Cleveland Sports Forum

Clippers got some great pitching this weekend, winning 3-1 & 2-0. Plutko with another great start, and Garner another perfect inning for a save. His ERA is 1.07 now.

Sunday lines:

CLE AAA Gonzalez, Erik SS 2 0 1 1 .297 2B (28) [he'll spend Sept in Cleveland]
CLE HiA Krieger, Tyler 2B 5 1 2 1 .311 [more middle infield depth]
CLE HiA Mathias, Mark 3B 5 0 2 2 .274 2B (37) [ditto]
CLE LoA Castro, Willi SS 5 2 2 1 .264 [ditto]
CLE MAJ Naquin, Tyler CF 3 0 1 0 .311
CLE R Jones, Nolan SS-3B 4 0 1 1 .253 [ditto?]
CLE R Nelson, Hosea DH 5 0 1 0 .224 3B (2)
CLE R Taylor, Samad 2B 3 2 2 2 .311 HR (1) [ditto?]

CLE AAA Plutko, Adam 6 6 1 1 2 5 3.76 W (6-4) [Tribe's No. 7, or 8 or at worst 9 starter]
CLE HiA Lugo, Luis 6 6 4 4 1 7 3.85 [partial bounceback]
CLE LoA McKenzie, Triston 5.2 4 0 0 2 8 3.42 W (1-1) [Tribe's No. 1 pitching prospect, or at worst No. 2]
CLE MAJ Clevinger, Mike 1.1 1 0 0 1 3 5.12 W (2-1) [member of 2017 rotation if not this October]

Just to update my post from last week ...

Adam Plutko last 6 starts ...

4-1 36.2 IP 32 H 10 R 9 ER 8 BB 36 K 2.24 ERA

Reports describe Plutko as back of the rotation starter since his talent is not overwhelming but he certainly pitches effectively and has moved through the system quickly. Does that mean he'll be one of those one good year and then gone starters like David Huff, Jeremy Sowers, Jason Davis [Cody Anderson?] Similar to his Columbus teammates Shawn Morimando [whose command is much worse] and Ryan Merritt in their projected ceiling.

No good pitching in Columbus tonight, but Yandy and Zimmer both with multiple hits, and Armstrong pitched 1.1 scoreless to help hold on to 7-5 win.

Akron won tonight too, 5-2. Allen had a great night at the plate. Was on base 4 times. But he had yet another caught stealing. Only 50% steal rate now in AA. 4-8.

Lake County spoils the party again, going down to defeat. Only team in organization to lose tonight, with Lynchburg off. Nothing much happening there this evening.

Scrappers won 4-2 on 9 hits and another good outing by Brady Aiken. Starting to feel a lot better about him! His last two outings have been exactly the same. 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 6 K. ... Mejia with a hit and, of course, a steal. This li'l sumbitch is a walking talking running indictment for grand larceny. ... Calica collects 3 more hits to raise his average to .392, and added his 13th steal for good measure. Somebody better recognize....

BA highlights pretty the same as Hillbilly's

CLE AA Allen, Greg CF 4 1 3 1 .308 3B (1), BB (8), CS (4)
CLE AA Papi, Mike LF 3 0 1 0 .212 BB (34) [you forget this great game by the Ducks' star]
CLE AAA Diaz, Yandy LF 4 2 2 1 .323 BB (44)
CLE AAA Zimmer, Bradley CF 5 0 3 1 .310
CLE LoA Castro, Willi SS 4 0 1 1 .264
CLE MAJ Naquin, Tyler CF 4 0 1 0 .310 CS (2)
CLE SS Ice, Logan C 3 0 1 0 .183 [another 2nd round pick who is starting out as cold as his name]
CLE AAA Armstrong, Shawn 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 1.90
CLE SS Aiken, Brady 5 3 1 1 1 6 3.46 W (2-0)

Clippers score 5 in the 8th and 9th inning to win 5-2. Perci Garner pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to get the win. His ERA on the year is now 1.00. Yandy & Zimmer had night off, tho the latter got a pinch hit appearance late. Gonzalez had a good night. Merritt pitched 5.2 innings and allowed a shit ton of base runners, but only 2 runs.

The Ducks win 4-1. Another solid night for Allen.

Hillcats return to action with a vengeance. Winning 8-4. Frankie and Bradley beat the opposing pitchers about the face & head. Their own mamas don't recognize them.

Lake County once again ruins that winning feeling, managing to lose both ends of a double header. Jodd Carter goes 2-3 with a double in game 1, and 1-3 with a homer and a walk in game 2. He's hitting .301 with an OBP of almost .400 now.

The Scrappers didn't want Captains to feel bad so they lost 2-1 tonight. Shane Bieber with another great outing though. 3 hitless innings, no runs, 1 walk, 2 K. Bieber is our 4th round pick from UC Santa Barbera that I've mentioned before. Having a fine short rookie campaign. He has a WHIP of 0.53 and an ERA of 0.50 now.

@IndiansPro
Columbus Clippers LHP Ryan Merritt over his last 6 starts:
5-0 37.2(IP) 35H 8R 5ER 4BB 25SO 1.20 ERA #Indians

Columbus Clippers RHP Perci Garner @percigarner over his last 14 appearances:
5SV 21.2(IP) 9H 1R 1ER 4BB 22SO 0.42 ERA #Indians

#Indians 2016 4th Round Draft Pick RHP @ShaneBieber19 over his first 7 pro outings for Mahoning Valley
- 18(IP) 7H 1R 1ER 2BB 19SO 0.50 ERA

BA prospect report:

CLE AA Allen, Greg CF 3 1 1 0 .309 BB (9)
CLE AAA Gonzalez, Erik 2B 5 0 2 1 .295
CLE HiA Bradley, Bobby 1B 5 2 2 3 .245 2 HR (28)
CLE HiA Chang, Yu-Cheng SS 5 1 2 1 .273 HR (13) [back from the DL]
CLE HiA Krieger, Tyler 2B 5 1 1 0 .308 2B (13)
CLE HiA Mejia, Francisco C 4 1 3 3 .336 HR (4), BB (10) [best day at the plate since The Streak]
CLE HiA Paulino, Dorssys LF 4 0 1 0 .268 CS (2)
CLE R Benson, Will RF 3 1 1 1 .225 BB (20)
CLE R Capel, Conner CF 4 1 1 1 .216 CS (3) [high potential, needs plenty of development]
CLE R Jones, Nolan 3B 4 2 2 0 .263 2B (5), 3B (1) [nearly doubles his extra base hit totals]
CLE AAA Merritt, Ryan 5.2 9 2 2 2 3 3.52
CLE HiA Brown, Mitch 1 1 0 0 0 3 5.19 [in the bullpen he racks up the Ks but still avgs about 1 walk per IP]
CLE MAJ Clevinger, Mike 1 4 3 3 0 2 5.79
CLE SS Bieber, Shane 3 0 0 0 1 2 0.50 [college kids sometimes move up quickly. 2018 or 19 arrival date?]

and among our ex-prospects:
NYY HiA Sheffield, Justus 3.2 3 4 3 3 5 2.14 L (2-1) [first slip after 3 terrific starts with his new team]
Ben Heller promoted to the Yankees.

I just read that Greg Allen still leads all of minor league ball with 111 runs scored. That's 10 more than the inferior dude that is 2nd.

Lynchburg [his former team] has almost all of the offensive leaders in the Carolina League in homers, RBI, doubles, all that good stuff. He just so happened to be on base ahead of some really good hitters. Not quite so fortunate in Akron but at least Jordan Smith has picked up his hitting since Allen arrived and Nellie Rodriguez is another good RBI bat.

Clippers won 3-1 tonight on a fine outing by Morimando. And in doing so they clinched the International League title. Woo Hoo. Gonzalez was only hitting prospect to do anything.

Ducks win 4-3 on another solid outing by Kaminsky. Another decent night for Allen too.

Hillcats win 8-3. And Bradley with yet another homer. All the prospects chipped in a little tho as part of the 10 hit parade.

Newsflash, the Captains absolutely suck. They lose 7-2 and give up 14 hits. Carter had a hit and an RBI.

The Scrappers live up to their name scoring 2 in the 9th to win 6-5. Gabe Mejia with a couple hits. Calica was hitless but managed an RBI and a SB. Civali still pitching well. 3 hitless innings with 2 K.

Stats from BA to detail Hillbilly's report:

CLE AA Allen, Greg CF 2 1 1 0 .313 BB (10)
CLE AA Papi, Mike LF 3 0 1 3 .210 2B (15), BB (35) [batting average climbing ever higher]
CLE AA Rodriguez, Nellie 1B 4 1 1 1 .249 HR (24) [not far behind Bradley]
CLE AAA Gonzalez, Erik 2B 4 1 2 0 .297 BB (18), CS (10)
CLE HiA Bradley, Bobby 1B 3 2 1 1 .245 HR (29)
CLE HiA Mathias, Mark SS 4 0 1 0 .274 BB (45)
CLE HiA Mejia, Francisco C 4 0 1 0 .333 BB (11)
CLE HiA Paulino, Dorssys LF 4 0 1 1 .267 2B (10) [plenty of power since return from DL]
CLE MAJ Naquin, Tyler CF 4 0 1 0 .308
CLE R Cantu, Ulysses 1B 4 0 1 1 .186 [not looking very good]
CLE R Capel, Conner CF 4 1 1 0 .217 SB (9) [looking a bit better]
CLE R Jones, Nolan 3B 3 1 1 0 .265 BB (21) [better, but considering his bonus $ you'd like a lot more]
CLE SS Ice, Logan C 4 1 2 0 .195 [another 2016 draftee not putting up big numbers, yet]
CLE AA Kaminsky, Rob 5 3 2 2 3 5 3.38 W (9-7) [not quite as good as lately, but leads Aeros to 10th win in row]
CLE AAA Morimando, Shawn 6 3 1 1 1 5 2.76 W (5-1) [cutting back on walks is key for him]
CLE SS Civale, Aaron 3 0 0 0 1 2 1.99 [looking forward to 2017 when he and Bieber are not on pitch counts]

4 hits apiece by Dorsyss Paulino and Anthony Santander last night for the Hillcats. As he did last year, Paulino has really his boosted his offense down the stretch. Santander has been pretty consistant all season, his first healthy one in 3 years.

Santander for the season: 293/371/496 37 doubles 19 homers 50 bb 112 K 10/15 steals
He's a switch hitter vs LH: 302/396/489 vs RH: 289/360/498

Paulino in the first half hit 235/324/314 Then hurt and missed nearly two months. Some rehab in Arizona.
Since his return he's hit 351/385/581

BA report:

CLE AA Allen, Greg CF 5 1 2 0 .317 2B (6)
CLE AA Rodriguez, Nellie 1B 2 1 1 0 .251 2 BB (69) [strikes out a ton, but also knows how to take a walk]
CLE AAA Diaz, Yandy RF 4 0 1 0 .320 2B (19)
CLE HiA Bradley, Bobby 1B 2 1 1 0 .247 2 BB (70) [strikes out a ton, but also knows how to take a walk]
CLE HiA Paulino, Dorssys LF 4 1 4 3 .284 2B (11), 3B (1)
CLE LoA Castro, Willi SS 4 0 1 1 .261
CLE MAJ Clevinger, Mike 2 0 0 0 1 3 5.45
CLE SS Hillman, Juan 4 5 1 1 4 1 3.95

Totally agree on Santander, Civ. Never gave him much attention before but he's caught my eye this year for sure.

That's why I post little updates most nights. Cause I feel we have a handful of guys that are worth keeping an eye on that BA never mentions. Santander was one. I did notice that Civale was among their list yesterday and Santander is #19 on this weeks BA hot sheet so they're coming around a tad.