Minor League Sweep

While the Indians big league club was off getting swept in Texas, their minor league clubs were fareing quite nicely. The top three clubs (Columbus, Akron, Kinston) all pulled off victories on Thursday, and many of the top prospects were out helping the cause.

Columbus beats Louisville 12-4

Michael Brantley 3-5 2 RBI

Luis Valbuena 2-5 HR, 2 RBI

Matt Laporta 3-5 2 doubles, HR, 3 RBI

Michael Aubrey 2-4 HR, 3 RBI

Jordan Brown 2-5 HR, 3 RBI

The team put together 14 hits and looked pretty impressive doing it. Good to see the young guys slugging it out. The pitchig was pretty good also...

David Huff 5 IP, 4 ER, 5 K's 2 HR's allowed

Vinnie Chulk 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K's

Tony Sipp 1 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's

Huff didn't have eye-popping numbers, but kept his team in the game (unlike another team I watched this week). Sipp struckout the side while Chulk continues to roll. Great way to start off a season.

Akron defeats Bowie 2-1

Frank Herrmann pitched great, allowing one earned run in six innings. He only struck out one batter but he is more of a finese guy anyways. Ryan Edell threw 2 shutout innings for a hold, and Beau Mills went 2-3 and an RBI. This is the Aeroes second win in a row as they beat Bowie 9-5 Wednesday as Hector Rondon fired 5 2/3 innings of one run ball while stiking out 6 in earning a victory. Randy Newsom added 1 1/3 of shutout baseball to earn a save, while Carlos Santana provided the offense going 2-4 with a Homerun and 4 RBI.

Kinston defeats Winston-Salem 5-2

20 year old phenom Kelvin De La Cruz stuckout a whopping 10 batters in 6 innings while giving up 2 runs on just 2 hits. Outfielder Matt Brown added the offense going 3-4 with a run batted in.

Not a bad way to start a minor league season. Most of these same names to pop up early and often as the Tribe's farm system is looking more stacked by the day.

Cleveland Indians Desert Diagnosis

The Cleveland Indians finally were able to keep an opposing team under 4 runs today, beating the Chicago White Sox 9-4. I was able to watch this game via mlb.com and here were some random thoughts from the game.

Fausto Carmona: Was able to force seven ground outs in three innings, but got in some two out trouble in the 2nd inning. Seems to be pitching OK, not a serious concern early in camp with walking guys.

Anthony Reyes: Pitched a scoreless three innings, was successful moving the ball all around the zone. Allowed just one walk and has yet to give up a run in Cactus League action. Reyes has pretty much locked up the number four spot in the rotation.

Vinnie Chulk: Two scoreless innings, 3 K's. Dark horse for 7th slot in the pen.

Matt Herges: 40 year old struck out the side. Has received praise from Wedge and may be an option for the 7th spot in the pen as well.

Grady Sizemore: Simply went 3-3, 2 RBI and looked fluid on the base paths. Grady is fine and look for him to have a career year in 2009 with the added punch to the lineup. Also hit well off of 2 lefties, which is a great sign as he only batted .224 against lefties in 2008.

Victor Martinez: 3-3, 2 RBI. Victor hit a fastball in on the hands out into center field, hit a gap with another single, and seems to be fully back from his various ailments of 2008.

Chris Gimenez: 0-1, BB. Didn't do much but I believe will be on this team after the All-Star break due to his enormous position flexibility. Currently hitting .385.

Beau Mills: 0-4, 1 RBI. Beau struggled with the outside in-the-dirt curve ball from lefties and seemed to be over guessing on pitches, but is still only about to begin his 2nd full year in pro ball. If Mills has a big year in Akron, the Indians will have an interesting decision to make at first base in 2011.

Tony Graffanino/Andy Cannizaro: 5-7, two doubles, 1 home run, 3 Rbi. The Italian duo auditioned themselves well as utility guys for the Indians minor leagues or possibly a big league job at the end of camp. Cannizaro is probably the leader in the clubhouse to play short in Columbus.

Matt LaPorta: 0-4, 3K's. Bad game for LaPorta at bat, and also fumbled the ball out in right. Still hitting .316 and will see a lot more time this spring.

Michael Brantley: 2-3, double, 2 runs scored. Both of Brantley's hits were to the opposite field and showed some nice speed on the bases. Putting together a nice spring, with a .368 avg. and looking pretty fluid in the outfield.

Hopefully the pitching will sustain some consistency over the next few weeks as we get closer to camp ending. The hitting at all levels looks ready for business, so hopefully the winter weather of April in Cleveland won't cool down the bats too much.

Future Heroes: Cleveland Indians Minor Leaguers Show Promise

The more I watch the Cleveland Indians' minor league position players (Beau Mills pictured left) compete this spring training, the more I have become impressed. With the WBC adding 2 more weeks to Cactus League actions, plenty of minor leaguers from all levels have appeared in games. Granted, there is only been a weeks' worth of games, but I have a strong feeling of good things to come for many of these guys. Here are just some of the highlights...

Luis Valbuena: Yet to get a hit in 8 at bats, but has looked great at second and short stop around the bag. Saw him hit in the cages and the ball really popped off of his bat.

Trevor Crowe: Switch hitter has batted already 15 times and looks to be a viable candidate for the 4th outfield spot. Needs to show consistency at the plate, but covers a lot of ground in center and in left.

Beau Mills: Hit his first Cactus League home run Wednesday off of Chad Gaudin which was described as a moon shot. .357 batting average in 14 AB's, driven in 4 runs to go with a double and a triple. Mills has had some issues with the flip play with the pitcher covering first. Definitely needs to refine his fielding skills, but his bat looks almost ready.

Michael Brantley: Played a decent outfield, has 3 hits in 12 AB's, seems to be a slap hitter know so he should fill out his lean frame. Hopefully AAA won't be a major adjustment for him as he is only 21 but the coaches seem to feel his work ethic will allow him to progress smoothly.

Here is some footage of Brantley in the cage...



Stephen Head: Cranked a home run in first cactus game against the Giants, looks good at first base and besides his error in right seems to be a future 4th outfielder/utility guy of value.

Matt LaPorta: 4 hits in 11 at bats, hit a home run off of Dan Haren, and seems to be playing ok out in left field. Future Tribe slugger should see action with the big league club sometime this summer.

Wes Hodges: 3 for 11, going to be playing a lot with Mark DeRosa in the WBC. Needs to work on all facets of his defensive game but still seems to be the Tribe's future third baseman.

Jordan Brown: 3 for 9, with a home run and 2 runs batted in. Seems to be the forgotten man this camp as he was left off of the 40 man roster. Jordan has something to prove and I believe can be an everyday first baseman somewhere in the league, just probably not in Cleveland.

Chris Gimenez: Has played all over the field this spring (Catcher, 3rd, Outfield), while 2 of his 3 hits have been doubles. Gimenez will be seen up with the Indians sometime this year as his versatility is outstanding. OBP is .538, a stat he has excelled in at every level.

Carlos Santana: Shown a rifle for an arm, is gaining a lot of valuable experience working with the big league club. Santana has looked over matched at times, but has drawn 3 walks in 11 plate appearance which shows he is staying patient and not trying to over impress.

Nick Weglarz: 21 year old Canadian is 0 for 4 but gained some important time watching the studs of the big league club. It will be interesting to see how many at bats he gets in the WBC for Team Canada.

Here is some game footage of Weglarz in action...



Carlos Rivero: Soon-to-be 21 year old went 2-3 with a double and an RBI in his first game playing in a Major League game with the Indians. Top 10 Tribe Prospect will start the year in Akron and may be a name to watch.

It will be interesting to see how many of these guys contribute to the big league club in the future. I would imagine someone between Hodges, Mills, LaPorta, and Weglarz will be moved for pitching as they are all similar type players (as is Head,Brown, and Michael Aubrey). The Indians have really went away from overloading camp with the hangers on (Graffanino, Merchan, and Valdez type) and given their young guys shots at major league pitching. These prospects will be donning the blue and red in the next few years so get used to their names now so you have the pleasure of saying, "I remember that guy from Spring Training!"