0R 0ER 1BB 4SO (lowers ERA to 1.80)

@IndiansAccounts: AZL Indians RHP @caseyshane23 is off to a great start to his 2014 season: 1-0 15.0IP 7H 3R 3ER 3BB 15SO 1.80 ERA #Indians

Sheffield is going to be starting Sunday for AZL Indians.

We have signed another. The 5th. Don't know anything about this kid, just so happy to hear we have signed another SS who probably bats from left side and has little power.

@DPLBaseball: Oscar Gonzalez-SS signs with #Indians for $300,000. Trained by former player turned singer/song-writer Wason Brazoban http://t.co/Rrdz63eCMc

Couple more ...

@IndiansAccounts: #Indians sign 16yr old Dominican OF 6'3 180lbs Oscar Gonzalez for $300,000. Right handed corner OF, main tools power potential & strong arm

@IndiansAccounts: #Indians sign 16yr old Dominican RHP 6'1 185lbs Orlando Cedeno for $100,000. Fastball touches low 90's. Trained some with Pedro Martinez.

Around the Farm: July 2, 2014

Brown, Moncrief's continued turnarounds highlight the night on the farm

Mitch Brown (Photo: Brittany Chay)

By Jim Piascik July 3, 2014

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.

Mitch Brown (SP, Lake County): W (2-6), 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 7 SO, 2 WP, 1 HBP

It is really hard to be patient for any stretch of time. Like waiting for Christmas as a child -- or even now, the wait for the final Hobbit movie -- is unbearable (same for the waits leading up to the first two, for that matter). But it is absolutely vital to be patient to a fault with prospects, especially ones with the talent of Brown. There is a reason the right-hander was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft, and lately, he is starting to see the results accompany that promise. Though his season stats are not all that pretty, over his last six starts, Brown has found his control and started suppressing runs like he was expected to (first 11 starts: 4.86 ERA, 36:32 SO:BB in 50.0 innings; last six starts: 1.67 ERA, 32:9 SO:BB in 32.1 innings). Of course, we will need to see Brown sustain this level of pitching, but just seeing the right-hander put things together is an encouraging sign and a reminder to be patient.

Carlos Moncrief (RF, Columbus): 3-for-4, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SO

With the same idea of patience in mind, Moncrief's June and July (through two games) have begun to erase the questions the right fielder's April and May raised. Following a .639 OPS and 55:12 SO:BB in 51 games in April and May, Moncrief saw his power return in June as he put up a .913 OPS with 14 extra base hits in 28 June/July games. The plate discipline has not come back for the right fielder -- who owns a 25:6 SO:BB in those 28 June/July games -- but Moncrief can get away with numbers like that if he is hitting for power. The ideal scenario is Moncrief seeing his plate discipline return to his 2013 levels, but in the meantime, the right fielder is productive again.

Kyle Davies (SP, Columbus): L (4-6), 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO. Until Wednesday, all 10 of Davies' Triple-A starts had gone at least five innings (and only one less than six). The right-hander has not dominated in 2014, but is pitching solidly as he bides his time in the upper levels of the organization.

Tyler Holt (CF, Columbus): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SO. Holt's batting average has fallen off the torrid pace he set upon being called up to Columbus, but the outfielder still owns a .435 on-base percentage, .846 OPS, and 24:28 SO:BB through 33 Triple-A games.

Jesus Aguilar (1B, Columbus): 1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB. Like Holt, Aguilar's season stats are still strong even though he has cooled of late (.213 isolated power, .868 OPS in 65 games). In recognition of that, Aguilar (and Roberto Perez) were named to the International League All-Star team Wednesday.

Cody Anderson (SP, Akron): L (2-8), 5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1 WP. Though the results did not follow Wednesday, Anderson filled up the strike zone (60 of his 88 pitches were strikes) as he continues to adjust to Double-A.

Francisco Lindor (SS, Akron): 0-for-3, 1 BB. Unlike Tyler Naquin and Joey Wendle, Lindor managed to avoid the disabled list and returned to the field Wednesday after missing a week.

Anthony Gallas (LF, Akron): 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 2 SO. The good news is Gallas has a 1.096 OPS and 11 extra base hits in 18 Double-A games. The bad news is the outfielder now has 14 strikeouts to go with one solitary walk in that time.

Bryan LaHair (1B, Akron): 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI. The overall stats for LaHair are pretty mediocre, but given the first baseman's significant platoon splits in his career, it is unsurprising to see he is doing much better when facing right-handed pitching (.321/.390/.489 in 137 Double-A at-bats).

Ryan Merritt (SP, Carolina): W (9-2), 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR, 1 HBP. Merritt is still dominating the Carolina League, frequently going six innings or longer while walking next to no one. At the very least the left-hander is in line for a late season taste of Akron and could be up even sooner.

LeVon Washington (LF, Carolina): 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 SO. Power is not really one of Washington's skills, but the 22-year-old is getting on base in 2014 and is capable of showing some pop like this from time to time. Through 38 games, Washington owns a .317/.418/.417 line.

Yhoxian Medina (SS, Carolina): 3-for-5, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 SO, 1 SB, 1 E. Erik Gonzalez's callup to Akron has opened the door for Medina as the Mudcats' shortstop. In that time (six games), Medina has nine hits with three doubles.

Alex Monsalve (DH, Carolina): 3-for-3, 1 BB. Monsalve is still mired in a season-long slump (.251/.306/.351 line in 56 games), but the 22-year-old still shows flashes of what made him a top-30 prospect heading into 2013.

Yandy Diaz (3B, Carolina): 0-for-3, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 E. Diaz's 10-game hit streak came to an end Wednesday, but the third baseman did reach on a walk and still owns a .388 on-base percentage and 16:13 SO:BB in 23 games.

Justin Brantley (RP, Lake County): H (1), 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO. After allowing a run in his first appearance of the season, Brantley has five consecutive scoreless outings spanning 10.2 innings. The right-hander has made a good first impression, posting a 0.71 ERA and 9:2 SO:BB in 12.2 total innings this season.

Clint Frazier (DH, Lake County): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 SO. Frazier is still learning how to consistently make contact, but when he does, the center fielder tends to hit the ball hard, just like he did Wednesday.

Richard Stock (C, Lake County): 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 3B. Playing time has been a little scarce for Stock this season, but the catcher is making good use of it lately, putting together a seven-game hit streak.

Juan Santana (SP, Mahoning Valley): ND, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO. Pitching on his birthday, Santana put up his first scoreless outing of the season, lowering his ERA to 3.44 and improving his SO:BB to 14:4 in 18.1 innings.

Justin Garcia (RP, Mahoning Valley): W (2-0), 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO. It does not get much better than this, as Garcia kept his season-long 13.0-inning scoreless streak alive and more than doubled his strikeout total.

Steven Patterson (2B, Mahoning Valley): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI. Though he has cooled a bit, Patterson is still hitting quite well, with hits in seven of his eight games and a 1.069 OPS in the early going.

Francisco Mejia (C, Mahoning Valley): 1-for-3, 2 SO, 1 HBP, 1 SB, 1 CS. Mejia is still a bit of a free swinger with plenty of room for improvement behind the plate, but the 18-year-old is still so young and has the kind of bat speed and athletic ability you can dream on.

Casey Shane (SP, AZL Indians): ND, 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO. Shane's third start of 2014 was his best so far, as the right-hander did not allow a run for the first time. The 18-year-old's other starts have not been bad, though, as Shane owns a 1.80 ERA and 15:3 SO:BB in 15.0 innings.

Bobby Bradley (1B, AZL Indians): 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SO. Another two hits extends Bradley's hit streak to all six games of his professional career, with 10 total hits in that time, including three doubles and one home run.

Victor Cabral (LF, AZL Indians): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 2 SO. Cabral is struggling in his second exposure to the Arizona League, though early on, the outfielder is showing a little more power this time around (seven extra base hits in 42 games last year; two in four games this year).

Li-Jen Chu (C, AZL Indians): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 E, 1 PB. Chu has done decently at the plate in 2014, with five hits (two doubles) and two walks in six games. The 20-year-old does have some work to do behind the plate, though, with two errors and one passed ball to his name already.

So I guess Merritt

his fastball usually tops out in the high 80s.

has little likelihood of actually becoming a big leaguer. Brown was a much higher pick and apparently has a higher ceiling. Good starts last night by Merritt, Brown and Shane. Cody Anderson was ineffective once again.

Update on International signings shows Yankees with 3 of the top 7 and 3 of the others haven't signed yet.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/internat ... ts-signed/

BA's shorter version of Tony's daily report, limiting to the top prospects:

CLE AAA Aguilar, Jesus 1B 3 0 1 1 .278 BB (36)
CLE AAA Moncrief, Carlos RF 4 0 3 1 .267 2 2B (17)
CLE AAA Ramirez, Jose DH 5 0 1 0 .312
CLE HiA Rodriguez, Luigi RF 4 0 1 1 .255
CLE LoA Frazier, Clint DH 4 1 1 1 .243 HR (6) [that's not a bad power total for 19 year old]
CLE LoA Paulino, Dorssys CF 3 1 1 0 .236
CLE R Bradley, Bobby 1B 4 0 2 1 .385 2B (3)
CLE SS Mejia, Francisco C 3 0 1 0 .277 SB (1), CS (1)

CLE AA Anderson, Cody 5 9 4 4 1 4 5.06 L (2-8) [13 homers allowed in 85 IP]
CLE LoA Brown, Mitch 6 3 2 1 0 7 3.39 W (2-6) Like that K/BB result! 3 HR in 82 IP]
CLE MAJ Bauer, Trevor 5.2 6 3 3 2 2 4.42
CLE R Shane, Casey 5 1 0 0 1 4 1.80 3 starts 5 innings each: 2 runs, 1 run, 0 runs