Cleveland Sports Forum

BAseball America discovers Cody Allen:

Cody Allen, Come On Down

Posted Jul. 26, 2012 4:38 pm by John Manuel
Filed under: Daily Dish, Promotions

Trevor Bauer was the first player from the 2011 draft to reach the major leagues. That was no surprise, considering Bauer (a) was the 2011 College Player of the Year at UCLA, (b) signed relatively early last summer, in time to actually reach Double-A in his first season, and (c) signed a major league contract, giving him a spot on the 40-man roster.

The 2011 draft class was an epic one, especially on the mound, producing the largest signing bonus for a player with the team that drafted him (Gerrit Cole), major league contracts (Danny Hultzen and Dylan Bundy in addition to Bauer) and 2012 Futures Gamers (Jose Fernandez, Chris Reed, Matt Barnes) down through the first round.

Jump down to the 23rd round, though, for the second player from the '11 draft to make the majors—Cody Allen, who already has made three scoreless appearances for the Indians. We'll detail Allen's quick rise in a column next week but wanted to point out just how rare it is for a 23rd-rounder to get to the majors so quickly.

Thanks to research by Jim Callis and BA founder Allan Simpson that lists the three fastest players from each draft class to reach the majors, posted in an Ask BA back in 2011, we know. Dusty Baker is the lowest drafted player to also rank among the quickest to the majors—the current Reds manager was the Braves' 26th-round pick in 1967 and debuted in the majors as a 19-year-old on Sept. 7, 1968.

Allen, a 23-year-old Tommy John surgery alumnus, ties for the second-lowest pick to reach the majors so quickly, at least by round. Carl Willis got there a bit quicker—the 1983 23rd-round pick out of UNC Wilmington got to the majors with the Tigers on June 9, 1984. With 26 teams in the 1983 draft, Willis was picked 581st overall, while Allen was pick No. 698. Allen has some similarities to Willis as a quick riser from a college in the Old North State, having attended Central Florida and then St. Petersburg (Fla.) JC before playing a season at High Point.

It's a surprise that Allen is the second-fastest player to reach the majors from the 2011 draft, but it's not surprising he's first from the Indians' 2011 draft class. Last year's Indians Draft Report Card (sub required for link) listed Allen as Closest To The Majors, as well as Best Pro Debut, Best Late-Round Pick and Best Secondary Pitch, his power curveball.

He's also run his fastball up to the 95-96 mph range in the majors, and Allen has done nothing but dominate in pro ball, with 11.76 strikeouts per nine innings in 98 minor league innings, with just 2.11 walks per nine. He earned his rapid ascent to the majors; the trick now will be staying there.

[If he follows in Carl Willis' foosteps we should him to be a reasonable successful pitching coach someday.]

BA's notable lines. Don't include Fedroff since he wasn't on Tribe Top 30. Could he finally be rated a prospect again? He certainly is a hitter.

CLE AAA Phelps, Cord 2B 3 4 2 0 .273 2 BB (50)
CLE HiA Wolters, Tony SS 4 0 1 0 .263 BB (30)
CLE LoA Lindor, Francisco SS 4 0 1 1 .267
CLE LoA Rodriguez, Luigi CF 4 1 1 0 .273 2B (16)
CLE AAA Barnes, Scott 1 0 0 0 0 2 3.50
CLE AAA Sturdevant, Tyler 2 3 0 0 0 1 6.00
CLE HiA Rayl, Mike 4 7 4 4 3 3 4.62 L (6-8)
CLE MAJ McAllister, Zach 6.1 9 3 2 2 7 3.18

More BA features on Tribesters:

Urshela's Bat Gains Ground On Superb Glove

By Clint Longenecker
July 24, 2012
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ZEBULON, N.C.—No major league organization has an academy in Colombia, and only a third of teams employ full-time scouts in the country. The unstable and dangerous conditions in Colombia serve to deter most clubs from seeing the country's finest players.

Despite these circumstances, Indians third base prospect Giovanny Urshela is determined to honor his country and reach the major leagues. The 20-year-old plays for high Class A Carolina this season.

"We don't have many players from Colombia," Urshela said, "but I practiced with (brothers) Orlando and Jolbert Cabrera and I want to follow them to the major leagues."

Because of the paucity of scouts in his homeland, Urshela's trainer taxied him to neighboring Venezuela and across the Caribbean Sea to the Dominican Republic so that evaluators could see him. After showcasing his talents abroad, the 16-year-old Urshela signed with Cleveland for $300,000 in July 2008.

In a country dominated by soccer, Urshela love for baseball is a rarity. "Almost everybody plays soccer growing up, and not many play baseball," he said. "My father loved soccer—it was his favorite—but I loved baseball since I first played at age 8. I chose baseball."

He wasn't alone. Colombia produced four major leaguers in the 1990s, including first-division shortstops Orlando Cabrera and Edgar Renteria, but the talent well dried up in the first 10 years of the 2000s. During that time only reliever Emiliano Fruto reached the big leagues, and even then he did so for just 23 appearances with the 2006 Mariners.

The retirements of Cabrera and Renteria following the 2011 season did not make them the last of the Colombian family line in the big leagues, however. The country has graduated five players to the majors in the past four seasons, including Ernesto Frieri in 2009 and Julio Teheran in 2011. White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, Marlins utilityman Donovan Solano and Nationals catcher Jhonatan Solano all have debuted this season. The Indians believes Urshela could one day join them.

"I believe he can be an everyday big league player," Carolina hitting coach Scooter Tucker said. "He has quick hands, good power, and he is a very gifted player defensively."

Urshela is an immensely talented third baseman who has drawn accolades for his strong arm—the best in the Indians system in 2010— and low Class A Midwest League managers deemed him the circuit's best defensive third baseman last season. Urshela has legitimate Gold Glove potential because groundballs quietly disappear into his glove, and he has the soft, fluid hands that bestows managers with confidence.

"I managed Matt Dominguez when I was with the Marlins and he is special," Mudcats manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "And Giovanny is the same type of defender. He has the ability to slow the game down defensively, and that is so rare."

Defenders the caliber of Dominguez or Urshela can advance through the minors primarily because of their ability to prevent runs, but Urshela is more than just a defensive stalwart. His bat has taken developmental strides.

Urshela flew under the prospect radar because heading into this season he sported a career .256/.290/.369 batting line across three seasons. This year he's holding his own as one of the youngest regulars in a tough Carolina League environment. Urshela has batted .260/.293/.397 with seven homers through 292 at-bats, showing a generally impatient approach but promising contact ability (with strikeouts in just 13 percent of plate appearances) and developing power.

Urshela's preternatural ability to make contact is a double-edged sword that can lead to an overly-aggressive approach. "His ability to put the bat on the ball is a plus and minus because sometimes he doesn't see a pitch he thinks he can't hit," Tucker said.

According to Rodriguez, the coaching staff has worked with Urshela to curtail his free-swinging ways, and he said they have made mechanical adjustments to the third baseman's lower half and to his hands. Because pitchers began pounding him inside, Urshela began holding his hands farther away from his head to shorten his swing path. Balance also had been an issue.

"When he thinks he can hit anything it causes him to lunge," Tucker said. "In drills we are working on him staying on the back side, keeping his hands inside the ball, and looking for the right pitch."

These mechanical adjustments coupled with work in the weight room that has pushed his weight to about 214 pounds have enabled Urshela to scratch the surface of his power potential. "He has as much power as anyone on the team," Tucker said. "He just doesn't always know how to use it—but that's just a matter of getting at-bats. Because he has a strong lower half, he has 15-18 home run potential."

Baseball in Colombia may be on the upswing, and not only due to Urshela's development. In early July the Diamondbacks signed catcher Oswaldo Garcia, arguably the nation's top talent available this year.

"The last couple of years (teams) have signed more players," Urshela said, "and that has helped the popularity of baseball in the country."

Indians' Ronny Rodriguez Withstands Early Bumps

Indians Shortstop Takes On Aggressive Assignments

By Andrew Krause
July 23, 2012
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ZEBULON, N.C.—Despite a delayed start to his professional career, Ronny Rodriguez is already ahead of most players his age.

The 20-year-old spent his formative years in two baseball-crazed locales—the Dominican Republic and the greater Boston area. Born in Santiago, Rodriguez moved to Lawrence, Mass., and attended high school in the United States. However, he returned to the Dominican Republic before his high school graduation and had to wait one year before Major League Baseball decided that he could sign as a free agent.

"After I was living in Boston for two years, I went back to the Dominican and was playing there and training. Now I'm here with the Cleveland Indians organization," Rodriguez said with a smile.

Rodriguez signed with Cleveland in October 2010 as an 18-year-old for $375,000 and the Indians aggressively assigned him to low Class A Lake County for his professional debut in 2011. The young shortstop struggled in the Midwest League, hitting .246/.274/.449. He struck out 83 times and drew just 13 walks in 37 at-bats. He also committed 38 errors—tied for second-most in the league by a shortstop—in 97 games.

There were some highlights for Rodriguez that season as well. Despite being three years younger than the average player in the Midwest League, Rodriguez managed to hit 11 home runs and 28 doubles.

Now playing shortstop for high Class A Carolina, Rodriguez has been working hard to iron out some of the issues that plagued him last season. After hitting .203/.241/.304 in April, Rodriguez hit .278/307/.412 in May and .330/.366/.574 in June.

"The first month of the season he was a little bit disappointed and a little bit down, but one day he came in and said 'Let's work on it. Let's work on whatever you want to do with me,'" Carolina manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "So the hitting coach, Scooter (Tucker) and I worked with him. He was listening and he was working on it.

"He has developed a routine, offensively and defensively. With a kid like that you have to develop a routine. Any ballplayer should develop a routine. But being so young, to be consistent at the professional level you have to develop a routine, and he did that and he is still doing it."

Despite a rocky beginning to July (.226/.250/.415 in 14 games), Rodriguez has already hit 11 home runs, matching his 2011 total, and managed to improve his overall line to .269/.302/.437. Still, his approach remains a bit of a question mark, as he has drawn just 12 walks this season.

"He has a lot of work to do but, he is still young," Rodriguez said. "There is a fine line in teaching our young players to be more patient without taking away aggressiveness, so we have to be careful when we say that. He's been developing and getting better in that area, but still he is chasing a lot of pitches. With experience, confidence, and more playing time, it will improve."

Rodriguez's defense also remains a work in progress. Listed at a wiry 170 pounds, Rodriguez is a good athlete with a strong arm and good range, but he has already committed 26 errors this season.

"Sometimes I try to go too quickly," the shortstop said. "Every error is on a routine play, so we are working on that every time that we come out to practice."

Edwin Rodriguez agreed with his player's assessment, saying, "He will make the tough play, the great play, the spectacular play. Count on it. He's going to make it. Now, the routine plays, those are the ones that give him problems. There's a concentration level. He needs to be able to understand and develop that to stay focused on the game. He's been doing it lately—the last three or four weeks of the season he's been doing it.

"Being 20 years old, you are going to see that a lot. It is a matter of him understanding to play in the present moment for nine innings. Any ballplayer, regardless of level, needs to understand that—they have to keep their concentration for nine innings."

Even though his season has been filled with hot and cold spells at the plate and in the field, those involved in the game remain optimistic about Rodriguez's development as he has held his own against older competition.

"The kid has some pop, a good feel for hitting, and he plays the game hard," one scout said.

Rodriguez has plenty of competition for the Indians' future shortstop assignment. Mudcats teammate Tony Wolters, who is currently playing second base, is capable of playing shortstop. Cleveland's top prospect, 18-year-old shortstop Francisco Lindor, has held his own in Lake County, batting .267/.360/.386 with 19 steals. But Rodriguez has continued to work hard and remain focused on only what he can control.

"We're working on everything—hitting, my approach, my glove, my throwing. Every time we come to the field I'm thinking about making adjustments," he said.

Edwin Rodriguez says his player reminds him of another up-and-coming shortstop who found success at another position.

"I was with the Tampa Bay Rays organization when they signed B.J. Upton as a shortstop," Edwin Rodriguez said. "I can see some of that (with Ronny). He has power, a great arm, good speed, and is a good athlete. I can picture Ronny as B.J. Upton."

And to complete the Carolina Infield:

Indians' Wolters Adapts To High Class A Competition

By John Sandberg
July 23, 2012
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ZEBULON, N.C.—One could forgive fans of the high Class A Carolina Mudcats for scratching their heads in late April, wondering just who was the player batting second in the team's lineup. Who was the guy batting .138 with nine hits through the first 20 games, and what happened to Tony Wolters, one of the Indians' top prospects?

What a difference a couple of months makes. The organization stayed the course with the 20-year-old middle infielder, and that confidence is now being rewarded. Through 342 at-bats, Wolters was batting a modest .263/.325/.377 with three home runs, but few players have been swinging a hotter bat lately. Since the Carolina League all-star break, the lefty hitter has batted .343/.395/.481 (37-for-108) with 11 extra-base hits in 27 games and has taken over the role of leadoff man following Tyler Holt's promotion to Double-A on July 6.

"I think if you take away his first month of the season you'd be looking at one of the better performances in our system, factoring in his age and the talent level where he's competing," Indians farm director Ross Atkins said. "The strides he's made mentally, fundamentally and physically have all been very tangible."

A third-round pick out of a Vista, Calif., high school in 2010, Wolters signed with Cleveland for $1.35 million, passing on a scholarship to San Diego. A broken hamate bone in spring training 2011 torpedoed any shot he had to make a full-season roster, and he debuted with short-season Mahoning Valley in June.

Fully healthy this season, Wolters skipped over low Class A on his way to Carolina. Mudcats manager Edwin Rodriguez said it's typical to see young players players like Wolters struggle initially.

"When they show up they want to show right away what they can do," Rodriguez said. "They try too hard. As soon as they understand that it's a process, it's a long season, you're going to have good days and bad days, they find out how the system works and they slow down."

Slowing the game down is something the Indians have preached to Wolters, among others.

"Some days I feel like the game is so slow," Wolters said, "and others it's really fast . . . I'm still learning."

Enhanced Plate Coverage

The results of Wolters' extra work in the cage with Rodriguez and hitting coach Scooter Tucker are now showing on the field.

"They've made some fundamental adjustments that have helped him relax and have a little bit better plate coverage," Atkins said. "It's really about him getting his foot down and having a more consistent swing path. Because he's getting his foot down, he's able to relax more, see the ball better, (and) it's increased his plate discipline and given him more balance."

Wolters also mentioned that his early-season struggles were attributable, in part, to the better pitching that he was facing at the high Class A level.

"I haven't seen a lot of pitchers (in the past) who throw a true two-seam and a true sinker," Wolters said. "I had to get used to it a lot. I think it's just going to take time, seeing more changeups, seeing more curveballs, seeing more of all those pitches."

Wolters' defensive ability has never been in question. He has quick hands and a strong, accurate arm while showing some flair up the middle. A shortstop in high school, he played there full-time for Mahoning Valley last year. This season he has split time between shortstop and second base with Ronny Rodriguez, another of the Indians' middle-infield prospects. One level below them lurks Francisco Lindor, the system's brightest prospect, which makes for healthy competition.

"I'd say that each one of them brings something different to the table," Atkins said. "They all learn from one another, push one another, have fun with it, and at the same time they are very much aware of the challenges and the competition that they will have ahead of them."

Atkins said that the Indians still envision Wolters as a major league shortstop, and Edwin Rodriguez said that Wolters has the rare ability to play either position at the highest level. The player himself mentioned the difficulty in learning a new position but added that he doesn't have much of a preference.

"I feel like second is a harder position," Wolters said. "There are different angles and it's a tougher side-to-side position. I love shortstop, but I'm starting to love second base and I just need to work and get better at it."

Working Smarter, Not Harder

Wolters talked about the everyday grind of pro ball and mastering a routine that works for him. Working smarter, not harder, as he described it, has paid dividends as he makes his way through his first full season. Others in the organization rave about Wolters' consistent, professional approach and the resilience that he has shown.

"The overriding theme of his year has just been his toughness," Atkins said. "Battling back from a slow start and battling through a very difficult league at a very young age, and playing two positions while he's doing it. His work and his commitment hasn't wavered one bit."

Rodriguez couldn't come up with enough good things to say about Wolters, from his on-field ability to the attitude that he brings every day.

"For him it seems like there is no failure," Rodriguez said. "If there's any failure he will work at it. He embraces the challenge and is willing to pay the price. He hasn't said anything to me, and I haven't talked to him about that. That's just the way he is."

Another feature on a Tribesman, this time from minorleaguebaseball.com:

im Fedroff isn't the Indians' best-known power prospect, but don't tell him that.

Cleveland's seventh-round pick in 2008 had just three homers in 132 games last season, but hard work pays off. He went 3-for-4 and hit a pair of homers on Thursday night, driving home a career-high six runs in Triple-A Columbus' 16-2 rout of visiting Toledo.


· Gameday box score
· Tim Fedroff's stats
· See a game in Columbus
· Watch the Clippers on MiLB.TV
· Follow along on your phone
"It feels good, it's something I've been working very hard on," Fedroff said. "It's a good feeling to see some results and get some consistency with it."

Fedroff hit .308 last year and is batting .383 since being promoted to Triple-A this summer. The power -- once a secondary part of his game -- is slowly growing. He's got nine longballs this year, including three in the past week, as he aims to make a name for himself amidst Cleveland's corps of Minor League outfielders.

"It feels really good right now," he said. "We've been playing great games lately, our bats have come alive the last few days."

Thursday's outburst was Fedroff's first career multi-homer game and his most productive day in the Minors since he drove home five runs on Aug. 13, 2011 against Rochester.

"I haven't had a multi-homer game since my high school days," he said. "It was a good feeling."

The North Carolina product's two-RBI single in the second inning ignited a seven-run rally as Columbus mounted a 10-0 lead by the fourth.

"We had worked a few good at-bats against [Toledo starter Thad Weber], and when I got up, I went up there looking for a fastball. I was able to get one up the zone. I put a pretty good swing on it."

The New Jersey native's two-run homer in the fourth came two frames before Columbus scored four more times in the sixth.

"It was a slider, up on the zone, I think he hung it up," Fedroff said of his first homer. "I saw it good out of his hand, just tried to stay back and put a good swing on it. I got the ball up, let the rest take care of itself."

In the sixth, Matt LaPorta was beaned and Russ Canzler hit a two-run shot before Cord Phelps walked and Fedroff followed with another two-run drive to right to put the Clippers up, 14-2.

"He threw me a changeup that at-bat," Fedroff said. "Another situation where I could recognize it up in the zone ... put a good swing ... just keep my weight back."

Fedroff, who owns a .409 on-base percentage this season, also drew a walk and scored on Jared Goedert's 15th double in the seventh.

The 25-year-old outfielder was drafted out of the University of North Carolina in 2008 and earned Carolina League All-Star honors in '09 with Class A Advanced Kinston when he hit .278 with four homers. He spent all of 2010 at Double-A Akron, batting .274, and split the 2011 campaign between the Aeros and Clippers, finishing a combined .308 with three homers, 63 RBIs and 28 doubles at both levels.

The modest power has emerged this season -- he hit .305 with three longballs in 54 games at Akron to earn another promotion to Triple-A, and has now popped six homers in 34 games for the Clippers. He said his experience last season at Triple-A put him a little more at ease this summer when he made the transition a second time.

"It's my second time playing with a lot of these guys, so there's a certain comfort level I didn't have last year," he said. "The comfort level is the biggest thing."

He's certainly looked comfy at the plate, especially in July, and he's hitting .448 in 58 at-bats. Fedroff has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, with 19 hits in that span. Coincidentally, Columbus has won 10 of its last 12 games, climbing back over .500 and into second place in the International Leagues West Division.

"I've been very happy, we've got a great team, a lot of talented players," he said. "I'm learning a lot from playing with all of them. Any time we can get to the pitcher, maybe hit 'em around a little bit, they have less confidence in their stuff. You see some of your teammates hitting the ball well and it gives you some confidence going up to the plate."

Corey Kluber just so happened to pitch the same night as Josh Tomlin. Kluber went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, walked 3, fanned 3. ERA 3.59. Not a great prospect, but he averages over one K per inning (128 in 125). May well be worth a try until Roberto returns.

Lots of offense once again by the Clippers and their cast of un-promotable hitters.
Carrera 2 hits, a walk, 2 steals, 295
Rottino 4 hits, a double included 313
Goedart 3 hits, 2 rbi 326
Huffman 4 hits, one a double, 284
Canzler a double, 2 rbi 273
and once again Fedroff 2 singles,a double, now batting a measly 392

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_colaaa_1

Shawn Armstrong will probably be the second 2011 draftee to make the Tribe roster. He's at Akron now, 0.00 ERA after his first 4 outings. 1 2/3 last night. Juan Diaz singled in two runs and walked. Thomas Neal 2 hits.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x_akraax_1

Delvi Cid with a single, a double and 3 steals for Carolina Hitting 282.
Jesus Aguillar with a single. Since he went to the Futures Games he's done litte. Last 10 games: 194/375/258. Showing plenty of patience which is an excellent sign for a power hitter. 11 homers are not so many for a power hitter. Trey Haley returns from rehab, 1 scoreless inning. Michael Goodnight 5 inning, 2 runs, 6K.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_wilafa_1

Captains manage one hit. Araujo has been worse, works 4 innings, 2 runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout/

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x_lcoafx_1

Jake Sisco 5 2/3 7-3-3-1-2 for Mah Valley. Naquin 0-4. Robel Garcia 2 doubles, walk, 3 rbi, error.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x_mvsasx_1

Top prospects with good nights: Mitch Brown 3 innings, 1 run on 2 hits. Dorsyss Paulino his 5th triple, OPS remains over 1000. Not bad for a 17 year old. Santander also 17 with his 2nd HR, he's a RF

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

In the Dominican, 18 year old OF, Victor Cabral 2 hits: 306/392/441. RHP Vizcaya age 18 6 innings, 1 earned run. ERA 1.10. Not much call for 6-0 Righties.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... k_dmrrok_1

Yesterday's promotion: power reliever Jose Flores to Akron. 6-3 250 RH. He was picked in Rule 5 after 2010 and returned when we was only 21 and in low Class A. 1 shutout inning in Akron debut.

Jesus Aguillar 3 hits including a double for Carolina. Tony Wolters 3b #6. Delvi Cid 2 hits. Tony Gallas a grand slam.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_wilafa_1

Juan Diaz single and double and walk. In July: 533/560/867. Rob Bryson 2 shutout innings.

Ezeq Carrera 3 hits again, one a double, 3 rbi. In his last 10 games: 45-14-24-13 5-2-2 xb hits. 533/560/867. Would you rather try him or keep on with Damon? Why did we sign Damon anyway, I forget.

LaPorta 2 hits, Goedart 2 hit including HR 10 at Columbus.

Gomez 6 innings 4 er, 2 hr.
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... a_colaaa_1

Jose Ramirez 2 hits (320), Lindor 2 walks, a steal a caught stealing, LuigiRod 2 hits and walk, Lavisky 2 singles, 240. He remains pretty bad pick. Cody Anderson on pitch count, with a perfect 3 innings fans 3.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x_lcoafx_1

2 run homer by Joe Sever gives Scrappers a win. He's at 319, but seems to be a utility IF. Joe Wendle 2 hits, also 319. Naquin nothing for 4. 268. If he were any good he'd have been promoted. But he's not doing much. Luis deJesus 6 good innings, but apparently is one of those young guys with good offspeed stuff who can win in low A and doesn't project.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... x_mvsasx_1

A LH named Luis Gomez goes 6 shutout innings in the Dominican. Impressive season stats:
35 innings, 19 hits, 6 walks, 34 K. Ground outs to air outs: 4.5/1. 19 year old, 6-0, 195. What does he throw? Is he a prospect? At his age he should be a U.S. league.
Victor Cabral with a couple hits, drives in the only run of the game in the 10th.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... k_dinrok_1

Rookie Notes: Young pitching continues to impress in AZL

Lovegrove
By Sean Mahon
July 30, 2012
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RHP Trey Haley assigned to Carolina Mudcats
LHP Daniel Jimenez recalled from Minor League Rehab Assignment
LHP Isaias Encarnacion released
RHP Yeiker Lovera released

The Headliner:

The offense kept rolling last week for the Arizona Rookie League Indians and though the defense stumbled several times they rebounded as the weekend approached. The starting pitching from 2012 draftees Dylan Baker and Mitch Brown was superb, as was the bullpen, collectively. As I wrote earlier in the week, “Paulino is the best player on this team. In talking with Indians’ fielding coordinator and ex-third baseman Travis Fryman, he identified Paulino as the obvious most talented player on the roster. He also mentioned he liked what he had seen from first baseman Nelson Rodriguez and centerfielder D’vone McClure. Fryman was really intrigued by many of the players on the AZL roster naming off a list of players that were raw, but had big time tool potential.” The 15-13 Indians faceoff against the Rangers on Monday, and 3rd rounder Kieran Lovegrove gets the start.

Player of the Week: Tyler Booth

Booth had a memorable week thanks in large part to his Wednesday evening as the lefty outfielder slugged two homers off of left handed pitchers.

Though he was a 13th round pick and can sometimes be forgotten in midst of the higher draft picks, he’s been playing a solid outfield and been the primary leadoff hitter much of the season. Booth is a Goodyear, AZ product and his friends and family are at every game the AZL Indians play. The lefty hitter certainly takes an aggressive approach at the plate; however, over the last two weeks, Booth has really settled himself in at the plate and seen more pitches which has led to better at bats and some big hits.

On Wednesday night Booth left the yard twice in the game. Here are some notes on that night:

“Booth, an Arizona Central College product—the same JUCO that has produced the likes of Ian Kinsler, Rich Harden and Scott Hariston—looked comfortable at the plate with two bombs to right field on the night. Booth fits the mold of a real ballplayer over the prototypical athlete. The Goodyear native didn’t play basketball or football growing up, but was a fixated solely on baseball. He had been playing centerfield until the addition of D’vone McClure to the outfield rotation, and has slid to right field for the most part now. He’s progressed as the season has gone on, originally an aggressive first pitch free swinger, Booth has developed some more patience in the AZL as it really helped him put up great AB’s on Wednesday against two left handed pitchers. Booth is consistently ahead on the fastball making him almost more susceptible to offspeed stuff, though he has hit well thus far. Booth isn’t the quickest player down the line, but much like McClure, once he’s going, he’s an above average runner from first to third and running balls down in the outfield.”

Booth is hitting at a .260 clip as of Sunday. Should things work out for Booth long term and through the upper minors, he would project as a left fielder that can certainly play centerfield at times as his arm doesn’t project well for right field.

Pitcher of the Week Honors: Dylan Baker

Dylan Baker a game and went 3.0 innings surrendering just a run (unearned as the run scored due to a passed ball) and struck out three while walking just one. Baker has seen a bit of jump in velocity (along with Mitch Brown and Kieran Lovegrove) namely due to the fact he has now been consistently making starts and throwing over the past few weeks. This was Baker’s finest outing of the season as he was commanding his pitches and able to induce consistent groundball outs (5 groundouts, 1 flyout, 3 K’s) and really kept the Padres off balance by mixing up his fastball and power slider. Baker certainly showed swing-and-miss stuff on the evening.

Highlights on Mitch Brown’s Week (7/22 outing):

“Indians’ 2012 second rounder Mitch Brown started the game and looked simply dynamite. The Minnesota native was a bit rusty in his first outing (3 runs, 1 ER) last week, but he really looked as advertised on Sunday throwing 35 pitches (62% strikes), generating five swings-and-misses and freezing batters continuously in his three shutout innings. Travis Fryman said he was especially impressed by Brown’s polished delivery. Brown struck out four and walked just one on the night. His fastball found even more life to it and sat between 92-94 MPH on the evening. The fastball has serious life on it and the ball just jumps out of his hand on the mound. The scary thing is his best pitch may be a hard biting slider that sat at 86 MPH on Sunday. He threw a pair of curveballs in the outing at 76 MPH, though it appears the pitch is still a ways behind his other stuff. His cutting fastball absolutely ate right handed hitters up because Tempe Diablo Stadium felt like a lumber yard the way that Brown was breaking bats. I counted four broken bats in his three innings, though he may have sawed off even more bats. The lone hit Brown gave up was a pedantic punch that was rolled just past third baseman Jorge Martinez. Brown would eliminate the base runner on the next pitch as he got the Angels’ no. 3 hitter, Jose Rondon, to break his bat subsequently grounding into a double play. It was an impressive outing, to say the least.” Brown also pitched on Friday giving up 1 ER in 3 IP, striking out a batter and walking one.

Highlights on Kieran Lovegrove’s Week (7/22 outing):

“2012 third rounder Kieran Lovegrove followed Brown out of the ‘pen. The SoCal product went an inning and gave up two earned runs on four hits. There was also a little bit of a spike in velocity from Lovegrove’s first start, likely the result getting regular work in lately, as he was hitting 91-94 on the radar gun and was clocked up to 95 MPH. Lovegrove had the curve at 75 MPH, slider at 83 and solid changeup between 84-85. He threw 37 pitches (68% strikes) and had some decent sink to his fastball. Purely from a mechanical standpoint, I think the early flashes of Lovegrove point to a back end of the bullpen role—he’s very compact on the mound and shows some big time heat, especially considering he’s still growing physically. He primarily throws all arm than utilizing his entire body, and for that, I’m not certain how durable or long he’ll last going deep into games. No doubt, though, the Tribe will develop him as a starter this early to see what works. The righty didn’t generate a great amount of swing and misses on the night, but he had many hitters fouling his stuff off in his lone inning and I think if he can develop the changeup a bit more, it will really help him set up hitters considering his mid-90’s fastball. Lovegrove was originally scheduled for Saturday’s start, but the game was cancelled due to the wind storm hence Lovegrove came out of the bullpen on Sunday. He will remain in the AZL Indians rotation going forward.”

Note: Lovegrove’s start on Sunday, July 29th, was also cancelled due to lightning. He will start today.

It was a tough week for: Nelson Rodriguez

Rodriguez was hit by a pitch on his right wrist in Tuesday’s game and may have felt the side effects in the field as he had trouble at first base all week long. While Rodriguez originally looked to be serviceable at first base despite his large frame, he had a very poor showing at the corner this week. Nelson Rodriguez (who just happened to go to the same high school as Manny Ramirez in New York) is a catcher by trade, but has played first base in all but one of his seven games this year. He made three errors at first base and surrendered two passed balls on the day he caught. Finding a position may not be easy for Rodriguez, though he has shown signs of an ability to pick it well at first base. On the plus side, Rodriguez’s offensive game has been impressive. Despite just a .222 average, the 6’2, 225 pounder has a 1.006 OPS through his first nine games (12:10 walk to strikeout ratio and 2 HR in 27 at-bats).

Scouting Notes:

Here are some news and notes on players that may be a bit less hyped minor league prospects, but have really made up a big part of this AZL squad, nonetheless. While they are not top round draft picks or big signings like Lovegrove and Paulino, they’ve been interesting players for the squad to date and are worth mentioning…

Claudio Bautista: Bautista is an interesting utility type option on the team. Here are some notes on him from this week: “Bautista is hitting .250 on the season and looks like your typical utility type player; however, he’s really only played second base and I don’t know that he has the real range to play anywhere else. He’s a very passionate player—the type that leaves it all on his sleeve—which can be both good and bad at times. From his showings in the Arizona League, he’s got to have a shorter memory because I’ve seen him break some bats and scoff at some plays he’s made in the field that have had a trickledown effect in the later innings. Nonetheless, the 18 year old provided some quality, patient at bats and some big hits for the AZL Indians and had his biggest hit of the season on Thursday night [with a home run that proved to be the game winner].”

Alexis Paredes: The 19 year old righty has been a solid staple in the AZL bullpen over the month and a half old season. Here are some scouting notes on Paredes from his last appearance on Thursday: “Paredes threw four shutout innings to close out the game in retro fashion, striking out three, and giving up just one walk and one base hit. Paredes throws his fastball between 88-91 MPH and has pretty decent movement on the pitch. He also offers almost a slurve type pitch with good bite that has improved over the month and he throws at a three quarters type arm slot. The 6’3 righty also offers a hard changeup at 84-85 MPH. He has a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Talking with a scout about Paredes, he mentioned Paredes sometimes loses his arm slot and can get sloppy, but when he has his good stuff it must include consistent mechanics. He is really a quality arm and showed that quite well on Thursday evening.” Paredes ERA stands at 2.22 in 10 games this season, striking out a batter per inning.

Joshua Nervis: The righty sociology graduate out of Sonoma State was drafted in the 38th round of the ’12 draft. He has been mightily impressive in the rookie league tour that includes a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio, a 0.69 ERA in nine games and hasn’t given up a single run in the month of July. Nervis pitches a lot off his fastball-changeup combo with a heater between 90-92 MPH and can touch 93, potentially suggesting a career in the bullpen. He also features a changeup with good depth right around 78 MPH. Nervis’ fastball has really provided good movement and he’s been able to get hitters out using the pitch. A scout I spoke with mentioned Nervis had a long arm and his fastball and breaking ball can be inconsistent, but at this level, it’s good enough to get hitters out. The Oakland native never really had eye popping numbers at his two years at Sonoma State, but his strikeout numbers were quite good (94 strikeouts in 25 appearances). Keep an eye out for Nervis because he should be in line for a promotion sooner than later.

The Week Ahead:

Probable starting pitchers for week of 7/30/12

Monday (7/30) – Kieran Lovegrove; 2012 3rd round pick
Tuesday (7/31) – Dillon Howard; 2011 2nd round pick
Wednesday (8/1) –Game #1 Luis Lugo; 2012 IPI #2 rated Latin Prospect
–Game #2 Dylan Baker; 2012 5th round pick
Friday (8/3) - Mitch Brown; 2012 2nd round pick

Monday:

CLE LoA Lindor, Francisco SS 4 3 1 0 .260 BB (48), SB (22)
CLE LoA Myles, Bryson CF 4 2 3 3 .273
CLE LoA Smith, Jordan RF 4 2 2 0 .310 BB (25)
CLE SS Naquin, Tyler CF 4 1 3 0 .289 2B (11)

Lindor also made 2 errors as did Paulino in Arizona; he also singled and walked.

CLE AAA McFarland, T.J.512 6 6 2 2 5.68 L (4-5)
CLE R Sterling, Felix2.22 2 2 1 2 6.75 [no better in Arizona where he was a star last summer than in Lake County]

Also: Danny Jiminez, 5 no-hit innings with 6 K for Lake County.
Lovegrove 3 runs on 5 hits in 3 1/3 in Arizona.

Rookie Notes: Lovegrove, AZL Indians pounded by Rangers

Kieran Lovegrove
By Sean Mahon
July 31, 2012
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GOODYEAR - The AZL Rangers have one of the best teams in the Arizona Rookie League. The Indians found out why last night as they were pounded 11-2.

Offense is rarely scarce for the AZL Indians, but the bats were silenced through 4.2 innings as the Rangers’ southpaw Aliangel Lopez shined striking out seven Indians and only giving up two hits with two out in the 5th inning. In the fifth inning right fielder Anthony Santander broke the no-hit bid and catcher Martin Cervenka followed up with a base knock, though that was as far as the damage went against Lopez.

While the Indians offense was seized, the lefty on the mound may have had the best slider some of these players have ever seen. A lefty throwing a fastball about 90-91 MPH and a consistent swing-and-miss caliber slider with great bite proved to be too much for the Indians through the first five frames.

Both of the Indians runs came on sacrifice flies. The first run was scored in the 6th inning as Jorge Martinez hit a sac-fly that plated Juan Herrera, but Nelson Rodriguez couldn’t add to the run total as he grounded out. Next, in the 8th inning, the Tribe loaded the bases, but Jorge Martinez struck out swinging. Ryan Battaglia hit the second sac fly, then left fielder Brian Ruiz concluded the inning and threat with a strike out. The Indians went down 1-2-3 in the 9th.

The three pitchers the Indians faced in the game’s first seven innings were likely the toughest trio they’ve faced consecutively this year. Two being lefties and one being a righty really mixed the Indians looks up and the mix between Lopez’s power slider with the 97 MPH gas from a rehabbing Gregory Williams can obviously be a challenge for any set of teenage hitters.

Kieran Lovegrove started the game for the Indians and was solid despite the final line he showed. The SoCal native went 3.1 innings yielding three runs, striking out one and did not walk a batter. Lovegrove threw 43 pitches (63% strikes) and had he been shut down after the third, his line would look much more attractive than the final result.

Lovegrove’s fastball sat right at 91 MPH on Monday, a tad lower than his previous start where he was touching 95 MPH, but his fastball movement was the best it has been in his three pro starts. The righty was cruising through with an eight pitch 1st inning and 11 pitch 2nd inning. He surrendered a soft chopper up the middle in the 1st inning then a little duck snort hit just passed third baseman Jorge Martinez in the 2nd inning, two hits that likely would’ve been outs with better positioning and fielding. He was keeping batters off balance almost exclusively using his 82 MPH slider and the fastball. He mixed a few changeups around 84 MPH in there, too. Lovegrove got a few swings-and-misses, but for the most part has been a pitch to contact type starter.

The 3rd inning came around and Lovegrove began showing signs of fatigue or just lost command as he surrendered a 2-0 bullet off the wall in centerfield. The run scored on the next pitch, a ground out to second baseman Juan Herrera. The 4th inning was Lovegrove’s tough one as he fell behind all three of the hitters he faced in the inning. He eventually gave up a two run bomb on a 3-1 heater right down the middle.

Lovegrove had his sharpest three consecutive innings to start the contest, but unfortunately, the 4th inning got to him. He was visibly frustrated on the mound beginning in the 3rd inning as he was getting some deep hard hit outs. Lovegrove threw first pitch strikes to seven of the 14 hitters he faced. While his line was less than stellar, Lovegrove showed great life to the fastball in the first three frames and may have just fatigued in the 4th frame as this was the longest outing of his pro career. His delivery is still a work in progress as he will eventually look to use more of his lower half and legs as he is primarily throwing all arm thus far.

Felix Sterling, the IPI’s no. 12 rated prospect entering the 2012 season, did not have a great feel on the mound on the night. Sterling showed some of his potential with a fastball with a little bit of movement between 90-93 MPH, but ran into major issues in the 6th (after throwing 1.2 perfect innings). His changeup sat in the high 70’s on the night while his slider was sitting in the low 80’s, though he could not throw it over the plate.

Labeling Sterling’s pace as excruciatingly slow in that 6th inning may be an understatement—think Rafael Betancourt tempo. Sterling could not get ahead of hitters in that 6th inning and fell behind as he gave up a walk, double, wild pitch and single in the frame, all with two outs. Much like Lovegrove, had Sterling’s evening concluded earlier, it would have been a solid appearance, however, the AZL is where players are pushed to see how long the rope can go. Both Lovegrove and Sterling struggled in their evening ending innings.

Jeffrey Cleto relieved Sterling in the 7th inning. Physically, Cleto looks like a mirror image of Dontrelle Willis on the rubber. Like Willis, he has a very thick bottom half and his wind up also includes many moving parts and rocks back and forth, though they’re obviously much cleaner than Willis’. Cleto offered his usual solid fastball between 90-91 MPH with definite movement and a curveball sitting between 79-81 MPH that was good at times, but very inconsistent as he would sporadically hang them big time.

On a textbook double play, Cleto fielded and threw to shortstop Dorssys Paulino, but Paulino was attempting to make the play in fast forward and had the ball bounce off his mitt on the feed. It was Paulino’s 13th error on the season. Cleto would go on to give up a 2-run homer on an 0-1 pitch as he hung a flat curveball to the Rangers’ Ronald Guzman who got every piece of it. Only one of the four runs Cleto surrendered was earned.

Anderson Polanco closed out the game’s final two innings, struggling with command as he walked three and surrendered two earned runs. Polanco was the third Indians pitcher to surrender a bomb on the night. The southpaw showed an 85 MPH heater that actually has quite impressive movement, but the lack of another quality pitch set up a plethora of hits against him. Polanco works quick on the mound, but struggles repeating his delivery and once things go wrong, they tend to get worse for him. The differential between his fastball and changeup is minimal and his curveball is a long way from being a quality pitch. Polanco has surrendered runs in six of his seven appearances.

Both the offense and pitching look to rebound against the AZL Reds in Goodyear on Tuesday as Dillon Howard makes the start.

For AZL updates and various Tribe musings, following @SMahon2Go.

Lines from yesterday's game noted by BA

CLE HiA Aguilar, Jesus 1B 3 1 1 1 .291 BB (44)
CLE HiA Rodriguez, Ronny SS 3 0 2 0 .266 CS (4)
CLE HiA Wolters, Tony 2B 3 1 2 0 .264 BB (31), CS (8)
CLE LoA Lindor, Francisco SS 5 1 3 1 .265
CLE LoA Myles, Bryson LF 4 0 3 1 .281 SB (15), CS (11)
CLE LoA Rodriguez, Luigi CF 5 0 1 0 .270
CLE LoA Smith, Jordan RF 4 1 1 1 .310 SB (6)
[note all these hitters in Class A]

CLE AAA Barnes, Scott 2 0 1 1 2 1 3.46
CLE AAA Sturdevant, Tyler 1 3 2 2 0 1 6.75 L (0-2)
CLE HiA Haley, Trey 1 0 0 0 0 1 1.10 Sv (2)
CLE R Howard, Dillon 1 6 4 4 0 0 7.66 L (0-5) This kid is going from bad to worse. No. 2 pick in 2011.

Other notable lines yesterday:

Tim Fedroff 7-2-2-0 steal
JAson Donald 5-2-5-2 2 dopubles, 2 walks, we need Lillibridge
LaPorta 6-1-2-3 homer
Gio Soto 7-4-1-0-0-5 a perfect game a couple starts ago, this time he loses
Armonstrong 1 shutout; total 9 1/3 shuout in AA
Neal singles and double.
Weglarz walk and 3 K.
DAnny Salazar tough again: 5-3-1-0-1-4
Jose RAmirez 3 hits, steal, 319
in Ariz:
McClure 0-4
Paulino 1-5
Nelson Rodriguez homer #3
Jorge Martinez 2-5