Cleveland Sports Forum

Naquin does not have Manny Ramirez's ability. Not sure anyone in that draft had that kind of ability.

Watched a lot of Burlington with Ramirez on the team.

I guess the Nationals are showing what goes into making a couple of good draft come together.....knowing how to judge talent and coming with the cash to back it up.

On the other hand, who's to argue with Billy Beane and staff?

Tough pill to swallow if you are a Reds fan. Ludwick and Phillips showed up for that series but couldn't get any help from their friends. I thought the Reds had the best team in the playoffs. Kinda reminds me of another Ohio team I know from the past.

I wonder if the A's have been in the locker room all day watching Verlander pitch and preparing a game plan for him tonight ?!!?! I'd like to see the A's be aggressive and attack Verlander early. Give him something to think about the rest of the game.

joez wrote:Tough pill to swallow if you are a Reds fan. Ludwick and Phillips showed up for that series but couldn't get any help from their friends. I thought the Reds had the best team in the playoffs. Kinda reminds me of another Ohio team I know from the past.

Very disappointing series by the Reds. I was looking forward to watching them in the WS this year. Guess I'll have to root for the Nats and Orioles now.
btw, the Reds play in the MAJOR leagues, not the minors

I'm always jumping from one folder to another. Sometimes I forget which folder I'm in. Senility setting in.

Naquin's performance didn't inspire me either, but see above a few posts where my Q to BA that suggested he was on track to be another Trevor Crowe receved an Answer that we shouldn't judge so soon based on two months of pro ball following an entire college season.

It's easy to be pessimistic with Indians No. 1 picks. Of course, we can recall that guys like Crowe and Mills had fine first summers, moved up to Hi A by the end of their first summer and look what happened to them. Maybe Naquin will tread a different path, one to success?

Here's a surprise. 3 Clipper pitchers rate in the International League Top 20. Not a lot of major prospects here this year, BA writes in the introduction to the list, but these 3 are the only Tribe pitchers who made any of these prospect lists.

FYI, 5 years ago Adam Miller was No. 11 in the IL, Aaron Laffey No. 19 and new Tribe gem Kevin Slowey No. 18.

12. Corey Kluber, rhp, Columbus (Indians)
Age: 26 B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 215D
drafted: Stetson, 2007 (4th round)
The IL's lack of power arms made Kluber stand out in comparison despite his age. The durable 26-year-old shaved nearly two runs off his ERA at Columbus in 2011 (5.56), though he was hit hard in his first extended big league stint following an August promotion.

Kluber shows flashes of dominance thanks to a fastball that sits at 92-94 and touches 95. He gets in trouble when his fastball flattens out, which happens more than it should for a pitcher his size. His slider is his best pitch, peaking at 86 and flashing good depth, and his changeup can be a solid offering with some sink and fade.

"His changeup was not a pitch he could go to in 2011. It was this year," Sarbaugh said. "The issue for him is fastball command, it all comes down to that. He has to be finer with his fastball because he's shown the ability to get swings and misses with the fastball and slider."
W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG
11 7 3.59 21 21 0 125 121 62 50 9 49 128 .243

13. Cody Allen, rhp, Columbus (Indians)
Age: 23 B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-1 Wt.: 210 Drafted: High Point, 2011 (23rd round)
The second-fastest 2011 draftee to reach the majors, Allen was taken 22 rounds after the Diamondbacks' Trevor Bauer, who beat him to the big leagues by 22 days. Unlike Bauer, Allen stuck around, finding a home in Cleveland's bullpen and exhausting his prospect eligibility.

A starter in college and a Tommy John surgery alumnus, Allen gave up a run in only one of his last 13 IL appearances. He simply overpowered Triple-A hitters with a fastball that maxed out at 94 mph in college but now sits at 95-97. His fastball has life through the strike zone, and he has extreme confidence in the pitch.

Allen's 85-86 mph breaking ball is also a plus pitch at times, featuring plenty of depth. He needs to improve his ability to throw his breaker for strikes, however.
W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG
3 2 2.27 24 0 2 32 22 8 8 3 9 35 .188



16. Zach McAllister, rhp, Columbus (Indians)
Age: 24 B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-6 Wt.: 240 Drafted: Illinois Valley Central HS, Chillicothe, Ill., 2006 (3rd round)
McAllister finally graduated from prospect to big leaguer after his third season in the IL. He remains a command-oriented pitcher without a true plus pitch, but he added more velocity to his four-pitch repertoire this season. His fastball used to sit at 88-91 mph, but even late in September, he was hitting 95 mph as a Cleveland starter.

The difference is that McAllister has incorporated his lower body into his delivery more, gaining leverage and power. He misses more bats with his heater, which usually operates at 91-93 mph, and he still commands it well while getting some sink and downhill plane.

McAllister still uses a sinker-slider approach but doesn't live and die by the groundball anymore. He uses a cutter early in the count to get weak contact and uses a split-grip changeup to get swings and misses when ahead in the count.
W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG
5 2 2.98 11 11 0 63 59 27 21 5 19 52 .237

This probably explains why we scored 3 prospects:

Paul (New York): No offense meant John, but would you consider this list to be the weakest in terms of potential when stacking it up against all of the other league top 20 lists this year?


John Manuel: Ha, I take no offense. I'm the one who assigned the leagues this year! I gave myself the weakest collection of talent, no doubt.

Greg (London, ON): Hi - I guess I am surprised to see the 26-year old Corey Kluber and reliever Cody Allen ranked higher than RHP Zach McAllister. Can you elaborate? Thanks!


John Manuel: They both have bigger stuff than McAllister, though McAllister did add some velocity this year. But Kluber vs. McAllister, that really is a toss-up. Kluber's slider is a better strikeout pitch than McAllister, which is why I went in that direction. Cody Allen to me has a chance to close -- closer velocity, closer swing-and-miss breaking ball, closer confidence. He's more than a setup guy. Kluber and McAllister are more 4th starter types, so I like Allen's impact a bit more even if it's reliever vs. starter there.

BA writer likes Tim Fedroff even though Indians management does not:

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Tim Fedroff showed more power in AAA than he ever did in the lower minors. Does he excite anyone as an OF prospect?


John Manuel: I like Fedroff. He did get better this year, but he's not a big guy, doesn't run, is an average defender in left field who can't quite hack CF ... he is more of a bench or platoon type than anything else. He'd have to be an elite hitter to make it as a regular with his current profile. That said, he's a career .296 hitter in the minors, and these are the Indians. Not like there are a lot of better hitters blocking him in Cleveland. They tried Thomas Neal and Russ Canzler there in September; not sure why Fedroff wouldn't get a look. The fact that he didn't probably means he's going to be Rule 5 eligible, so maybe he gets a chance with another organization.

And he took me on the way out the door:

Elliot (Youngstown OH): John, Your Tim Fedroff answer suggests you think less of Russ Canzler. Could he be useful RH bat at DH, 1B and LF for a team that has a void in those positions? (I can think of one such team.)


John Manuel: Real quick ... I like Canzler actually, for what he is, a reserve Ty Wigginton type. I was commenting more on the fact that I don't see why the Indians wouldn't evaluate Fedroff in September with a callup. They outrighted Shelley Duncan the other day, they couldn't do that in September and see what they had, if anything, in Fedroff? I think that tells you what they think of Fedroff.

40 man roster now is at 40, but still includes 4 on DL who will have to be added back: Carrasco, Raffy Perez, Tomlin and Sizemore; and Hagadone still listed as Restricted. So that makes 44 or 45 and 4 or 5 or more must go. There are a few minor leaguers who I think need to be added (Trey Haley, Fedroff, not thinking of anyone else but maybe some other relievers, e.g. Flores, Stowell; not sure if T.J. House has used up his minor league time, ditto actually with Haley)

Obvious subtractions start with Hafner, Sizemore, Kotchman (1 year deal, right?), Rottino, Lillibridge, Slowey, LaPorta, Lars Anderson, Hernandez. Earth would not end if we gave up Donald, Neal, Maine. Same thing last winter, I could find it easy to pare this miserable group down to 35 without sacrificing anyone even vaguely irreplacable.

Arizona League performances by our guys Thur,Fri,Sat:

Ronny Rodriguez 4-1-2-0 2b, sb
Ronny Rodriguez 4-0-0-0 2k
Tyler Holt 4-1-1-0 sb, e
Alex Monsalve 4-0-0-0 2k, gidp; no sb versus

Trey Haley 1 0 0 0 0 0
Scott Armstrong 1 2/3 0 0 0 2 2
T.J. House 3 3 1 1 0 4
Matt Packer 2 4 1 1 0 0

Arizona League yesterday:

Trey Haley 1 shutout inning, 1K

Tyler Holt 2 singles and a walk in 3 at bats, and playing RF he nails two baserunners.