Looking at the Rotation on a Lazy Sunday

After a roller-coaster start to the 2013 season, the Indians enter this Lazy Sunday with a very appropriate record of 5 wins and 5 losses. It could be better, but it could also be worse. The new outfield has come as advertised, with Brantley, Bourn and Stubbs running down flyballs all over the outfield. Mark Reynolds has hit some titanic shots, and struck out a few times as well. Nick Swisher’s excitement and leadership has been infectious, and his walk-off single on Friday helped secure Masterson a victory in a lights-out pitching performance. And the starting rotation, which came in to the season with question marks, has also both lived up to and pitched down to preseason expectations. The Indians have already used six starting pitchers this year, and only back-to-back rain delays prevented them from using a seventh. The performance of those six starters has ranged from great (Masterson) to terrible (Brett Myers), and one has been Carlos Carrasco, whose outing against the Yankees must be considered in a classification all of its own. As Anthony Castrovice summed up expertly earlier this week, the Indians start has been nothing if not interesting. It’s still awfully early, but we can take the information we have to make some judgments about the starting rotation based on our expectations going into the 2013 season. So with that, let’s set off on a pitching-centric Lazy Sunday here in early April…

So far in 2013, we’ve seen the return of the Justin Credible version of Masterson, as the Indians ace is reminding Tribe fans of his fantastic 2011 season. With Friday’s complete-game shutout victory over the White Sox, Masteron moved to 3-0 this year. He’s allowed just a single earned run in 22 IP while striking out 20 and walking 8. If you want to pick nits, the 8 walks are a couple more than we would prefer to see, but with Masterson allowing just 10 hits his WHIP is still a paltry 0.818. Per Elias, Masterson is one of two Indians pitchers to ever win his first three starts of the season while allowing one run or less. The other pitcher was Luis Tiant, who accomplished the feat when he opened the 1966 campaign with three straight shutouts. Masterson’s ERA+ currently stands at a league-leading 1074. That is probably an unsustainable number, but it helps to illustrate just how much better Masterson has been in comparison to the rest of the American League. His velocity is already in the mid to high 90’s, a level that it did not reach until May of 2013. His sinker is sinking, and he’s commanding the slider well to both sides of the plate when he’s needed it. His GO/AO ratio is an outstanding 2.15, which is high even for Masterson. The noted groundball artist isn’t going to benefit from the improved OF defense as much as some of the other members of the staff, but having the firm of Brantley, Bourn and Stubbs patrolling the grass certainly isn’t going to hurt him, either. One of the big “ifs” coming into this season was the question of whether or not Masterson could re-establish himself as legit front of the rotation arm. It’s still awfully early, but so far the returns on that question are extremely encouraging.

The excitement of the home opener was dampened in a big way by the incredibly disappointing performance of starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. Coming off of a 3-3 roadtrip against what will likely be the 1^st and 2^nd place teams in the AL East this year, the new-look Indians were returning home against the hated Yankees, a team that stumbled their way to a high-priced 2-4 start. These are not the powerhouse Yankees of years past, as injuries and age are finally catching up with the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees came into Cleveland starting Travis Hafner as their cleanup hitter, Vernon Wells in the 5-hole, Eduardo Nunez at SS, Lyle Overbay at 1B and Chris Stewart behind the plate. A far cry from the A-Rod, Jeter, Texieria and Posada of old. There was blood in the water, and we all expected that this was the series that the Indians could pound the despised pinstripes from NY. Alas, it was not to be. Hafner helped the Yankees jump out to an early lead with a 3-run HR in the top of the 1^st (wow, that sentence felt weird to type), and while the Indians struck with three in the bottom of the first to equalize, Ubaldo just couldn’t get outs. He allowed 7 ER on 7 hits in 4 1/3 innings, and even compared to his disastrous 2012 he didn’t have very good stuff. Ubaldo’s fastball sat in the high-80’s during the opener, a far, far cry from the high-90’s heat he featured as an ace in Colorado. The Indians, via PD reporter Paul Hoynes, explained that the radar gun responsible for the PITCHf/x data was faulty, resulting in the slow readings displayed on the stadium radar gun. Wait, what??

Forgetting for a moment that Ubaldo’s decline in velocity has been a concern since even before the Indians acquired him from the Rockies, this explanation just doesn’t pass the smell test. And neither does it hold up to closer inspection; the other pitchers in the game did not show a similar decline in velocity from their previous appearances this season. My TCF colleague Adam Burke doesn’t buy it, and helped to pull together some links on the issue. Kyle Boddy of the Hardball Times was gracious enough to do all of the necessary research for us, so I’ll just steer you to this link for the full explanation. It doesn’t seem as though the other pitchers in the game were affected by the slow radar gun that plagued Ubaldo. Was the gun really off? Who knows. I don’t understand why the Indians would say so if it were not, and I certainly don’t know who within the organization actually provided Hoynes with that info. It could have been a well-meaning lower-level source within the org who was trying to get Ubaldo to relax, trust in himself and quit trying to throw the ball through a brick wall at the expense of pitch location. But what I do know is that there’s something wrong with Ubaldo Jimenez. There’s something wrong with his arm, with his mechanics, and likely between his ears as well. And despite the multitude of opinions on what’s happening with his mechanics and what to do to fix them, a long-term solution has yet to present itself. There may be a few more starts this year where Ubaldo finds some measure of success, similar to the one in Toronto in the season’s opening series. But unless something dramatic happens, I don’t see him sticking in the Indians rotation for all of of 2013.

Of all of the free agent additions this offseason, only one looked to improve the starting rotation. The Indians gave the 32-year old Brett Myers a $7 million contract to stabilize the middle of the Indians rotation, hoping he’d return to his innings-eating form of 2011/2010 when he posted a combined 3.79 ERA in 439 2/3 innings for the Houston Astros. Myers has made two appearances (one start) this year, and has given up 14 earned runs in just 10 1/3 IP. He’s allowed 7 HR in that timeframe, which would be high even if he were the Indians batting practice pitcher. By any measure, Myers has been downright awful here in 2013. But I’m actually a lot less worried about him than I am some of the other members of the Cleveland rotation. Myers is a proven commodity at this point in his career, a guy who hasn’t posted an ERA over 4.84 since 2004. He doesn’t have to go out and contend for the Cy Young award this year, he just has to go out and give the Indians 5+ innings and turn the ball over to the bullpen with the Indians offense still in the game. I still think Myers can do that, and believe he has earned the benefit of the doubt as a veteran pitcher who has been getting the job done despite a decline in his stuff from early in his career. If he still has a 12.19 ERA in May, I’ll be concerned. But I’m willing to give him a grace period in his return to the rotation, and think that other Indians fans should feel the same. There are plenty of other issues with the starting rotation to keep us busy while we give Myers a bit of a grace period to settle down in his new/old role as a starting pitcher.

To paraphrase former Arizona Cardinals head coach Denny Green, Trevor Bauer is what we thought he is so far here in 2013. Bauer is immensely talented, throws several above-average to plus pitches, and both walks and strikes out a lot of hitters. He’s made one start in Cleveland and one in Columbus, going a combined 1-1 while allowing 4 ER on 6 hits in 11 innings pitched, striking out 11 and walking 10.  That’s more or less what we expected out of the 22-year old righty when the Indians acquired him this offseason, although I was of course hoping for fewer walks. Bauer is the most talented pitcher in the Indians organization, and that includes Justin Masterson. If the Indians are going to make a playoff run in 2013, Bauer is going to have to play a major role for the big club at some point this season. And for that to happen, he’s going to have to improve his command and control to a point where he’s walking fewer than four hitters per 9 IP. His ability to miss bats and record strikeouts means that he’ll be able to survive with a higher walk rate than most, but more than one free pass per inning just isn’t sustainable. I’ve written about this in the past, but Bauer needs to trust his stuff and throw strikes rather than trying to make the perfect pitch in every situation. As the great Crash Davis once said, “Quit trying to strike everyone out. Strikeouts are boring, and besides that they’re fascist. Throw some more groundballs…they’re more democratic.” Bauer is young enough that he could use some time to develop in the minors, but the Indians don’t necessarily have the same luxury. Their starting pitching is in a state where they need Bauer in order to contend for the World Series, whether that happens in 2013 or in the future. Regardless of when it happens, I fully expect Bauer to be in the rotation to stay ay some point this year, likely at the expense of Ubaldo Jimenez.

And then we have Carlos Carrasco. I had (have) high expectations for Carrasco this year. He’s the 2^nd or 3^rd most talented pitcher in the Indians organization right now. He has the stuff to be a #2 starter in a major league rotation, something the Indians desperately need.  He pitched well in stretches in 2011 before going down in September with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He was showing glimpses of his potential in his return to the rotation last week, sitting consistently in the mid to high-90s with his fastball and flashing an above-average slider. He was struggling to locate his pitches, and had given up 7 ER in 3 2/3’s of an inning before drilling Kevin Youkilis with a pitch which resulted in Carrasco being ejected from the contest. I’m much, much less worried about the lack of command than the HBP. It was Carrasco’s first major league appearance since undergoing the surgery; it’s well known that both fastball command and consistent secondary pitches take some time to re-emerge after TJ. My main concern is that very little about Carrasco has changed since his days as a prospect in the Phillies organization. Allow me to cut and paste from the great Kevin Goldstein’s Phillies top-11 prospect list following the the 2008 season:

The Good: Carrasco is the total package, combining a power frame with three above-average pitches and plus command. His fastball sits in the low 90s and can touch 94 mph, but his best pitch is an outstanding changeup with plenty of late life. He also has a nice curveball that he can throw for strikes or use as a chase pitch.

The Bad: Carrasco doesn't have a real out pitch in his arsenal, as none of his offerings are plus-plus. He's had a career-long habit of turning bad innings into horrible ones; in clutch situations he tends to shy away from contact and falls behind in the count. (bold my emphasis)

When you go back and read Carrasco’s scouting reports in the minor leagues, they’re full of comments like this. All rave about his talent on the mound, but nearly all also caveat that by commenting on his struggles with the mental side of the game. He’s always been a guy who’ll let an inning get away from him to the point where he takes himself out of the game, sometimes literally. Even as he was delivering the pitch that hit Youkilis, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere other than on the center of the diamond at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Physical flaws in a pitcher are difficult enough to correct (just ask Ubaldo Jimenez). But changing muscle memory, while difficult, is possible and has been done in the past with many a pitcher to career-changing results. Mental flaws are much more difficult to conquer. I’m not going to pretend to know anything at all about psychology or other such things, but I’ve played the game and know how difficult it is to change ones nature. Coaches, teammates, psychologists and family members can talk to Carrasco all they want and try to get him to calm down and be more mentally tough. But to fundamentally change the way you think about a game you’ve been playing since you were a kid is not something that just happens. Off the field, Carrasco is a soft-spoken, nice guy. I watched him spend nearly an hour of his time with a church youth group in the Goodyear complex this spring, signing autographs and talking with the kids. But when he steps between the lines, something happens that causes him to lose focus and his composure. Are we to the point where Carrasco simply is what he is? At age 26, I certainly hope not, but the possibility exists. Carrasco was optioned down to AAA Columbus after his disastrous outing against the Yankees, and it will be interesting to see when we see him in Cleveland again. He maintains that the pitch that hit Youkilis was an accident; I and most fans don’t see it that way. He has the talent to be the Indians #2 starter as soon as this year, but it remains to be seen whether he can advance his mental game to the point where that talent plays consistently on the field.

Like most of you, I have a strong dislike for the New York Yankees. Always have, probably always will. I didn’t like them when I was a kid, and that dislike grew in my formative years when the Indians were constantly battling the pinstripes for AL supremacy. I don’t like their players, their ownership, their stadium and especially their obnoxious fanbase. But what Mariano Rivera is doing this season is pure class. Rivera has announced that this will be his final season in the major leagues, and with the Yankees making just one scheduled trip to Cleveland this year he wanted to meet with some of the behind the scenes people in the Indians organization to say thanks. Anthony Castrovice details the visit in an outstanding article, telling of how Rivera asked to meet John Adams, and discussed the famous 1997 HR that Sandy Alomar hit off of him in Jacobs Field during the playoffs. Rivera holds that home run as one of the most important moments of his career, saying that “If that wouldn’t have happened, God only knows where I would have ended up. But because that happened, it pushed me to be better in moments like that and in situations like that.” I’m sure the rest of the league would prefer that Alomar’s home run didn’t unleash the full fury of Rivera’s dominance in 9^th innings throughout his career, but it sure worked out well for the Yankees. Despite my dislike for the Yankees as a franchise, it’s impossible not to acknowledge what Rivera is doing in his farewell tour around baseball.

If you’re looking for a minor league fix, I’m back to doing my daily “Around the Farm” recap of the Indians system on The Cleveland Fan. I’ll have more detailed articles on individual players as the season goes on, but hopefully you’re finding the ATF’s are a good way to keep tabs on the day to day goings on within the system. That being said, I do want to highlight the performances of a couple of players here for you today. The Indians 2011 1^st round pick and consensus top-10 prospect in all of baseball, Carolina Mudcats SS Francisco Lindor has started off the season on fire. After Friday night’s game, Lindor has hit in all seven games this season, going 12-28 with two triples, a double and five stolen bases. He’s hitting .429/.484/.607 while playing outstanding defense at SS, and is living up to the lofty expectations that Indians fans have for the 19-year old shortstop. Not to be outdone, his teammate in Carolina and fellow 1^st round draft pick Tyler Naquin has hit in 5 of 7, going 11-30 with a HR, 3B, 2 2B and 6 RBI from the leadoff spot in the Mudcats lineup. It’s early in the season and all of the standard small sample size caveats apply, but it’s great to see these two get off to such a hot start. The Indians remain loaded with up the middle talent throughout the organization, and the continued development of these two players is going to be key to a future window of contention for this Indians franchise.

Finally, from the credit where credit is due department; MLB has made some improvements to their MLB TV ap, making it an even better product than it was last season. Living out of the Cleveland viewing area as I do, MLB Extra Innings or MLB TV is a necessity. I used to get MLB Extra Innings through cable, but found that to be sorely lacking. For $200 a season, I got to watch standard definition games with other teams announcers. Listening to Hawk Harrleson is bad enough, but listening to him without even the luxury of HD video? And for $200?? Not much of a deal if you ask me. Fortunately, MLB TV is available on your computer, tablet, Xbox, Playstation etc. MLB TV is always in HD, gives you choices of which announcers to listen to, and costs “just” $130. It also includes the MLB At Bat ap for your phone, which means the ability to listen to Tom Hamilton anytime, anywhere. That alone is nearly worth the price. During the games, MLB TV displays pitch FX data in real time, showing us exactly where pitches did (or did not) cross the strike zone and at what speed, break etc. It also provides real-time access to highlights around the league, something that’s particularly useful the day after the west coast games that end well after I go to bed. In fact, it makes watching baseball highlights on the four-letter network obsolete and unnecessary, as all of the webgems, home runs and everything in between are available on-demand at your fingertips. I’m not a paid endorser of MLB TV or anything, but I really am happy with the product they’re putting out this season. Compared to the NFL, who seems bound and determined to restrict access to their product as much as possible, it’s refreshing to have options to follow your favorite team from out of town. Now if only they could fix that Fox exclusive window at 4pm on Saturdays…

Follow @Gotribe31

​

A Lazy Sunday with the Season in Full Swing

Few things have pleased me as much over the last 6 months as seeing the way that this site has continued on since I’ve left here as Al has brought his expertise and writing talent into the fray to grow this site since he’s assumed stewardship of the site.  But sometimes (actually oftentimes) things come up that take precedence over a simple post on a Sunday and I’ve been called out of the bullpen…think of it as a LOOGY situation.  With Al occupied this weekend (with a wedding…his own!), I’ve decided to come off of the shuffleboard courts here at Del Boca Vista and drop a (very quick) Lazy One down because…you know, games are actually underway.  And while very little can be gleaned from a couple of days worth of games, there have been positive signs (Ubaldo, with a FANTASTIC piece delving into his recent issues here) and some negative ones.  Certainly the same concerns that existed at the start of the season – namely the Starting Pitching (and here is another great piece on the Rays’ continued development of Starting Pitching that stands in stark contrast to the Tribe’s recent past and their current rotation, where it is unlikely that a player drafted and/or developed by the Tribe will start a game for the Erie Warriors this year) – persist, but nobody’s running away and hiding with the AL Central…and certainly not the Tribe.

That all said, a couple of weeks ago, my friend Vince Grzegorek (correct spelling…ahem, Esquire) at Scene Magazine asked me to pen one of my “season previews” for him to include in this weekend’s edition, right next to Vince’s terrific Q & A with Chris Perez.  So, without further ado, I’ll direct your eyes here to it and retreat once again into retirement so I can take a look at the Early Bird menu and figure out what The DiaBride are going to have for dinner…around 2 PM this “evening”.

With a hearty congrats to Al on his exciting day and with the knowledge that he’ll be back here soon enough, let’s all just enjoy the season and Go Tribe.

Goodyear Notebook on a Lazy Sunday

Another spring training is in the books as the Indians head northward to open the season in Toronto tomorrow night. Between the exciting additions to the team this offseason and the early start due to the World Baseball Classic, this spring has seemed to drag on for longer than any in recent memory. The excitement surrounding the team for opening day is higher than at any time in the recent past, as the improvements in the starting lineup have people whispering about playoff possibilities for a club that finished 68-94 last season. That talk may well be premature, especially considering the question marks in the starting rotation, but the mere fact that talking about the playoffs isn’t completely insane is encouraging in and of itself.

I made the trip down to Goodyear for the fourth year in a row last week, and the trip gets better and better every year. I watched anywhere from two to four baseball games each day, and with the minor league fields being adjacent to each other I often found myself watching two games at once. Getting to see the players in the organization up close is a great experience, as there’s only so much you can learn from the stat line of a player. I left with a ton of great pictures and a notebook overflowing with observations. So as a pre-season treat, I’m going to share some of my notes on 20 or so players in the Indians organization that I was able to see this spring. There will be plenty more to come later in the season and in greater detail, but hopefully you enjoy this broad look at every level of the Indians system.

Tony Wolters

Some of the biggest news on the minor league front occurred a couple of days after I left Goodyear (of course). I was set to write about how much more comfortable Tony Wolters looked at 2B than at this time last year, and how excited I was to see him in AA Akron this season. Then on Friday, the Indians announced that they’re moving Wolters behind the plate. He was the club’s 3^rd round draft pick in 2010, and posted a .724 OPS for high-A Carolina last year as a 20-year old. Wolters caught some in high school, and he definitely has the physical and mental tools to stick behind the plate. He’s a tireless worker, a plus athlete and a leader. But catcher is the most difficult position on the field, and there are guys who have caught their entire lives and still can’t perfect the intricacies of the position. The real question for me here is whether the Indians felt they needed to move Wolters off middle infield because of the organizational depth there, or if they truly see this as an opportunity to us an above-average bat behind the plate. Wolters did nothing to show the Indians that he couldn’t play 2B/SS, so I have to lean towards the latter explanation. Wolters will spend a couple of weeks in extended spring training working on the new position, and then rejoin the high-A Carolina Mudcats. I should get to see Wolters in action behind the plate at the end of April when the Mudcats travel to Potomac to play the P-Nats, and I can’t wait to talk to Wotlers and get his thoughts on the new position.

Flamethrowing righthanded reliever Trey Haley was experiencing some minor discomfort in his right shoulder, so the Indians had him on the shelf while I was down there. It wasn’t considered to be serious at all, and Haley was still throwing on the side. As one player told me though, when you have a guy who throws triple digits, you tend to be a little over-cautious with his arm. Haley is expected to be ready to start the 2013 regular season, but the situation bears monitoring nonetheless.

Trevor Bauer was optioned to minor league camp while I was in Arizona, and I got to see him start a game against the Dodgers AAA affiliate. Bauer threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits while striking out two and walking two. Of the four hits he allowed, one was a bloop single over the infield and another was a swinging bunt that no one could make a play on. The Dodger hitters have a lot of trouble squaring the ball up against him, but Bauer also had a little trouble putting them away. His pitch count got up a little higher than the Indians would have liked, and they had to roll the 5^th inning with two on and two out because Bauer had thrown more pitches than the Indians coaching staff was comfortable with. It was easy to see why the Indians acquired Bauer, as his fastball sat between 92-96 MPH and he showcased a plus-plus curveball and a plus changeup. His changeup in particular generated a lot of silly-looking swings, and I think it’s going to be a real weapon for him going forward. Bauer is going to start the 2013 season in the rotation for AAA Columbus, but there’s little doubt that he’ll be in Cleveland at some point, likely before the all-star break. Bauer is the most talented pitcher in the Indians organization with true front-line potential, and for the Indians to contend for the playoffs in 2013 or beyond, Bauer will have to mature into that #1 starter that the Indians front office believes that he can be. He’s still just 22 years old and is going to be a lot of fun to watch in Cleveland for the next 6 (or more) seasons.

I saw righthander Jordan Cooper pitch twice for Carolina last year, and both times he was excellent. That streak continued in Goodyear, as I watched him throw 4 outstanding innings for Akron, striking out 5 and not allowing an earned run. He’s a bit of an under the radar guy in the system right now, but that could change this year. He’s one of those guys who just goes out and gets results every time he’s on the bump.

I got to see the Indians 3^rd round pick from last year, Kieran Lovergove, in action on Monday. He surprised me a little with his fastball velocity, sitting consistently between 92-95 and touching 97 once in his three innings of work. That’s a big leap from where he was as an amateur, and increases Lovegrove’s ceiling considerably. He credits the Indians coaching staff with teaching him to use his lower half more in his delivery, helping him to add a couple of ticks on his fastball.

Austin Adams

Austin Adams missed all of 2012 due to shoulder issues, finally having surgery after exhausting all other options. After working tirelessly to rehab in Arizona this winter, Adams finally got back on the mound in game action this Monday. I was concerned with whether Adams’ velocity would be effected with after the procedure, as he was a guy who touched triple digits prior to the shoulder issues. Well, he was between 94-96 in his two innings of work earlier this week, an extremely encouraging sign for the young righthander. Adams will stick around in Goodyear in extended spring training and likely make his debut back with Akron at some point this summer. It was great to see him back on the mound again, both for the Indians and for Adams himself.

Dorssys Paulino is the real deal. He’s a very advanced hitter, showcasing exceptional bat to ball ability. He consistently barrels the baseball, and uses the whole field. He has a smooth, level swing that generates plenty of line drives, and has some pop too. As he continues to add strength to his frame, I could see him hitting 20+ HR’s in a season down the road. Defensively, he handled every chance that I saw in the field, making a couple of tough plays on slow rollers that he had to come in on and then make strong throws on the run. Small sample size, but he definitely has the raw athleticism to remain at shortstop.

The Indians invited 2B Jose Ramirez to major league camp this spring, and he spent a lot of time up with the big club. Ramirez is just 20 years old, and he’s appeared in just 70 games outside of the complex leagues. The fact that the Indians felt that he could step in and compete with big league players says a lot about how talented Ramirez is, and it bodes well for his future. In fact, the club is so high on Ramirez that they’re going to have him skip high-A Carolina entirely and debut with the AA Akron Aeros to begin the 2013 season. Ramirez will be one of the youngest players in the Eastern League, and it will be very interesting to see how he handles the aggressive assignment. If Ramirez can hold his own at Akron this year, then his overall ceiling will be considerably higher than it was at this time last season.

Tyler Naquin

The Indians first round draft pick and 15^th overall selection in 2013, CF Tyler Naquin also spent some time in big league camp. His arm came as advertised, as he had an opportunity to uncork a few throws from his plus-plus cannon of a right arm. His bat impressed as well, going 2-10 with 2 RBI and a stolen base in big league camp. Scouts are still unconvinced about his eventual power output, but there’s little doubt that he has the type of swing that will consistently generate a high batting average. Combine that with an advanced approach at the plate that will provide plenty of walks, and Naquin profiles as a classic top of the order CF. The Indians believe he can stick in CF, and if he can remain there then his power profile isn’t as big of an issue than if he were to have to move to an OF corner.

Indians fans writ large got an opportunity to watch Francisco Lindor, and the young shortstop didn’t disappoint. Lindor appeared in 10 games this spring, going 7-24 with a double, a triple and a stolen base. Perhaps most impressively, he struck out just twice in 25 plate appearances against big league pitching. He made some nice plays in the field, and provided Tribe fans with a glimpse of why he’s the consensus #1 prospect in the Indians organization. That the 19-year old switch-hitter is already comfortable playing with and against big leaguers is a pretty good sign for the youngster’s career. Lindor has future all-star written all over him, and he’s going to be a treat for fans who get to see him play with the Carolina Mudcats in 2013.

Lefthanded starter T.J. House was a key member of the Aeros 2012 Eastern League Championship run, and because of the logjam of starters slated to pitch for AAA Columbus, he’ll be back in Akron to begin the 2013 season. House was added to the 40-man roster this offseason and has the potential to be a solid middle of the rotation starter. He’s a command and control lefty that relies on location and movement more than pure stuff. He’s a smart pitcher who knows how to attack hitters, often pitching backwards and generating a lot of weak contact. He’s a fun guy to watch pitch, and should wind up in Columbus at some point in 2013.

I got a chance to talk with Aeros manager Edwin Rodriguez who was fresh off of his 2^nd place finish in the World Baseball Classic. When I asked Rodriguez what it was like managing the Puerto Rican team in the WBC, he said that “it was like the World Series for those guys. In March!” It’s great to have such an experienced and respected manager in the Indians system, and Rodriguez is great at working with the young players in the minor leagues.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Bo Greenwell is hurt again. When they went in to repair his torn ACL, they also fixed his meniscus. Unfortunately, the meniscus “fix” didn’t take, and he had to have it scoped this offseason. Greenwell is back taking try hacks and will be hitting soft toss and getting tee work in pretty soon. He’ll likely start the season in extended spring training, then move up to a full-season league at or near the beginning of May. When he’s healthy, Greenwell has been productive. He had an .813 OPS in 46 games with high-A Carolina last year. But it’s been one injury after another for Greenwell, as he’s appeared in just 115 games over the last two seasons.

LeVon Washington

Speaking of injuries, OF LeVon Washington has been dealing with a strained glute in camp and missed several days of game action. I did see him play in one game, during which he walked twice and was hit by a pitch in his three plate appearances. Washington is an immense talent, but has played just 95 games since being selected in the 2^nd round of the 2010 draft. If he’s healthy, Washington should play most of the season in Carolina for the Mudcats.

One of the few disappointing things about my Arizona trip was that I didn’t get to see high-profile international signee Anthony Santander in action. The Venezuelan-born outfielder was nursing some minor injuries, and didn’t appear in game action while I was in Goodyear. Santander is still just 18 years old, and once he’s healthy will stick around in Arizona for extended spring training until the short season New York-Penn League starts up in June. He’ll likely spend some time with Mahoning Valley this year, with an eye towards Lake County in 2014. Santander is an advance hitter for his age though, and there’s a chance that he could see some time as a Captain as early as this season

Justin Toole gained fame by playing all nine positions on the diamond in a game last year, and decided to write a book on the experience. Toole was a sports psychology major at Iowa, and teaches and coaches youth baseball players during the offseason. His book looks at the “playing the field” game, and uses his experience at each position to reflect on a life lesson. He’s currently exploring options for how to publish the book, and it will likely come out sometime after the 2013 season. Toole isn’t an elite prospect, but he’s the kind of guy that every team needs. He’s a leader on and off the field, a player who goes out and plays hard on every play. He does all of the little things, and is a guy who is always at the right place at the right time. An example from one of the spring training games; Toole comes up with the bases loaded and one out after the opposing pitcher throws 8 straight balls. He takes a first-pitch strike, then fouls off the 2^nd pitch to put him down 0-2. He fouls off a couple of tough pitches and works the count to 2-2 before grounding a pitch up the middle. It’s a made to order double-play ball, but Toole hustles out of the box and beats the throw to first. After the run-scoring fielder’s choice, Toole reads a ball in the dirt and advances to 2^nd base on a ball that gets just far enough away from the catcher. He then scores from 2^nd on a 2-out single. All the box score shows from that inning is an 0-1 with a run scored, but Toole did so much more to impact that inning besides a fielder’s choice and a run scored.

Nelson Rodriguez is a big guy. Not quite Jesus Aguilar big, but a big, solid guy with impressive power. He hit a ball off the scoreboard on the back fields in an intersquad game, and there’s a chance that the ball would still be rolling right now if the scoreboard didn’t get in the way. He probably won’t get his season underway until June with Mahoning Valley, but watching him put on a show in batting practice is a lot of fun.

No article would be complete without a mention of my guy Roberto Perez. But this time, we’re going to talk about his offense! Perez hit a pair of deep home runs in an intersquad game, and looks much more comfortable at the plate this year than in the past. Small sample size of course, but he seemed to be seeing the ball better this spring. He put together some really solid at bats, and if he can take even a small step forward with the bat it would mean big things for his prospect standing. Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but Perez is an elite defender behind the plate, so much so that the Indians considered rostering him this offseason to ensure they didn’t lose his catch and throw ability.  

I got to see outfielder D’Vone McClure for the first time, and he did not disappoint. McClure was the Indians 4^th round pick in 2012, and signed for an overslot bonus to disappoint the University of Arkansas. McClure is an outstanding athlete, and everything he does on a baseball field just looks fluid and easy. He has a smooth, line-drive swing with plus bat speed. He’s a plus runner with an above-average arm, and he just looks like a baseball player. McClure will primarily play CF, and will stick around Goodyear in extended spring training until the short-season leagues start up in June.

Infielder Joe Wendle was a 6^th round selection out of Division II West Chester College last year, and it was seen at the time as a signability pick to save money for elsewhere in the top 10. No one told Wendle though, as the 22-year old went out and hit .327/.375/.469 with 4 HR and 37 RBI for Mahoning Valley in 61 games last season. Wendle was a little old for the level so his numbers have to be taken in context, but it was an impressive performance nonetheless. Wendle has a smooth, level swing from the left side, and hits without batting gloves. What you see is what you get with the 2B/3B, and while he’s not a top prospect he’s certainly an intriguing guy to watch in the Indians system.

Logan Vick made one of the greatest defensive plays I’ve ever seen at the minor league level, robbing D’Vone McClure of extra bases with an incredible diving catch in center field. McClure smoked a ball into the left-center field gap, and I was already taking out my phone to tweet about how impressive McClure’s swing was. But Vick came out of nowhere to lay out at a full run and catch the ball just before it fell to the turf, drawing cheers from both dugouts in the intersquad contest. And considering Vick didn’t play a single game in CF last year just makes it all the more impressive. He was an 11^th round pick out of Baylor last year, and the 22-year old should open in the Captains outfield this season in Eastlake.

Finally, Baseball Prospectus has come out with their annual minor league organizational rankings. The Indians rank 19^th in baseball, up from the 24^th position at this time last year. It’s definitely still a system on its way up, as most of the talent is still young and unproven. Not all of the young talent will improve in 2013, but they’re also not going to lose many top prospects to graduation this year. Add to that the #5 overall pick in the 2013 draft, and the Indians system has the potential to be back in the top-10 in all of baseball by next offseason. And when you look at where the Indians big-payroll AL Central Division opponents rank (Tigers 29, White Sox 28), you can’t help but be encouraged about the future.