Cleveland Sports Forum

sunday lines:

CLE AA Gonzalez, Erik SS 5 0 2 1 .272
CLE AA Rodriguez, Ronny 1B 4 2 2 1 .174 HR (2)
CLE AA Wolters, Tony DH 3 0 1 0 .223 BB (16)
CLE AAA Aguilar, Jesus DH 4 0 2 1 .255
CLE AAA Moncrief, Carlos RF 2 1 1 1 .181 2B (3) [3 doubles for the season! wow, he's about finished]
CLE AAA Naquin, Tyler CF 3 1 1 0 .292 BB (5)
CLE LoA Bradley, Bobby 1B 4 2 3 3 .279 3B (3), HR (11) [no errors]
CLE MAJ Lindor, Francisco PH-DH 2 0 1 0 .500
CLE MAJ Urshela, Giovanny 3B 3 0 1 0 .250

CLE AA Merritt, Ryan 6.2 6 0 0 0 3 3.42 W (4-5) [good start for little lefty]
CLE AAA Adams, Austin 1 1 1 1 0 1 5.79
CLE HiA Lugo, Luis 4 8 6 6 1 2 5.48 L (3-5) [bad season continues for big lefty]
they left out the other successful little lefty:
CLD LoA Brady, Sean 6 2 0 0 0 6 2.88 W (5-3)
also notable: Greg Allen 2 hits no steals.

Todd Paquette ‏@IndiansAccounts · 6 minutes ago
Congrats to @LCCaptains players 1B @b_bradley_44 & LHP @SeanMBrady8 who were named the Midwest League Hitter & Pitcher of the week. #Indians

Good job! Bradley was No. 3 on the BA all-minor league baseball hotsheet as well as Midwest Player of the Week. He's becoming a regular winning such honors [MVP of the Arizona SUmmer League last season]

And the honors keep rolling in for him....

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/130755466 ... f-the-week

Bradley headlines Prospect Team of the Week

Jonathan Mayo. MLB.com Columnist

MLBPipeline.com's Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers.

Bobby Bradley is making up for lost time in the Midwest League.

The Indians first slugger, ranked No. 10 on the Indians' Top 30 prospects list, missed nearly a month with an oblique strain, but that hasn't kept him from being one of the best home run hitters in the league. He's now tied for second in the Midwest League with 11 home runs and his .588 slugging percentage would top the circuit if he had enough at-bats to qualify.

This past week, June 8-14, Bradley homered in four games, making him the most impressive among our Prospect Team of the Week honorees.

1B: Bobby Bradley (No. 11 prospect)

6 G, .409/.480/.1.091, 6 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBIs, 2 BB, 9 SO

After a 1-for-3 showing on Monday, Bradley started flexing his muscles, homering on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. He drove in three runs in three of those games, raising his slugging percentage nearly 100 points in the process

LHP: Sean Brady, Indians (No. 28 prospect)

2 G, 2-0, 12 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO

Brady tossed a pair of six-inning gems, holding Midwest League hitters to a .125 batting average in the process. He's only given up one earned run in three total starts this month and his 2.88 ERA is now good for third in the organization and 15th in the Midwest League.

I want one of these Lake County jerseys. Sharp.

Only two teams in action Monday:

CLE AAA Ramsey, James RF 5 0 3 1 .244
CLE HiA Frazier, Clint RF 4 1 1 1 .261 HR (7)
CLE HiA Rodriguez, Nellie 1B 5 0 2 1 .274 2B (19)
CLE HiA Zimmer, Bradley CF 4 0 2 0 .305 CS (4)
CLE HiA Brown, Mitch 7 6 5 4 5 4 5.34 L (2-7)

Not great nights for recently promoted starting pitchers Cody Anderson or Adam Plutko or Dace Kime, although not disasters either.

Kime in Lynchburg 5 1/3 4 2 2 3 5
Plutko in Akron 5 8 3 3 3 3
Anderson in AAA 5 1/3 7 4 3 4 3

Forever in AA, Trey Haley is about to turn 25, he's actually pitching pretty well. 2 perfect innings with 2 K, bring season total to 28 2/3 IP 33K and only 8 BB. Might as well try him in Columbus again.

Offensively:
Mejia 2 walks and 2 sac bunts, 23 BB vs 36 K not too bad for 19 year old.
Greg Allen single, walk, sac fly and caught stealing

Zimmer single
Nellie Rod walk and sac fly
Papi walk and single

Erik Gonzalez 3 hits
Yandy Diaz 2 singles, 2 walks; gets on base plenty, with virtually no power
Ronny Rodriguez 4 singles and a walk

Chisenhall a homer. And no errors.

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... d=20150616

BA notes:

CLE AA Gonzalez, Erik SS 6 1 3 0 .277 BB (10), SB (8)
CLE AA Rodriguez, Ronny 2B-1B 6 0 4 2 .276 BB (4)
CLE AA Wolters, Tony C 7 0 1 0 .220
CLE AAA Aguilar, Jesus DH 4 0 1 1 .251
CLE AAA Naquin, Tyler CF 4 1 1 0 .286
CLE AAA Ramsey, James LF 3 0 1 0 .245
CLE HiA Papi, Mike LF 3 0 1 0 .207 BB (42)
CLE HiA Zimmer, Bradley CF 4 1 1 0 .304

CLE AA Plutko, Adam 5 8 3 3 3 3 2.45
CLE AAA Anderson, Cody 5.1 7 4 3 4 3 2.33 L (1-1)
CLE AAA Armstrong, Shawn 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 3.38
CLE HiA Kime, Dace 5.1 4 2 2 3 5 4.38

Lonnie Chisenhall (Columbus, 3B): 3 for 4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB – Chisenhall has a week under his belt with Columbus after he was demoted from the majors, and he’s certainly played well. In seven games, he’s gone hitless in only one, and he’s batting .407 with two homers and seven RBIs.

Tyler Holt (Columbus, LF): 2 for 3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB – Holt continues to hit in AAA, as he currently carries a .316 average to go along with a .395 on-base percentage. He’s 5-for-11 at the plate in his last three games with two RBIs and three runs scored.

Tyler Naquin (Columbus, CF): 1 for 5, 2 R, SB – The Clippers’ new centerfielder has hit in six of his first eight games with Columbus. He’s scored five runs in his last four games, and he’s batting a respectable .273 at the AAA level to go along with three stolen bases.

Nellie Rodriguez (Lynchburg, 1B): 3 for 4, 1 R, 1 BB – The big man at first usually piles up the extra-base hits but all three of his hits on Wednesday were singles. His fifth three-hit game of the year elevated his batting average to .280, which is a season high.

Mike Papi (Lynchburg, LF): 1 for 1, 1 RBI, 3 BB – Papi was at the plate in the seventh inning when a passed ball scored the Hillcats’ first run. He then drove in the winning run with an RBI single. Despite a .211 batting average, he now has a league-leading 45 walks in 2015.

Bobby Bradley (Lake County, 1B): 0 for 4, 3 K – Since hitting his 11th homer of the year on Sunday and nearly hitting for the cycle, the first baseman is 0-for-8 and has recorded two consecutive hat tricks.

Greg Allen (Lake County, CF): 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 R – With a hit on Wednesday, Allen is working on a five-game hit streak in which he’s gone 9-for-20 at the plate. His .260 batting average is the highest it’s been since April 21.

Papi with all those walks and a growing collection of singles would make a fine leadoff hitter, if he had any speed. A left fielder with no power or speed is not a commodity of great value. He needs to add some more to his offensive repertoire.

After a great start to the 2015 season with the Akron RubberDucks, right-handed starter Cody Anderson was promoted by the Indians to AAA Columbus on June 5.

Anderson, the 2013 winner of the Bob Feller Award – given to the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year — bounced back from a tough 2014 season at Akron and posted a 3-2 record with a 1.69 ERA in nine starts this season with the RubberDucks to earn the promotion.

“I’m really just attacking the strike zone and throwing strikes early in the count, which I struggled with last year,” Anderson said. “I’m getting ahead and working ahead.”

The former 2011, 14th-round selection out of Feather River College (Quincy, Calif.) has carried that early success to Columbus, where he has gone 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA in his first three starts.

“His velocity has improved, his breaking ball has improved and his ability to locate the ball has improved,” said Carter Hawkins, Indians Director of Player Development. “Getting him to Columbus, where he’ll face more experienced hitters, is a natural step in his progression that will help prepare him to pitch the way he’ll have to in Cleveland.”

Anderson was added to the 40-man roster on November 20, 2014 and was named the 10th-best prospect in the Indians system entering 2015 by Baseball America. The 6-4, 235-pounder. spent much of Spring Training this season in Major League camp. He credits that in his development and confidence this season.

“It was a great experience being around all the veteran guys and watching them work and prepare and their routines that start early in the morning,” he said. “They get there and they take care of business and the way they go about their business is so professional and I really took a lot from that.”

In his stellar 2013 season, the right-hander went a combined 9-4 with a 2.65 ERA in 26 starts between Carolina and Akron and was tabbed the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year, in addition to winning the Feller Award..

Last season, Anderson posted a 4-11 record at AA Akron, ending the season with a 5.44 ERA in 25 starts. There were signs of the success from 2013, including a five-start span from July 7-August 14 in which he went 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA, but Anderson’s overall numbers were inflated thanks to four starts with at least seven earned runs allowed.

“It’s all just kind of a learning process,” he said. “Learning how to take care of your body, how to find a routine. I’m playing at a better level and it’s been a great start to the year.”

Anderson put in the work leading up this season, and the Indians saw firsthand how committed he was to sharpening his game.

“Cody knew going into this offseason that increasing his flexibility and mobility would allow him to get into more effective positions in his delivery and most importantly, allow him to tap into his natural strength,” Hawkins said. “He spent the entire off-season in Goodyear working on those goals, and his outstanding process and intent has certainly brought him results.”

Anderson sees the hard work paying off and his on-field performances have reflected that. In 19.1 innings pitched at Columbus, he has allowed just 17 hits, while striking out 18 batters against five walks.

“It’s been rewarding to see Cody’s progress, and he’s been so consistent with his routines and work that more opportunities are bound to come his way,” Hawkins said.

–TribeVibe contributor Jerod Scheetz

I heard the end of an interview with Mr. Hawkins the farm director on pregame show yesterday. He was citing names of some of the highlighted talent on the short season teams and noted two young guys going to start with Mahoning Valley:

2b/SS Willi Castro a not midget [6-01 165] 18 year old switchhitter
C Li-Jen Chiu 21 year old from Taiwan who had a very nice US debut in Arizona last summer
If he mentioned any pitchers I missed them.

[since the time I started this post to the time I got this far and went back to review the rosters at milb.com, they have been updated so I guess reflect the actual assignment of players] Here's the Scrappers roster:

http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?cid=545&sid=milb

33 names appear which means about ten of them will not actually be active. Included are some 2015 draftees who must have signed or would not be listed: OF Ka'ai Tom; IFs Tyler Krieger and Mark Mathis. Those are our 4th-6th round picks, all identified as solid bats and most of them coming off recent surgeries; don't know which will immediately join the DL.

Also in the OF are baserunning star Silento Sayles, 20 year old, who has improved nicely over his 2 summers in Arizona; and Anthony Santander, one of those "5 tool OFs" I like but who's been injured a good share of his time in the pros.

No pitchers who excite. High round pick from several years ago Kieran Lovegrove who has yet to put it all together, still only age 20. 24 year old 100 mph RH Carmelo Melo who has no control at all. Reasonable impressive 2014 draftee Casey SHane a 6-4 RH.

Back again is the famous Sicnarf Loopstock whose performance has not brought nearly as much attention as his cool name.

And some MiLB moves from Tribe today.

Todd Paquette ‏@IndiansAccounts · 2 minutes ago
#Indians Minor League promotions
RHP Carlos Marmol to @CLBClippers from Extended
OF Levon Washington to @HillcatBaseball from Extended

#Indians minor league releases

RHP Jhoulys Chacin (opted out of contract)
RHP Benny Suarez
INF James Roberts

Hawkins noted 2014 draft picks Sam Hentges a 6-6 LH and Micah Minard a 6-7 RH as highlights of the Arizona staff. Surprised at lack of mention of 2014 2nd rounder Grant Hockin, another big RH, although merely 6-4.

making stateside debuts in 2015 are OF Gabriel Mejia who led all the minors with his 72 steals, in 70 games, last season in the Dominican; and LH Jose Medina who in 2014 had a slash line of 320/395/468

Full roster of 31 names:
http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?cid=2770&sid=milb

none of the top 3 picks show up yet.

Levon Washington continues to get nowhere in his career development. Never gets in more than half a season of ball.