Yeah, thanks for the tip Seagull. We’re new to this. Can you also explain to me why they call a few of the white spots on the field bases, one a plate, and one a rubber? .... Ah never mind, far too confusing and don’t want to frustrate you.



We are talking about high draft picks and priority big money international signings that have not disappointed so far. I know it’s brief, but Civ is right. In the brief time this draft class and signings look promising. Might end up being one of our best in a while.

What we do know is that lots of them are having very solid first seasons. We have a long list of Arizona League or Scrapper stars who didn't go much farther. But the pool is wide enough that we should wind up with a better than standard eventual yield.

Draft prospect reports suggested Naylor would be better shifted to 3rd base than stay behind the plate. Maybe that won't be the plan now that he's our top catcher prospect. Logan Ice is considered a very solid defender who doesn't hit. Perez keeps his job as the No. 2 for the foreseeable future.

Guess I sort of forgot about Eric Haase who's hitting is back to 2017 levels.

Indians Prospective @indiansPro

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RailRiders 7 Clippers 3

Bieber 3(IP) 3H 2R 2ER 1BB 5SO
Miller 1(IP) 1H 1R 1ER 0BB 1SO (rehab)
Haase 2-4 R 2B HR 2RBI (speak of the devil)
Chang 1-4 R 3B RBI

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RubberDucks 12 Flying Squirrels 11

Marabell 3-4 4R 2(2B) HR RBI BB
Castro 2-3 2R HR 3RBI BB SB
Bradley 1-5 R HR RBI
Ice 2-3 2R 2B 3B 2RBI BB

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Blue Rocks 3 Hillcats 1 (Game 1)

Morgan 5(IP) 7H 3R 3ER 1BB 4SO
Orlan 1.2(IP) 1H 0R 0ER 0BB 4SO
Carter 0-1 R 2BB
Chu 1-3

Hillcats 10 Blue Rocks 0 (Game 2)

Krauth 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Karinchak 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Clement 2-4, SB, 2 R
Brooks 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Collins 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI

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Captains 5 LumberKings 1

McCarty 5.2(IP) 5H 1R 1ER 4BB 5SO
Jones 1-3 R HR 2RBI BB
Eladio 2-4 R 2B 3RBI
Vicente 3-4 R 2B

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Doubledays 7 Scrappers 5

Palacios 3-5 R 2B 2RBI
Scolamiero 2-4 2B 3RBI
Reeves 1-4 2R
Fermin 1-4 R

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DSL Indians 9 Dodgers 5 (7 Innings)

Heredia 2.2(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 4SO
Noel 1-3 2R HR 2RBI BB
Peralta 2-4 2R 2B RBI SB
Tena 3-4 R RBI

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DSL Indians/Brewers 14 Pirates 13

Made 2-5 3R 2RBI BB
De La Cruz 3-5 2R RBI BB
Paulino 1-3 3R 2BB SB
Planchart 1-2 R 3B RBI BB
Contreras 1-5 4RBI

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Congrats to #Indians 2018 3rd Round Draft Pick INF Richard Palacios on his promotion to Lake County! Palacios is currently on a 17 game hitting streak while with his current team Mahoning Valley. Career:
25(G) 37-89 16R 6(2B) 1(3B) 4HR 23RBI 17BB 4SB .416 AVG .500 OBP

Lake County Captains LHP Kirk McCarty over his last four starts:
- 24(IP) 16H 5R 5ER 5BB 28SO 1.88 ERA

Columbus Clippers transactions
(C) Daniel Salters promoted from Akron OF
Greg Allen optioned from Cleveland LHP
Marc Rzepczynski elected free agency

Ben Wilson @TBDubbs11
Alex Royalty, RHP, #Indians 8th Round Pick in the ‘18 Draft, gets a strikeout for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in Auburn, NY. In 9IP in the #NYPennLeague, Royalty has allowed 1ER and 9K:1BB. Royalty was the ‘17 #CAASports Pitcher of the Year for @UNCBaseball https://twitter.com/i/status/1019986532172787713

Good to see Palacios promoted; he leaves Mahoning Valley with a 417 average tops in the league; 477 OnBaseAvg tops in the league; 1066 OPS tops in the league. After Delgado went hitless he slipped below 400 in the battle of the two rookie infielders. But Raynal could promoted to MHV to replace Richie?

I think one of Castro and Chang is going in our next trade. Willi probably has more value which of course also means we'd rather keep him, but more likely to lose him.

Karnichak wih his 3 K inning has struck out 40 in 24 1/3 innings. Started the season in LakeCounty with 20K in 11 1/3. His walks are too high, 22 total in the 36 innings, but I wouldn't hesitate to give him a second promotion.

Morgan is a bit of a slump, last 2 starts 8-13-7-7-2-10.
McCarty drafted a round behind him last season is meanwhile on an upswing. He could deserve a promotion to Lynchburg for the final stretch.
Those two along with Karinchak and Ernie Clement [341/422/400with Lynchburg] were college picks all of whom are looking pretty solid.

Of the high school kids drafted last year Tyler Freeman is hitting well over 300 at MHV, Jo.Rodriguez is hitting singles some doubles and walking a lot in Arizona; only one of the top 10 who's getting nowhere is Quentin Holmes who has not played a bit although we haven't heard that he's hurt [have we?]

On the mound Friday:

Two of the best: McKenzie in Akron and Oviedo in Mahoning Valley
Two who blow hot and cold: Plesac for Lynchburg and Hillman for Lake County
and one old guy who fills out a roster: Wilk for Columbus
and two teams getting a rest in Arizona

Oh shoot. That reminds me. I meant to update my post with AZL breakdowns and totally forgot.

AZL action from last night.

AZL D-Backs 9 Indians (1) 8

Schneemann 1-2 2R HR RBI 2BB
Jerez 1-4 R HR RBI
Rodriguez 1-1 2R 3B BB
Lavastida 0-3 R 2RBI 2BB

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AZL Rangers 11 Indians (2) 7

Jimenez 1-4 R HR 2RBI
Turner 2-4 2B 2RBI SB
Diaz 3-4 2R
Torres 1-4 R RBI SB

Rocchio was 1-4 with walk and run

Delgado 0-4 with walk

Naylor 0-2 with walk

De Oleo 1-4 with R and RBI

Turner, who has been hot, 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI

JohRodriguez 1-1, BB, 3B, R

Yannuzzi got lit up. ... 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Yefferson had a few great starts and now has leveled off. Still hoping that he can progress love the name.

BA notes for Thursday:

CLE AAA Chang, Yu 2B 4 1 1 1 .253 3B (2)
CLE AAA Haase, Eric C 4 1 2 2 .246 2B (17), HR (13) [now our No. 3 catcher]
CLE AA Bradley, Bobby 1B 5 1 1 1 .216 HR (20)
CLE AA Castro, Willi SS 3 2 2 3 .251 HR (5), BB (27), SB (13)
CLE AA Ice, Logan C 3 2 2 2 .269 2B (3), 3B (1), BB (2) [269? hadn't noticed. Maybe he's now our No. 3 catcher. Defense is his strength]
CLE AA Krieger, Tyler CF 5 0 1 1 .252 SB (14)
CLE AA Mathias, Mark DH 3 2 1 1 .235 BB (44), 2 SB (11)
CLE HiA Capel, Conner CF 3 1 1 1 .251
CLE HiA Clement, Ernie SS 4 2 2 0 .340 SB (3)
CLE HiA Collins, Gavin C 4 1 1 2 .240 HR (3)
CLE LoA Benson, Will RF 3 2 0 0 .171 BB (59), SB (6) [He hasn't yet crashed below 170 but that barrier could fall soon]
CLE LoA Gonzalez, Oscar DH 5 0 1 0 .281
CLE LoA Jones, Nolan 3B 3 1 1 2 .281 HR (13), BB (51) He's for real. I guess he's now our top position player prospect.
CLE SS Freeman, Tyler SS 5 1 1 0 .361
CLE AAA Bieber, Shane 3.0 3 2 2 1 5 1.66 [a start in Columbus Thursday means he'll be ready to return to CLE just in time for his start Tuesday]
CLE HiA Morgan, Eli 5.0 7 3 3 1 4 2.69 L (6-3)

This doesn't quite explain "where is he now" but it's something about the forgotten man:

Wild Thing (Cleveland): Is there any hope for Brady Aiken?
Kyle Glaser: The history of guys who have more walks than strikeouts in low A and then don't pitch at all the next season reaching the majors is not a good one.

Clippers lost to RailRiders 5-1

Allen 0-4 with 3 K. ... He's fallen off the rails since his promotion last year.
Haase 0-4 with 3 K too. He's allowed an off day.
Chang 0-2, BB, R

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Tom hits a solo shot in bottom of 9th to win the game for Akron, 5-4, over those dreaded Flting Squirrels.

McKenzie 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Calica 1-3, BB, R, SB
Marabell 1-4, 3 run homer
Castro 0-4, 2 K
Ice 2-3, 2B, RBI

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Lynchburg loses in 10 innings, 12-11 to Blue Rocks

Plesac 5.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. (3 errors killed him)
Siri blew the save, his 3rd, allowing 2 ER in 9th.
Clement 1-6 R
Chu 4-4, 2B, BB, 2 R
Carter 1-2, 3 BB, 2 R, RBI, OF assist
Persinger 1-4, R, 5 RBI

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Lake County was taken to wood shed by Lumber Kings, 5-0. (OK, it wasn't that bad, but I've been wanting to use that joke)

Hillman 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. ... Definitely seeing improvement.
Nelson 1 perfect inning, 1 K. 0.54 ERA.
Gabe Mejia, the only Mejia left standing, 1-3 and batting .321 now.
Palacios 0-4 in his Low-A debut.
OscarG 0-3.
Jones 0-3
Benson 0-3

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The Scrappers lived up to their name, scoring twice in 9th to win 5-4 over the MuckDogs.

Oviedo 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Alvarez 2 perfect innings, 4 K. 0.68 ERA
Freeman 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Nelson 2-4, solo homer.

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AZL teams were off, as I think Civ mentioned.

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DSL Indians beat DSL Cubs 3-1.

Tena 0-4
Noel 1-4

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DSLBoSox2 beat the DSL Indians/Brewers 1-0

We only managed 3 GD hits (in my Harry Doyle voice) so don't look for any highlights. Even the pitcher that kicked ass belonged to Brewers.

My second article from IBI this year. Even though Civ hates them I am posting this one any way, cause it is a glowing article about my hitting pick to click this year, and local boy, Mitch Longo.

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While the Hillcats have had an up-and-down season in 2018, one of the few constant, steadying forces on the roster has been outfielder Mitch Longo atop their batting order. His consistency continues to be impressive on multiple levels as his name should soon be more on the forefront of the Indians' prospect scene thanks to his production at the plate throughout his career.

Player of the Week

Mitch Longo, OF

Last Week: 5 G, 17 AB, 3 R, 8 H, 4 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 SB, 2 CS, .471 BA

Season to Date: 83 G, 325 AB, 54 R, 99 H, 6 HR, 23 2B, 4 3B, 34 RBI, 22 BB, 56 K, 14 SB, 5 CS, .305 BA

As someone who was drafted in the 14th round, one would expect it would take a lot of time and a lot of effort to put yourself into the prospect spotlight. However, if you prove you can play the pro game at a high and impressive level, then it doesn't matter where you came from or where you were drafted. For Hillcats outfielder Mitch Longo, his name should be among the top hitters in the Indians' farm system, if it isn't already, due to his impeccable consistency at the plate.

Since coming out of the Ohio University in 2016, the local product from the East Cleveland suburbs has done one thing in each of the three years he has played thus far, and that is hit the ball and hit it a lot. In 2016 with Mahoning Valley, Longo posted a .307/.349/.409 slash line in 38 games. Last season, despite injuries shortening his season, he still slashed .376/.448/.541 in 60 games between Lake County and Lynchburg. So far this season with the Hillcats, which thanks to his health, has been his first full season with a career-high 83 games under his belt thus far. And the consistency at the plate has continued with a .305/.350/.452 slash line.

Not surprisingly, Longo has spent the vast majority of his time batting leadoff for Lynchburg with 55 games at the top of the order, where he has hit .302 with a .777 OPS. And believe it or not, things have actually picked up for him in the second half as he has batted .344 with a .922 OPS in 23 games since the All-Star break versus .289 and .757, respectively, in the first half. As long as he can stay healthy, maintaining this production over the duration of the season will be a big step towards legitimizing his prospect standing.

Indians Prospective @indiansPro
#Indians RHP relief prospect Cameron Hill recently underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the 2018 season. Hill at Columbus this year wasn't himself sporting a 6.59 ERA over 13.2(IP) compared to a 2.21 career ERA over 252.2(IP) over his first 4 seasons