Random thoughts based on my baseball watching on Saturday:
AA Akron -
Shane McCarthy - Nice fastball-slider mix. Didn't see the curveball or change. Sat 92-93 with great command, especially down in the zone. Just from this one look, he can be a good reliever in the majors by the end of this year. As a starter, time will tell.
Nick Mikolajchack - As advertised. 95-97 mph fastball that overmatched a lot of these guys. With his breaking ball he could be in our bullpen by the end of this year.
Tyler Freeman - I had seen him in spring training and again in games up to now. Before last night, however, I really hadn't noticed where his hits were going. Since all 5 went to the opposite field last night I thought I would chart his ABs so far this season.
Hits: RF - 9 hits, CF - 3 hits, LF-0 hits, SS - 1 hit
Outs: K - 9 (3 called), LF - 2 outs, RF - 1 out, C - 1 out, 2b - 2 outs, SS - 5 outs, 3B - 4 outs
So, all of hits have gone to the opposite field except for one infield hit. It looks like he is rolling over on some balls to the left side of the infield. It will be interesting to see what happens when the book gets out on him and pitchers start busting him inside.
It is interesting to see guys who are journeyman minor leaguers but yet are intriguing. Cale Coshow for Erie was hitting 95-96 mph in relief and was effective. Then you look and find out he is almost 29 pitching at AA. Still, could the Indians make something out of this guy that the Tigers can't? I might think of doing a minor league trade for this guy as there might be something there if the Indians can fix whatever is wrong with him. Guys who throw 95-96 are always in demand
Cleveland Indians
Hey, we shouldn't act like this is surprising. We don't have enough hitting and our 4-5 starters are struggling because they are young. We have been so spoiled here recently as our rookie pitchers have hit the ground running. McKenzie and Hentges are more like what you expect to see. I mean, look at Daniel Lynch (0-2, 15.75 ERA) and Logan Gilbert (0-1, 9.00 ERA, his start being against the weak hitting Indians).
We also knew that our hitting would suck. I like Eddie Rosario as a veteran presence but is anyone surprised he lasted so long in free agency and is hitting like he is? It now makes sense that he had to settle for a one year deal with the Indians. Ditto for Cesar Hernandez not being able to leverage his 2020 season into a bigger, mulit-year contract this year. Amed Rosario and Gimenez are both struggling, exactly as you would expect for guys who the Mets felt comfortable giving up on.
The rest of the lineup is hitting almost exactly as we imagined they would, based on past performances.
We get what we paid for and that is below major league average offense at all positions but 3B.
Still, a couple games above .500 look like a realistic option for this team, thanks in most part to Tito's managing.
Beiber today. Let's hope he wins because, if not, this team might go all Kansas City in a hurry.
Rene Rivera - Yesterday the guy must have dropped a half a dozen pitches that were right in his glove. Plus he didn't make a catch on a throw from Rosario that would have stopped the 5th run. I know he is a veteran but I don't see him being on this team. In spring training Lavarnway looked plenty good enough on the defensive side that he should have been the first callup, given his RH bat fits with this team and he is a MUCH better offensive player than Hedges, Rivera and maybe even Perez. He is good off the bench if you need a pinchhitter for Hedges. Sometimes, you have to have some offense, especially when your 'defensive' catcher can't even catch the ball.
Rest of the minor leagues
No real breakout prospects here so far. Owen Miller (more below) and Tyler Freeman are performing much as we expected them to based on spring training and only a few shades better than what we thought coming into spring training. While it is early, the rest of the minor leaguers are performing as expected based on their individual histories. Not bad, at all, but not anything to write home about for the 11th ranked farm system in baseball and one that will require, now and in the near future, for breakout performances in the majors for guys that started this year in the minors.
Columbus
Owen Miller is just hitting the ball. Delving into his hit placement is interesting.
Hits: LF - 7 (HR, D), CF - 2 (D,T), RF - 4 3B - 1, SS - 4, 2B - 2 - So he 6 infield hits which is a lot. How many of those translate into hits in the majors will be interesting. In terms of his OF hits, he spreads the ball around MUCH more Freeman and shows good pull side power. Could it be that his high number of infield hits is because he is hitting through and somewhat around the shift? Maybe. If that is true the extreme number of infield hits for a guy who isn't that fast (9 career steals in over 200 games) makes more sense.
Outs: K - 10 (3 called), LF - 1, CF - 2, SS - 2 (1 DP), 2B - 3, 1B - 1 (foul popup). This is all very encouraging as when he hits the ball to RF it is a hit and he doesn't appear to be rolling over balls that much.
Basically, against AAA pitching, he looks like he is pretty ready for the majors. It is time to bring him up for Chang whose K last night was just freaking pathetic and looked like a guy who has just given up.
Eli Morgan has been disappointing so far. He looked so good yesterday for about 1 2/3 and then you could see the air go out of the sails. I can't tell if he is trying to shake off his ST injury still. But, right now, his pedigree and what I have seen in two starts has me pegging his upside as a long reliever in the majors or a setup man if his fastball ticks up in relief to go with his good changeup and breaking balls. Still, if he rights the ship we have seen how effective junkballers can be against major league hitters like the Indians have.
Bobby Bradley - At a time where he could make his mark and easily replace Bauers, he is putting up AAAA numbers AGAIN at AAA. Really disappointing. I still hope he pulls it together but, like Mercado, Zimmer and even Daniel Johnson, much less likely as the year progresses.
Lake County
I like the way Turner is pitching. Obviously haven't seen them yet as they are not on MiLB.TV yet (Is this a Bally's thing, too?).
The hitters are a work in progress and it will take a whole season to sort out the prospects from the suspects.
Ditto for the pitchers, although Logan Allen (the younger) and Tanner Burns are intriguing and potential breakout prospects.
Lynchburg
I thought Josh Wolf would have been a bright light in the Lindor trade. He is just a work in progress. A good work in progress but, still, not anyone who appears, right now, that he will shoot up prospect rankings like I hope he would. Still looks like the Mets pulled one over on us in the Lindor/Carrasco trade. Time will tell if that is true. I want to see Isaiah Greene but even that, due to the fact he will likely stay in Arizona, will be a snapshot in time and not really that valuable.
Like Lake County, it now appears that it will take the whole year to sort out the prospects fromt he suspects at Lynchburg, including Noel. Planez is an interesting prospect, maybe standing out more for his tools than any other hitter on this roster. If Noel is still dealing by the end of the year maybe he becomes the organization's breakout prospect in 2021.
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