Cleveland Sports Forum

Indians Prospective @indiansPro

Red Sox 9 Clippers 6
Mejia 2-5 R HR 3RBI
Rosales 1-3 R HR 3RBI BB
Chang 3-5 2R
Diaz 2-3 2BB SB
Ramirez 2(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 2SO

RubberDucks 4 Curve 1
Chiang 6(IP) 5H 1R 1ER 2BB 2SO
Loopstok 1-3 3B RBI BB SB
Marabell 1-3 RBI BB
Castro 0-2 2R 2BB SB

Hillcats 5 Keys 0
Paulson 6(IP) 4H 0R 0ER 1BB 0SO
Miniard 3(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 1BB 2SO
Ice 2-4 2RBI
Carter 1-3 2R 2B BB
Miller 1-3 RBI BB

Columbus Clippers (C) Francisco Mejia over his last two games:
4-9 2R 2B 2HR 4RBI .444 AVG (Now 3rd in International league RBI's with 9)

Lake County #Captains OF Oscar Gonzalez is currently on a 5 game hitting streak:
9-21 5R 2HR 5RBI .429 AVG (.355 on season through 1st 8 games)

Akron Rubberducks starting rotation of Bieber, Civale, Peoples, Chiang, Brady through each of their first two starts:
- 53(IP) 34H 14R 9ER 11BB 47SO 1.53 ERA

Lynchburg Hillcats transaction:
INF Alexis Pantoja assigned to (AA) Akron

Check out this AMAZING grab by TYLER KRIEGER (@TK3_) in CF tonight to help keep it a 1-0 Altoona in the eventual 4-1 Akron comeback! Certainly #SCtop10 to us! #SportsCenter @MiLB
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/986095941152321536

Snow during Columbus game yesterday.
Indians minor league starters for Tuesday:
Columbus - LHP Shawn Morimando
Akron - RHP Shane Bieber
Lynchburg - LHP Sam Hentges
Lake County - LHP Francisco Perez

I am glad Krieger can catch fly balls in the snow. He can't hit in cold weather.

Akron comeback win made possible on a 3-run inning featuring 5 walks, 2 sac flies, and a wild pitch.

Impressive Pirates prospect, LHP Jake Brentz raised his ERA to 47.25. He has a thing about playing the RDucks; he pitched a scoreless inning against Harrisburg, but his combined line for 2 games vs. Akron is pretty impressive: 1/3 1 7 7 9 0 567.00 ERA WHIP 270.00

Bieber watch

After 2 innings

2 K 1 BB 1 hit no runs

Bieber update

4ip 1 hit 3 k 1 bb

Actually being out pitched -- other guy has a perfect game in 3.1 innings

be a biebliever

7 ip 4 hits 6 ks and of course 0 BB

In the frigid opening weeks of the season, Shane Bieber has found a way to balance a quick tempo with dominant stuff to keep Eastern League opponents off-balance. No one is more thankful for the eighth-ranked Indians prospect than his Double-A Akron teammates.

"It's kind of cool to hear the position players talk about how much they enjoy playing behind him because they know he's going to attack the zone and get after it," RubberDucks pitching coach Rigo Beltran said. "When they know you're going to throw strikes, the defenders are going to play better behind you."

In 33-degree weather at Canal Park, Bieber kept warm by tossing seven scoreless frames, allowing four hits and fanning six to lead Akron to a 2-0 victory over Altoona. The right-hander extended his season-opening shutout streak to 20 frames, during which he has not issued a walk.

Bieber (2-0) broke through in his first professional season in 2017, going 10-5 with a 2.86 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across three levels. Through three starts this season, he's tied for 14th among all Minor Leaguers with a 0.50 WHIP after giving up 10 hits with 23 strikeouts.

Beltran, who also worked with the 2016 fourth-round pick at Class A Advanced Lynchburg, said Bieber works to a high level of consistency each time he takes the hill.

"I think what stands out is the personality and that work ethic he brings to the field to keep improving and keep working hard," Beltran added. "He doesn't let any of the success go to his head. He understands that he's working to the bigger picture, and that's getting to the big leagues. He's the same guy every day, no matter what week it is.

"I respect his professionalism and I respect that he's a great teammate. And when it's his time to pitch, he's ready to go."

Against the Curve, the 22-year-old cruised, throwing first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 26 batters he faced while throwing 69 of 86 pitches in the zone.

"He's a true professional, he has a game plan, he attacks the strike zone and he does what he needs to do," Beltran said. "I think today he threw about 80 percent strikes, which is an amazing number and shows the amount of command that he has."

Bieber got into some trouble in the first when No. 20 Pirates prospect Stephen Alemais doubled to left field with out. But the UC Santa Barbara product quickly recovered by punching out 18th-ranked Will Craig and getting No. 4 Ke'Bryan Hayes to bounce out to first.

Bieber retired the side in the second and third on 15 pitches before Alemais reached on a throwing error by third baseman Joe Sever to start the fourth. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound hurler evaded trouble again by getting Craig to ground out to short, Hayes to pop to second and No. 22 prospect Jason Martin to line to center.


"He's that kind of pitcher -- he doesn't let the game speed up," the pitching coach said. "He's always able to assess the situation and understand what hitter is up. He doesn't overthrow, he stays within himself and he does what he does best, which is execute pitches."

Bieber gave up singles in the fifth, sixth and seventh but stranded the runner at first each time to keep his scoreless streak intact. The Akron starter fanned Kevin Krause to punctuate another sharp outing.

Beltran said he wouldn't be surprised to see Bieber continue his success as the season unfolds.

"He has a good game plan, so everything becomes second nature to him," the former Major Leaguer said. "He looked pretty good, considering it was a cold couple of nights. I commend him for going out there in the elements. For the most part, he looked pretty good. He had the ability to throw all four pitches, compete and work ahead. He just keeps pounding the strike zone."

Mitch Brown took over in the eighth and threw two hitless innings, walking one and fanning three, en route to his second save of the season.

For the Curve, Pirates No. 11 prospect Taylor Hearn (0-1) allowed one run on four hits while recording seven strikeouts in six innings.

And in Lynchburg another super star by big lefty Sam Hentges, too: 6 6 0 0 1 10 0.56
Supported by Connor Capel single double and 6th steal. Mitch Longo's 2 singles and his 1st steal. Jodd Carter matched his season total with 4 walks.

Eli Morgan not at his best but the results were OK: 3 4 1 1 2 6 1.20
Captains won it with offense led by Oscar Gonzalez [single, double, 3 rbi, .361] Ernie Clement [2 singles, his 2nd walk of the season; he's now a perfect 0 steals in 3 tries] Benson doubled. Jones returns and walks two times and singles [that makes 5 walks in 11 plate appearances]

Only Columbus lost as Morimando stunk again: 4 1/3 8 4 4 2 2 8.22
Jeff Belliveau and Evan Marshall both keep their ERAs at 0.00

Chang has started hitting, double lifts him to .205/.279/.256
Diaz keeps getting on first base: 2 singles, a walk 306/432/333 1 double in 44 plate appearances

Indians Prospective @indiansPro

Red Sox 4 Clippers 3
Marshall 2(IP) 3H 0R 0ER 0BB 3SO
Hankins 2-4 R 2SB
Chang 1-4 2B RBI
Shaffer 1-4 RBI
Urshela 1-3 RBI

RubberDucks 2 Curve 0
Bieber 7(IP) 4H 0R 0ER 0BB 6SO
Brown 2(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 1BB 3SO
Mathias 1-2 R 2B RBI BB SB
Loopstok 1-3 R BB

Hillcats 4 Keys 1
Hentges 6(IP) 6H 0R 0ER 1BB 10SO
Persinger 2-4 R 2B 2RBI
Longo 2-4 RBI SB
Tapia 2-4 RBI
Capel 2-4 R 2B SB

Captains 7 Lugnuts 2
Morgan 3(IP) 4H 1R 1ER 2BB 6SO
Jimenez 3(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 2BB 4SO
Gonzalez 2-5 R 2B 3RBI
Jones 1-3 2R 2BB
Clement 2-4 R BB

Jim Clark @JimClarkPBP 12 hours ago (Akron Play By Play Announcer)
Shane Bieber may be the best pitcher in @MiLB. In this, my 26th year behind the mic for @Indians AA broadcast, I can’t remember a pitcher this dominant. He trusts his stuff, and it shows

Lynchburg Hillcats LHP big Sam Hentges struck out 10 over 6 innings tonight. Through first 3 games:
16(IP) 12H 3R 1ER 3BB 19SO 0.56 ERA

Lynchburg Hillcats transaction:
INF Dillon Persinger assigned to Hillcats from extended spring training

Indians minor league leaders in (Strikeouts)
Shane Bieber 23
Eli Morgan 23
Sam Hentges 19
Ben Krauth 13
Tanner Tully 12
Justin Garza 12

Indians minor league leaders in (AVG) 30+ PA
Jorma Rodrguez .417
Oscar Gonzalez .361
Ernie Clement .325
Brandon Barnes .324
Todd Isaacs .310

Indians minor league leaders (ERA) 10+ Innings Pitched
Shane Bieber 0.00
Justin Garza 0.00
Sam Hentges 0.56
Shao-Ching Chiang 0.82
Eli Morgan 1.20

Indians minor league leaders in (HR)
Francisco Mejia 2
Will Benson 2
Oscar Gonzalez 2
12 players tied with 1

Indians minor league leaders in (RBI)
Francisco Mejia 9
Oscar Gonzalez 9
Austin Wade 7
Tyler Friis 7
5 players tied with 6

Indians minor league leaders in (OBP) 30+ PA
Jorma Rodriguez .447
Austin Wade .439
Yandy Diaz .432
Jodd Carter .425
Will Benson .410

Indians minor league leaders in (SB)
Conner Capel 6
Greg Allen 4
5 players tied with 3

Indians minor league Relief Pitcher leaders in (Strikeouts)
Ben Krauth 13 - (6.1 IP)
Jeff Beliveau 11 - (6.1 IP)
Tommy Dejuneas 11 - (6.0 IP)
James Karinchak 10 - (4.2 IP)
Mitch Brown 8 - (5.0 IP)

Indians minor league starters for Wednesday
Columbus - RHP Adam Plutko
Akron - RHP Aaron Civale
Lynchburg - RHP Zach Plesac
Lake County - LHP Juan Hillman


MiLB.com @MiLB10 hours ago
Indians No. 8 prospect @ShaneBieber19 has made three starts for @AkronRubberDuck. He hasn't issued a walk and he hasn't given up a run. https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/986459984509722625 (video)


MiLB.com @MiLB
The #Indians' Adam Rosales drills the ball off the wall and crosses the plate with a standing inside-the-park homer for the @CLBClippers. https://atmilb.com/2ERLm6B https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/986114659705995266 (video)

Lynchburg played early today and won again, their 3rd straight win. They have won the three games in a row combined 13-2. Really getting some good pitching right now.

Plesac was the star today. 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.

Capel kept up his hot hitting, 3-4 with a double.
Carter 2-3 with a walk and a SB.
Ice 1-4 a triple.
Longo 1-4

Capel might be a real prospect. He was something of a surprise last year and he's learning how to steal bases this season.
Plesac has been solid 2 times now in three starts.
Good for them. The Hillcats looked like our weakest link on paper

BA for yesterday, will look rather similar to our prior posts:'

CLE AA Bradley, Bobby 1B 4 0 1 0 .081 [that's better than nothing]
CLE AA Castro, Willi SS 4 0 0 0 .143 [surprised Willi is struggling]
CLE AA Mathias, Mark 2B 2 1 1 1 .194 2B (2), BB (8), SB (1)
CLE AAA Chang, Yu SS 4 0 1 1 .205 2B (2)
CLE AAA Haase, Eric DH 4 0 1 0 .297
CLE AAA Mejia, Francisco C 4 0 0 0 .227
CLE HiA Capel, Conner CF 4 1 2 0 .256 2B (3), SB (6)
CLE LoA Benson, Will RF 5 0 1 1 .258 2B (2)
CLE LoA Clement, Ernie SS 4 1 2 0 .325 BB (2), CS (3)
CLE LoA Gonzalez, Oscar LF 5 1 2 3 .361 2B (1)
CLE LoA Jones, Nolan DH 3 2 1 0 .167 2 BB (5)

CLE AA Bieber, Shane 7.0 4 0 0 0 6 0.00 W (2-0)
CLE HiA Hentges, Sam 6.0 6 0 0 1 10 0.56 W (2-0)
CLE LoA Morgan, Eli 3.0 4 1 1 2 6 1.20

Adam Plutko with his second straight solid start; he doesn't fan guys but he was effective: 6 3 0 0 1 3.
Aaron Civale was banged around but held the fort pretty well: 6 2/3 10 2 2 1 3 1.61. His walk total now at 3 in 16 1/3 innings. He's no Bieber

in relief, for Columbus, possible Belisle replacement Ben Taylor 2 1 0 0 0 3 3.68

Mike Papi of all people led Clippers with 2 hits. Eric Haase doubled, he's got the team's top average at 300
Willi Castro with a double for Akron. Marabell doubled and homered.