civ - thanks for all that. (BTW I am hoping to catch an AFL game in November)

The information on Diaz, and seeing Maton make bullpen contributions for Houston in the playoffs puts a new slant on the Straw trade that was apparent earlier.

Win/win.

I am very happy with Straw. We'll see what happens with Y. Diaz. Win/win deals are OK if we are trading from strength, or trading to our weakness. We certainly are not deep in hitting catchers, and not necessarily with relievers. Although bullpens are not necessarily hard to restock.

day one in Arizona:

CLE AFL Richard Palacios, 2B 2 1 1 0 0.500 2B (1), 2 BB (2), CS (1),
CLE AFL Jose Tena, SS 4 1 1 0 0.250
CLE AFL Mike Amditis, C 4 0 0 0 0 21st round pick in 2019 hit 192/300/375 in Lake county

in Arizona, Richie Palacios proving he deserves a spot on the roster

CLE AFL Richard Palacios, 2B 3 0 1 2 .400 2B (2), BB (3),

and a couple pitchers proving they don't

LE AFL Aaron Pinto, RHP 0.0 5 6 6 1 0 L (0-1)
CLE AFL Matt Turner, LHP 0.0 4 3 3 1 0

civ - what do we have on Xzavion Curry?

Found this:

https://milbanalysis.com/2021/06/13/xza ... y-rhp-cle/

Big surprise this season wasn't he?
He jumped 2 levels which is impressive, won a game for Akron in the playoffs.
He allows more homers than we'd like but everything else is really good looking
Everyone knows short righties are not highly prized.
He rated near the top of some lists I saw for WHIP and ERA for all minor league pitchers.
He's snuck in to the bottom of a Top 30 list from MILB or MLB. Not recalling any comments by the guys at Baseball America who I still think know more than anyone else and rely on solid sources and are not over-awed by the raw numbers

Their summary:

Scouting Grades/Report (20-80 grading scale)
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Curry was MVP of the 2016 Connie Mack World Series before spending three years at Georgia Tech and becoming a seventh-round pick in the 2019 Draft. Shoulder inflammation prevented him from making his pro debut that summer and the coronavirus pandemic wiped out last season, so he didn't pitch in his first Minor League game until this May. He allowed three earned runs in five Low-A starts to earn a quick promotion to High-A.

Curry relies heavily on a low-90s fastball that touches 96 mph, delivering it from a high arm slot and throwing it by hitters up in the strike zone. His No. 2 pitch is a low-80s slider that shows flashes of becoming an average to solid offering but lacks consistency. He also utilizes a curveball and changeup.

At 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, Curry lacks ideal size for a starter and likely will fit better as a reliever unless he enhances his secondary pitches. He does help his cause by pounding the strike zone and has ranked among the Minor League leaders in K/BB ratio throughout his first pro season.

Justin Garza is a 5-10 170 righty; had some good minor league stats but never as solid as the X Man. In the majors as a marginal reliever after some injury delays.
Eli Morgan is 5-10 190 righty. His top notch change up [and a lot of injured pitchers] got to the majors as a starter, but may also wind up in the bullpen.

Yep thanks for the info on the X Man!

Baseball America's report on Xz at the time of the 2019 draft

Xzavion Curry
Signed: $125,000
Representative: NA
Signing Scout: NA

Curry has worked as a starter for Georgia Tech his entire college career, tossing 57 innings with a 10.36 strikeouts per nine. His fastball sits in the lower 90s and tops out at 94 mph while also throwing two breaking pitches. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound righthander has a strong body and profiles more as a bullpen arm in pro ball.

CLE AFL Jose Tena, SS 3 1 1 1 .286 2B (1),
CLE AFL Richard Palacios, 2B 5 1 2 2 .400 2B (3), doing a great job at the plate

from Indians.com soon to be ??not guardians.com, that name is taken

CLEVELAND -- The Indians had a stretch of success over the last few years calling up young players like Francisco Lindor, José Ramírez, Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale from the Minors. So, who could be the next big name to come out of their system?

Cleveland had a difficult 2021 season, relying on a lot of young and inexperienced players due to a handful of injuries, especially to the starting rotation. But the farm system is starting to strengthen once again, as it ranks No. 13 of all 30 clubs according to MLB Pipeline. And the team is certainly expected to give opportunities in '22 to some new names who haven’t reached the Majors just yet.

“That's part of the beauty of our game," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "You don't know who it's going to be. But as you watch them develop and start to do things maybe they didn't do the year before, they gain confidence and they get stronger and all of a sudden you think 'Hey, maybe this kid can help us win.'”

Let’s take a look at some of those potential names in our 3-2-1 Minors report:

3 players who forced their way onto the radar this year

One easy answer is a reliever who forced his way onto the club’s radar so much that he was added to the big league roster. Francisco Perez debuted on Aug. 12 when he was thrown into a bases-loaded jam and gave up three runs in 1 1/3 innings. He was sent back to Triple-A Columbus before coming back up a month later to showcase who he had been in the Minors, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless relief frames. The 24-year-old lefty began the year at Double-A Akron, where he owned a 0.67 ERA (two earned runs in 27 innings). After his promotion to Triple-A, he pitched to a 3.12 ERA in 19 appearances with 36 strikeouts but 20 walks in 26 innings. Perez's potential at the big league level is evident, and the soon-to-be Guardians will keep a close eye on his development.

Logan Allen also falls under this category. No, not the Allen we’ve seen already in the big leagues, the other left-handed starter named Logan Allen, who spent the 2021 season at High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron. In the first half of the season, Allen pitched to a 1.58 ERA in nine starts with 67 strikeouts and 13 walks in 51 1/3 innings. He moved up to Akron at the beginning of July and owned a 2.85 ERA in 10 starts (12 total appearances), which landed him on MLB Pipeline’s 2021 Prospect Team of the Year. And somehow, Cleveland finds itself in a position with more starting pitching depth once again.

Finally, let’s shift to the outfield, which has been the team’s biggest need for a handful of years. While looking externally for some help will be essential, Steven Kwan has given Cleveland a solid in-house option. In 51 games at Double-A Akron, Kwan hit .337 with a .950 OPS, 12 doubles, three triples, seven homers and just 23 strikeouts. He was promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 31 and finished the year hitting .311 with a .903 OPS in 26 games with Columbus.

Amed Rosario is strongly considered to return as Cleveland’s starting shortstop next season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Gabriel Arias doesn’t get a decent number of starts at short at some point in 2022. Cleveland's No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Arias hit .284 with an .802 OPS and 29 doubles in 115 games at Triple-A. He was moved around the infield, seeing time at second and third base to help him be more defensively versatile in order to hopefully contribute in some capacity next season.


We’re going to cheat a little with the second answer to this question. He’s not technically a prospect, but watching Anthony Gose make the transition from outfielder to relief pitcher qualifies him for this category. Gose got his first taste of the big leagues as a hurler this season and showed tremendous growth with his command, giving up just one run on two hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts. He struggled during the Minor League season, but after he participated with Team USA in the Olympics, he was dominant -- so much so that it would be surprising if Cleveland didn’t keep him on the 40-man roster over the winter.


1 big question for next season

Nolan Jones.

He was expected to make an impact in the big leagues in 2021, but Jones had a tough Triple-A season, struggled to balance his transition to learning how to play the outfield and ended the year with a left ankle sprain that required surgery. Cleveland is hoping Jones will be ready before Spring Training, so that the club’s former top prospect can get back to the hitter he once was.

Arizona highlights for Monday


Jose Tena, SS, Guardians — Tena is part of a highly talented group of middle-infield prospects in the Cleveland system. The 20-year-old spent the entire season at High-A Lake County, where he collected 25 doubles and 16 homers along with 10 stolen bases. His 117 strikeouts against 27 walks sticks out as a red flag. He was 2-for-5 with a double on Monday and produced three batted balls with exit velocities of better than 100 mph.

LE AFL Jose Tena, SS 5 1 2 1 .333 2B (2),
CLE AFL Richard Palacios, 2B 4 1 1 0 .357 BB (4), SB (1), Looking for a 2nd baseman in 2022?
CLE AFL Mike Amditis, C 3 1 0 0 .000 BB (1), E (1),

CLE AFL Aaron Pinto, RHP 2 1 1 0 4 27.00
CLE AFL Damon Casetta-Stubbs, RHP 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 came in the Jake Bauers trade; good deal even up

Palacios 14-3-5-5 3 doubles 4 walks 1 K 357 576 571
Tena 12-3-4-2 2 doubles he doesn't walk 2 K 333 308 500
Amiditis 10 2 0 0 1 walk 5 K he doesn't hit 000 091 000

DCS as above 2 1/3 1 0 0 4 3
Tully 3 1 1 0 1 1
Pinto 2 6 7 6 1 4
Turner 0 4 3 3 1 0 INFINITE ERA

Yesterday in Arizona

Palacios 1 for 5 with his first homer
Amiditis his first hit
Turner retired his first batters, in fact 6 of them and allowed only 2 runs; ERA plunges from Infinity to 22.50

AFL Report

Richie Palacios starred for three years at Towson, setting school records for single-season and career steals before Cleveland made him the highest-drafted player in the program's history by taking him in 2018's third round. When he hit .361/.421/.538 and reached Low-A in his pro debut, he appeared poised to shoot through the system.

But then Palacios' career got put on hold for two years. Labrum surgery on his shoulder in March 2019 wiped out what would have been his first full pro season before the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated the 2020 schedule.

After retuning his quick left-handed swing in instructional league last fall and Spring Training, Palacios returned to raking. He jumped to Double-A this season and spent the final two months in Triple-A, batting a combined .297/.404/.471 with seven homers and 20 steals in 103 games. Now he's getting more at-bats in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions.

"I've been wanting to do this since I've been in professional baseball," said Palacios, who hit .316/.458/.632 with a homer and a steal in his first five AFL games. "It was extremely exciting when they told me I was going to have the opportunity and I'm excited to be here now."


Palacios is well equipped to bat at the top of a lineup. He has the hand-eye coordination to make quality contact, a discerning approach to enhance his chances of getting on base and the plus speed and baserunning instincts to make things happen once he does. He also has added some strength since turning pro and could provide 12-15 homers per year.

The question is where Palacios fits best in the field. A shortstop at Towson, he spent much of his debut at second base before also seeing action at all three outfield spots in 2021. He has played only the outfield in the Fall League thus far and most scouts think he fits best there because he lacks smooth infield actions and has fringy arm strength.

Palacios is very close to becoming the third member of his family to play in the Majors. His uncle Rey spent parts of three seasons with the Royals as a backup catcher and his brother Josh, an outfielder, played 13 games with the Blue Jays this year.

"I attribute a lot of my success to my older brother and my uncle and my father," Palacios said. "They've pretty much paved the way for me and told me what was to come. Through that, it's helped propel my career."

Cleveland hitters in the Fall League

Jose Tena, INF (No. 12): Signed for $400,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2017, Tena has one of the best left-handed swings and some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the system, not to mention solid speed and arm strength. He hit .281/.331/.467 with 16 homers and 10 steals in 107 games while making his full-season debut in High-A at age 20.


Michael Amditis, C: One of the top high school catchers in the 2016 class before he tore the labrum in his throwing shoulder, Amditis played collegiately at Miami before signing as a 21st-rounder in 2019. He has battled injuries in college and pro ball too, and he hit .192/.300/.375 in 34 games in High-A this season.


Cleveland pitchers in the Fall League

Damon Casetta-Stubbs, RHP: The player to be named later from the Mariners in the Jake Bauers trade this summer, Casetta-Stubbs works with a 92-96 mph sinker, an average slider and changeup and a below-average curveball. He posted a 6.42 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings in Low-A before missing nearly three months with shoulder soreness.

Aaron Pinto, RHP: Pinto set single-season (12) and career (15) saves records at Stony Brook before turning pro as a 24th-rounder in 2018. He has continued to excel in the Minors, including logging a 2.30 ERA, .197 opponent average and a 67/13 K/BB ratio in 43 Double-A innings while showcasing a 92-93 mph fastball and solid slider. [Not likely to make the 40 man roster, but could find his way to the majors some day like, for example, Justin Garza]

Tanner Tully, LHP: Tully fits the mold of a crafty lefty who pounds the zone with four pitches, the best of which are an average slider and changeup that help his upper-80s fastball play up a bit. The 2016 26th-rounder from Ohio State had a 3.50 ERA with a 97/32 K/BB ratio in 113 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. ]Has NO chance to make the majors unless injuries pile up even higher than in 2021]

Matt Turner, LHP: A Florida high schooler who signed for an over-slot $200,000 as an 11th-rounder in 2017, Turner has added about 5 mph to his low-slot sinker since turning pro and now operates at 92 while mixing in an average changeup and fringy slider. He missed three months this year with a flexor strain in his forearm and recorded a 3.15 ERA with 20 strikeouts in as many innings between Rookie ball and High-A. [in the AFL to add some innings to his 2021 stat line]