Pulled the BaseballAmerica 2003 Prospect Handbook off the book shelf just for interest and found a rather amazing collection of prospects on the Indians Top 30. Usually several of the Top 10 will make the majors, maybe one a star; a couple perhaps of the next 20 will succeed as marginal big leaguers, but look at this collection:

All Stars

No. 1 Brandon Phillips 2b
No. 2 Victor Martinez c
No. 3 Cliff Lee No. 1 pitcher
No. 4 Jeremy Guthrie No. 2 pitcher
No. 5 Travis Hafner dh
No. 7 Grady Sizemore cf

Long careers

No. 9 Brian Tallett middle reliever
No. 15 Josh Bard no. 2 catcher
No. 17 Jhonny Peralta ss or 3b
No. 22 Ben Broussard 1b
No. 25 Ryan Church rf
No. 26 Covelli Crisp lf

Brief major league stops:

No. 8 Billy Traber
No. 10 Jason Davis
No. 13 Alex Escobar
No. 14 J.D. Martin
No. 22 Fernando Cabrera

I wanna party like it's two - thou - sand - and three.

Who was number 6?

6 was Ricardo Rodriguez, remember we got him from the Dodgers for whom? I know we also got Francisco Cruceta.

I found several other future big leaguers we didn't even make the Top 30: OF's Ben Francisco and Willie Taveras; IF Macier Isturiz.

Several of these guys were dealt in stupid trades: Isturiz and Church for Scott Stewart; Taveras for Jeremie Robertson. That was a good way to eliminate some decent depth.

So the 2003 prospects could have made a pretty decent major league lineup:

c: Martinez backed up by Bard
1b: Broussard backed up by Martinez
2b: Phillips
ss: Peraltz
3b: Isturiz
lf: Crisp or Sizemore
cf: Sizemore or Taveras
rf: Francisco or " "
dh: Hafner

1. Taveras or Crisp
2. Sizemore
3. Phillips
4. Martinez
5. Hafner
6. Peralta
7. Francisco
8. Isturiz
9. Broussard or Bard

civ ollilavad wrote:6 was Ricardo Rodriguez, remember we got him from the Dodgers for whom? I know we also got Francisco Cruceta.

Shuey

Hmmm Ricardo Rodriguez ... if I'm remembering the right guy, he was someone who looked quite good at the start but then the brass moved him (to TX?) and he showed they were right to do so.

Rodriguez was No 1 prospect for the Dodgers the year before he was traded to us. I don't remember much about him after that. I know Cruceta got picked up by someone else (Tigers maybe or Seattle) and had a few big league games.

Looking him up, I see he was 5-11 for the Indians in 02 and 03; 4-4 for the Rangers on 04 and 05; By 2008 was pitching for the Edmonton Cracker Cats and 2010 in Korea.

Cruceta got into a couple games for us; some for Seattle; some for Tigers (somehow I got both of those right!) and also was in Korea at the end of his career.

So who did we trade to get these two? I can look that up, too, but will give the Forum or my memory a chance to tellme first.

rusty2 wrote:

civ ollilavad wrote:6 was Ricardo Rodriguez, remember we got him from the Dodgers for whom? I know we also got Francisco Cruceta.

Shuey

I think I answered that a couple days ago.

Yes you did, and I didn't scan back. I don't remember sending Shuey west. I hope Paul helped the Dodgers as much as Casey Blake did when he sent him to LA for Santana and (Andrew Brown, right?).

Tomorrow BA rates the top prospects in the Eastern League. We were shutout in the Midwest League and the Carolina League. Not much likelihood of anyone near the top at at Akron either. IF we are shut out entirely it wouldn't be that surprising, but we have some candidates:

Chen Lee may not have had enough innings to qualify for their honor (wouldn't qualify in AAA either) but he was solid for the Aeros. Maybe Chun Chen who hit well enough in a "pitcher friendly" league to deserve consideration Neither Austin Adams nor Matt Packer's full season stats put them among league leaders, but Adams' near-100mph fastball and Packer's much improved second half could put either or both among the league's Top 20. Juan Diaz is rated a solid defensive SS but 250 batting avg is unlikely to put him among the select. Nick Weglarz coul rate amont the Last 20 with his injury-riddled totally ineffective wasted season of prolonged rehab.

Since the Indians have seen enough innings thrown by Adams and Packer and therefore withheld them from the Arizona Fall League our final selections are pretty dim:

R. Perez, J. Aguilar, C. Huffman, T. Fedroff, TJ McFarland, T. Sturdevant, C. Burns, P. Guilmet.

Perez is a fine catcher who walks a ton but doesn't hit for average
Aguillar hits for power but hasn't impressed BA with the rest of his game and is very raw for this advanced competition.
Huffman is a minor league retread. Strange choice. Tells you what the Indians think of their depth.
Tony says Aguillar will be there for the first few weeks, with Huffman spelling him thereafter.
Fedroff is not a major prospect but he's moved up to AAA based on a blend of modest talents, mostly good singles and sometimes doubles hitter.
McFarland is pretty young for AA. Never had a particularly impressive season.
Burns and Guilmet are very successful minor league closers. That's seldom a role that translates to big league success, but we'll see.
Sturdevant another reliever who was old for his AAA debut late this season.

Tony gives his award for Biggest Disappointment of the Minor League season. Lots of worthy candidates, even my guy Giovanny Urshela (admitting that I have not referred to him as future Hall of Famer recently) but Nick Weglarz wins the award easily taking all the first place votes cast.


Biggest Disappointment Nominees:

Nick Bartolone (SS/2B – Lake County).219 AVG (78-for-356), 41 R, 12 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 26 RBI, 25 BB, 70 K, 11 SB, .537 OPS

Bartolone was not a highly rated prospect coming into the season, but he was a 6th round pick in 2010. His biggest area of strength was supposed to be his defense, but whether it was early nerves or just a rough patch he struggled at the start of the season with 16 errors in the first two months (37 games). He also struggled at the plate early on where he was hitting under .200 well into June, which cut into his playing time some for the rest of the season.

Kyle Blair (RHP – Lake County)3-5, 5.02 ERA, 24 G (14 GS), 82.0 IP, 81 H, 7 HR, 40 BB, 72 K, .259 BAA

Blair was a 3rd round pick in 2010 that the Indians paid a handsome bonus to, and he came into the 2011 season as the IPI’s 14th ranked prospect. His numbers were not up to par for what is expected of a high profile college pitcher pitching in Low-A, especially one of his stature. However, he was battling a knee issue for most of the season so it probably had a big affect on him, especially with his command issues all year.

T.J. House (LHP- Kinston)6-12, 5.19 ERA, 25 GS, 130.0 IP, 133 H, 12 HR, 66 BB, 89 K, .269 BAA

House came into the 2011 season as the IPI’s 11th ranked prospect and he also returned to High-A Kinston to pitch for a second consecutive season. Considering his lofty prospect ranking and a return trip to a league he pitched well in the previous year, he should have pitched much better this year. His ERA ballooned and the numbers that were not good were the significant increase in both his home run rate and walk rate as well as the decrease in his strikeout rate.

Corey Kluber (RHP – Columbus)7-11, 5.56 ERA, 27 GS, 150.2 IP, 153 H, 19 HR, 70 BB, 143 K, .263 BAA

The Indians traded right-handed pitcher Jake Westbrook for Kluber in July of 2010, they added him to the 40-man roster last offseason, and he was the IPI’s 29th ranked prospect coming into the season. His performance took a step back this year and he had some very notable issues with his fastball command. He made some progress in the second half of the season and the Indians are still high on him, but from a performance perspective it was a disappointing year.

Jason Knapp (RHP – Kinston)DNP

Knapp came into the season as the IPI’s 6th ranked prospect and he was also one of the key players the Indians received from the Phillies in exchange for Cliff Lee back in July of 2009. So far his career with the Indians has been a disappointment, but not because of performance but because of injuries. There is no doubt he has the talent. The Indians just have to find a way to keep him healthy. His recent shoulder injury and surgery put a huge question mark on his future.

Alex Lavisky (C – Lake County/Mahoning Valley).203 AVG (90-for-443), 48 R, 28 2B, 0 3B, 13 HR, 52 RBI, 29 BB, 137 K, .621 OPS

Lavisky was an 8th round pick in 2010 that the Indians gave a seven figure bonus to in order to woo him away from college. He also came into the season as the IPI’s 17th ranked prospect. He showed some potential with the power and production numbers and was first class as expected as an individual. He also did a nice job behind the plate this year. But the bat-to-ball and the high strikeout rate is very concerning, and something that will be a huge focus for him going forward.

Giovanny Urshela (3B – Lake County).238 AVG (120-for-505), 57 R, 24 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 46 RBI, 14 BB, 69 K, .608 OPS

Urshela came into the season as the IPI’s 23rd ranked prospect. He slipped slightly as a defender this year partly because it is believed he was not in good shape coming into the season. He is still a top notch defender, but he needs to be more committed in his offseason workouts this year. He also took a step back in his performance at the plate where it was hoped he would show more power, discipline, and bat-to-ball ability.

LeVon Washington (OF – Lake County).218 AVG (65-for-298), 35 R, 9 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 49 BB, 89 K, 15 SB, .647 OPS

Washington was a 2nd round pick in 2010 that the Indians gave a seven figure bonus to and he came into the season as the IPI’s 7th ranked prospect. He did not live up to expectations as a defender, base-runner or hitter, but a lot of that probably had to do with some of the significant issues he had before and during the season with his hip surgery and leg injuries. Injuries are not an excuse though, and I expect him to come back strong next season. [$1 million bonus; lots of teams let him slide; maybe they knew something we didnt']

Nick Weglarz (OF – Akron).179 AVG (24-for-134), 25 R, 8 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 36 BB, 43 K, .666 OPS

Weglarz came into the season as the IPI’s 5th ranked prospect and has been in the IPI Top 10 for four years running. He suffered a significant knee injury in spring training running to first base, and from that point his season got untracked. He still showed the patience he has always been lauded for as he had a .360 on-base percentage even though he hit just .179, but his power completely disappeared and he was only able to play in 41 games all season.

And the Tony Award goes to….Nick Weglarz
As mentioned at the top, this is a tough award to hand out since I respect the hard work that a lot of these players put into their seasons and careers. I am always more for talking about the positive things with regard to the Indians’ minor league system, but to be balanced I know from time to time I have to be fair and talk about the things that are not good too.

Sometimes things just do not go well because of injuries or for various other reasons. But in the end there are players who make progress over a season, and there are players who do not.

Weglarz just had a forgettable season. The season was a disappointment on many levels for him, but most of the disappointment stems from yet another injury that forced him to miss a huge chunk of the season. While I often give players a pass when they suffer injuries over the course of the season, it was hard to do so in this case. [Several separate trips to the DL; several separate injuries, I thought -- Civ]

There is no doubt that Weglarz was not 100% when he returned from his knee injury. He had almost no drive in his swing and was not making very consistent hard contact. His eye was still fine as he drew his customary high amount of walks and the strikeouts remained about the same. But his power numbers cratered with a .306 slugging percentage as compared to his .455 career slugging percentage coming into the season.

Weglarz’s injury was a big blow to the Indians this year considering their need at the Major League level with outfield help almost all season. He came into the season on the 40-man roster as a legit big league option that was about ready for a chance should the opportunity and need arise. The opportunity and need both arose quickly in May and June when Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, and Travis Hafner went down with injuries, but he himself was down with an injury as well so the Indians moved on to other options.

It was a big league opportunity lost this season that Weglarz may have a hard time getting again. He turns 24-years old in December, so his age is no longer on his side. His injury history is also a huge red flag going forward as he has now finished four of his last six seasons on the disabled list including the last three seasons in a row. His primary goal this offseason will be on getting 100% healthy and coming into camp in the best shape possible so as to better help avoid the injury bug.

Weglarz will probably remain on the 40-man roster this offseason and he has options remaining, so there are no immediate roster issues with him for next year. This should allow the Indians to be patient with him for one more season to see if he can stay healthy and get that coveted big league opportunity and be the impact player everyone has felt he can be for so long.

Tony's first award for most successful season for a first year player. Cody Allen was great. BA says opposition managerd unimpressed with his stuff. [See NYPL chat]

2011 Tony Awards: Rookie of the Year

9:10 AM Tony No comments


Cody Allen (Photo: Jesse Piecuch)
Today we kick off the IPI’s year end awards with the announcement of the Rookie of the Year. In the coming days the Defensive Player of the Year, Biggest Disappointment, Biggest Breakthrough, Reliever of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and All-Tony Team will be announced.

The Rookie of the Year Award is given to the Indians minor leaguer who had the best professional stateside debut this year. If a player had logged any time in previous seasons, even just a game or one at bat they were not eligible. As a result some players who saw limited action at the end of 2010 like shortstop Tony Wolters were not eligible. The same will happen next year for shortstop Francisco Lindor.

As always, prospect standing is not considered with these awards as they are 100% awarded based on performance. Please keep that in mind as just because a guy is or is not listed does not mean anything from a “prospect” standing. These awards are simply for fun to hand out at the end of the year. Also, the Cleveland Indians in no way whatsoever had any input in these awards.

Onto the nominees...

Rookie of the Year Nominees:

Cody Allen (RHP – Mahoning Valley/Lake County/Kinston/Akron)
5-1, 1.65 ERA, 23 G, 54.2 IP, 35 H, 1 HR, 14 BB, 75 K, .182 BAA

Allen was a redraft this year by the Indians and this time he and the organization were able to come to terms. So far it is looking like a match made in heaven as he hit the ground running and blew away the competition this season. He made his pro debut at short season Single-A Mahoning Valley and in 14 appearances there was 3-1 with a 2.14 ERA (33.2 IP, 21 H, 9 BB, 42 K) before the Indians promoted him to Low-A Lake County. All he did there was go 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 7 appearances (17.0 IP, 10 H, 5 BB, 28 K). He did not pitch at any one stop long enough to figure into the league leaders, but the overall numbers speak for themselves.

Jake Lowery (C – Mahoning Valley)
.245 AVG, 43 R, 23 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 43 RBI, 54 BB, 56 K, 3 SB, .792 OPS

Lowery was another high profile player from the 2011 Draft who got to playing right away. If not for him missing a few games in late June to head out to the Midwest to receive the Johnny Bench Award as the top collegiate catcher in 2011 he would have played in every game for Mahoning Valley. He showed a nice combination of power and patience at the plate and even though the batting average was not there absolutely everything else was. He finished 5th in the NY-Penn League in runs (43), 1st in doubles (23), 7th in RBI (43), and 1st in walks (54). [Actually only caught about 1/3 of the games at MV. Lavisky did most of the work and Lowery played more 1st base than catcher.]

Josh McKeon (RHP – AZL Indians/Mahoning Valley)
1-0, 1.36 ERA, 21 G, 33.0 IP, 20 H, 0 HR, 15 BB, 37 K, .171 BAA

The Indians picked up McKeon this year shortly after the draft as an undrafted free agent out of Upper Iowa University. He went to rookie level Arizona and performed well going 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 17 games (27.0 IP, 15 H, 14 BB, 30 K) before getting a late season promotion to Mahoning Valley. In four games with the Scrappers he went 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA (6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 7 K). Overall it was a very impressive performance, which he absolutely has to continue doing going forward since there is little invested in him. He was 5th in the Arizona League in games finished (13).

Toru Murata (RHP – Kinston)
3-2, 2.36 ERA, 22 G, 49.2 IP, 37 H, 2 HR, 10 BB, 58 K, .208 BAA [Age 25]

Technically Murata is a rookie in that he has not pitched professionally as a member of an organization in the United States, but he has three years of pro experience in Japan under his belt and also pitched in the Arizona Fall League in 2009. In nine games (4 starts) to begin the season he was 0-2 with a 4.05 ERA (20.0 IP, 17 H, 6 BB, 27 K) before going down in the beginning of June with a lat injury which resulted in him missed a month and a half. When he came back he was dominating as in 13 appearances he was 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA (29.2 IP, 20 H, 4 BB, 31 K).

Bryson Myles (OF – Mahoning Valley)
.302 AVG, 36 R, 10 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 24 BB, 32 K, 20 SB, .795 OPS

Once the 2011 Draft concluded Myles was a player that a lot of people immediately highlighted and were excited to see how his power-speed combo played as a professional. He did not disappoint as while the power did not show itself (yet) he showed the ability to consistently hit the ball and be a threat on the basepaths. Even though he missed a handful of games because of a bothersome hamstring and wrist he finished 5th in the NY-Penn League in batting average (.302), 7th in on-base percentage (.394) and 8th in stolen bases (20).

Jose Ramirez (INF – AZL Indians)
.325 AVG, 30 R, 13 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 7 BB, 17 K, 12 SB, .800 OPS

The Indians actually signed Ramirez in November of 2009 but he did not play anywhere in 2010. He came stateside this year and made his pro debut with the rookie level AZL Indians and impressed with his performance. He is undersized, but he showed some versatility and an ability to make consistent contact this season out in Arizona. His .325 average was impressive, though it is an offensive oriented league as that batting average for as high as it was only placed 14th in the Arizona League.

Ronny Rodriguez (SS – Lake County)
.246 AVG, 41 R, 28 2B, 7 3B, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 13 BB, 83 K, 10 SB, .723 OPS

Rodriguez was signed last fall and was an unknown to many coming into the season, but he quickly endeared himself to the fans with his infectious smile and the way he played the game. He displayed a deep assortment of tools on a nightly basis with some power in his bat and arm as well as a lot of athleticism both in the field and at the plate. He only played 98 games this year, but still managed to finish 8th in the Midwest League in triples (7) and 15th in doubles (28).

Jordan Smith (3B – Mahoning Valley)
.300 AVG, 36 R, 20 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 47 RBI, 35 BB, 30 K, 3 SB, .794 OPS

Smith was one of the biggest surprises from the 2011 Draft as he signed a few days into the season and just hit right out of the gates. He hit close to .350 all season, but he struggled in his last 17 games of the season hitting just .197/.329/.279 to finish right at .300 on the year. He did not hit any home runs, but he finished 5th in the NY-Penn League in doubles (20) and 2nd in RBI (47). He also finished 6th in the league in hitting (.300), 3rd in on-base percentage (.403), and 10th in hits (73).

And the 2011 Tony Award goes to….Cody Allen

This was a tough decision as there was no clear cut winner and every one of the candidates was certainly deserving of the award. In the end it came down to the Mahoning Valley foursome of Lowery, Smith, Myles and Allen.

The triumvirate at the plate of Myles, Lowery and Smith were three of the main cogs in the Mahoning Valley lineup this year. All had good pro debuts, but for different reasons. Myles put up a high average and on-base percentage along with a good amount of stolen bases. Smith put up a high average and on-base percentage along with a big number of RBI. Lowery showed power and patience along with run production ability. In a way they all sort of cancelled each other out, and in the end the one player who really stood out from the rest was Allen as no other pitcher had anywhere near the debut he did.

Allen, 22, had an excellent pro debut, especially for a non-starter. He is a very confident pitcher that knows how to use his stuff. He featured a fastball this year that mostly sat around 91-93 MPH and touched 95 MPH a few times. He complemented the fastball with a good, hard breaking ball and showed a good feel for a changeup. He is aggressive and is not afraid to pitch inside to keep hitters honest.

Allen showed so much ability out of the pen this year that it is very possible he will transition to a starting role next spring and could open the season in the Low-A Lake County rotation. He started in college this past year in college at High Point and impressed going 4-6 with a 3.12 ERA in 13 starts (83.2 IP, 77 H, 29 BB, 89 K), and looks 100% recovered from Tommy John surgery the year before. He may ultimately just be a reliever, but even if he has become a priority relief pitching prospect he still needs to start in order to better develop his pitches and delivery.

It was a nice season overall for several new prospects in the Indians’ farm system…..and hopefully they continue to make progress as they move up the system.

Tony's defensive award to Kyle Bellows, who unfortunately doesn't hit nearly as well. Although his second half was much better than his .170 first half for Akron.

Defensive Player of the Year Nominees:

Kyle Bellows (3B – Akron).962 PCT, 119 G, 68 PO, 259 AST, 13 E, 340 TC, 26 DP

It is no surprise to see Bellows up for this award as even without the good performance he is considered a very good defensive third baseman. His .962 fielding percentage led all third baseman in the Eastern League, and he also led the league with the most total chances, most assists, and most double plays.

Chun Chen (C - Akron)Fielding: .993 PCT, 82 G, 651 PO, 66 AST, 5 E, 722 TC, 6 DP, 18 PBThrowing: 38 CS, 72 SB, 110 ATT, .345 PCT

Chen is not considered a very good defensive player, but purely from a numbers perspective he had a good season this year behind the plate. The 18 passed balls were not good, but he had one of the top fielding percentages in the league. More impressive was his .345 throw out percentage of base-stealers which was good for 3rd best in the Eastern League.

Juan Diaz (SS- Akron).966 PCT, 127 G, 172 PO, 391 AST, 20 E, 583 TC, 83 DP

Diaz had a very solid year and was one of the most consistent defensive middle infielders in the Eastern League this year, and finished with the most assists and double plays in the league. He also went up to Triple-A Columbus and took over the shortstop duties in the playoffs and was unfazed by the pressure of the playoffs or by the call up itself.

Cody Elliott (OF)1.000 PCT, 65 G, 123 PO, 6 AST, 0 E, 129 TC, 2 DP

Elliott is a 2011 Draft pick who brings a lot of speed and defense to the table, and he certainly displayed both of those qualities this year in his pro debut at short season Single-A Mahoning Valley. He is now one of the top defensive outfielders in the Indians’ system. He finished tied for 1st in the NY-Penn League in fielding percentage and near the top in assists.

Todd Hankins (2B).976 PCT, 59 G, 88 PO, 195 AST, 7 E, 290 TC, 42 DP

Hankins is another player the Indians picked up in the 2011 Draft that is a solid defender and shows good athleticism on the field. He came in with the label as a scrappy player and he definitely showed that this year both in the field and at the plate. He led all second baseman in the NY-Penn League in fielding percentage.

Argenis Martinez (2B).968 PCT, 92 G, 151 PO, 240 AST, 13 E, 404 TC, 55 DP

Martinez has been considered one of the Indians’ top defensive middle infielders for some time now, and he continued that success this season with another good year at second base. He split the season at Low-A Lake County and High-A Kinston, but his fielding percentage at either place would have led the league had he qualified.

Roberto Perez (C)Fielding: .991 PCT, 94 G, 767 PO, 87 AST, 8 E, 862 TC, 12 DP, 4 PBThrowing: 44 CS, 77 SB, 121 ATT, .364 PCT

Perez was last year’s winner as the IPI Defensive Player of the Year and he had another very strong season. He no doubt is the organization’s top defensive catcher. He finished 2nd in the Carolina League in fielding percentage and he also had the most total chances, putouts, and double plays in the league. His .364 throw out percentage of base-stealers was 3rd in the league.

And the Tony Award goes to….Kyle Bellows

The Indians do not have a lot of elite level defensive players, but there were certainly some impressive performances by several defenders throughout the system this year. Some of the players listed above performed as expected, while others were a pleasant surprise. There are also a handful of players who are good defenders who missed being nominated because they did not play up to par, and there are others who are young and on the rise who may be up for nomination next year.

When it comes down to it the one player who was a cut above anyone else defensively this year was Double-A Akron third baseman Kyle Bellows. His reputation precedes him as a defensive stalwart at the hot corner, and he lived up to that and then some this season in Akron. His pitchers had unbelievable confidence in him, and people inside the organization as well as around the league felt he was the best defender at third base if not the best defender in the entire league.

Bellows displays a quick, strong arm at third base with a unique slinging action when he throws the ball. He not only consistently makes the routine play, but has a knack for making the exceptional play as well with a highlight reel defensive play seemingly every night. He takes a lot of pride in his defense, and probably the best play he makes is how he comes in on a slow rolling grounder and can pick it up with his bare hand and make a strong snap throw to first base.

While Bellows played very good defense at third base all year, he struggled for most of the season at the plate. In 123 games for Akron he hit .229 with 3 HR, 43 RBI, and .605 OPS, numbers which he is going to have to improve upon drastically if he wants to make it to the big leagues.

Bellows problems at the plate stemmed from an abysmal start to his season where in the first 58 games he hit just .168 with a .505 OPS. His defense was never affected even with the poor performance offensively, and after some work with his coaches and a minor adjustment to get him more upright and shorten his swing he hit .281 with a .691 OPS his remaining 65 games.

The offense for Bellows will hopefully come, but he no doubt he is a Major League caliber defender. Hopefully the same can be said for several other players at this time next year when the award is handed out