Star of the day Tuesday was Dillon Howard in his first good professional outing. 4 innings, 1 unearned run ron 4 hits 1 walk and 4 strikeouts.

Also at Arizona another good day at the plate for Jorge Martinez: double and triple. He's at 467/500/822. Professional debuts by OF Felix Lora and Tom Hamilton's kid Nick who went 1 for 3 and played third base.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... k_clerok_1

Couple of funny comments from the PD site on the signing of Dominicans Cruz and Caro.

"Caro and Cruz are listed as 16 years old."

Both were also reported to have children in Kindergarten, both named Fausto, by some quirk, of coinsidence.

When asked about the irony, Injun general manager Antonetti replied with a quizzical "HUH?"

Ed

Tribe signed Grofy Cruz to a contract. The 16 year old is 6-4 and weighs 200 pounds. His wife and 13 year old son were at the signing as was his 18 year old younger brother, oops! Guess Chrissy missed another one. So basically Hoynsey is saying the Tribes approach to signing foriegn players is the same as off season FAs. Throw enough $&@@ at the wall and maybe something will stick.

Scrappers won their 6th in a row Tuesday. Naquin 2 run triple puts them on the board and Romero's 5th homer finishes the scoring. Romero is batting 217/250/543 with 23 strikeouts in 48 plate appearances.

Elvis Araujo went the distance in a rain-shortened 4.5 inning game. 1 run in 5 innings, 3 K no walks, 5 hits. Alex Monsalve with his 7th homer

Carlos Moncrief's 10th homer one of his 2 hits; 2 hits also by Toole, RonnieRod and Tyler Cannon( former IF is now the regular catcher, Jake Lowery is backing him up). Mike Rayl 6 innings, 1 earned run
Jose Flores with 11th save, 2 K in 1 inning, 35 in 32 2/3.

Weglarz wth his 12th homer plus a single. 3 shutout inning of releif by deTorre and 2 by Landis.

LaPorta with 17th homer. Trevor Crowe walks twice and stole twice. Huff not very good, 4 runs in 6. Barnes and Berger 1 shutout inning each. I hadn't caught Barnes' demotion. I assumed Hagadone would go down to Columbus. guess I was wrong again.

BA notes these July 4 lines:

CLE HiA Rodriguez, Ronny SS 4 0 3 0 .280
CLE HiA Wolters, Tony 2B 4 1 3 0 .247
CLE LoA Lindor, Francisco SS 5 0 1 0 .262 2B (15)
CLE LoA Myles, Bryson CF 5 0 2 1 .262 CS (8)
CLE LoA Smith, Jordan RF 4 1 2 0 .300
[3rd baseman Gio Urshela 4 1 2 3 .275 HR (6) with another good day at bat too for HiA but they only list guys who were on this season's Top 30 or are this year's top draft choices]
CLE AA Sturdevant, Tyler 2 1 0 0 0 2 2.57
CLE MAJ Hagadone, Nick 1 1 0 0 1 1 5.84
CLE SS Sisco, Jake 5 5 1 1 2 0 3.32

BA now rates Lindor as the No. 14 prospect in all of baseball. Not bad. Comments:

14 Francisco Lindor ss Indians
Glove and leadership have been what Indians expected, but may exceed pre-draft projections on his bat


He's our only Top 50 prospect which is kind of obvious,

None of our guys make the "Steady Improvement" list (players who were close to the Top 10 preseason) nor the breakout list. Although Aguillar should derserve some credit on the latter.

A q and a at BA included:

Brian (Ohio): Dillon Howard has had a tough start in the AZL. Is he still a top 100 guy?

J.J. Cooper: No. But he never was a Top 100 guy, so that's not a change.

Brian (Ohio): Jesus Aguilar still strikes out a lot, but has walked 32 times already compared to only 46 last year. Where is he on the prospect radar?

J.J. Cooper: On the radar, but the life of a big right-right first baseman is a tough one. He wasn't really close to the top 50.

BA's lines from Thursday games:

CLE AA Chen, Chun 1B 4 1 1 2 .316 HR (3)
CLE AA Weglarz, Nick DH 4 0 2 1 .251
CLE HiA Wolters, Tony 2B 4 1 1 1 .247 HR (2)
CLE AA Van Mil, Loek 0.2 1 1 1 1 1 2.43
CLE LoA Sterling, Felix 2 7 4 4 1 2 6.08

another Chen homer tonight, that makes half of his season total in the past 2 days.
Tim Fedroff with a triple and homer; hitting about as well in AAA as in AA. 338 for Columbus.
Tony Wolters reaches 250. Since April 30 he's hitting 282/325/414
Alex Monsalve promoted to Carolina; Jake Lowery demoted to Lake County.
Corey Kluber and Giovanny Soto solid starts through 4 and 5 innings respectivelty as I post this.
LIndor with a couple early hits; his bat has been silent lately, this puts him back at 266. He stole one base, caught once. LuigiRod leaves the game early. Jordan Smith also 2hits, he's at 301, his 4th HR, is not much for a RF.Jose Ramirez his 1st homer 19 year old hitting 353 since promotion to LC.

2012 Indians Draft: 7/7 Signing update
By Tony Lastoria
July 7, 2012
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We are now less than a week away from the July 13th signing deadline next Friday (at 5:00PM ET). Another signing came in yesterday, and there are still a few more expected. Here is a very brief update on some of the news – or lack thereof – with signings. I plan to have a full rundown on Monday of the remaining unsigned players and recap where most of them are at in the signing process.

49th round pick right-handed pitcher D.J. Brown has agreed to terms and will go to Arizona this week to finalize his deal and complete a physical. He did not pitch this season for James Madison because he tore the labrum in his right shoulder last fall. This is simply a signing where the Indians are taking a chance on a distressed property and provided his medical checks out and he passes his physical, he will be an Indian and continue his rehab at Arizona for the next several months.

Nothing new 4th round pick outfielder D’Vone McClure and 8th round pick right-hander Caleb Hamrick as both are still in a holding pattern. These are the last two high profile picks that are unsigned, and I still expect at least one to be signed, and probably both. Right now both players and the Indians are simply playing poker.

36th round pick right-handed pitcher Benny Suarez is still expected to be signed. Nothing has been made official, but there have been indications made he is very willing to sign, so unless the Indians simply just pass on him, he could be part of the late group that signs.

IPI Stock Watch: July 4, 2012
By Tony Lastoria
July 4, 2012
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It is Wednesday, which means it is time to take stock on some of the players in the Indians’ minor league system. This report is a snapshot of a few players up and down the system and how their value may be decreasing or increasing as prospects.

As always, it comes down to “value” when looking at prospects, not necessarily stats. So hopefully from week to week this piece will help illustrate who is improving that value and who is not. The same players will not be featured every week as I will look at four to six players from each affiliate and try to mix it up with new names every week.

Key:

↑ - way up; → - trending up; ↔ - no movement; ← - trending down; ↓ - way down

Columbus:
↔ Matt LaPorta (1B/LF): .307/.400/.588, 17 HR, 40 RBI, 30 BB, 55 K. LaPorta hit a road home run last night, his 4th. His numbers on the road are improving (.278/.362/.435) but still pale in comparison to his numbers at Huntington Park (.336/.437/.743). He is slugging over 300 points higher at home than on the road which is incredible.

→ Russ Canzler (1B/LF): .273/.331/.453, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 25 BB, 81 K. After a huge month of June, Canzler’s numbers are close to where they were expected to be at this point in the season. He’s raised his stock considerably with his play of late and I believe he is the next right-handed bat option considered for a callup, ahead of LaPorta, Goedert and Rottino.

↑ Cody Allen (RHP): 27 G, 2.11 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9, 11.5 K/9. Allen is arguably the best relief pitching prospect to come through the Indians system in some time. He’s a Major League option right now, though the emergence of Esmil Rogers at the big league level have slowed his arrival. If Rogers falters or the Indians have an injury to any of Smith, Pestano, or Perez, then Allen likely is called up.

↑ Corey Kluber (RHP): 16 G, 3.84 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, 9.7 K/9. Kluber has had a very good season and has been much more dominant with the ball more on the plate and getting more swing and miss, which as a result has pushed down his walk rate and pushed up his strikeout rate. If the Indians call on another starter, from what they are saying, it sounds like it could be him.

Akron:
→ Thomas Neal (OF): .301/.375/.459, 6 HR, 30 RBI, 21 BB, 46 K. It is amazing how much better a player can look when they are healthy and confident, and that is what Neal is right now. He’s driving the ball much better of late thanks to a subtle change in his mechanics, and his numbers have taken off as a result. He’s down in the pecking order as a big league option, but he is back on the radar for sure.

← Kyle Bellows (3B): .243/.332/.366, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 27 BB, 43 K. Bellows has had a rough go of it this season. His performance offensively is improved over last year, but not to the level hoped for a higher end prospect repeating Double-A for the second straight year. He’s also battled some injuries that have prevented him from being in the lineup consistently, which may be affecting his performance.

→ Giovanni Soto (LHP): 16 G, 3.98 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 8.0 K/9. Soto is having a very good season as a 21-year old in Double-A and has made some notable strides this year with his fastball command and the quality of his secondary offerings. He is well on his way to establishing himself a place as a Top 20 prospect in offseason rankings of the Indians’ system.

← Bryce Stowell (RHP): 17 G, 4.12 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 14.6 K/9. The enigma that is Stowell is tough to figure out. He’s having a very good season and has lots of Double-A experience, yet the Indians have not pushed him to Triple-A Columbus. That’s the sign of a pitcher that has fallen out of favor with the organization or a sign of some things going on behind the scenes. He also just strained his left oblique in his last outing so will be shelved for several weeks.

Carolina:
← Tyler Holt (OF): .266/.353/.343, 0 HR, 22 RBI, 38 BB, 60 K. Holt is in the unfortunate situation where he is a centerfielder in an organization that has a lot of center field options in the upper levels with a similar skill set as him (Carrera, Fedroff, Henry, Crowe, etc). As a result he has been unable to get to Double-A. It is probably frustrating for him to see guys like Jeremie Tice promoted and then put in the Akron outfield, but it is all about center field, a position the Indians want him to play every day and right now there are no opportunities there in Akron.

→ Bo Greenwell (OF): .359/.432/.487, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 9 K. Greenwell is off to a nice start with Carolina and has shown no ill effects from his knee injury. He has only played in 11 games since returning a few weeks ago, but because of his experience at High-A and time in the organization, he could be the next outfielder pushed to Double-A Akron (sorry Holt).

← Jake Lowery (C): .220/.314/.325, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 28 BB, 70 K. This is not the season that Lowery or anyone envisioned him having in his first full season. After a promising April (.805 OPS) his season has nosedived since (.567 OPS in May, .504 OPS in June). The Indians have really cut down his playing time in the hopes of giving him a breather and so that they can work on some things with him, but so far since the All Star break in 5 games he is hitless in 13 at bats.

↑ Shawn Armstrong (RHP): 26 G, 1.65 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9, 11.3 K/9. The walk rate is still kind of iffy, but he continues to miss bats and limit the damage when the ball is put in play. With Stowell going on the disabled list it may provide an opportunity to push Armstrong up to Akron, though the only thing that would prevent that is if the Indians still want him to work on his command more at Carolina.

Lake County:
↔ Francisco Lindor (SS): .263/.352/.374, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 32 BB, 48 K. Lindor’s performance has been on the declinesince mid-May, and he has really nosedived the past few weeks. He is only 18 years old and has already played in 71 games in about three months, so this is the sign of a tired player in his first full season. To his credit, his approach has remained the same and he continues to play hard.

→ Jose Ramirez (INF): .327/.373/.418, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K. Ramirez has now played in 14 games between Mahoning Valley and Lake County and has shown a sound ability to put the bat on the ball and play some good defense. He is not a major prospect by any means, but he has improved his stock this year with his showing in spring training, extended spring training, and now so far this season.

→ Joe Colon (RHP): 16 G, 3.17 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 5.6 K/9. Colon continues to put up quality outing after quality outing and has shown no signs or wearing down. He has now almost pitched as many innings this season as he has the previous three seasons, and is proving to be a workhorse that can haul innings and put up quality outings each time out.

↑ Mason Radeke (RHP): 20 G, 3.02 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9, 8.7 K/9. Radeke had injury issues throughout his entire college career, so he probably never showed his true ability last season in his pro debut at Mahoning Valley. This season he has shaved his BB/9 rate from 3.1 last year to 2.1 this year and raised his K/9 rate from 6.2 last year to 8.7 this year. He’s made big strides on the mound, his stuff has improved, and he has put himself on the prospect map.

Mahoning Valley:
→ Charlie Valerio (1B/C): .288/.361/.404, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB, 9 K. Valerio has shown a very good approach at the plate,hits the ball hard, and has shown an ability to take the outside pitch the other way. That’s impressive. He has some good size so it will be interesting to see if he begins to show more power at some point, but he is certainly an interesting catcher-first base type in the lower levels.

↔ Juan Romero (OF): .217/.250/.543, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB, 23 K. Romero is as raw as they come. He has very good raw power, a plus-plus arm in right field, and some athleticism. But he is a strikeout machine and susceptible to breaking pitches, particularly ones low and away. The plate discipline is his biggest obstacle he will need to overcome, and one that will be hard to at this point, but if he can ever make some strides there he is going to take off as a prospect.

→ Luis DeJesus (RHP): 7 G, 3.41 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 7.8 K/9. After a poor showing in four appearances at Lake County, DeJesus has really settled in well at Mahoning Valley where he has been very good in his three starts. He does not throw very hard, but there is some upside in him as he is still only 20 years old and learning how to pitch.

→ Jacob Lee (RHP): 4 G, 0.96 ERA, 0.54 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9, 14.5 K/9. Lee is off to a fantastic start to his pro career and he seems to be using his four years of college experience to his advantage in the early going. His performance could push him up to Lake County very soon, though he would need to continue to pitch out of the bullpen there since a rotation spot is not available at the moment.

Arizona:
↑ Jorge Martinez (3B): .467/.500/.822, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 8 K. Martinez is off to a great start in his third season in theArizona League. He is still only 19 years old and has massive upside, and things look to be starting to come together for him as he has really grown over the past year and he is really starting to make more consistent hard contact. He could be in line for a callup to Lake County or Mahoning Valley very soon.

↔ Andrew Campbell (OF): .233/.324/.333, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 8 K. Campbell is an interesting sleeper prospect out of Australia that is off to a slow start. He brings a lot of different tools to the table and has some upside as a leadoff type hitter in center field. The schedule and loaded roster does not allow for many of the players on the roster to play several games in a row, so he is probably getting used to that.

↔ Dillon Howard (RHP): 3 G, 4.35 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9, 8.7 K/9. Howard had a forgettable first two appearances, but his outing last night was very good and more in line with what is expected of him. He did not allow an earned run in 4.0 innings and allowed 4 hits, 1 walk and had 4 strikeouts. It’s been a tough first year as a pro for him since he has dealt with a few nagging injuries this season, but from here on out he has the chance to get on a roll and finish strong.

← Matt Packer (LHP): 2 G, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.0 BB/9, 6.0 K/9. Packer is on a rehab assignment with the Arizona team and was up to two innings his last time out. He will probably get at least two more appearances before he is ready to return to Akron shortly after the All Star break. His shoulder injury this season has ruined his momentum as a prospect and dropped his stock, so he really needs a strong finish these last two months to salvage his season.

Omitted were Felix Sterling, big down arrow; and Elvis Araujo smaller down arrow. Top two young prospects have not done well at lake county. Felix is now out of the rotation. Elvis still racking up strikeiouts, but also getting hit pretty hard.

BA notes:

CLE AA Chen, Chun C 3 2 2 1 .318 2B (26), BB (45)
CLE AAA Phelps, Cord 2B 3 2 2 0 .256 2 BB (42), SB (6)
CLE HiA Wolters, Tony SS 4 0 1 1 .247 2B (18)
CLE HiA Rayl, Mike 7 3 0 0 2 3 4.14 W (5 - 7)
CLE LoA Araujo, Elvis 4 4 6 5 7 2 4.97 L (3 - 7)
CLE MAJ McAllister, Zach 5.2 4 4 0 3 8 3.40

in the Futures game, Lindor came off the bench and was 0-1. Aguillar was the only 1B on the World roster. A single and a walk in 4 trips.

Also worthy of note last night, but not listed above because he's wasn't a Top 30 Prospect:

CLE AA Diaz, Juan 4 1 4 8 HR (7) BB

4 1 4 8 !!!!

I think someone on Columbus batted in 8-10 one game this summer; maybe Jared Goedart; so Diez may not qualify for the line of the year.