Super day by Danny Espino
6 2/3 innings 2 hits 0 walks 0 runs 10 strikeouts

Also
Gabriel Arias 3doubles (28 total)
Rocchio single double steal
Valera 2 rbi

Recently Xzavion Curry debuted at Akron for his second promotion of the season

For two days in a row, Akron faced elimination in the Double-A Northeast.

The RubberDucks were four games deep into a six-game series with Somerset, and the Patriots had taken three of the first four contests. The Minor League newcomer needed one win to knock the Indians' affiliate out of contention.

On Saturday, Akron fell behind early before a four-run inning fueled a comeback effort. On Sunday, it was déjà vu all over again for the RubberDucks, who scored five unanswered runs after being no-hit through six innings. With a four-run eighth, Akron defeated Somerset, 5-4.

A leadoff triple by Bryan Lavastida and a wild pitch plated Akron’s first run of the game in the seventh. In the next inning, after Will Brennan drew a one-out walk and Brayan Rocchio singled, Jose Fermin flipped the script. He crushed a game-tying three-run dinger on the first pitch he saw to even the score at 4-4. It was his sixth home run of the season and his 75th hit, second-best on the team.

Lavastida drew a walk in the next at-bat, and a wild pitch sent him to second. Cleveland’s No. 2 prospect George Valera laced a single to left, and Lavastida scored to give Akron the lead. Logan Allen, who posted a 2.85 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP this year, closed the door in the ninth.

The RubberDucks will face the Bowie Baysox, who clinched their spot less than an hour before the conclusion of the Akron game.

Lavastida, Cleveland’s 13th-ranked prospect, amassed an impressive .291/.373/.466 slash line in 29 Double-A games, driving in 17 runs and working 12 walks. Valera played 23 games with the club, hitting .267 and recording 22 RBIs. Lefty Juan Hillman was efficient before being promoted to Triple-A, posting a team-best 10 wins with a 3.77 ERA in 107 1/3 innings, a mark that also led the club, while Dakody Clemmer appeared in 35 games and tallied a 3.40 ERA with 62 punchouts and a .181 average against in 50 1/3 frames.

in other news, Burgos 2 more hits; most successful International first year player.

Tena 3 hits and Naranjo 4 hits for Lake County. another mediocre starts by Mason HIckman.

in Columbus Arias single double and triple 283 796 OPS
Morris 3 2/3 innings 3 runs 7 strikeouts

From MLB pipeline top performers

Indians: Gabriel Arias, SS (MLB No. 83), Triple-A Columbus
Arias continued his multihit tear, tallying three hits for the third consecutive game while scoring three times and driving in one. The 21-year-old delivered an RBI double and a triple, giving him seven extra-base hits in his last five games, including six two-baggers. Arias, who bypassed High-A and Double-A, is batting .283/.347/.449 with 43 extra-base hits and 52 RBIs in 108 games with the Clippers.

https://www.mlb.com/news/top-prospect-p ... e-coverage

Cleveland Indians: It’s time for the Gabriel Arias test run in Cleveland
by Kyle Edmond15 hours ago Follow @kyleedmond7

Cleveland Indians, Gabriel Arias

One of the more consistent bright spots for the Cleveland Indians this season has been the play of Amed Rosario. The 25-year old shortstop has found his groove at the plate as well as in the field and has made the Francisco Lindor trade look like the Cleveland Indians may have fleeced the New York Mets rather than the initial reaction that had it the other way around. Unfortunately, that hot streak has hit a snag.


Rosario is going to miss the next week or so which will leave a hole at short for the Tribe. There’s of course internal options that are already in the majors. Andres Gimenez, Yu Chang and Owen Miller can hold down the fort. But what if the team wanted to experiment?

With the season winding down, moves won’t change service time at this point. So, why not give Gabriel Arias his major league debut and see what he can do over a handful of games? Worst case he struggles and is given a handful of things to address over the offseason rather than during next season. Best case, he goes off and Cleveland has another middle infielder that looks ready to take on a bigger role in 2022. There really isn’t a downside.

Entering the season, Cleveland’s front office hadn’t watched Arias since he was with the San Diego Padres in 2019. Acquired as part of the Mike Clevinger deal, Arias came to Cleveland during a time that the minor leagues weren’t playing. That means that Arias’ first impression as part of Cleveland’s organization came during Spring Training.


The 21-year old middle infielder was impressive enough to leapfrog over Double-A and start the season in Triple-A, a move that the front office should be praised for given the results. The pause for Arias has been there. Despite the strong results in Columbus, he’s still in Triple-A. Now might be the time to call him up.

With Rosario out for a bit the door is open for Arias to get a trial run as a major league shortstop. There isn’t any pressure to immediately produce and he can get some of the growing pains out of the way now.

Over 108 games with the Columbus Clippers, Arias has been able to slash .283/.347/.449 while knocking 29 doubles, three triples and 11 home runs. He’s also been able to tally 52 RBI and five stolen bases on top of drawing 37 walks.

It was also a slow start for Arias. If you remove the month of May from his stats they become even more impressive. From June 1 on, Arias has slashed .299/.352/.482. In the month of September alone, albeit only 14 games, he is slashing .321/.367/.571. That type of production sustained, and improving, over such a long period of time should be enough to warrant a call-up.

The nice part about Arias is that he’s also already on the 40-man roster so an additional move wouldn’t be needed to get him to the majors. It would just be a simple call-up. That paired with his success in Triple-A begs the question of why not? If he’s showing signs of being ready and there’s an opportunity to put that to the test, why not give it a try?

Since Rosario should only miss a week this would be a true test run. There’s fewer than a dozen games left in the season and Cleveland is out of the playoff picture, so there really isn’t anything to lose with a move like this one. Arias has played well enough to deserve the opportunity and if there’s a need for him in Cleveland to fill a spot, it seems like the logical decision to make.

For our friend civ when he gets back:

Indians: 6 prospects that completely impressed during the 2021 season
by Chad Porto1 hour ago Follow @ChadNerdCorp

These six minor league prospects are bound to help the Indians soon.
The Cleveland Indians just tipped their caps at their last homestand as the Indians. By the end of November, the name change to the Guardians should be official and plans for the 2022 season will be well underway. It’s not just the name change that could be different in 2022, but many players on the main roster may be traded, demoted, or not re-signed.

That means opportunities will arise for those in the minors. The Tribe didn’t have a lot to look forward to with minor league call-ups this year. Some players did well, others struggled but none of them were really seen as a game-changer. Not like Nolan Jones was supposed to be. Jones never got the call-up during the 2021 season, mostly because he was horrid in Triple-A.

There will be opportunities for him to return to form in 2022 but will he do enough to warrant a spot on the Major League roster is anyone’s guess. Especially after watching numerous guys through all the levels of the Indians farm system step up as minor league prospects.

Some may be a year or two away from being on the roster, while others could play their way into the rotation or lineup be the summer. It’s really anyone’s guess. The players on this list are, mostly, a known commodity. They’ve been putting up similar numbers for their entire pro career, for the most part.

They’re all among or will be among, the best the minor league systems have to offer. So let’s see what the future of the Cleveland Guardians looks like.

6. C/3B Bryan Lavastida
Ranked No. 21 in Prospect1500’s list of the Indians’ top minor league players.

Bryan Lavastida, the 22-year-old catcher, is not ranked over Bo Naylor for catchers on most of the top prospect lists. It’s curious, as far as minor league prospects go, Lavastida has had much better numbers. He had strong splits all season, splitting time between Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A ball clubs. Sure, he struggled some in Columbus for the Triple-A Clippers, but he only played in seven games for them.

Across all three teams, Lavastida had impressive splits, .289/.380/.456 while racking up a .836 OPS. In 287 at-bats, he had 83 hits, 19 doubles, nine home runs, 51 RBI, 40 walks, and 68 strikeouts in 84 combined games.

The one area that seems to be in Naylor’s favor is defensive. Lavastida isn’t a bad defensive catcher by any means but Naylor does have fewer errors in more innings at the position, and unlike Lavastida, Naylor played all year as a member of the Akron RubberDucks, the Indians Double-A farm team.

If Lavastida can get on the same level as Naylor or even closer to his level of defensive output, he may be able to surpass Naylor as the team’s best minor league prospect. Even if he can’t, however, his steady hitting will surely get him to the Majors at some point and at some position.

5. OF Oscar Gonzalez
Ranked No. 49 in Prospect1500’s list of the Indians’ top minor league players.

You should be paying attention to Oscar Gonzales. The 23-year-old outfielder split time between Double and Triple-A, hitting relatively the same across both levels, but with a bit more success in Akron.

During his season split across both teams, Gonzales compiled splits of .291/.327/.531 and an OPS of.859 OPS. In 486 at-bats, he had 134 hits, 22 doubles, 29 home runs, 78 RBI’s, 21 walks, and 105 strikeouts. With the Indians having a few key players who like striking out too much, it might be time to start helping these guys cut down on them.

Gonzales is one of those guys who could benefit from some increased attention to his plate vision. Chasing after balls may be fine with some advanced analytic types, but in reality, it just shows a lack of discipline and an over-eagerness.

Gonzales is a guy who if properly coached could be a 40 home run guy every year. Heck, in just 117 games he hit 78 RBIs. If he kept that pace over 162 games then Gonzales would’ve had 108 RBIs and just about 40 home runs. The Indians could’ve used that. Plus considering the outfield situation, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone of his skillset out there patrolling one of the corner spots.

After all, it seems unlikely that the Indians return all of their outfielders from 2021.

4. SS/2B Tyler Freeman
Ranked No. 3 in Prospect1500’s list of the Indians’ top minor league players.

Tyler Freeman has proven to everyone why he’s ranked as high as he is in various evaluations of minor league prospects. He’s a strong, frequent hitter. He’s clever at the plate and doesn’t bite too often at bad pitches. His biggest issue is staying on the field. For one reason or another, he’s only played 100+ games in a season just once.

Finding out if he can sustain himself over the course of a full season is imperative to the success of callups. It’s fine if you can play very well for a few games but what about an entire season?

Freeman is a career .319 hitter and that number only went up in 2021. He posted some impressive splits, 323/.372./.470, and an exciting OPS of .842, especially for a guy who isn’t known for his power-hitting. In 2021, he had 164 at-bats, 53 hits, 14 doubles, two home runs, 19 RBI, eight walks, 21 strikeouts. Granted across just 41 games but that’s a great stat line.

Defensively he’s very good but may never be an elite defensive guy. It’s possible he can, but it may come at second base and not at shortstop. The good news here is that Freeman can arguably play anywhere on the field, in or out.

That kind of versatility makes him someone the team should truly look at during spring training.

3. CF Steven Kwan
Officially Unranked in Prospect1500’s list of the Indians’ top minor league players

Steven Kwan has been getting the shaft for some time now. A career .300 hitter, and a good defender, Kwan keeps getting overlooked for more trendy stars. Yet, all he does is hit and catch. He’s a calm presence at the plate and a steady glove in the grass, yet he is stuck looking at others higher than him.

After 2021, that changes. He should finally be seen as one of the best minor league prospects the Indians have. After all, it’s not about raw talent but consistency. Who cares if he’s not smashing 40 home runs a season (20 is very possible), because he’s routinely hitting .300.

Those are the kind of hitters you can build a winner with. His splits for 2021 are among the best in the organization, minors or majors, .325/.403/.525 with an OPS of .928. He finished the year with 280 at-bats, 91 hits, 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 42 RBIs, 33 walks, and just 31 strikeouts.

He’s someone who made waves in Double-A and Triple-A and should be in contention for a spot in the Majors in 2022, especially with the state of the outfield. Right now, no one but Myles Straw is really safe. We have no idea how Josh Naylor will heal and Bradley Zimmer hasn’t exactly shown himself to be the most reliable guy at the plate.

Kwan, who’s only 23-years-old, could be a major league candidate in 2022.

2. 1B/3B
Ranked No. 21 in Prospect1500’s list of the Indians’ top minor league players.

Jhonkensy Noel is someone that fans are going to want to get to know. He hasn’t hit Double-A yet, but the 19-year-old Noel is one of the more intriguing corner players the team has. Not just offensively but defensively as well.

He had 19 in his first year as a pro, seven in his second, and in 2021 he had just five errors all season long. His splits for his entire 2021 season are fantastic, .340/.390./615 OPS with a killer OPS, 1.005, to boot.

The craziest stat, however, isn’t his 90 hits, 19 home runs, 66 RBIs, 17 walks in 265 at-bats, nor is it his impressively low number of strikeouts of just 62. No, his best stat came in Lynchburg, where the corner infielder hit a shocking .393 across 38 games.

We knew he had power, and we know he can field, but to be that consistent for that long isn’t easy at all. He has a huge upside, which is why he’s No. 21 in the organization among all minor league prospects according to Prospect 1,500.

With how well he’s been doing so far in the minor leagues, expect him to be a difference-maker at some point in time over the next three years or so. Noel may be one of the most quietly complete prospects the team has.

1. SP Logan Allen
Ranked No. 42 in Prospect1500’s list of the Indians’ top minor league players.

The Indians have two Logan Allen’s on their roster. There’s the Logan Allen you’ve seen in the Majors before, the one who may make a decent fourth or fifth starter in time, and then there’s this Logan Allen. The one from the minors who had one of the most impressive rookie seasons in the history of rookie seasons.

Allen was drafted in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft and has instantly gone to work, debuting for the Single-A affiliate, the Lake County Captains. Allen wasn’t in Lake County for long, quickly getting called up and doing work for the Double-A Rubber Ducks, who won the Northeast League championship, in part due to Allen’s dominance.

Let’s stress that word because that’s what he was across Single and Double-A. For 2021, he pitched in 21 games, starting 19, putting up a record of 9-0, with an ERA of 2.26, across 111.1 IP. All together he only gave up 77 hits, 33 runs, 28 ER, 12 HR, all while striking out 143 batters across the season.

That’s not at the same rate of strikeouts Shane Bieber was clipping at in 2020, but it’s not far off either. He’s only 22-years-old and is only going to get better over the next season or two, so an early call-up is certainly possible.

He’ll probably start 2022 in the minors, probably with Akron, but to think he’d be ready for a 2023 call-up isn’t out of line.

Indians released LHP Brady Aiken.

Aiken, now 25, hasn't thrown a pitch in professional ball since 2019. Selected No. 1 overall by the Astros in 2014, Aiken failed to sign and ended up needing Tommy John surgery before being drafted No. 17 overall by the Indians in 2015. He's yet to pitch above A-ball.

I'm back and thanks for the list. I note that Lavastida is listed in the Guardians' Instructional League roster as in infielder and he's listed at C or 3B above; 1st make sense, too. And on the IL roster Noel is listed in the OF.

two more for the list of somewhat or more than somewhat surprising impressives in 2021: Richie Palacios and the X man, Xzavion Curry; I saw a BA list of best minor league pitching stats for the season and Xz was up there among leaders with Logan Jr.

Someone as amateurish as we are but he wastes more time than we do on the baseball team posts on his off season roster thoughts. I've been doing the same and came up with some different suggestions
Here is his article first:
The following post is my attempt to sort out a possible Cleveland Guardians 2022 roster based on what I think the team will most likely do, with a little bit of what I HOPE they will do mixed in.


Rule 5 Adds:

George Valera OF - Obvious add. Do we finally have a star outfielder in our minor league system? Bat-flips, at least, are A-grade.

Brayan Rocchio SS - I believe he is the best prospect in our system and that he will be our starting shortstop in Cleveland in 2023.

Tyler Freeman 2B – Amed may just be keeping second-base warm for Tyler for later in the year as Freeman recovers from shoulder surgery.

Bryan Lavastida C - Nice to see him force his way on to the 40-man. Lavastida may be a starting or backup catcher in Cleveland in 2022.

Joey Cantillo, LHP - Interesting to see so many LHP coming for Cleveland.

Konnor Pilkington, LHP – Also, see above.

Four names concern me here in terms of leaving them unprotected in the Rule 5 –Adam Scott, Richard Palacios, Jhonkensy Noel, and Jose Tena. I like Scott and his potential, but as a 25 year old at Triple-A, it’s likely not the end of the world if he is selected, as much as I’d like to keep him. Palacios is kind of a 2B/OF tweener and hasn’t hit enough to really be at risk in Rule 5, I think… but it’s still a possibility. Noel has insane numbers, and has shown the ability to play third, so I know many are worried that he will be selected. I think the amount of teams that have roster crunches make it unlikely that a guy whose most likely outcome is as a first baseman will be selected as a 20 year old who hasn’t played outside of High-A, but I am certainly not opposed to the Guardians rostering him. Perhaps trades will create a spot for him. Tena is a shortstop, so that’s a premium position that makes it more likely he’ll be picked in the Rule 5. But, he’s only 20 and JUST made it up to Double-A for Akron’s championship series… the team can likely protect him and then trade either him or another middle-infield prospect as needed.

On that note, please remember that since many free-agent or trade additions may be made after the Rule-5 draft, it’s possible the Guardians could protect players like Scott, Palacios, Noel, and Tena and then deal players in order to fit new players on the roster. So, if you read this and you’re outraged I didn’t protect one or more of the four - no worries! There is probably space to do it, if the team wants to, as long as they then make a trade to create roster space later on.

Trade/DFA/Release

Bradley Zimmer – Trade or DFA – When he hits one, he hits it far. He can run and play defense. Ultimately, I don’t think that will be enough, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes it.

Harold Ramirez - Trade or DFA – Harold looked like a lock earlier in the year, but has fallen apart since July. He had a couple good games and then got hurt.

Daniel Johnson – Trade or DFA – If Johnson didn’t look so below-average in the field, I’d give him the nod over Zimmer. As it is, I think he’s the kind of guy who may get traded this November in a small deal. He also has a minor-league option left, so, it’s possible the team risks Kwan getting taken in the Rule-5 and keeps Johnson (they also could keep Johnson, anyway, because they can add free-agents or trade additions later on).

Oscar Mercado – Trade or DFA – As I noted above, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see 1-2 of these guys on the 2022 roster. And there are a variety of ways to make it happen. But, personally, I’d rather just move on from all four, so that’s the approach I’m taking here for the sake of this exercise.

Ernie Clement – Trade or DFA – I could see Clement taking the spot I gave Chang on the roster. I think I prefer Chang, even with all of his flaws, because Chang can probably hit a little more than Clement can. But, Clement’s glove looks great. I wonder if Clement could get through waivers after a DFA and stick with the team.

Wilson Ramos – Release – His injury was a sad ending to a nice, little career for the Buffalo.

Nick Wittgren – Release – Love the guy, but he looks washed.

Logan S. Allen - Trade or DFA – Also seems like a great person, but I think we have to move on from one of the Hentges, Mejia and Allen bunch. I won’t argue if the team picks to keep Allen and move on from Hentges, though.

Blake Parker – Release – Who knows? May come back in a minor-league deal, has had a nice little season, but shouldn’t be relied on to repeat it.

Bryan Shaw – Release – I loved the Shaw renaissance in April-May, but we don’t need a return in 2022. I wouldn’t rule out the franchise’s leader in relief appearances from returning, though, of course.

Alex Young – Release – I liked the idea of taking a look. But, we’re done here.

Cam Hill – DFA – Didn’t come back strong from the wrist injury.

Scott Moss – DFA – Not working out.

Kyle Nelson – DFA – See above.

He released a lot more guys than necessary to add the few he's adding. He's leaving room for plenty of FA signings.. But we can make moves after Rule 5 day to clear spaces for FA. I'd protect

OF: Gonzalez, Kwan and Valera. First two may not succeed but let's try a whole new corps of OFs. Not sure I'd dump all among DJ, BZ, OM and HR. Definitely good bye Daniel; I was impressed by some of Zimmer's summer and he is a good defender but if that's the best he can be and he's 28 already it's time to try someone else I guess. Mercado is younger but has fewer skills. Harold can hit but may be almost as bad as Johnson in the field.

IF: Freeman and Rocchio and Palacios. BA told me recently that no one drafts IF who haven't gone above A so Tena and Noel should be safe.

C: Whatever Lavastida is he needs to be protected. This guy never has shown an interest in the defense back of the plate. Lavastida will certainly not be the starting catcher in 2022. He didn't suggested dropping Perez, but that must have been an oversignt. They won't pick up the option,

P: Everyone but this guy says keep Cody Morris. Probably Pilkington, has been very good in AA for us although was not on the WhiteSox top 30. Not sure about Cantillo, probably, but he might pass through after missing most of this season.

As for removals, Hill, Nelson and Young and Moss are obvious. Shaw is a FA so goes off the roster regardless. I too have had enough of Wittgren. Parker has been pretty good but he could well be available as a minor league FA over the winter.

Arizona Fall League reps are a mixed bag:

20 year old Jose Tena described as 3rd youngest player in High A east when season started and 3rd youngest on his team, too! 15 homers, great stats for a young player. Probably being auditioned for possible addition to 40 man roster

24 year old IF Richie Palacios had limited playing time before this year, 33 doubles, very successfully moved through Akron to Columbus; also probably auditioning for 40 man roster

24 year old C Amditis, not sure why

25 year old reliever Adam Pinto. pretty good career to date

26 year old starter Tanny Tully, guess they want to offer him some time in the sun prior to his release.

If I didn't post this before, Rocchio made Top 10 lists for both leagues he played in; here's the AA report

8. Brayan Rocchio, SS, Akron (Indians)
Age: 20. B-T: B-R. HT: 5-10. WT: 150. Signed: Venezuela, 2017

One of the youngest players in the league at just 20, Rocchio made an immediate impact for Akron after a July promotion from High-A was necessitated by a Tyler Freeman injury.

Multiple evaluators compared the switch-hitting shortstop with Francisco Lindor, who came up through the Indians’ system and actually reached Double-A at the age of 19.

“If you told me Rocchio ended up being that good, it would be a little surprising, but it wouldn’t be very surprising,” one American League scout said.

Not considered to be the best athlete—he is an average runner at best—Rocchio dazzles in the field with his both his range up the middle and ability to quickly get rid of the ball in an accurate fashion, but has also shown a significant increase in power at the plate. He went deep six times with Akron, but hit 15 overall between his two stops this year.

I was happy to see Jose Tena on Cleveland's AFL roster. What have you been hearing about him? He had a great year at high-A as one of the younger players in the league.

Kyle Glaser: Tena is getting a lot of positive reviews. Scouts like him a lot better than Aaron Bracho, for example. He can play shortstop, he can run, has a good swing, has some power. Swing decisions are just going to need some work at higher levels, but he has a chance to be an above-average everyday player if he makes the right adjustments. He's a good one.

Milb.com

for Low A East:
Top MLB Prospect: Jhonkensy Noel, Lynchburg (CLE)
Noel spent only 38 games in Low-A this past season, but he clearly made his presence felt. The 20-year-old corner infielder (Cleveland’s No. 25 prospect) showcased his prodigious power with regularity as he hit .393 with 11 dingers and a 1.119 OPS in 162 plate appearances for Lynchburg.

milb.com

Top LHP AA East: Juan Hillman
Top SS High A Center: Jose Tena [besting Rocchio?]
Yainer Diaz traded C rated top C in High A Central for his new team