The @Indians recall RHP C.C. Lee from Triple-A Columbus; option RHP Danny Salazar to Columbus.
— MLBRosterMoves (@MLBRosterMoves) July 12, 2013
C(hnen) C(hang) Lee is the first native of Taiwan to play with the Indians, and only the ninth Taiwanese to play in the majors (assuming he appears in a game). CC Lee* would have made his debut a year or so earlier if not for Tommy John surgery, but he's progressed pretty much on schedule, making his way back up the organization after starting his season in late May. As with Danny Salazar, Lee has been just as effective (if not moreso) after the elbow surgery as before it, striking out 12 batters in 6.1 AAA innings. His walks have been up a bit since returning to the mound, but control tends to be the last thing that comes for a player coming back from Tommy John.
Lee was signed by the Indians in 2008, and has been a reliever from the beginning of his pro career. Before the surgery he had a low-mid 90s fastball along with a slider. Combine that stuff with a three-quarters delivery, and you have a reliever who should have a long career in the majors. Even though he was 26 and coming off elbow surgery, Baseball American ranked him the 10th-best prospect in the organization this past winter.
Danny Salazar will head back to Columbus, and presumably get on schedule to make the start on the 22nd. Given how he pitched yesterday, if Zach McAllister (on DL for strained finger) can't make that start, then it will Salazar, since 10 days would have elapsed since his option.
With Lee's recall, three pitchers drafted/signed and developed by the Indians have made their MLB debuts in the span of a week, and two of them (Salazar and Lee) have the potential to be effective major-leaguers. For an organization that has struggled over the past decade to develop pitching, that's a nice trend.
*Isn't it bizarre that we now have a current Indian whose name is a combination of two of the best pitchers (CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee) in team history? It would be like having a center fielder named Jim Ramirez or a third baseman named Omar Belle.
The latest 25-man/40-man roster