Cleveland Sports Forum

Zach Plesac has been promoted from Mahoning Valley to Lake County.

Zach Draper has been sent back down, to AZL from Lake County. So much for that College of Idaho baseball hotbed.

Plesac is actually starting the Captains game tonight. So I don't know, this might be just a temporary move.

I read that Morgan was starting for Scrappers now. That must be Elijah Morgan from Gonzaga. That could be fun too.

Clippers scored 3 in 8th to win 4-1 over TFIR's Red Wings. ... Yandy 1-4. ... Naquin 1-3 with a walk.

Talked about Akron game earlier.

Lynchburg was off tonight, McKenzie starts tomorrow.

Captains was beat by WhiteCaps 9-5. ... Plesac did good in his first low A start. 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. ... GabeM 0-4 with walk and SB. ... Longo 1-3 with a double, 2 walks and a SB. ... Ice 3-5.

Scrappers lost to Spikes 3-2. ... Morgan 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. ... Cantu 2-2 with a walk. ... Clement 2-4. 19 game hit streak now.

AZL Indians beat Angels 5-3. ... Baker another perfect inning, 2 K. Kime gave up 3 hits and a walk and an ER in 0-2 IP. ... Freeman 1-2 with 2 walks. ... Holmes 1-4. ... Johnathan Rodriguez 1-3 with a walk.

DSL Indians beat the Indians/Brwers coop 5-0. ... Garcia 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. ... Lopez 2-4 with a triple. ... De Oleo 1-3 a homer.

Oops, just noticed AZL Tribe actually played a DH'er yesterday. They lost second game 4-2 to Angels.
Oviedo 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
Freeman 1-3 with a solo homer.
Tre Gantt (from The Ohio State University) went 1-2 with a triple.

BA lines, I appears that Freeman hit a homer, his 2nd. I'll try to remember his name, he seems to have more to offer than Q. Holmes, but we'll see

CLE AA Mejia, Francisco C 5 1 2 2 .316 HR (12)
CLE LoA Ice, Logan C 5 2 3 0 .233 [following up a solid July, he'd been 1-13 to start August. This helps.]
CLE R Freeman, Tyler SS 3 1 1 1 .289 HR (2)
CLE SS Clement, Ernie 2B 4 0 2 0 .307
CLE SS Morgan, Eli 3 4 1 1 1 3 0.98 L (2-1)

Nolan Jones named to this weeks MLB Pipeline prospect team of the week.

In honor of Nolan Jones big day ....

A blogger I follow on Twitter just did a top 3rd base prospect list for our organization. He lives in Arizona and is a great source of info on guys playing on the AZL team or on rehab stints. I won't bother with 10 through 3 because it is a sad list indeed, but here's what he had to say about our top two guys.

By the way, Yandy was not on the list, not sure if it's because he got at bats in MLB this year or because he's playing multiple positions now. But he would be the obvious 1 for me. Indians Prospective chimed in and said #1 on the list should be Chang cause he's going to end up there very soon. He (@indiansPro) also said he's been told by Indians scouts that Jones will end up playing OF before it's all said and done...

2. Gavin Collins
2016 Draft, Round 13 – A+ Lynchburg
Other Positions: C (7 GP), 1B (1 GP)

Collins should have been a high school draft pick if not for a leg injury at the beginning of his senior year. It worked out pretty well as he got some good experience at Mississippi State University. The Indians drafted him as a catcher but he’s almost been exclusively been a third basemen and it’s worked out well. Collins posted an .829 OPS at Low-A Lake County before earning the bump to Lynchburg. Despite running a higher than normal (so far) BABIP, his numbers are bit inflated in the Carolina League as his strikeout rate has climbed and the walk rate dipped, which is to be expected adjusting to a new, more advanced level, but he’s still producing (131 wRC+).

Collins is a talented enough hitter where he should continue to make improvements with the bat. It remains to be seen if he will progress enough as a hitter to be a regular at third base offensively but at the least he has a chance to be a serviceable third basemen at the Major League hitter even if average. Defensively he has more than enough arm and is a good enough athlete to hold his own over there. His bat will carry him and so far he’s making good on a lot of scouts predictions that the bat would translate to pro ball with a solid hit tool and some pop.
Jones waits on deck at Goodyear Ballpark in a 2016 AZL game against the Athletics. – Joseph Coblitz, BurningRiverBaseball

1. Nolan Jones
2016 Draft, Round 2 – SS Mahoning Valley
Other Positions: SS (5 GP)

Nolan Jones was drafted by the Indians 55th overall in the second round of the MLB amateur draft out of Holy Ghost Prep High School in 2016. There, he played the short stop position, though after being drafted was moved to 3B after just few appearances at short.

He started his professional career in AZL, showing a slow start that did not match his expected potential. It seemed he held back on the power and struck out 37% of the time (49 K’s through 134 plate appearances). Aside from the K’s and the subtle heat, Jones did show a spark of promise with the knack for getting on base with a .388 OBP.

In 2017, he was promoted to short season single A with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Jones seemed to of found his footing a bit better this season after getting his first year out of the way. Though he is still at a level where his potential and talent at the plate and on the field try to find their balance, it’s comforting to see him settle in. His approach at the plate has always been regarded as average to above average, and he’s falling in line with the latter.

He continues to get on base at a pretty good rate, with the second highest OBP among the Scrappers (.386), and has hit two more home runs and three more doubles from 2016. His numbers are similar, trending in a positive direction showing that something is definitely clicking for the 6’4/185 left-handed bat. The biggest difference between the two seasons is his decreased number of strikeouts, an impressive 17% drop (32 strikeouts through 153 PAs).

Over his last ten games, ones is batting a .368 with a .447 OBP, 14 hits, seven walks, and nine RBI. In just the first few games of August, he’s found himself on a 4-game streak with nine hits and six RBI.

I believe the test to see if he truly has found his stride to forward progress will be in his third season. He’s been able to prove that he can reduce the number of strikeouts, but can he increase the amount of power that’s expected of a third baseman? Or at least show signs that this is in fact the path he’s on. If so, I think he will hold a high spot within the Indians top prospects through his minor league career. This could also help determine an idea of the rate at which he might mature through the minors.

And from the News Herlad, a story on another of my favorite sleepers.

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Smiles came to the faces of Lake County Captains outfielder Mitch Longo, his father, Mark Longo, and stepmother Lisa Longo as they walked through the backyard of their home in Gates Mills.

Accompanied by the family dog, a 14-year-old golden retriever named Brody, they stopped in front of a prescription turf home plate with two batter's boxes. Nearby was a protective screen for a batting practice pitcher. Beyond that was a 25-by-50-foot net designed to keep baseballs rocketing off bats from leaving the property.

"We call this 'The Complex,'" Mark said of the baseball practice area he built when Mitch and his two brothers, Lee and Jack, were boys beginning to show a knack for the game and the willingness to put in hours of hard work to excel at it.

"This place was a difference-maker for me and my brothers," Mitch said.

The sports motif of the Longo residence extends beyond the boundaries of "The Complex."

With an eye on the channeling the energy and athletic talents of his three sons and daughter, Chelsey, Mark transformed other open spaces in the yard into a basketball court and in-ground swimming pool.

Inside the spacious house, on its lower level, he built a workout room and outfitted it with free weights and exercise machines. In an adjacent room, table tennis is set up next to an indoor batting cage.

On the walls of both rooms hang plaques and framed newspaper stories celebrating the achievements of the Longo siblings in multiple sports.

The living areas upstairs are spacious and offer panoramic views of the backyard and the rolling terrain of Gates Mils.

Small wonder, then, that when Mitch joined the Captains on May 10, the former Mayfield High School and Ohio University standout elected to live at home rather than share quarters with teammates in a nearby apartment tower.

"I don't think people realize the not-great living conditions of some minor-league players," Lisa said

When he was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 14th round of the June 2016 draft, Mitch had it in mind to live at home if ever he was promoted to Lake County.

The Captains, a full-season Single-A team, play their home games a short drive down Route 91 from Gates Mills at Classic Park in Eastlake.

"He would have stayed at home when he was in Youngstown if they'd have let him," Lisa said, referring to her stepson's professional debut last year with the short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

"If I get to (Double-A) Akron, I'll want to stay at home, too. Sleeping in your own bed is nice," Mitch added with a chuckle.

Sporting lives

The four children of Mark and his first wife, Kimberly, gravitated naturally to competitive sports.

Chelsey, the oldest, played softball, soccer and volleyball before settling on volleyball as her sport of choice at Mayfield High School.

The three boys played basketball, football and baseball, then gravitated to football and baseball at Mayfield.

Mark grew up in Willoughby and played varsity football and basketball at South High School. He kept busy away from school and athletics working at Ohio Sealants, the business owned by his father, Leonard Longo, and his uncle, Pat Longo.

"I was good at sports but not as good as my kids," Mark said. "Even though I never pushed them to be anything, I made sure they understood there are no shortcuts. How good you were going to be depended on how hard you were willing to work."

Mitch said his mother was a good athlete who encouraged him and his siblings to participate in competitive sports, as well.

That immersion in sports offered some small measure of distraction for the Longo children when Kimberly was diagnosed with cancer. She died 12 years ago.

"She was the disciplinarian, the bad cop who stayed home to raise our family. I was the good cop who worked all day and then came home to play with the kids. We miss her every day," Mark said.

Lisa married into the sports-minded family in 2009 and quickly established a rapport with Mitch and his siblings.

"They were so warm and welcoming because they wanted their dad to be happy," she said.

She was introduced to the competitiveness and closeness that marked the family's everyday life. As fiercely as they would play Wiffle Ball, table tennis or basketball, the three boys would pull together when the games were over.

Chelsey was no shrinking violet, either.

"She was the boss of those boys," Mark said. "I remember going to one of her eighth-grade basketball games and she's all over the floor playing hard and draining 3-pointers. Lee was with me and I asked him, 'How did Chelsey get so good?' He told me, 'Dad, she plays with us in the yard all the time.' She was around these guys."

Baseball in their blood

All of the Longo boys played football at Mayfield for coach Larry Pinto. So did their older cousin, Nick.

Lee and Nick were quarterbacks. Mitch and Jack were wide receivers. They all had the same uniform number, 10, and excelled at the sport.

When push came to shove, the Longo brothers all cast their lots with baseball. All three were outstanding players at Mayfield for coach Don Ramer.

Lee, a first baseman and 2010 News-Herald Player of the Year, earned a baseball scholarship to Eastern Michigan University, He was a four-year starter for the Eagles and batted a Mid-American Conference-leading .379 as a senior.

Mitch, an outfielder and 2013 News-Herald Player of the Year, earned a scholarship to Ohio University and was a three-year starter there. As a sophomore, he was honored as MAC Player of the Year after batting .358 with seven home runs and 47 RBI. The Bobcats won the MAC tournament title and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997.

Jack, also an outfielder, batted .409 in three varsity seasons at Mayfield and in 2016 earned a scholarship to OU, where he's about to begin his sophomore year.

All three are products of the Brownlee Lookouts summer baseball program in Tallmadge. That program has produced hundreds of players who received college baseball scholarships.

"Because they traveled and faced elite competition, it made them better players," Mark said. "It was a pretty intense program. They weren't intimidated by anyone they faced in high school."

The Longos are avid fans of Cleveland's three major professional sports franchises. They were fully engaged in June 2016 when all signs pointed toward Mitch being taken in the middle rounds of the first-year player draft. A number of teams had expressed interest in him, but it was the Indians - the team he grew up watching with second baseman Roberto Alomar as his favorite player - who took him with the 422nd overall pick.

"Our phones were blowing up," Lee recalled of the drama leading up to the draft,. "We were waiting on pins and needles to see where he was going to go. Everything was so exciting. It was such a sweet moment when he went to the Indians."

Mitch was set to come north with the Captains in April, but his eagerly anticipated homecoming was delayed when he broke the hamate bone in his hand taking batting practice during spring training. Surgery was required, and it delayed his arrival in Eastlake until May 10.

He got off to a fast start with the Captains but suffered another setback when an injured wrist landed him on the disabled list from May 25 to June 26.

Since his return, he's been a model of consistency. Going into the Aug. 8 day game against the West Michigan Whitecaps at Classic Park, Mitch was batting a team-high .362 with four home runs and 19 RBI in 39 games. His single in the first inning extended his on-base streak to 37 games.

"I can't complain about this season given the circumstances, but I expect a lot out of myself and I don't feel I'm doing nearly as well as I can do," he said. "But it's encouraging moving forward to know that even when I'm not at my best, I can still do pretty well. I'm looking to the future and seeing what I can do when I'm healthy."

No matter what happens to him at the plate or in the field at Classic Park, Mitch knows he has a rooting section in the seats.

"There's somebody there at every game," he said.

And except on those days when the Captains are leaving for or on road trips, he knows after games he can look forward to enjoying the comforts of home and the company of his family and beloved dog.

Nice to have your family give you anything you want.

Longo sounds like a pampered prima donna.

TFIR's Red Wings get revenge tonight, 6-2 over Clips. ... Gonzalez 1-3 with walk. ... Yandy 2-4. ... Naquin off tonight. Might get call up for tomorrow. Morimando starts tomorrow.

Akron continued night of walk offs tonight as Bradley hit a single to knock in Allen to win game 4-3 over Fisher Cats. ... Allen 2-4 with a walk and a SB, his 17th. As much time as he's missed that is a great number. ... Frankie 1-5. ... Bradley had a night. 2-4 with a homer, his walk off single, and a walk. ... Chang 1-4 with a homer. ... Papi 1-3 with a walk. ... Murphy 3-4. Been really hot since his return. ... Bieber starts tomorrow.

Lynchburg was rained out tonight. McKenzie could use the break. Starts tomorrow.

White Caps spank Captains 15-7. ... Longo 2-5. Hitting .363 now. Haters gonna hate. ... Chu 3-5 with 2 doubles. ... Tinsley 1-5 with a double. They get a much needed day off tomorrow too.

Scrappers score 3 in top of 9th to beat Iron Birds 8-7. ... Clement 2-4. What's he up to now, I keep losing track. 20 game hit streak now? ... Jones 1-5. ... Oscar 3-5 with 2 doubles. ... Benson 2-5 with double. ... Cantu, Oscar, and Beradi all selected to NYPL all star team. ... Hockin pitches tomorrow.

AZL Tribe lost to Brewers 6-5. ... Gantt 2-4 a double and a walk. ... Freeman 1-3 with 2 walks. ... JRod 1-3 with a walk.

DSL Indians were to play the DSL Indians/Brewers coop team again in another battle to see who is the strongest of the weak. But alas God has mercy on the meek once again and game was postponed due to rain.

Edit: Just read on Twitter, Clement's hit streak is 19 games now.

Clement's 20 game hitting streak and 314 average yields an OPS of only 726 since he's had only 5 doubles and one triple and no homers and has drawn 3 walks. As I've endlessly repeated college 2nd basemen who hit 300 plus in the NYPL are the least impressive prospects around. For some unknown reason mlb.com rates him as the Indians No. 15 prospect although recognizing that he has no particular strengths other than his ability to hit singles in Class A.
Cord Phelps, Scott Pratt, etc. of the world unite.

CLE AA Bradley, Bobby 1B 4 1 2 2 .242 HR (19), BB (49)
CLE AA Chang, Yu-Cheng SS 4 1 1 1 .219 HR (20)
CLE AAA Diaz, Yandy LF 4 1 2 0 .350
CLE AAA Rodriguez, Nellie 1B 4 0 2 1 .177
OPS by month: 438; 472; 729; 648; 1164
CLE SS Benson, Will RF 5 1 2 1 .242 2B (7) [now has 13 xb hits in 150 at bats, 18 walks, ops 747; 5 games in August, OPS 1237]
CLE SS Clement, Ernie SS 4 1 2 0 .314
CLE SS Nelson, Kyle 2 4 3 3 1 1 4.30
CLE SS Teaney, Jonathan 1 0 0 0 2 1 2.21 Sv (3)

Indians Prospective‏ @indiansPro

Mahoning Valley #Scrappers OF Will Benson over his last 17 games:

20-61 10R 3(2B) 2(3B) 2HR 8RBI 12BB 2SB .328 AVG .438 OBP #Indians

I like all those walks he's taking. Making nice progress over the course of his second season. They omitted the SLG and OPS there; those would be 541 and 979.

Clippers got spanked by Red Wings 12-3. ... Morimando was slaughtered again. 8 earned in 4.1 IP. ... Yandy 0-4 with a walk. ... Naquin 0-2 with 2 walks. ... Merryweather pitches tomorrow.

Akron beat New Hampshire 9-4. ... Bieber was good again. 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. ... Allen 2-4 with 2 RBI. ... Frankie 2-4 with a walk and a SB. ... Bradley, Chang, and Papi all 0'fer. ... Esparza on mound tomorrow.

Lynchburg sweeps a Double Header from Carolina.
Wins first game 7-1, a nice bounce back from McKenzie. 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. ... Krauth a perfect inning, 1 K. ... Willi 3-4 with a SB. ... Carter 2-3.
Won second game 3-2. ... Pasquale, who was demoted from Akron, pitched ok, 2 earned in 5 innings, 6 K. ... None of the hitting prospects did anything of note. ... De Masi pitches tomorrow.

Captains were off today.

Scrappers drop a tough one 7-6, they scored 3 in 9th but fall just short. ... Draftee McCarty 3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. ... Jones 1-3 with 2 walks. ... Oscar 2-5 with double and 3 RBI. ... Benson 1-4 a triple.

AZL Tribe lose to Brewers 10-8. ... Gantt 2-6 with triple. ... Cooper 2-5 with homer. ... Holmes 1-5.

DSL Tribe was postponed today.

DSL Indians/Brewers coop lost to Astros 3-0. ... Nothing to note from our guys.

Orioles have finessed this one well. I'm still sorry we let him get away. Needed to keep a roster spot for Dylan Baker.

Anthony Santander, OF, Bowie (Eastern): Santander is currently on a minor league rehab assignment from an elbow injury that has sidelined him all year. With two home runs last night, he now has four home runs in only 36 at-bats. The Orioles could keep Santander in Bowie for most of the month, but the Rule 5 pick will have to added to the 25-man active roster by the last week of August when his rehab assignment times out. Because he's spent so long on the disabled list, the Orioles will have to carry him on the active roster for a while next year as well to meet Rule 5 active roster requirements. But a month in Double-A and an assignment to play winter ball should have him more ready to help the big league club next year than he would have been this year.