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Re: Minor Matters

5146 by civ ollilavad
Some other Winter ball lines:

CLE DL Gonzalez, Erik SS 4 0 1 1 .286
CLE DL Martinez, Michael 2B 4 0 0 0 .000
CLE DL Ramirez, Jose 2B 4 0 0 0 .083
CLE MPL Moncrief, Carlos RF 5 1 2 0 .143
CLE VL Aguilar, Jesus 1B 3 0 1 0 .250 BB (1)
CLE VL Monsalve, Alex C 5 0 3 2 .302 2B (3)

Re: Minor Matters

5152 by civ ollilavad
Back to regular games in the Arizona League.

Todd Hankins hitless in six total appearances, but draws a couple walks. Yandy Diaz hitless in 5 trips. Frazier off.

Typical atrocious work by Grant Sides: 1-1-3-3-2-1 home run. Don't think he'll make the 40 man roster. In fact outright release might be more reasonable move.

Re: Minor Matters

5154 by civ ollilavad
Here's the start of the official discussion on Rule 5 and roster additions. And as usual there are really only a couple guys who we need to protect and others whose names are out there mostly to have something to talk about.
[Biggest mistake on this score in recent years was the foolish decision to let Hector Rondon leave. He'd always been seen as a hard-throwing prospect. If anyone other than Naquin or Clevinger turns into a star, that will be quite a surprise.]



CLEVELAND -- Tyler Naquin's steady and successful ascent in the Indians' Minor League system has put him on the cusp of reaching the big leagues. Given Cleveland's need at the moment for outfielders, the prospect could very well be in the Majors this season.

The next step in Naquin's journey to Cleveland is expected to arrive on Friday, when teams face the deadline for protecting exposed players from the annual Rule 5 Draft. The outfielder (ranked as the Tribe's fifth-best prospect by MLB.com) is eligible for selection, making him a virtual lock to be among the players the Indians add to their 40-man roster.

Naquin enjoyed a strong showing between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus last season.

"He certainly put up some big numbers," said Carter Hawkins, the Indians' director of player development. "He was really kind of coming into his own. It's just been a shame that he hasn't been able to get the consistency that we would've hoped because of injuries. But overall, we're really encouraged by what he was able to do."

Naquin, 24, was hit on the right hand by a pitch on June 27, 2014, while at Double-A, sustaining a right hand fracture that required surgery and ended his season. The outfielder did not get his '15 campaign going until April 24, but he thrived at Double-A, earning a promotion to Columbus in June. On July 29, Naquin crashed into a wall on a catch attempt, sustaining a concussion that warranted a trip to the disabled list and kept him off the field until Aug. 16.

Between the health woes, Naquin turned in a .300/.381/.446 slash line to go along with seven homers, 25 doubles, 27 RBIs, 50 runs and 13 stolen bases in 84 games combined with Akron and Columbus last season. Hawkins said Naquin continued to play solid defense as well, and he continued to display the kind of arm that could play in center or right field.

"There were definitely a lot of positives," Hawkins said. "He absolutely is the type of player that could be impacting us in the big leagues pretty soon."

That is why it makes sense for the Indians to use a 40-man roster spot on Naquin, who was the team's first-round selection in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

The Rule 5 Draft allows teams to select unprotected players from other organizations, but the drafted players must remain on the selecting team's Major League roster for a full season. Drafting a player comes with a $50,000 fee, and the team must offer the player back to his old team for half the cost if the player is removed from the active roster at any point during the season.

Eligible players include those who signed before turning 19 years old and have been in an organization for five years, or older signees who have been in an organization for four years. This year's Rule 5 Draft will take place on Dec. 10 in Nashville, Tenn., during MLB's annual Winter Meetings.

Cleveland currently has four open spots on its 40-man roster and a handful of intriguing candidates. Six of MLB.com's Top 30 Indians prospects -- Naquin (No. 5), outfielder James Ramsey (No. 12), righty Mike Clevinger (No. 15), lefty Shawn Morimando (No. 16), lefty Luis Lugo (No. 18) and outfielder Luigi Rodriguez (No. 22) -- are currently exposed for Rule 5 selection.

Standouts among Cleveland's 48 Rule 5-eligible players include: Clevinger (2.73 ERA, 145 strikeouts in 158 innings at Double-A in '15); righty Jeff Johnson (1.05 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 27 saves in 51 1/3 innings at Double-A); righty Josh Martin (2.27 ERA, 80 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings at Double-A); Morimando (3.18 ERA, 128 strikeouts in 158 2/3 innings at Double-A); righty Enosil Tejeda (1.25 ERA in 43 1/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A); infielder Ronny Rodriguez (.806 OPS at Double-A); and Ramsey (.709 OPS at Triple-A), among others.

"It's a very tough decision," Hawkins said. "Not only are we looking at how we value the players internally, but we're also trying to predict how other teams value the players externally. And then there's also just the mechanics of the selections where these players have to be on our Major League roster for essentially the entire season.

"That adds that extra variable into the decision and makes it a lot harder as well. It's not necessarily always who we like the most. Sometimes, it's who we think who would get picked the most. Obviously, there's a correlation there, but it's not an easy decision for us to make by any means."

Re: Minor Matters

5155 by civ ollilavad
I vote for Ronny Rod along with Naquin and Clevinger. Ramsay was really pretty terrible last season but I imagine he'll be protected too. Morimando puts up consistently solid numbers as he moves up the system one step at a time, with one glaring exception: he routinely walks more than 1 every 2 innings. And being a sub-6 foot lefty, he's one of those "little lefties" who tend to flame out at higher levels. The others listed are fairly hard-throwing relievers; Martin was praised by team execs during the season so might get a spot.

Re: Minor Matters

5156 by civ ollilavad
Luigi Rodriguez had a significant bounce-back season in 2015 and looked very protectable, until his 50 day drug suspension, which will continue on to the beginning of 2016. Does have a lot of offensive tools, although like his namesake Ronny he doesn't walk enough. His OPS of 827 last year and 22 doubles, 8 triples and 12 homers in 92 games for Lynchburg were quite impressive. Add in 24 steals, and maybe I change my mind and take him over Ronny. Or Ramsay.

Re: Minor Matters

5157 by seagull
Looks like the Tribe is ready to carry on the Shapiro/Antonetti tradition of overvaluing their prospects. Oh! we must protect our stiffs from the evil Rule 5 draft. We know the rest of MLB is drooling to scoop up our unprotected prospects.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Re: Minor Matters

5158 by civ ollilavad
well we have to put 40 names on the roster so even if the candidates all stink they have to choose four more to fill in, or leave room for one or two free agent signings. It's not all that exciting a moment in the baseball season except for the few of us who are obsessed with minor league player development

Re: Minor Matters

5160 by civ ollilavad
Not quite sure if their drafting deserves the standard putdown considering the recent 1st round picks of Lindor, Frazier and Zimmer and all those high school pitchers last summer. And I'm not sure if a Rule 5 pick has ever stuck with Cleveland, but keeping one spot open is not a bad idea.
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