Minor Action: 4/3

Hello Nick,

Chris Nash intrigues me even more than Todd Martin does, probably because Nash is only 21-YO (just turned it in Feb.,) compared to Martin being 24-YO. But Nash seems to me like the long-term lower-level 1B prospect that really bears watching, no offense to Martin. Martin will really have to have a stellar year in 2008 across several levels to really factor into the Indians' noted prospects, whereas I think Nash is already knocking on that "noted prospect" door, especially if he has another solid to good season in 2008, preferably at both Lake County and Kinston, at least.

Newsom?

Hello ASP,

Yes, I think Stevens will get more looks in late-inning situations, being that his command and stuff has really come around and the fact his K/IP ratio is so good.

Tony Lastoria of TheClevelandFan.com reports that Stevens' fastball, (regularly at 92-93, and can reach 95,) gets in on batters quickly, much like Betancourt's, and several seem to think that Betancourt could be the future closer in waiting for the Indians after JoeBo, so it would seem likely Stevens will get more late-inning and even closing opportunities this season, since I think he would project to be part of a late-inning bullpen group (a.k.a. "Circle of Trust." :-)

Just my 2 cents.

And a quick question, how do I put links within a single word like we could with the old site?

That's what I would think. And I think that means his window is pretty much closed.

Hello fleerdon,

As amazing as Mulhern's "long" tenure in the Indians' system has been, I'm more surprised that OF Jason Cooper (yes, that one who had that great season between Lake County and Kinston back in 2003) is still in the system. As small as Mulhern's window is (and it's pretty much non-existent, at least with the Indians,) Cooper's is even less.

Regarding Pontius, he's only 20-YO and the K rates are very nice! I keep thinking he's the one who also has the 3+ GB/1 FB ratio, but I think that's another reliever in our system whose name keeps escaping me. I think he also played at High-A Kinston last season, so I don't think it was Pontius.

Regardless, Pontius is very intriguing; he just needs to shore up that command, but he has time to do that! :-)

Just my 2 cents.

Barring several injuries on the major league roster this season (or a Babe Ruth-like season in Buffalo), Mulhern's window is probably closed in Cleveland. The odds were always stacked against him in that he debuted at an old age (22) and didn't distinguish himself at all during his first two seasons (.798 OPS in Mahoning Valley, .706 OPS in Lake County). He broke out big-time in 2005, putting up a 1.030 OPS between Kinston and Akron, opening up a very small window for himself. But he followed that up with two more unremarkable seasons at Buffalo, which coupled with his defensive position, pretty much sealed his fate. He's probably closer to the Ernie Young trajectory now than the Kevin Kouzmanoff.

Hmm, I wonder if Ossee Schreckengost is related to the Cleveland artist Viktor Schreckengost...

And what will we do with Kelvin Diaz when he arrives?

Sean Smith started for Buffalo, going 3 (2 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4K, 70 pitches), with the next three by Elarton (1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 36 pitches). These look like "emergency spot start" numbers. I thought Sowers was supposed to start that game, but now I see that he's scheduled to go tonight. Is there something going on we should know about, or am I just mistaken?

Archer for MVP!

You definitely jinxed him.

Hello APV,

Archer had very good stuff being drafted out of a NC high school, but he was very erratic with his command while he's been in the system. It's nice to see him start well here in 2008 - being that he's only 19-YO, he has time to work it all out.

Too bad the bullpen blew it, although Landis struck out 2 in 1.1 IP, but Campfield and Holt were not impressive at all.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Hello mcrose,

I think that's becoming an exciting trend, the fact that Lake County's pitching over the last few seasons is including a lot of young, projectable pitchers. That's why I think the Indians' farm system has more in it than many of the national media think is there - granted, they all likely won't turn out, but if even 1/3 to 1/2 of them turn out as or close to as expected, the Indians should be in very good shape going into the future in regards to the pitching staff (and they also have some nice young positional talent too, including Weglarz, Rivero, Cumberbatch, Mills, etc.) That's in addition to pitchers like Carmona, Miller, Lofgren, Stevens, Santos (presuming the last four make it, of course,) Perez, Lewis, Laffey, Sowers, etc. - very good depth in my opinion.

Just my 2 cents. :-)