Cleveland Sports Forum

For those of you not into the new fangled studies like "launch angle", I give you Eric Haase.

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Indians Prospective‏ @indiansPro 25 minutes ago
Akron #RubberDucks Eric Haase leads all @MiLB catchers currently in HR w/ 24 on the season 5 more HR's than the next player. #Indians

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Haase had 9 homers two years ago in Lynchburg, and 12 homers last year in Akron.

Then he read about and started studying launch angle, and started working on his swing to develop more lift and power.

This year he has already doubled his last year total at Akron, going from 12 to 24.

The greatest show on turf, the Clip Show, finally beat those damned Red Wings today 4-1.
And of course, since I bashed Adam Plutko he went out and pitched his best game of the year. 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.
Chisenhall was 0-2 with a sac fly RBI. ... Yandy was 0-3 with a walk. ... Naquin 1-4. ... E.Gonzalez 2-3 with a solo homer and a stolen base.

Merryweather starts tomorrow.

Trenton scored 3 in btm of 8 to beat Akron 4-3. ... Chiang 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. ... Allen 2-5 with a HR. ... Good news, Frankie Mejia back in lineup, went 1-3 with a walk and a SB. ... Bradley 1-3 with walk. ... Haase hit his 25th HR today. ... Dylan Baker activated from DL and assigned to Akron. ... Lugo pitches today.

Hillcats beat Astros 10-6. ... Sean Brady ended up getting a call up during day and got the start. 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. ... Tully finished game up but still not doing very well in High A. 3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. ... Slick Willi Castro 2-5 with a HR. ... Carter 0-3. ... Gavin Collins placed on 7 day DL, sadly. ... Civale is starting today.

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Indians Prospective
RHP Dominic DeMasi continues his terrific run as a starter over his last 7 outings
- 39(IP) 26H 8R 8ER 6BB 29SO 1.85 ERA

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Captains got slaughtered again, 9-1, by Hot Rods. ... Longo with a rare 0'fer. ... Chu 1-4 with HR. ... Tinsley 1-3. ... Plesac pitches today.

Scrappers were rained out Thursday.

AZL Browns lost to AZL Chargers 19-15 in what must have been a football game. ... Holmes 3-7 with a caught stealing. ... Cooper 1-6 with walk. ... Pujols 4-6 with 2 doubles and a home run. ... Draftee Johnathan Rodriguez was 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 walks. His best game yet.

God had mercy on the meek again as DSL Indians/Brewers were rained out, and DSL Tribe had day off.

Clip Show opened up a can on Pawtucket tonight, 11-4. ... Yandy 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI. ... Naquin 1-4 with a walk. ... They pulled Gonzalez out of the game and flew him to Minnesota the other day when Ramirez was hit by pitch. Must not be back in Columbus yet.

Akron's game got suspended in 1st inning due to rain, after Trenton jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Unfortunately for Akron and their starter they are going to resume the game tomorrow and play a DH'er.

Lynchburg wins 2-1 on the arm of Aaron Civale who pitched a gem. ... 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. And once again he, like Bieber, has an outstanding walk/K ratio. ... Man Myth Legend Ben Krauth picks up the save getting the last two batters out, both via K. ... Castro 1-4 a solo homer.

Captains win 10-1 over Dayton, and Plesac has yet another outstanding effort. 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. ... 0.69 ERA now since his return from TJ surgery. ... Longo 2-4. Batting .376 now. Fair to midlin'. .... Chu 1-4 a 2 run homer.

Scrappers beat Batavia 8-2. ... Vasquez throws another great game himself. 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. ... 2.18 ERA on year now. ... Draft pick Kyle Nelson faced 7 batters, striking out 6 of them. ... Nolan Jones 3-5 with 3 doubles and 3 RBI. ... Oscar 1-5 with a double. ... Benson 1-3 with a 2 run homer.

AZL Indians currently losing 14-1 in 7th inning. Not worth following I think... I looked and not much to highlight. Michael Cooper had a double.

DSL Indians were rained out.

DSL Indians/Brewers coop beat Pirates 5-1. ... Kelkboom 1-4 with a walk. ... Mi.Ramirez 1-3 with a triple & walk

Indians Prospective‏ @indiansPro

AZL Dodgers 6 #Indians 5 (Completion 8/12)
Freeman 1-2 2R 2B RBI BB
Rodriguez 1-3 2R BB
Fermin 2-4 2B

AZL Dodgers 15 #Indians 4 (Game 2)
Mota 4(IP) 1H 1R 0ER 5BB 2SO
Fermin 2-3 R HR RBI BB 2SB
Cooper 1-4 R 2B

Who's hot ...

Mahoning Valley #Scrappers 19yr old RHP Gregori Vasquez over his last 7 starts:
- 40.1(IP) 25H 7R 7ER 5BB 26SO 1.56 ERA #Indians

Mahoning Valley #Scrapper (3B) Nolan Jones over his last 14 games:
25-57 15R 8(2B) 1(3B) 2HR 16RBI 8BB .439 AVG .515 OBP #Indians

Lake County RHP Zach Plesac over his first 2 starts w/ the #Captains
- 9(IP) 2H 0R 0ER 1BB 8SO 0.00 ERA
- 1.15 ERA over 1st 39 pro (IP)

Lake County #Captains OF Mitch Longo has 10 multi-hit games out of his last 13 played for a (23-46) .500 Average #Indians

With last night's HR Lake County #Captains OF Conner Capel became the 3rd youngest player in all @MiLB to hit 20 HR's on the season #Indians

Lynchburg #Hillcats RHP Aaron Civale over his last 5 games: - 35.0(IP) 32H 11R 9ER 2BB 23SO 2.31 ERA #Indians

Indians RHP Juan Mota leads the AZL w/ 59 strikeouts & 4 short of team record
2014 Thomas Pannone 62
2015 Sam Hentges 59
2017 Juan Mota 59

Former farm hand Anthony Santander that was selected in rule 5 draft made his MLB debut with Baltimore last night after long stay on DL. He made a nice diving catch in RF and had an RBI single.

YANDY WATCH 2017

https://www.letsgotribe.com/2017/8/18/1 ... -his-swing


Revisiting Yandy Watch 2017
12
What has our dear friend been up to in Columbus?
by Matt Schlichting@MattSchlichting Aug 18, 2017, 1:16pm EDT
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Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome back, friends.

You may recall that these meetings were weekly in the beginning of the year, at the peak of the #FreeYandy movement. Our dear friend earned a spot on the opening day roster by destroying spring training pitching. Did those returns translate to a stellar beginning to his MLB career?

Not quite. Yandy hit .203/.268/.219 during his 18 games with the Cleveland Indians. These are particularly strange numbers when you recall that Yandy floated into the top ten of average exit velocity in the majors. Biceps, it turns out, are very good at generating swing power.

Yandy’s problem is well-documented. He hits pretty much everything on the ground. He also struggled with strikeouts in Cleveland, whiffing in 23.9% of his plate appearances. With him being overmatched, and the return of Jason Kipnis to the fold, the Indians sent Yandy back down I-71 to Columbus. I’ve been keeping tabs on him, hoping to report vast improvement in his swing.

Jim, would you care to show what Yandy has been doing since his return to the International League?

Season Team G PA HR R RBI SB BB% K% ISO BABIP AVG OBP SLG wOBA wRC+
2017 Indians (AAA) 81 357 5 55 30 0 16.5 % 14.8 % .113 .405 .345 .454 .457 .413 162
HEY. CALM DOWN. EVERYONE SIT DOWN AND STOP YELLING.

Yes, Yandy’s numbers are phenomenal. He is leading the International league in batting average by thirty-one points. He leads in OBP by fifty-nine points. He is the only player in the league with more walks than strikeouts.

Normally I would point to a BABIP of .400 and start to hem and haw. In his case, because he hits the ball at the speed of sound, I wouldn’t consider it to be nearly as elevated as, say, Michael Martinez with a BABIP of .400.


Also encouraging is that his walk rate is up from 2016 AAA, and his strikeout rate is down. He’s walking 16.5% of the time versus 11.3% last season, and whiffing 14.8% versus 16.8%.

Those numbers are fantastic, yes. But what we need to really know is whether or not Yandy is elevating the ball more consistently. As we saw in the first month of this season, smashed balls are not going to turn into hits if they are on the ground at the Major League level. The talent, positioning, and speed of the average defender is simply too good in the modern game for it to be a viable approach.

Now, let’s review his batted ball profile. Jim?

Name Team Age PA BABIP GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB Pull% Cent% Oppo% SwStr% Balls Strikes Pitches
Yandy Diaz Indians (AAA) 25 357 .405 3.63 19.5 % 63.1 % 17.4 % 14.6 % 12.2 % 34.0 % 18.9 % 47.1 % 5.4 % 627 839 1466
I TOLD YOU TO SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP, OKAY?

Thank you. No, things do not look particularly good for Yandy. There are only six players in the International League with a GB/FB ratio above two. Yandy’s 3.63 is the highest in the league by more than a one full geebee over effbee. 63% of his hits are grounders, which is actually a little bit higher than it’s been in the past. He’s also continuing to hit more balls the other way. If there is any good news in this chart, it’s that he’s swinging and missing only 5.4% of the time. That’s fantastic at any level, but less so when everything is on the ground to the opposite field.

Is it a swing plane issue? Is it a timing issue? Is it a selectivity issue? It’s probably a little bit of all three. If Yandy is waiting until a ball is deeper in the zone to swing, then yes, he’s going to drive more balls the other way. If he isn’t swinging up on the ball — and with a negative launch angle, I’m going to say that he isn’t — then they’re going to go on the ground. If he’s not swinging at balls he can pull and lift, that certainly doesn’t help matters, either. A combination of all those things is really the only way I can build a profile for such a massive man that makes him look like the slappiest hitter since Ichiro.

It’s up to the development staff of the Indians at this point. Swing changes late in a career aren’t unprecedented, and they’re happening more and more frequently. Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, and Yonder Alonso all immediately come to mind, as does Sabermetric Swinging Yoda Joey Votto. It is clear to me that for Yandy to even approach the kind of potential he represents as an offensive prospect, he needs to tear the whole thing down and rebuild it. That’s not simple, and it might not be something a player who is hitting .345 would buy into. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

I’ll be watching Yandy tonight at the Clipper’s game and will add any additional thoughts I have after the game. I expect we’ll all see Yandy in an Indians uniform again for September call-ups. In the meantime, we must be patient. The winter is long, and players often emerge in the springtime with fancy new swings and impressive beards. Perhaps next season will be the year of reckoning for Yandy. For now, we can only hope that he continues to work to earn his ticket to freedom: a positive launch angle.

Zach Plesac continues to roll and Conner Capel is swinging a hot bat. The IBI's Adam Shabel shares the details...

Adam Schabel - 23 hours ago 0





LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS – 10, DAYTON DRAGONS – 1

The Captains’ bats were active on Friday night as they pounded out 12 hits and routed the Dayton Dragons 10-1. The Captains had a big second inning as they scored five runs off Dayton starter, Andrew Jordan. Captains starter Zach Plesac and reliver Justin Garza combined to strike out 12 batters to go along with just one walk. Garza struck out eight Dragons and surrendered the lone walk of the game for the Captains. Lake County center fielder Conner Capel continues to swing a hot bat as he hit a solo home run and drove in four runs.

Zach Plesac Dominates

Captains starting pitcher Zach Plesac had an exceptional start in the Captains’ win. In his third start of the season for Lake County, he pitched five scoreless innings and gave up just one hit (a single) to go along with one walk and four strikeouts. Plesac won his first decision of his career while lowering his ERA from 1.13 to 0.69. Plesac began the season in Mahoning Valley and was promoted to Lake County on August 7th. He pitched well with the Scrappers posting an 0-1 record with a 1.38 ERA in eight games, seven starts. Plesac has only walked 10 batters in 39 innings this season between Mahoning Valley and Lake County.

“He’s throwing three pitches for strikes, he’s got a great changeup and he keeps guys off balance,” Captains manager Larry Day said.

Plesac was drafted by the Indians in the 12th round of the 2016 draft. He has had a stellar career so far as he owns a career 1-1 mark with a 1.15 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts). He has pitched very well this season between Mahoning Valley and Lake County. With the Captains, he has a 1-0 record with a 0.69 ERA to go along with 10 strikeouts and 2 walks.

Plesac: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W.

Conner Capel Hits Well

Captains center fielder Conner Capel had a good day at the plate on Friday night as he went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and four RBIs. Capel has been hitting the ball very well lately. In his last 10 games, he is batting .442 with 2 home runs and 12 RBIs to go along with two walks.

“He’s swinging the bat great right now, he’s getting a lot of hits,” Day said. “He’s using the whole field instead of just the pull side which has enabled him to get more hits. You can see him start to drive the ball more to left field and left-center now that he’s opening up the whole field.”

Capel is a top 30 prospect for the Indians and was drafted by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 2016 draft. The 20-year-old has put together a decent career so far. He owns a career batting average of .240 to go along with 20 home runs, 69 RBIs and 50 walks in 141 career games. This season, his first in Lake County, Capel has compiled a .251 batting average with 20 home runs, 56 RBIs, 39 walks and six triples.

Capel: 2-for-4 with a solo home run and four RBI

Hillcats Notes: Cervenka's Breakout Season Continues
While the Indians widen their division lead, the Hillcats are simply padding what already has been a dominant campaign. The IBI's Jake Dungan recaps this week's highlights.

Jake Dungan - 22 hours ago 0
C Martin Cervenka
(Photo: Lathan Goumas/News & Advance)
With another solid week of play, Lynchburg finds themselves with a six-game lead in their division and the best overall record in the Carolina League at 74-49 as they continue their march towards the playoffs. Right now, the chances of them making a return trip to the league championship series appear pretty likely. Martin Cervenka is one of many contributors to the Hillcats' success this year with his consistent play behind the plate.

Here's what else happened this week with the Hillcats...

Week In Review

8/11 - Lynchburg 14, Winston-Salem 1: DeMasi (W, 5-3), Hansen (L, 2-5), Krauth (S, 1)
8/12 - Lynchburg 7, Winston-Salem 12: Dunning (W, 5-5), Tully (L, 0-3), Hamilton (S, 4)
8/13 - Lynchburg 9, Winston-Salem 6: Civale (W, 8-2), Hasler (L, 2-1)
8/14 - Buies Creek 2, Lynchburg 3: Pasquale (W, 3-0), Pinales (L, 1-1), Robinson (S, 3)
8/15 - Buies Creek 2, Lynchburg 3: Krauth (W, 1-0), LaRue (L, 0-1)
8/16 - Buies Creek 7, Lynchburg 3: Sierra (W, 3-1), Lovegrove (L, 3-3)
8/17 - Buies Creek 6, Lynchburg 10: Brady (W, 1-0), Perez (L, 6-5), Tully (S, 1)
8/18 - Salem 1, Lynchburg 2: Civale (W, 9-2), Hart (L, 2-2), Krauth (S, 2)
Player of the Week

Martin Cervenka, C

Last Week: 6 G, 23 AB, 4 R, 8 H, 4 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, .348 BA

Season to Date: 99 G, 359 AB, 52 R, 103 H, 8 HR, 23 2B, 3 3B, 49 RBI, 35 BB, 92 K, 1 SB, .287 BA

Cervenka has quietly put together his best season to date posting a career-best slash line of .287/.348/.435 through 99 games, which is also the most games he has played in a season. His second half numbers in particular have been very impressive as he has hit over .300 with an OPS up near .900 since the All-Star break.

Previously, the Czech Republic native's best season had resulted in a .272/.332/.383 slash line with six homers and 50 RBI's in 96 games last season between Lake County and Lynchburg. Before that, he had only hit for an average north of .200 just once back in 2012 where he hit .240 in 26 games in Arizona Rookie League. Also before 2016, where he hit six homers, the 25-year-old had gone deep just two times in his first five pro seasons combined.

It's not just at the plate where Cervenka has made strides. Behind the plate, he has also improved significantly allowing only two passed balls this season as compared to 13 a year ago while throwing out 42% of would-be base-stealers. His emergence this season on both sides of the ball has turned him into potentially another reliable backstop option for the Indians down the line.

Who's Hot

Andrew Calica, OF

Last Week: 8 G, 30 AB, 9 R, 13 H, 1 HR, 3 2B, 5 RBI, 6 BB, 5 K, 2 SB, .433 BA

Season to Date: 89 G, 322 AB, 52 R, 87 H, 5 HR, 20 2B, 2 3B, 35 RBI, 39 BB, 70 K, 10 SB, 7 CS, .270 BA

Moving up to High-A ball definitely presented a challenge for Calica early on as he batted just .242 with a .685 OPS in 54 first half games. However, the 23-year-old appears to have made the necessary adjustments since the All-Star break as he is now batting .313 with an .868 OPS in 34 games since the break, including a red-hot August where he has posted .358 and 1.059 marks in those respective categories.

Willi Castro, SS

Last Week: 7 G, 34 AB, 5 R, 11 H, 2 HR, 4 2B, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 SB, .324 BA

Season to Date: 111 G, 425 AB, 61 R, 125 H, 10 HR, 23 2B, 3 3B, 54 RBI, 23 BB, 83 K, 16 SB, 9 CS, .294 BA

When you look up consistency, Willi Castro's name should come up in the dictionary as the Hillcats shortstop has put up quality numbers month after month this season batting .295 or better in three of his five months and right around .300 overall on the year. So far, the 20-year-old's breakout 2017 at the plate has resulted in career-best marks across the board as he continues to establish himself as the organization's new top shortstop prospect.

Dominic DeMasi, SP

Last Week: 2 GS, 1-0, 12 IP, 11 H, 3 R/ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 2.25 ERA

Season to Date (Lynchburg & Akron): 29 G, 11 GS, 6-3, 2 SV, 86.1 IP, 75 H, 27 R/ER, 17 BB, 64 K, 5 HR, 2.81 ERA

When DeMasi started out the year, he was a guy who had primarily worked as a reliever in his career up to this point with just four previous professional starts under his belt over three seasons. Who would've thought that in 11 starts this year between Lynchburg and Akron he would have a 4-1 record with a 2.00 ERA versus a 4.18 ERA in 18 appearances out of the bullpen? Well, that's what's happened this year for DeMasi as he continues to be an effective swing man for the Hillcats.

Who's Not

Kieran Lovegrove, RP

Last Week: 2 G, 0-1, 3.1 IP, 5 H, 8 R/ER, 6 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 21.62 ERA

Season to Date: 33 G, 3-3, 1 SV, 44.2 IP, 36 H, 26 R/ER, 25 BB, 46 K, 5 HR, 5.24 ERA

The up-and-down nature of Kieran Lovegrove's 2017 campaign continued this week as the right-hander from South Africa allowed four runs in back-to-back appearances to balloon his ERA back up from 3.92 to 5.24. Walks were a problem for the 23-year-old in those two outings as he issued six free passes in 3.1 innings versus just a pair of strikeouts.

Claudio Bautista, INF

Last Week: 56G, 21 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K, .143 BA

Season to Date: 62 G, 191 AB, 17 R, 35 H, 4 HR, 6 2B, 10 RBI, 16 BB, 59 K, .183 BA

Between missing time with injury and inconsistency at the plate, 2017 has been a bit of a lost season for Bautista as he has struggled to get even to the Mendoza Line while racking up only nine extra-base hits and 19 RBI's in 62 games so far on the year. This week, the Dominican native only hit .143 with a homer and three RBI's.

Tanner Tully, SP-RP

Last Week: 2 G, 1 GS, 0-1, 1 SV, 6.2 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 2 HR, 8.11 ERA

Season to Date (Lake County, Lynchburg & Akron): 23 G, 14 GS, 5-10, 2 SV, 113.1 IP, 118 H, 65 R, 47 ER, 20 BB, 91 K, 14 HR, 3.73 ERA

Tully has had some struggles lately allowing three or more runs in each of his last seven appearances adding up to a 5.60 ERA. In that span, the left-hander has given up 44 hits and 10 walks while striking out 18 in 37 innings. Tully has moved around a lot this season pitching for Lake County and Lynchburg and making some spot starts for Akron, but so far, the upper levels have certainly proven to be more of a challenge compared to the Midwest League where he posted a 3.16 ERA in 16 games for the Captains.

Better late than never. Saturday's highlights ...

Clippers lost to Pawtucket 4-2. .. Lonnie Baseball was 2-3 with a homer. He's ready. ... Yandy 2-4. Batting .351 now. ... RonnyRod 2-3. Back up to .296.

Rubber Duckies dropped both games of DH'er against Richmond.
Lost game one 9-7. ... Lugo was shelled for 5 hits, 2 walks, 7 runs, 4 earned, in only 0.2 IP. .... Allen 1-4 with a double, 2 walks, and a stolen base. ... F.Mejia 1-6. ... Bradley 2-4 with a walks, a double and a homer. ... Papi 1-5 with homer. This was the completion of a suspended game. So don't freak out when you see Lugo start again today.
Akron lost game two 2-0. ... Whitehouse deserved better fate. 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. ... Allen 1-3. ... Bradley 1-3.

Hillcats beat Salem 7-6 in the 12th inning when Cervenka knocked in Jodd Carter. ... McKenzie started and was rocked. 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. ... Slick Willi Castro went 0-6. ... Loopstok 2-5 with a walk and a double. ... Carter 3-5 with a walk and a double.

Captains lost to Dayton 8-7 when Dayton scored 2 in the 10th inning but LC could only manage 1. ... Mitch Longo was 3-5 with 2 doubles and a walk. Hitting .376 now. Second in all of MiLB among players with at least 200 AB's. ... GabeM was 2-4 with a SB. ... BTW, Tapia hit a homer that hit the lighthouse in OF. Dude has serious power, too bad he can only hit like .215 in A ball.

Scrappers beat the Black Bears of West By Golly 2-1, to give me bragging rights over our old buddy Don Surber on Twitter for the day. ... A bunch of our draft picks pitched well. ... McCarty 3 hits and 3 K in 3 shutout innings. ... Karinchak 1 ER in 2.2 IP, but he struck out 7 of the 8 outs he got. ... Draper 1 shutout inning and Jean Carlos Mejia with 2.1 shutout innings to keep both their ERA's at 0 since being activated. ... Jones was 1-2 with a walk. ... OscarG 0-4. ... Cantu 0-4. ... Lucas 1-4.

AZL Tribe dropped both ends of double header to Cubs.
Lost game one 5-3. ... Rodriguez 1-1 with 2 walks. ... Gantt 1-3.
Lost game two 1-0 and only managed 1 hit. 1 goddamn hit?! (in my best Harry Doyle) ... Manzanillo 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. ... Gantt was only guy with a hit, everyone else 0-3.

God, in order to show some that he does exist, reached down and performed a miracle today, by handing the DSL Tribe a sweep of a double header over the Rangers.
Won game one 6-3. ... Gonzalez 1-4. ... Lopez 1-2. ... Cespedes 2-3.
Won game two 4-2 by scoring 4 runs in 7th inning. (in a 7 inning game) This was a game the Yannuzzi started and was suspended due to rain. He pitched 1.1 shutout innings with a K when stopped. ... Gonzalez 1-4 with double. ... Lopez 1-4 with double. ... De Oleo 1-3 with a double.

Indians Prospective‏ @indiansPro

Most (Strikeouts) by #Indians @MiLB player last 20yrs
2017 McKenzie 165
2001 Tallet 164
2006 Miller 161
1999 Pugmire 160
2000 Sabathia 159

#Scrappers RHP Jean Carlos Mejia has not allowed a run over 7 outings w/ Mahoning Valley
- 12.1(IP) 4H 0R 0ER 3BB 18SO 0.00 ERA #Indians

#Captains (1B) Emmanuel Tapia 26 HR's on the season is 1 HR short of tying the team record & 2 short of setting all time record of 28.

#Indians w/ 6 MiLB players at 20+ HR
Richie Shaffer 27
Emmanuel Tapia 26
Eric Haase 25
Yu-Cheng Chang 22
Bobby Bradley 20
Conner Capel 20
First time since 2005 minor league season the #Indians have had six players with at least 20 HR's in a single season.

Sunday games ...

Clippers beat Pawtucket 6-1. ... Yandy 2-4. ... Gonzalez 0-4. ... Naquin 0-1 in a pinch hit spot.

Akron got nipped by Flying Squirrels again, 3-2. ... Bieber allowed more base hits than usual but looks like he battled well and must have got some key K's. 5.2 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. ... Allen 2-4. ... Frankie was 0-4, has been in a slump and has his average down to almost .300.

Hillcats beat Salem 8-7. ... Hartson finally had a down night. 4 earned in 6 innings. ... Castro 1-3 a double. ... Loopstok 1-4 a 3 run homer.

Captains lose to Dayton 8-3. ... Brady Aiken was his usual wild and terrible self. 3.1 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. And he beaned an elderly usher. Literally nobody is safe when this guy is pitching. ... Siri another shutout inning, 2 K. ... Tinsley 2-4 with a homer. ... Chu 0-4. ...Isaacs 0-4 and GabeM 0-3, which proves Civ & I aren't clicking on our picks to click.

Scrappers lost to WV 4-0. ... Eli Morgan started and pitched 3 scoreless with 5 K. This kids numbers and make up kind of caught my eye among the draftees. Certainly started off well. ... Obviously not much offense to brag about.

AZL Tribe lost to the Reds 8-2. ... Holmes 0-5. Batting .194 now. ... Rodriguez 1-3 with a walk. ... Gantt 1-3 with a double and a walk.

All DSL teams are off again. I see that a lot on Sunday's. I think they may have Sunday off to observe the sabbath. Just guessing. They are a very religious people.

Indians Prospective @indiansPro

Akron #RubberDucks RHP Shane Bieber over his last 4 starts:
- 23.2(IP) 25H 6R 6ER 1BB 20SO 2.29 ERA #Indians

Mahoning Valley RHP Eli Morgan over his 1st 24.1 career (IP) has ammased 43 strikeouts good for (SO/9) of 15.93 along w/ a 0.74 ERA #Indians

Thanks!

O Civ, Civ, wherefore art thou, Civ?

I noticed Naquin had been out of starting lineup for a couple games. Just had 1 pinch hit at bat last night. I had wondered if his back was acting up again, but seems with a back issue they wouldn't even let him swing for one pinch hit AB. Might be a minor something else nagging him.