Cleveland Sports Forum

although Paulino has not really showed much since he got to full season levels

Today's starters:

TBD for Columbus. Their whole rotation is a kind of TBD grouping. Does this mean Whitehouse again or DeMasi? I think they've both worked too recently.
Sean Brady 5-3 3.74 for Akron. He's staying healthy but not really doing anything to boost his marginal status as a prospect
Eli Morgan 4-2 2.45 since his prometon to Lynchburg for the Hillcats
McCarty 1-7 5.57 for Lake County. Like Morgan a short college pitcher selected 1 round after Eli in 2017. Results are to date far less impressive, although he has moments
J.C. Mota 1-1 4.30 for Mahoning Valley
AZ1 vs. AZ2 Indians in Arizona. Someone will have to lose a game which hasn't happened often; the 2 teams are a combined 16-6. I thought they might have trouble staffing two full rosters, but the results are dramatically better than 2017 when a single team won about 1/3 of its games.

I can only get one game at a time, so here's numbers on 3 of yesterdays.

Columbus won 8-3. Chang had a single, double and walk. Yandy double and walk. Haase single and walk. Mejia came off the bench for a single. Allen double and wlak.

Akron won 6-5. Calica 2 hits. Mathias a grand slam. Since Krieger didnt' get 4 hits, he had none. Ice promoted recently singled and walked.
In relief: Lovegrove 1 2/3 0 0 0 1 2 H. Martinez 1 inning, no other marks.

Lynchburg won 7-6. Tully with his 4th straight quality start, 7-4-2-2-0-4. Last 4 in total: 26-29-9-9-3-21 3.11
Longo SF Chu 2 homers [6], he's a catcher who usually DHs, not a prospect.
Karinchak finishes up with 4 outs, one by strikeout, ERA 0.50

I'm going to start this post with this old tweet for reference, then follow up with signings, as they are coming in.


Indians Prospective @indiansPro

Indians flew in and are hosting (7) top International prospects who can sign with the organization (Monday) July 2nd

SS Gabriel Rodriguez #6 by MLB Pipeline
SS Junior Sanquintin #12 by MLB Pipeline
SS Angel Martinez
SS Jesus Lara
INF Dayan Frias
OF Sterling Romero
OF Luis Osto

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Indians Prospective @indiansPro
(SS) Sanquintin signed $1.25MM

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Indians Prospective @indiansPro
(SS) Gabriel Rodriguez signed $2.6MM

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Indians Prospective @indiansPro

(SS) Gabriel Rodriguez $2.6MM
(SS) Junior Sanquintin $1.25MM
(OF) Sterling Romero $650K
(SS) Angel Martinez $500K

(so 4 of the 7 are already signed, including the 2 big fish!)

Been reading alot of positive comments about Henry Martinez this year.Fastball is topping out at 98 and turning into a legit good relief prospect.

Surprised no interest in the Korean, Japanese or Australian prospects.

Do those Asian guys come under the same timeline for signings? The list from BA is all Latin kids, too.

They list our top guys a little lower, but still give us 3 of the top 32, which I'll accept!

Fernando Tatis Jr. must have had a darned good week to top our Mejia who's only No. 2 on the BA Hot Sheet [both had the same 1.571 OPS for the week. FTJr. is also coming back from a poor April. He's 19 in AA.

2. Francisco Mejia, C/OF, Indians
Team: Triple-A Columbus (International)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: .593/.645/.926 (16-for-27), 8 R, 6 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 4 BB, 2 SO, 0-for-0 SB

The Scoop: Mejia’s slow start is a thing of the past. The gifted switch-hitter reeled off eight consecutive multi-hit games to put the finishing touch on a scorching June during which he hit .455, and he began July by going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Mejia is seeing an increased amount of time in the outfield rather than behind the plate, but with the way he’s hitting, his bat will play anywhere.

I would have chosen Oviedo for the list, but no denying Bobby had a good week in the midst of a terrible season

17. Bobby Bradley, 1B, Indians
Team: Double-A Akron (Eastern)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: .308/.379/.846 (8-for-26), 7 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBIs, 2 BB, 8 SO.

The Scoop: Bradley’s season looks somewhat disastrous. He is struggling to stay on the right side of the Mendoza line with a .208 batting average. But dig a little deeper, and Bradley keeps doing what he always does. He strikes out 25 percent of the time, which is a sustainable rate for a slugger and he does draw some walks. And he’s homering at about the same rate this year as last year. What’s happened is when Bradley hits the ball in the park, he’s not getting any hits. A .216 BABIP means you’re really unlucky no matter how many shifts you’re facing. Bradley’s .216 BABIP is the worst of any hitter in full season ball. It will get better, and with it, Bradley’s .208 average will also get better.

BA writeups on the International top 50 include our 3

Cleveland Indians
Gabriel Rodriguez, ss, Venezuela (No. 8 prospect)
Junior Sanquintin, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 21 prospect)
Angel Martinez, ss, Dominican Republic (No. 39 prospect)
Jesus Lara, ss, Venezuela
Sterling Romero, of, Dominican Republic
Luis Ostos, of, Venezuela
Dayan Frias, ss, Colombia:


8

Gabriel Rodriguez

Venezuela SS

Notes:
Born: Feb. 22, 2002 | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 175 | B-T: R-R
Scouting Report: Rodriguez is one of the most talented hitters in the class, with a long track record of hitting in games, including last year as Venezuela’s shortstop at the COPABE 15U Pan American Championships in Colombia. Rodriguez has a short, simple swing that’s balanced, direct and efficient. He a mature hitting approach, tracking pitches well with good strike-zone discipline and the ability to use the whole field. Rodriguez has a chance to develop into a plus hitter, with emerging power as well over the last year as his strength has increased. His raw power is near average now, with a chance to develop into a 20-homer hitter. Rodriguez has the ability to stay at shortstop for now, though many scouts project him to eventually slide over to third base. Rodriguez has a strong arm, good body control and his defensive mechanics are sound, but his first-step quickness and lateral agility will need to improve to stay at the position. Whether his future is at shortstop or third base, his offensive production projects well at either spot, and he earns widespread praise as a baseball rat. Rodriguez trains with Javier Mendoza and is expected to sign with the Indians.


21



Junior Sanquintin

Dominican Republic SS

Notes:
Born: Jan. 8, 2002 | Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 185 | B-T: B-R
Scouting Report: While Sanquintin might not stay at shortstop for long, it’s his offensive potential that is the draw for scouts. He has fast bat speed from both sides of the plate and has flashed average raw power. There’s strength in his swing and he drives the ball with impact when he finds the barrel. Scouts highest on Sanquintin saw strong game performance from him last summer, although at MLB showcases he did have a high swing-and-miss rate, on pitches in and out of the strike zone. He’s an aggressive hitter who will have to make adjustments to take a more selective approach against better pitching. Sanquintin might start his career at shortstop but doesn’t figure to stay there much longer. Hitting comes more naturally to Sanquintin than defense, and while some scouts have questions on whether he will end up in an outfield corner, his fielding has improved over the past year. With more development, he has a chance to play third base. The Indians are the favorites to sign Sanquintin, with a bonus likely coming in a little above $1 million. He trains with Wilkin Ramirez and Jaime Ramos.


39



Angel Martinez

Dominican Republic SS

Notes:
Born: Jan. 27, 2002 | Ht: 5-11 | Wt: 160 | B-T: B-R
Scouting Report: Sandy Martinez, who is now the Dominican Summer League manager and Dominican field coordinator for the Nationals, spent parts of eight seasons in the big leagues as a catcher, mostly with the Blue Jays and Cubs. One of his sons, Sandy Martinez Jr., is a catcher for the D-backs on their DSL, and another, Angel Martinez, is a 2018 shortstop prospect. Angel Martinez doesn’t have the same explosiveness in his tool set relative to some of the other Dominican shortstops on this list, but his baseball acumen and all-around game awareness is high for his age. Martinez has been tagging along to work out along side pro players since he was little, and no surprise given his background, he’s a fundamentally sound player in all phases of the game. He’s a switch-hitter with fair bat speed but a simple, efficient swing that produces a high contact rate. He’s a line-drive hitter who uses the whole field with occasional doubles power and good strike-zone judgment. Martinez is a 45 runner with a chance to stay at shortstop, where he reads hops well and has a good internal clock, along with a solid-average arm. He’s more steady than flashy, and some scouts think he could end up at second base. The Indians are the frontrunners to sign Martinez, who is represented by El Niche and is projected to sign a mid six-figure deal.

Doesn't Trump have a travel ban on people from Venezuela?

So Indians have spent exactly $5,000,000 leaving them $504,500 for miscellaneous others

I forgot they added Venezuela to the list. They hadn’t been sharing information about some people and some of their diplomats were caught running a scheme to sell passports to people from the Middle East, so they were added on the 3rd ban attempt.

There was a loophole, those working for certain government agencies and their families. But it certainly wouldn’t include baseball players.

That is interesting. Not sure how they got around it. Guess there’s loopholes if you’re good enough at an American sport too.

More good news!

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Indians Prospective @indiansPro

Source: Cleveland Indians 2018 Draft Pick #35 overall 18yr old 6'6 200lbs RHP Ethan Hankins has agreed to terms with the club. Hankins will not play for Chipola Junior College who he just signed with. Ethan is out of Forsyth Central HS (GA) Draft Slot worth $2,016,400 #Indians
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Indians Prospective @indiansPro

Three more Cleveland Indians July 2nd International signings out of Venezuela

LHP Steven Perez
LHP David Flores
RHP Yonaiker Garcia

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Mahoning Valley Scrappers transactions
LHP Adam Scott promoted from AZL Indians (1)
RHP Alex Royalty promoted from AZL Indians (1)

Indians 2018 4th round Draft Pick LHP Adam Scott over his first 4 professional outings in the Arizona Rookie League:
- 7.1(IP) 4H 0R 0ER 1BB 14SO 0.00 ERA
Indians 2018 8th Round Draft Pick RHP Alex Royalty over his first 4 outings in the Arizona Rookie League:
- 7.2(IP) 4H 0R 0ER 2BB 13SO 0.00 ERA

LHP Steven Perez
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LHP David Flores
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RHP Yonaiker Garcia
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JDB BASEBALL RD @juliobasora25
#31 Angel Martinez SS 2018 class From El Niche Baseball Academy Sign with Cleveland Indians for 500,000.00 US today. #JDBplayer2018class #Jdbsign2018 #July2
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JDB BASEBALL RD @juliobasora25
#33 Junior Sanquintin SS 2018 Class from Wilkin Ramirez Baseball Academy Sign with CLeveland Indians for 1.250 M today. Congratulations to Sanquintin Family and Wilkin Ramirez Baseball Academy #July2 #JDbbaseballRD #JDbplayer #July22018
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JDB BASEBALL RD @juliobasora25
#34 Sterling Romero OF 2018 Class From Mon Baseball Academy Sign With Cleveland Indians today. Congratulations to Mon and His Family. http://www.jdbbaseball.com #jdbbaseballrd #Jdb2018class