Cleveland Sports Forum

They swing pretty big bats for middle IFs. and I expect Paulino will wind up in the OF. But we sure need more than these guys alone.

We need some guys with some power.

Akron beat Bowie tonight:

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

And again on Saturday:

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

Murata, Haley, Armstrong and Guilmet limited the opposition to 1 run.
Some post elsewhere said Carrasco was scheduled to pitch another inning on Friday. He didn't.

3 hits by Adam Abraham, 2 by Chun Chen and each with a pair of doubles lead Aeros to a semi-final series win and they move on to the Eastern League finals. Abraham has been on league champions with Lake County in 2010 and Kinston in 2011. A few of his fellow Aeros were also on both those winning teams. I guess Delvi Cid was, but he's only just been promoted to Akron to do some pinch running. Trevor Holt was too, I believe. And Roberto Perez has been the catcher on all those champs.

Carrasco started the game with a shutout inning. Hector Rondon closed it out.

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

Lake County wins game 1 of its 2nd round series 7-4. OFs Bryson Myles (3 hits) and Jordan Smith and Tyler Naquin (2 each) lead the offense. Smith had a triple, Myles a double, and Naquin who has virtually no power settled for singles as usual.

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

Love that this brain trust would draft a player in the first round with no pop. I guess they dont want to pay him 8 years later when he is up for free agency. Of course the Rusty and the dolanites think it is all the manager's fault.

My breakout pitchers this year, Salazar and Murata are doing very well it appears. Having to choose between the two, I chose Salazar. I'm hoping Akron can win game five. I'd like to see how Salazar and Murata perform in the championship series.

I don't think we have any pitchers who rate very high but Salazar has had a good season: the question is what does he throw? Like all the rest of our pitching prospects he is either a setup reliever or back of the rotation starter. We have a very deep pool of 5th starters.

BA sums up their Hot Prospect lists of the summer and guess what team scored the fewest appearances.

"At the bottom of the list, Jesus Aguilar was the only Indians prospect to make a Hot Sheet top 13 appearance this season. Likely Indians No. 1 prospect Francisco Lindor had a great season, but his consistent success didn't include a week that stood out enough to crack a top 13 spot."

No other team had fewer than 4 appearances

[Although Dorsyss Paulino should have got on the list once or twice. And Anthony Santander did make the "Helium" list.]

Further confirmation that our minor league system remains at our near the very bottom; we were rated only of the WhiteSox going in to 2012.

Great job by Paolo this evening. Espino was my breakout pitcher two years ago.

Chen comes up big tonight. 2-4, with 1 double, 1 run scored, and 1 batted in. Aeros win 3-0.

Chen was my breakout position player two years ago.

Akron's Jesus Aguilar participated in this year's Futures Game. (David Monseur/Akron Aeros)


Eastern League Finals preview

Akron, Trenton meet in rematch of 2007, '08 championships

By Benjamin Hill / MiLB.com09/11/2012 10:14 AM ET

With the 2012 season winding down, follow along with MiLB.com as the Minors' best teams face off in an attempt to take home their leagues' crowns.

Neither the Akron Aeros nor the Trenton Thunder made the Eastern League playoffs in 2011, but this season is a case of déjà vu all over again.

Last year's anomalous absence notwithstanding, Akron (representing the Western Division) and Trenton (representing the Eastern) have long been accustomed to being at the top of the EL standings. The Aeros appeared in the Championship Series each and every season from 2005-09, winning two EL titles along the way. However, the Aeros' sustained run of Double-A dominance was marred by back-to-back Championship Series losses to these very same Trenton Thunder. The Thunder dispatched the Aeros in both 2007 and '08, and again returned to final round in 2010 (ultimately losing to Altoona).

Here we are again, with both on the threshold of glory. The blazing Aeros, owners of the Eastern League's best regular-season record, rallied from a 2-0 hole against Bowie in the Division Series on the strength of three closely contested victories within the friendly confines of Akron's Canal Park. The rolling Thunder, meanwhile, rattled off three straight victories over Reading after losing the first contest in the best-of-5 series.

Akron (Western Division Champions, 82-59) vs.
Trenton (Eastern Division Champions, 79-63)

The two teams split the season series, 6-6

Game 1 at Akron, Sept. 11 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Akron, Sept 12 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Trenton, Sept. 14 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 4 at Trenton (if necessary), Sept. 15 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 5 at Trenton (if necessary), Sept. 16 at 4:05 p.m. ET

There's a lot of history between these two clubs, to be sure, but the only history that truly matters when assessing the ever-fluid world of Minor League Baseball matchups is that of the most recent variety. The two teams split the season series, 6-6, going 4-4 against one another in Akron and 2-2 during the one time they met in Trenton (May 21-24). Given the small sample size, prolonged pursuits of playoff prognostication often prove fruitless. But special consideration should be given to what could be a decisive Game 3, as Akron's T.J. House will go up against Trenton's Mikey O'Brien. House won both of his starts against the Thunder this season, compiling a 2.63 ERA over 13 innings. But O'Brien was no slouch either, ending up with a 1-1 record and 3.00 ERA in 12 innings pitched against the Aeros.

And, technically, House won't be Game 3's starting pitcher. That honor goes to rehabbing Cleveland Indians reliever Carlos Carrasco, who will toss the first frame before ceding to House (a similar arrangement occurred in Sunday's series-clinching win over Bowie, with Carrasco tossing a scoreless inning before giving way to Brett Brach).

Carrasco's brief starting assignment is an "only-in-the-Minors" playoff curiosity, but the situation on the back end will be far more routine. Ryan Pope was installed as the Thunder closer in August (a position he had also held in part of 2010 and 2011) and went on to collect eight saves in the regular season as well as two more in the semifinal series against Reading. Meanwhile, Aeros closer Preston Guilmet has emerged as a dominant force. The postseason All-Star tied for the Eastern League lead with 24 saves, converted both of his opportunities in the semifinal series against Bowie, and struck out five batters over three scoreless innings of work against Trenton this season.

As for the offensive side of the equation, the Aeros boast a formidable 3-4 combination in the form of Chun-Hsiu Chen and Jesus Aguilar (both of whom serve as first basemen/designated hitters). The former finished fifth in the EL with a .308 batting average, getting on base at a .393 clip and pacing the team with 30 doubles. As for Aguilar, he combined to hit 15 home runs and drive in 71 runs this season, with most of the damage occurring at Class A Advanced Carolina. The Venezuelan native was a participant in this year's Futures Game.

Conversations about Trenton's potent offense must start with versatile infielder Addison Maruszak, at least if you're moving through the lineup alphabetically by first name. Maruszak's breakout campaign included 16 home runs and 59 RBIs, and he then went on to blast two more homers in the semifinal series against Reading. Another force to be reckoned with comes in the form of outfielder Zoilo Almonte, who hit 21 home runs and drove in 70 during the regular season. His bat has thus far been quiet in postseason play -- but for how long?

In brief

Tony, award winner: No matter how the Championship Series plays out, the 2012 season has already been a triumph for Thunder manager Tony Franklin. The veteran skipper has been named the Eastern League manager of the year, an honor that many circuit observers thought had been long overdue. Franklin managed the Thunder to an EL Championship in both 2007 and 2008 and this past June notched his 1,000th career victory within the professional ranks.

The Cream rises: No matter who emerges triumphant in this series, 2012 marks the sixth straight season in which the Eastern League Championship was not won by a Wild Card team (the first and second place club from each division makes the playoffs, with the second-place team designated the wild card). The last wild card team to win the league title was the Portland Sea Dogs, who in 2006 dispatched -- who else? -- Trenton in the semifinals and Akron in the finals.



Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

This is Espino's 4th season at least part time in Akron. He pitched in the IL championships with Columbus in 2010 and 2011. He's merely an Organizational Player but a stellar representative of that species.

aolo Espino came out on the losing end of Akron's playoff opener six days ago, dropping a 4-2 decision to Bowie in Game 1 of the Eastern League semifinals. The veteran right-hander got the ball again in Game 1 of the Championship Series and made sure he did not get off to the same rocky start.

Espino allowed two hits over seven innings Tuesday night, pitching the Aeros to a 3-0 victory over the Trenton Thunder and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 EL Finals.


· Gameday box score
· Espino's player page
· Complete playoff coverage
"I wasn't thinking about that last game, the first game against Bowie," the Indians farmhand said. "Tonight, everything just came together right."

The 25-year-old had trouble finding the strike zone with his fastball early at Canal Park. He hit a batter and walked two more to load the bases with one out in the fourth. But the Thunder came away empty as Espino struck out Yankees' No. 3 prospect Tyler Austin and retired Kevin Mahoney on a popup.

"At the beginning of the game, my fastball command wasn't there as much, so I was working more on my off-speed stuff early on," said Espino, who ended up walking four and striking out three. "Then, later in the game, my fastball was getting better, so I went back to throwing more fastballs."

The six-year veteran allowed just one hit after the difficult fourth -- a double by David Adams in the fifth -- before turning things over to the bullpen. Shawn Armstrong and Preston Guilmet each worked an inning to close out Akron's first postseason shutout.

"I think this was definitely one of my best games," Espino said. "There hasn't been a game where I've gone deeper and given up that many hits. I was having a little trouble with my command; I walked a few guys. But later in the game, everything came my way and my command was a little better. It was definitely one of my best starts this season."

A 10th-round pick in 2006, the native of Panama has allowed one run or fewer in five of his last nine starts. Tuesday, however, was the first time he did not give up a run since a five-inning outing on May 28.

The Championship Series is familiar territory for Espino, who picked up the win in the Governors' Cup clincher for Triple-A Columbus last September. He spent time at both levels each of the past three seasons, appearing in the postseason for the Clippers in 2010-11.

"It gives me a little more confidence, having worked in the playoffs in Triple-A last year and the year before," Espino said. "I've pitched up there before, so I think I can do it here, too. Why not?

"I'm really happy that we got this first win. Getting the first win of the Championship Series gives the team a little breather, makes us a little more relaxed."

Akron gave Espino a lead in the second as Tyler Holt and Indians' No. 14 prospect Chun-Hsiu Chen opened the inning with singles and moved up on a wild pitch by Thunder starter Brett Marshall (0-2). Holt raced home on another wild pitch and Matt Lawson lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

Holt sparked the Aeros again in the sixth with a leadoff triple and Chen doubled him home.

Marshall took the loss after allowing all three runs on six hits over six innings.

Game 2 is Wednesday in Akron before the series shifts to Trenton.