Cleveland Sports Forum

With Lindor now in Columbus and Gonzalez in Akron and his sub Y. Medina playing short for the Mudcats we have the interesting situation that the ages of the SS are increasingly greater at each lower minor league level:

Lindor 20, Gonzalez 22, Medina 24.

BA

CLE AAA Lindor, Francisco SS 3 0 2 0 .375 2B (1), CS (1) [tried to steal 3rd, unsuccessfully]
CLE AAA Aguilar, Jesus 1B 3 1 2 3 .287 2B (20)
CLE AAA Moncrief, Carlos RF 4 0 1 1 .269 2B (21)
CLE LoA Frazier, Clint CF 3 2 3 1 .273 HR (11), BB (39)
CLE MAJ Ramirez, Jose SS 3 0 2 1 .143 2B (1)
CLE SS Mejia, Francisco C 4 1 2 0 .271

CLE AA Haley, Trey 1 2 1 1 1 2 10.80
CLE AA Morimando, Shawn 6 2 1 0 2 2 1.00 L (1-1)
CLE LoA Kime, Dace 4 9 8 7 2 2 5.26 L (5-12)
CLE MAJ Bauer, Trevor 6 6 3 3 2 7 3.93 L (4-5)
CLE SS Brady, Sean 5 2 0 0 3 3 2.21 [doing well]

Todd Paquette‏@IndiansAccounts
@CLBClippers SS Francisco Lindor @Lindor12BC through his first (3) games at AAA: 4-11 3R 1(2B) 2BB 1SB .364 AVG #Indians #Lindor

Yesterday's lines from BA:

CLE AA Rodriguez, Ronny SS 2 1 1 0 .233 2 BB (20) [not nearly enough walks; avg way down this year; losing his prospect rating especially with all the other middle IFs in the system]
CLE AA Wolters, Tony C 4 0 2 0 .249 BB (35)
CLE AAA Aguilar, Jesus DH 5 1 1 1 .285
CLE AAA Lindor, Francisco SS 3 2 1 0 .364 2 BB (2)
CLE AAA Moncrief, Carlos RF 4 1 2 5 .271 HR (10) [BA vs LH is better than RH this year, but his K/BB is dramatically worse vs LH than RH]
CLE LoA Rodriguez, Nelson DH 3 0 1 0 .252 2B (19), BB (40) [good walk total]
CLE MAJ Ramirez, Jose SS 5 0 1 0 .152
CLE R Bradley, Bobby DH 4 2 1 1 .350 2B (9), 2 BB (10)
CLE LoA Lugo, Luis 1.2 3 5 5 5 1 5.95 L (5-8) [ugh]

This week Plutko makes the Not So Hot list. He is classically hot and cold

Adam Plutko, rhp, Indians: When a command artist with average stuff can’t find the strike zone, this is what happens. He got just two outs in his most recent start at high Class A Carolina, and one of those came courtesy of a sacrifice bunt before it became obvious that he was basically throwing batting practice. Two of the nine hitters who faced him went deep, and he was yanked after Wilmington had batted around.

A few lines not noted by BA:

In Arizona:
3rd or so rounder Grant Hockin: 2-4-2-1-1-1 7.88 18 year old
Much lower pick Jared Robinson: 3 1/3-1-0-0-0-3 19 year old

At MHV:
Allen 0-5, Zimmer 0-4, Mejia 0-3 with a walk

NYPL notes: Zimmer has matchup in mind

Scrappers center fielder hopes to someday face older brother in bigs

A stint with Team USA and a Cape Cod League championship last summer have helped prepare Mahoning Valley's Bradley Zimmer for the next step in his career, following a successful run at the University of San Francisco.

The 21st overall pick by the Indians this past June, he's looking to build off those experiences as he explores his potential at the professional level.

"It was really helpful and an unbelievable experience to be a part of … playing with the best players in the country [on Team USA] and getting to travel and get more of a professional feel," said Zimmer. "That was definitely a step in the right direction and kind of prepared me for what I'm going through right now."

Also aiding his preparation for that next step is his brother Kyle, a highly touted pitcher in the Royals system and MLB.com's No. 20 prospect overall.

Although Bradley is a center fielder, the two never had the opportunity to face each other growing up as Kyle converted to pitching in college. Of course, he's still capable of dispensing plenty of advice to his little brother, despite the fact that he's yet to pitch this season due to injury.

"Just have fun with it and enjoy the process," said Bradley of the wisdom Kyle has imparted to him. "It's something that not a lot of guys get to experience, so don't take it for granted. Enjoy it and build off it."

So far, the Scrappers outfielder has been seeing results, hitting .296 in his first 22 games on the strength of a recent four-game hitting streak in which he drove in eight runs and collected seven hits.

"It's been fun so far," said Zimmer. "I'm starting to play every day, getting used to the feel of being a professional ballplayer -- having fun with it and looking forward to the upcoming games."

He also got an early taste of what life might be like in the big leagues as the Scrappers faced off against the Lowell Spinners at Fenway Park on July 13.

Customary of all visitors to the hallowed Boston landmark, Zimmer took aim at the Green Monster in left field, banging a run-scoring double off the wall in the top of the ninth to help Mahoning Valley secure a 6-1 victory.

"It was awesome," said Zimmer. "You hear the unbelievable names that have come through there and done such great things, so it was pretty cool to be out on that stage.

"The Green Monster has a lot of history as well, so getting to put one off there was pretty cool. It's very close once you're out there."

Something else that may be close for Zimmer is a future big stage showdown with big brother Kyle.

"It's something I'm holding in the back of my mind," Zimmer said. "We've joked about it here and there, picking each other's brain. I think we're both looking forward to the day when we square off against each other."

Of course, there are many steps that both Zimmer brothers need to take before Bradley steps into the box versus Kyle, but with a foot in the door, the younger brother is bearing down on that opportunity with experience on his side.

Akron RubberDucks

Columbus Clippers

Same old Justin. His ball moves so much that I don't think he knows where the ball is going. Sort of like a knuckle baller. If Masterson pitches like he did tonight the rest of the season, I don't think he'll be a major contributor. He's got to find his control and soon if he expects to be a major part of the rotation.

Friday Box Scores:

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... d=20140725

Noteworthy:

AAA: Urshela 3 hits, batting 273, he's only 22. Lindor 0-4. CC Lee 1 1/3 4K, 2 hits.
AA: Gonzalez 1-5; Von Schamman 7-3-0-0-0-3; Arajuo 2 0 0 0 0 3 3.24 6-6 LH, age 23.
Hi A: Levon Washington 2-5; Ryan Merritt worst start of the year 5-7-7-7-1-5
Lo A: Mike Papi 0-4 is now 1-23 batting .043, maybe time in NYPL would help; Nellie Rodriguez HR 17; Mitch Brown best start of the year 6 1/3-3-1-1-2-8 ERA drops below 4
SS A: Zimmer 2 doubles, single, steal #5, 282; Allen steal 13, avg 252; Kieran Lovegrove 3 1/3 1-0-0-4-2. He's pitching well except for all those walks; last 6 starts total 25 2/3, 5 ER (19 hits, 17 walks, only 12 K)
DR: Mejia 2 singles, a walk, steal #49 breaks a 5-game steal-less slump. OBP 450, SLG 412, OPS 863

@IndiansAccounts: AZL #Indians 18yr old 6'4 200lbs RHP @caseyshane23 numbers after first 7 appearances: 3-0 34.1IP 24H 12R 10ER 7BB 34SO 2.62 ERA

@IndiansAccounts: AZL #Indians 1B @b_bradley_44 extended his hitting streak to 8 straight games: 12-30 8R 3(2B) 1HR 9RBI 7BB 2SB .400 AVG

Some other performers for Arizona:

1A draft pick Justus Sheffield 3-3-1-1-3-3 his best work to date. ERA is 6.14
Round 4? draft pick Sam Hentges 2-0-0-0-1-4 ERA 0.00 6-6 245 18 year old lefty. Sounds interesting

on Saturday, speedy CF Silento Sayles 2 hits, 3 steals, that makes 11 and he only plays a bit more than half the time
ss-3b Chang with a triple and two singles 18 year old hitting 329 with OPS 1012
C Chu 3 doubles 20 year old has 6 doubles, 3 homes and OPS 1074

Depth is now in the middle of the OF instead of the middle IF.

Gabriel Mejia in the Dominican .hits, walks and steals a ton of bases. Defense? Let's see him in the US
Silento Sayles in Arizona does all those things too. Defense?
Brad Zimmer in Mahoning Valley CF or RF? Does some of everything. How well?
Greg Allen in Mahoning Valley walks, steals; does he hit enough? Defense?
Clint Frazier for Lake County he's a power hitter who to date fans too often and walks some. Is he a CF or corner OF?
there is no one on Carolina who has a future above AA
Tyler Naquin for Akron hits singles and doubles some triples and a few homers. Good defender, great arm. Fans too much. Steals a few.
Tyler Holt in Columbus hits well, runs. Looks like a AAAA type but perhaps more than that.

Holt 317/429/415/844 age 25 RH 18/4 SB/CS
Naquin 313/371/424/795 age 23 LH 14/3
Frazier 267/344/423/767 age 19 RH
Zimmer 265/350/395/745 age 21 LH 5/0
Allen 255/389/349/738 age 21 RH/LH 13/3
Sayles 295/413/344/757 age 19 RH 11/1 [only 75 total AB]
Mejia 344/454/411/865 age 19 on Wednesday 50/13