Cleveland Sports Forum

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Any Future Major Leaguers On This List ?!?!! Just throwing some names out there that might be of some help to our organization. I know this is a Major League folder, so don't shoot me. I'm just submitting some names for possible future consideration.

2013 Cuban League All-Star Teams

Occidentales (West)

Starters Listed First

Catchers: Eriel Sánchez (Sancti Spíritus), Frank Camilio Morejón (Industriales)

First Base: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos), Alexander Malleta (Industriales)

Second Base: Andy Ibáñez (Isla de la Juventud), Johan Moncada (Cienfuegos)

Third Base: Yulieski Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus), Pavel Quesada (Cienfuegos)

Shortstop: Erisbel Arruebarruena (Cienfuegos), José Miguel Fernández (Matanzas)

Outfielders: Frederich Cepeda (Sancti Spíritus), Yasmani Tomás (Industriales), Stayler Hernández (Industriales), Irait Chirino (Industriales), Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas), Yadier Hernández (Matanzas)

Designated Hitter: Yosvani Peraza (Pinar del Río)

Pitchers: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus), Wilber Pérez (Isla de la Juventud), Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales), Vladimir Baños (Pinar del Río), Noelvis Entenza (Cienfuegos), Jorge Hernández (Cienfuegos), Raciel Iglesias (Isla de la Juventud), Duniel Ibarra (Cienfuegos)

Coaches: Yovani Aragón (Manager, Sancti Spíritus), Bárbaro Marín (Cienfuegos), Wilber de Armas (Industriales), Juan de Dios León (Pitching Coach, Sancti Spíritus)

Orientales (East)

Starters Listed First

Catchers: Yulexis La Rosa (Villa Clara), Lednier Ricardo (Camagüey)

First Base: Yordanis Samón (Granma), Joan Carlos Pedroso (Las Tunas)

Second Base: Danel Castro (Las Tunas), Raúl González (Ciego de Avila)

Third Base: Maikel Castellanos (Santiago de Cuba), Yeniet Pérez (Villa Clara)

Shortstop: Yordan Manduley (Holguín), Yorbis Borroto (Ciego de Avila)

Outfielders: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma), Yoelvis Fiss (Ciego de Avila), Rusney Castillo (Ciego de Avila), Edilse Silva (Santiago de Cuba), Dairon Varona* (Camagüey), Maikel Cáceres* (Holguín)

Designated Hitter: Ariel Borrero (Villa Clara)

Pitchers: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila), Yander Guevara (Ciego de Avila), Danny Betancourt (Santiago de Cuba), Yasmani Hernández (Villa Clara), Yoelkis Cruz (Las Tunas), Carlos Juan Viera (Las Tunas), Diosdani Castillo (Villa Clara), Yadir Rabi (Ciego de Avila)

Coaches: Ramón Moré (Manager, Villa Clara), José Hernández (Ciego de Avila), José Luis Rodríguez (Las Tunas), Manuel Alvarez (Pitching Coach, Ciego de Avila)

[ My defector alert list in bold print. There are a few more players I like that did not make either of the teams. This was a fan vote. ]

2013 Cuban League All-Star Voting Results

Occidentales (West)

Catchers: Eriel Sánchez (Sancti Spíritus, 635), Danger Guerreo (Mayabeque, 285), Frank Camilo Morejón (Industriales, 271), Osvaldo Arias (Cienfuegos, 176), Lorenzo Quintana (Pinar del Río, 125), Luis A. Castro (Isla de la Juventud, 30), Lázaro Herrera (Matanzas, 17), Dariel Crespo (Artemisa, 12)

First Base: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos, 1,181), Alexander Malleta (Industriales, 161), Luis Rivera (Isla de la Juventud, 48), William Saavedra (Pinar del Río, 48), Yunier Mendoza (Sancti Spíritus, 45), Ernesto Molinet (Mayabeque, 43), Roberto Zulueta (Artemisa, 15), Yasiel Santoya (Matanzas, 10)

Second Base: Andy Ibáñez (Isla de la Juventud, 711), Johan Moncada (Cienfuegos, 320), Juan Carlos Torriente (Industriales, 43), David Castillo (Pinar del Río, 167), Dayán García (Artemisa, 70), Lourdes Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus, 64), Anibal Medina (Matanzas, 21), Yunier Corvo (Mayabeque, 15)

Third Base: Yulieski Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus, 846), Pavel Quesada (Cienfuegos, 269), Michel Enríquez (Isla de la Juventud, 189), Rudy Reyes (Industriales, 106), Donald Duarte (Pinar del Río, 55), Yurisbel Gracial (Matanzas, 43), Michel Rodríguez (Artemisa, 30), Alexander Pozo (Mayabeque, 13
)
Shortstop: Erisbel Arruebarruena (Cienfuegos, 864), José Miguel Fernández (Matanzas, 515), Raiko Olivares (Industriales, 68), Luis Valdés (Pinar del Río, 35), Denis Fritze (Artemisa, 26), Orlando Acebay (Sancti Spíritus, 22), Dainier Galvez (Isla de la Juventud, 12), Rhandy Caballero (Mayabeque, 9)

Outfielders: Frederich Cepeda (Sancti Spíritus, 1,146), Stayler Hernández (Industriales, 1,017), Yasmani Tomás (Industriales, 953), Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas, 271), Yadier Hernández (Matanzas, 188), Yoelvis Leyva (Cienfuegos, 180), Lázaro Rodríguez (Cienfuegos, 164), Juan M. Soriano (Cienfuegos, 164), Irait Chirino (Industriales, 163), Pedro Castillo (Mayabeque, 56), Yunieski Gourriel (Sancti Spíritus, 56), Robersis Ramos (Sancti Spíritus, 38), Lázaro Blanco (Pinar del Río, 37), Juan C. Torres (Artemisa, 32), Orlando Lavandera (Mayabeque, 32), Osniel Madera (Pinar del Río, 24), Yunier Valienta (Pinar del Río, 24), Victor Muñoz (Artemisa, 20), Reinier Llanes (Isla de la Juventud, 19), Victor Victor Mesa (Matanzas, 19), Angel Fernández (Isla de la Juventud, 15), Denis Laza (Mayabeque, 14), Erick Cándano (Artemisa, 13), José Velázquez (Isla de la Juventud, 8)

Designated Hitter: Yosvani Peraza (Pinar del Río, 1,158), Adir Ferrán (Cienfuegos, 143), Ariel Sánchez (Matanzas, 99), Eluit Torres (Industriales, 47), Liván Monteagudo (Sancti Spíritus, 39), Dayán Lazo (Artemisa, 26), Rodmy Proenza (Isla de la Juventud, 22), Yasniel González (Mayabeque, 17)

Pitchers: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spiritus, 1,206), Wilber Pérez (Isla de la Juventud, 1,092), Racial Iglesias (Isla de la Juventud, 989), Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales, 911), Duniel Ibarra (Cienfuegos, 882), Vladimir Baños (Pinar del Río, 738), Noelvis Entenza (Cienfuegos, 552), Jorge Hernández (Cienfuegos, 474), Yuniel Leyva (Cienfuegos, 451), Joel Suarez (Matanzas, 300), Maykel Martínez (Matanzas, 285), Ariel Miranda (Mayabeque, 270), Leinier Rodríguez (Mayabeque, 256), Omar Guardarrama (Sancti Spíritus, 201), Julio Montesinos (Industriales, 185)

Orientales (East)

Catchers: Yulexis La Rosa (Villa Clara, 484), Lednier Ricardo (Camagüey, 371), Franklin Aballe (Holguín, 92), Rudelis García (Ciego de Avila, 73), Luis A. Ferrales (Granma, 71), Andrés Reyna (Santiago de Cuba, 36), Roberto Borrero (Guantánamo, 17), Rafael Viñales (Las Tunas, 17)

First Base: Yordanis Samón (Granma, 364), Joan Carlos Pedroso (Las Tunas, 273), Ramón Lunar (Villa Clara, 165), Yoennis Southerán (Guantánamo, 101), Yorelvis Charles (Ciego de Avila, 91), Lerys Aguilera (Holguín, 78), Pedro Poll (Santiago de Cuba, 47), Yaisel Mederos (Camagüey, 22)

Second Base: Danel Castro (Las Tunas, 477), Raúl González (Ciego de Avila, 305), Yeison Pacheco (Holguín, 100), Ramon Tamayo (Granma, 78), Yoilán Cerce (Guantánamo, 74), Andy Sarduy (Villa Clara, 71), Yosvani García (Camagüey, 21), Adriel Labrada (Santiago de Cuba, 15)

Third Base: Yunior Paumier (Holguín, 237), Maikel Castellanos (Santiago de Cuba, 236), Carlos Benitez Pérez (Granma, 187), Yeniet Pérez (Villa Clara, 184), Ruben Valdés Exposito (Ciego de Avila, 138), Marino Luis Márquez (Camagüey, 127), Luis A. Sánchez (Guantánamo, 16), Michel Brito (Las Tunas, 16)

Shortstop: Yordan Manduley (Holguín, 604), Yorbis Borroto (Ciego de Avila, 175), Dainier Moreira (Guantánamo, 162), Alexander Ayala (Camagüey, 125), Yandrys Canto (Villa Clara, 32), Marcos L. Fonseca (Granma, 16), Leonardo Laffita (Las Tunas, 14), Daniel Aguilera (Santiago de Cuba, 13)

Outfielders: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma, 820), Alexei Bell (Santiago de Cuba, 729), Yoelvis Fiss (Ciego de Avila, 437), Reutilio Hurtado (Santiago de Cuba, 297), Yordanis Linares (Villa Clara, 198), Maikel Cáceres (Holguín, 128), Rusney Castillo (Ciego de Avila, 126), Edilse Silva (Santiago de Cuba, 94), Yoannis Quintana (Holguín, 91), Dairon Verona (Camagüey, 84), Andy Zamora (Villa Clara, 53), Geidis Soler (Holguín, 51), William Luis Campillo (Camagüey, 50), Daniel Carbonell (Camagüey, 40), Yunieski Larduet (Las Tunas, 38), José R. Alfonso (Ciego de Avila, 36), Roel Santos (Granma, 28), Urmanis Guerra (Granma, 25), Yuniest Flores (Villa Clara, 24), Andrés Quiala (Las Tunas, 18), Jorge A. Jhonson (Las Tunas, 17), Andrés de la Cruz (Guantánamo, 15), Robert L. Delgado (Guantánamo, 12), Julio P. Martínez (Guantánamo, 12)

Designated Hitter: Issac Martínez (Ciego de Avila, 388) Ariel Borrero (Villa Clara, 360), Vismay Santos (Guantánmo, 111), Yordanis Scull (Las Tunas, 97), Alexis Durrthy (Santiago de Cuba, 70), José Castañeda (Holguín, 59), Osmel Aguila (Camagüey, 38), Rafael Hidalgo (Granma, 14)

Pitchers: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila, 892), Danny Betancourt (Santiago de Cuba, 823), Yander Guevara (Ciego de Avila, 810), Carlos Juan Viera (Las Tunas, 632), Diosdani Castillo (Villa Clara, 572), Yoelkis Cruz (Las Tunas, 470), Yasmani Hernández (Villa Clara, 445), Misael Siverio (Villa Clara, 432), Alain Sánchez (Villa Clara, 397), Yadir Rabi (Ciego de Avila, 303), Alberto Bicet (Santiago de Cuba, 286), Yormani Socarrás (Camagüey, 271), Ubisney Bermúdez (Las Tunas, 188), Yoandi Fernández (Las Tunas, 136), José L. Moulin (Guantánamo, 42)

[ For a small country like Cuba which is saturated with baseball teams, there are a lot of very good ball players being produced here. It's too bad that no one will get to see them play ]

When will they show their concerns for some talented and toolsey corner outfielders aka the above??

I like Anthony Santander, not from Cuba but he does speak Spanish, plays the OF, has multitools, was BA "keep an eye on" candidate in 2012 and is my breakout player of 2013

Yu Darvish came within one out of an Opening Day perfect game! Marwin Gonzalez (who?), the #9 hitter for Houston, singled on the first pitch.

For Ken M--

[ Edward Salcedo Is On The Move Ken...This Year Is Huge For Him ]

Atlanta Braves 2013 Minor League Season Preview: Mississippi Braves

The AA level is the proving ground where prospects come to flourish or fail, and the Atlanta Braves have a promising group of young players they hope to see flourish this season with the Mississippi Braves, headlined by pitchers JR Graham and Alex Wood, catcher Christian Bethancourt, and third baseman Edward Salcedo.


Projected Lineup

1.Phil Gosselin 2B
2.Dan Brewer CF
3.Jose Martinez RF
4.Kyle Russell LF
5.Edward Salcedo 3B
6.Christian Marrero 1B
7.Christian Bethancourt C
8.Barrett Kleinknecht SS

The best hitting prospects in Mississippi's lineup are third baseman Edward Salcedo and catcher Christian Bethancourt. They're also the youngest players on the team, both just 21 years old. Salcedo had a solid all around year for Lynchburg last season, hitting 26 doubles and 17 homers, while stealing 23 bases, but he'll need to improve his plate discipline after posting a .295 OBP and 130 strikeouts. Bethancourt was overmatched last season at Mississippi, putting up a lowly .566 OPS in 268 at bats before a broken hand ended his season. While Salcedo has had many problems defensively, Bethancourt is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, with an absolute cannon for an arm.

[ Salcedo is only 21 years old. Seems like I've been posting about him for years now. ]

Guess which former Indian homered for the Skankees (for their only run) tonight?

J.R. wrote:Guess which former Indian homered for the Skankees (for their only run) tonight?

Prock?

J.R. wrote:Guess which former Indian homered for the Skankees (for their only run) tonight?

Ricky Ledee? Shane Spencer?

Oh, I was reading backwards.

Must have been Graig Nettles?

Now I might be reading upside down.....

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CONTINUED FROM MINOR'S FOLDER

My eyes are better then your stats and unbelievable excuses for Phillips.

I've seen both play. I'm assuming you haven't seen much of Brandon Phillips. At least as often as I have.

What determines a player's defensive worth?

Certainly the MLB network and Baseball Tonight are contributing factors and Phillips appears quite often.

Also! WAR and RF have much to do with a player's defensive worth.

I've already listed the most common of defensive factors. Almost all stats lean towards Brandon Phillips' direction.

I don't deny the fact that Robbie Alomar was a great second baseman. I'm just providing some proof that Brandon Phillips isn't quite the stiff you make him out to be.

Check out the WAR and RF stats. No excuses - just plain facts which you seem to have a hard time accepting.

WAR (Win Above Replacement)

25 = 6.1 Alomar
25 = 0.5 Phillips

26 = 2.3 Alomar
26 = 3.9 Phillips

27 = 2.7 Alomar
27 = 3.0 Phillips

28 = 5.3 Alomar
28 = 2.8 Philliips

29 = 3.4 Alomar
29 = 4.1 Phillips

30 = 3.8 Alomar
30 = 4.9 Phillips

31 = 7.4 Alomar
31 = 3.8 Phillips

RF (Range Factor)

25 = 4.62 Alomar
25 = 4.68 Phillips

26 = 4.25 Alomar
26 = 4.96 Philliips

27 = 4.99 Alomar
27 = 4.99 Phillips

28 = 5.13 Alomar
28 = 4.74 Phillips

29 = 4.61 Alomar
29 = 4.61 Phillips

30 = 4.86 Alomar
30 = 4.83 Phillips

31 = 4.72 Alomar
31 = 4.33 Phillips

Man! I'm running out of stats.

Scout.com: Roberto Alomar's defense
He made great defensive plays but most advanced defensive metrics rate him about league average.

Scout.com: Brandon Phillips defense
I'm gonna start off by apologizing to all the Brandon Phillips fans on here! ... hits decent in 'pressure' situations and plays GREAT defense.

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The truth of the matter is that Alomar really was our Jeter. Think back to those memories of Alomar sailing through the air. I’ll bet that in your imagination he’s always diving to his left. That’s because he had good range one way and he could look spectacular getting to batted balls that normally would’ve rolled into right field, but he couldn’t move to his right in the same fashion. Unfortunately for Alomar and his zone rankings, more groundballs are hit toward center field as opposed to right.

His lack of range moving right could also explain Alomar’s below replacement level numbers at turning double plays, but I’m slightly more inclined to believe that his troubles with his pivot resulted from having four different regular shortstops feeding him over his five years in Toronto.

None of this is to say that Alomar doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. In fact, he could’ve been far worse at second base and still have deserved enshrinement in Cooperstown. But let’s lay off the Bill Mazeroski comparisons, and recognize Roberto Alomar for what he actually was: the best second baseman of his time at the plate, with or without a defensive upside.

[This isn't the first time I've read these facts about Alomar's ability to go better to his left than to his right. Philliip does both extremely well.]

Sorry Joe, Phillips is average at best.

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Sorry Joe, Phillips is average at best.

Well! I think he's pretty darned good.

Let me bring the curtain down on this discussion with the following video clips.

Brandon Phillips Best 2012 Plays

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?conte ... 0&c_id=mlb

Brandon Phillips Defensive Gems2

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14727141

14-0 Reds over Nats tonight, and it's only the 7th inning! Reds have hit 6 homers!

Reds score 9 runs in the 9th inning!

Cincinnati - Top of 9th SCORE
Mitchell Boggs pitching for St. Louis CIN STL
M Boggs relieved T Rosenthal. 4 4
S Robinson in left field. 4 4
S Choo walked. 4 4
C Heisey popped out to second. 4 4
S Choo to second on wild pitch by M Boggs. 4 4
J Votto intentionally walked. 4 4
B Phillips doubled to right, S Choo scored, J Votto to third. 5 4
J Bruce intentionally walked. 5 4
T Frazier walked, J Votto scored, B Phillips to third, J Bruce to second. 6 4
J Hannahan hit for S LeCure. 6 4
J Hannahan reached on infield single to shortstop, B Phillips scored, J Bruce to third, T Frazier to second. 7 4
R Hanigan safe at first on error by shortstop P Kozma, J Bruce scored, T Frazier to third, J Hannahan to second. 8 4
M Rzepczynski relieved M Boggs. 8 4
C Izturis singled to right, T Frazier scored, J Hannahan to third, R Hanigan to second. 9 4
S Choo doubled to deep left, J Hannahan, R Hanigan and C Izturis scored. 12 4
C Heisey grounded out to second, S Choo to third. 12 4
J Votto singled to left center, S Choo scored. 13 4
B Phillips walked, J Votto to second. 13 4
J Bruce reached on infield single to second, J Votto to third, B Phillips to second. 13 4
T Frazier struck out looking.

[A Little Late But What The Hell ]

Why the Indians Should Sign Jeremy Guthrie

Sep 12th, 2012 at 1:34 pm by Evan Vogel

As the 2012 season winds down, we’ve looked at a number of upcoming free agents whom the Indians could pursue in the offseason. We’ve already made the cases for the Tribe pursuing Brandon McCarthy, Melky Cabrera, and J.P. Howell. Today, we take a look at another potential winter target: Jeremy Guthrie.

Guthrie was Cleveland’s 22nd overall pick in the 2002 MLB amateur draft out of Stanford. From 2003 to 2006, Guthrie toiled in the minors, compiling a 40-36 record and a 4.39 ERA over 568.2 innings. He never pitched below the Double-A level and he received callups in the 2004 through 2006 seasons for the Indians, but he failed to find success before the Tribe released him in January of 2007 at the age of 26.

Guthrie has gone on to post respectable, but not fantastic, numbers since being thrown out by the Tribe. He pitched for Baltimore from 2007 through 2011 before being dealt to the Colorado Rockies (where he was miserable), who then traded him to Kansas City in 2012.

Guthrie averaged 196.2 innings per season with Baltimore while compiling a 4.12 ERA and 1.27 WHIP during his five seasons with the Orioles. He managed to go 47-65 (.420) on a team that went 336-473 (.415) over that time, performing better than average on one of the worst teams in the league (the Orioles finished last in the AL East in all but one of his seasons there).

Guthrie stumbled in the worst way in Colorado, but Coors Field has caused that fall for many pitchers before him. In 90.2 innings, Guthrie had a 6.35 ERA and allowed a whopping 21 home runs. Not good. Once landing in Kansas City, the old Guthrie came back, as he has gone 4-3 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 56 innings.

Here’s what the Indians need to keep in mind when free agency hits is this: 14-11, 3.95 ERA, 234.2 IP and .235 BAA. Those are his career statistics against the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins in 43 games (33 starts). Remember that he posted this .560 winning percentage mostly with a team that won at a .415-rate while he was dealing for Baltimore.

It may be difficult for Mark Shapiro, who is now the President of the Indians, to sign Jeremy Guthrie due to the fact that he just threw him away while he was the GM without a return nearly six years ago; however, Guthrie fits a need for the Cleveland Indians.

Guthrie is not an ace. He’s an innings-eating, middle-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. While he has done well in his career at times, the lack of wins and the lack of sustained success in his career will result in his need to settle for a one or two-year deal this offseason. Guthrie will be 34 years old next April. By taking a chance on a player who you did not give a chance to in his first stint in Cleveland, the Indians will shore up the middle of their rotation.
If the Indians signed Guthrie and did nothing else, you would have a rotation of: Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jeremy Guthrie, Zach McAllister, and Carlos Carrasco. (Are you asking where Roberto Hernandez is on that list? It is simple: Hernandez would cost the Indians $9 million if they pick up his option. If they don’t pick up his option, there is not a buyout, so he walks without a dime. Hernandez is 52-59 with a 4.57 ERA since 2007 and he averaged 172 innings per season from 2007-2011.)

Guthrie may not be an ace, but he is reliable. The Indians need a pitcher who they can rely on to be effective for 200 innings. The Indians don’t have a guy like Jeremy Guthrie, so they need Jeremy Guthrie.

From IBI

Your 2013 Castoff Indians: Where’d They All Go?

Former Indians players of the past few years are scattered all over the league

By Sean Mahon

April 10, 2013

Drew Pomeranz (Starter) - Can you believe this guy was picked eight slots ahead of Chris Sale? If only Sale weighed triple digits coming out of Florida Gulf Coast University (Yes, that FGCU), he may have been seen as less of a risk, and consequently drafted higher. The 24-year old Pomeranz has gone 4-10 with a career 5.01 ERA thus far. He was sent to AAA after spring training and went 5+ shutout innings in his lone start thus far. Pomeranz is young and pitching in an incredibly hitter friendly ballpark, but to date, the Ubaldo Jimenez trade has really been somewhat of a wash. If we really miss Pomeranz, we could always pick up his brother.

[ Still scatch'in my head over that one myself Sean! ]

I was checking out the Detroit boxscore today. Team batting average is .297. Everyone in today's lineup hitting well over .300 except for Jhonny Peralta who is hitting a paltry .276 and Victor Martinez a dismal .120.