Written by Tony Lastoria

---

It's "Minor Happenings" time here once again, and if you haven't been reading Tony's excellent column this season, shame on you.  Because all these kids he's been talking about are going to be playing here in Cleveland if this thing doesn't get turned around pretty quickly.  As always, this week's installment is excellent, with a slew of great information on the Indians' minor league affiliates and the team's top orgazational prospects.

"Minor Happenings" covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system.  While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that cover each team.

I'll be in Lake County tonight to see the Captains again and get a look at left-handed starter Ryan Morris for a feature piece that is coming soon.  If you missed them, be sure to check out feature pieces on Lake County outfielder Roman Pena and Buffalo first baseman Jordan Brown which posted earlier this week.  Also, I talked to a major league scout for another team last week and got some good insight on how their organization views some of the Indians prospects.

Indians Minor League Player Of The Week
(for week of June 5^th through June 11^th)

Jim Deters (Right-handed Pitcher - Kinston)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 games, 10 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Kinston right-hander Jim Deters had a heck of a return to the starting rotation last Thursday.  Making his third sport start of the season, Deters went on to throw a complete game nine-inning shutout allowing just three hits, no walks, and struck out five in 87 pitches.  Deters must have been in a celebratory mood as his great game came just a day after his 25th birthday and on the same night as his wife's 24th birthday.  Deters was back in the bullpen on Tuesday and pitched a scoreless inning of relief.  On the season Deters is 3-2 with a 3.13 ERA in 18 appearances (3 starts).

Deters' gem last Thursday was the first complete game shutout thrown by a Kinston pitcher since left-hander Aaron Laffey threw a seven inning complete game shutout on May 16th, 2006.  The last nine-inning complete game shutout came when left-hander Keith Ramsey threw a perfect game for Kinston on the last day of the regular season at Myrtle Beach in 2004.  For his efforts, Deters was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week.

Honorable Mentions:  Ryan Goleski, OF, Akron (.480 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI); Roman Pena, OF, Lake County (.361 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI); Niuman Romero, SS, Kinston (.348 AVG, 2 HR, 6 RBI); Chris Gimenez, C, Akron (.474 AVG, .722 OBP, 0 HR, 1 RBI)

Previous Winners:

5/29 to 6/4: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/22 to 5/28: Chris Archer (RHP - Lake County)
5/15 to 5/21: David Huff (LHP - Akron)
5/8 to 5/14: Steven Wright (RHP - Kinston)
5/1 to 5/7: Jeremy Sowers (LHP - Buffalo)
4/24 to 4/30: Jose Constanza (OF - Akron)
4/17 to 4/23: Hector Rondon (RHP - Kinston)
4/10 to 4/16: Wes Hodges (3B - Akron)
4/3 to 4/9: Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP - Lake County)

Director's Cuts

Indians Farm Director Ross Atkins provided a smorgasbord of comments on several players in the system as well as on some of the new talent coming into the system after last week's draft:

On Asdrubal Cabrera:  "It has been an unbelievable whirlwind for him.  He came into the system and went right to Triple-A.  Then last year we asked him to start at Double-A and he handled that very well and was basically the best player in the league and took that right into the playoffs and was hitting home runs and making gold glove type plays.  I think this year with him struggling and getting off to a slow start, what we want to do is get him back to the success he enjoyed in the minor leagues.  It is easier to do when the talent level is lower, and he is such a gifted player.  If I were to summarize what he has to do to get back to the major leagues, is to trust his hands as a hitter.  That is what Derek Shelton has asked him to do, and there are some specific drills that are in place."

On Lake County:  They are having some fun.  With pitching and defense they have put together a lot of good games and are two games up in first place.  It is a good team that is a lot of fun to watch.  There are a lot of upside arms as Kelvin De La Cruz has gotten up to 95 MPH, you got at least two guys in the starting rotation with sub-two ERAs and there is some dominance in that pitching staff.  They have really done an exceptional job as a team and they are a lot of fun to go and watch.

On Luis Perdomo:  Luis has been great.  He has an above average fastball, and flashes a plus slider.  Unfortunately, he uses the slider too much because in the Carolina League you can.  He really has an impressive arm for a guy who is only 5'10".  He can run it up there to 94 MPH, and has an 86 MPH slider with depth.  His fastball use needs to increase before we get him up to the upper levels, but we should see him above the Kinston level shortly.

On Lonnie Chisenhall:  First and foremost, in player development we love youth and tools.  He has both of those things.  He is 19-years old, he has hit ability, he has power, and he has a plus arm.  We are very excited about his athleticism and his ability to play short.  The thing we love about being 19 is we have some time to develop him.  Most likely it will be a traditional path where he plays at Lake County and Kinston, and then at some point his performance will start to dictate where he belongs.  If he is dominating a level we will get him out of there.  John Mirabelli and Brad Grant delivered those two attributes of youth and tools to us, and if we can hopefully see that in his performance that is what excites us.

On Trevor Crowe:  You know, it is interesting.  It has been such a tough run for Trevor.  The injuries, and this year another one to the his back that he tried to play through a little bit too long potentially thinking he might be an option for the major league team in spring training.  That set him back a little bit and he is just starting to get settled in.  I don't think the .200 batting average is what we will see here in the next few weeks.  His hard hit percentage and his on-base percentage are both creeping up.  He is such a good athlete and hard worker that eventually the numbers will start to pan out and match his tools.

On Chris Gimenez:  He is on-base almost 50% of the time.  When he comes to the plate you think he is going to get to first or hit a double.  He is walking about 25% of the time which is unheard of.  The thing about Chris that is so intriguing is he is one of those guys that everybody in our system is pulling for.  From player to coach to front office, he has got to be one of the best makeup guys in our system.  He is tough, he is smart, he is durable, and any crack that is there he breaks wide open.  Those are the guys we love to talk about.

On Josh Rodriguez:  We have challenged him to get on-base, be it hit ability or [walks].  If you are a middle of the diamond player, on-base ability has significant value.  He drives the ball out of the park to all fields, and actually most of his power comes to right and right-center.  He stole 20 bags last year and is a very good base-runner.  Defensively we would like to work hard to keep him at shortstop as we know he can play second base.

On Josh Tomlin:  He is a converted shortstop, and has a lot of athleticism.  When a pitcher is extremely athletic the ability to make adjustments is quicker.  We have seen the depth of his slider improve much faster than most of our pitchers.  We have seen his command improve much faster than most of our pitchers.  I think that is a tribute to his athleticism and fortitude obviously.  He has been up to 92 MPH this year, and we did not expect that.  So he went up to Triple-A and made a spot start and it did not phase him in the least, so that is a good sign.

On David Huff:  He has really been impressive this year.  Every time we expect that maybe there will be a hiccup there just isn't one.  He answers every challenge and is an extremely tough individual.  Our expectations and standards of him have been very high because of his talent and ability.  We are comparing him to the likes of Laffey and Sowers as opposed to the likes of a Ryan Edell on his own team in Akron.  We are comparing him to the guys who are competing against teams like the Detroit Tigers.  Because of that we are asking a lot of him and he has answered the challenge.  He has a very good feel to pitch, and his fastball command is unbelievable.  He mixes in a curveball, but mostly mixes in a slider and changeup.  He pounds the zone with his fastball and he reminds me a lot of Tom Glavine.  Now they are different in subtle ways and obviously Glavine had an incredible career, but just the way they pitch and command the baseball is very similar.

On the draft assignments:  I think a majority of this draft will go in to fill out the Mahoning Valley roster because it was predominantly college players.  We'll have some high school power arms in the Gulf Cost League.

On Jeremie Tice:  He drove the ball out of park at the College of Charleston at a great clip.  We can't believe he got to the 6^th round and we are excited to have him.  He is very athletic where we know he can play third, and down the road he may catch as well.

Mirabelli On The Draft

Indians Director of Scouting John Mirabelli may not be as involved with the First-Year-Player Draft as much as he used to be since Director of Amateur Scouting Brad Grant has assumed most of that role.  But, Mirabelli still has heavy input into what selections the Indians make and offered up some comments on their first round pick as well as some of their scouting methods:

On Lonnie Chisenhall:  "Well, we saw him as a high school junior and then he went to the University of South Carolina his freshman year.  So we had a pretty good track record with him.  The funny thing about picking 29^th is you never know what is going to come your way.  He was a guy we targeted early because we thought we might have a chance to get him.  So we scouted him pretty heavily since February this year.  We think eventually he is going to be a third baseman.  He is 6'2 and plays shortstop now, and we think it is good for his development to stay there for the short term, but I think after he gets through his first season his future is at third base.  He is a line drive gap-to-gap hitter.  Right now it is a very patient, polished approach to hitting.  We feel like he has a chance to develop power in the future and that his hitting approach and his ability right now should lead to power in the future.  Signability is very good."

On signability:  "Part of the process with all the players we selected is ‘do you have the desire to get your career started now' and the resounding answer we got from all the top ten guys was ‘yeah, we are ready'.  So there are still some negotiations to be had, but we think Lonnie and the rest of our top ten picks are ready to go."

On the rest of the draft:  "Each kid, each situation, each round brings a different set of circumstances.  That's what we have our 20 full-time area scouts for.  It is their job to get out there and know these players and find out what their drive and desires are right now."

On scouting in general:  "I have seen Chisenhall in person.  Mark [Shapiro] does not see them, but we have a very thorough process.  We have a national crosschecker who sees the player.  We have a regional crosschecker who sees the player multiple times.  Brad sees the player.  And of course the area guys do too.  We probably have 10 to 12 to 15 looks that we see them, so we feel pretty good about the evaluation when you put them all together what kind of player we have."

On their draft:  "I would have to sum it up as one with upside which is what we were looking for.  We were looking for talent.  We were not looking by position or to take pitching, hitting or a catcher.  We wanted talent and upside, and that is what we went for."

2008 Draft Wrap

The 2008 Draft has come and gone, and there are various opinions on how good or bad the Indians did.  Dennis Nosco did a live blog of the draft on Day 1 and also did a very nice post-draft writeup on Tuesday.  While I do not agree with everything he says, the man has a passion for the draft, knows what he is talking about, and makes many great points.  For a complete listing of all 50 of the Indians draft picks, go here.

The Indians have already signed a few of their picks in the last 48 hours.  Here is a listing of the players who have signed already:

Round 9: Clayton Cook, RHP, Amarillo (TX) High School, 6'3, 175, R/R, Born 7/23/90
Round 10: Donnie Webb, OF, Oklahoma State U, 5'11, 190, S/R, Born 4/30/86
Round 13: Adam Abraham, INF, Univ. of Michigan, 6'0, 215, R/R, Born 3/27/87

I don't keep up on the draft much, which is why Nosco is someone I turn to for analysis and insight into the draft from a media/fan perspective and also why I like to talk to scouts about the players picked.  Just to bring some balance to the first round pick, I had a conversation with a top scout for a rival major league team the morning after the Indians selected Lonnie Chisenhall with their first round pick:

"Every team had Chisenhall going in the first round, and at least half the clubs considered him one of the top bats in the country. Everyone knew he wasn't going to make it through the supplemental first round. They got extreme value for where they were picking, and I think everyone had the guy ranked low b/c of the off-field issues. But I'm telling you, there is so much upside in that lefthanded bat--he's going to be a good one."

So just thought I would forward that along. No one is right or wrong here. It is way too early to really grade any pick. It is just about providing the information and letting people make their own opinions.

Going Pro vs. Going To College

For many high school seniors who were selected in the draft this year it brings an interesting dilemma to the table for them.  Do they sign with the major league team who drafted them and get a headstart on their professional career, or do they pass on the chance and instead go to college to improve their draft stock when then become draft eligible again as a college junior?  Also, is it more beneficial to go to college to maybe mature more as a player and person as well as also enjoy the whole college experience?

Some players feel the college experience helped them immensely, and Buffalo first baseman Jordan Brown is one of them.

"Without a doubt, [going to college helped]," said Brown in a recent interview.  "It is more than being a player.  It teaches you to be accountable for your own actions.  That is something that I definitely took out of being in Arizona.  I understood what made me a player, that work ethic was important, sometimes things don't always go your way, and that you needed to bring it every day.  It gives you a little taste of it, it is about 52 games, not 140.  You play on weekends.  You get a mental break if you have a rough series, which helps.  It is one of those things where college players are maybe more apt to have a better idea of what they are doing.  I heard a study that there is a higher percentage of college players who make it to the big leagues than high school players, but that there is a way higher All-Star rate with high school players than college players."

Huff Struts His Stuff In Buffalo

As I mentioned was going to happena week ago last Tuesday on my blog, left-hander David Huff was officially moved up to Buffalo on Friday and he made his Triple-A debut the same night.  Huff was as advertised in his first Buffalo start, going six innings and allowing just one run on three hits.  He was actually in line for the win, but closer Bubbie Buzachero blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning.  While Huff had a lot of nerves before the game, once the game started he was business as usual on the mound and calm, cool, collected, and in control the entire time.  He was in few jams, and his fastball consistently clocked in at 90-91 MPH.

In his follow up start on Wednesday night, Huff was not nearly as effective, going five innings and giving up four runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out seven.  He threw an amazing 64 strikes in 78 pitches, so his troubles on the night were probably the result of being around the plate too much.

Huff was told going into the season that he would be fast-tracked, and he certainly has been, although his own performance in Akron helped dictate that.  After he missed most of last season with a strained ligament in his pitching elbow, he finished the year rehabbing it and looked great when he returned to action in the Arizona Fall League.  The Indians told him he would be moved up to Triple-A around midseason provided there was room for him to move up and he performed well at the Double-A level.  Huff held up his end of the bargain going 5-1 with an Eastern League-leading 1.92 ERA in 11 starts at Akron, and the Indians obliged by sending him to Buffalo.

Indians officials are excited with Huff's ability to command his fastball and throw strikes.  Huff is in Buffalo to stay, and now is considered the next starter the Indians would turn to in the event they have a need for a long term solution in the rotation this year.  While he likely would not be called up for a spot start, if one of the remaining five starters in the rotation are traded or hit the disabled list, Huff is in line for a callup.

Beam Me Up, Scotty

With the promotion of Huff to Buffalo, a spot in the Akron rotation was opened up for left-hander Scott Lewis to be activated from the disabled list.  Lewis was slated to begin the year in the Akron rotation, but in the last days of minor league camp in the spring he strained a lat muscle while throwing in the bullpen.  The injury ended up sidelining him the first two months of the season where he spent the entire time in extended spring training in Winter Haven rehabbing the lat to get ready for his return to action.

In his first start of the season on Friday night he was his old self and showed no rust going five scoreless innings and retiring the first 14 batters he faced.  With two outs in the fifth inning his perfect start ended when he gave up back to back singles before he recorded the final out and his night was finished.  Lewis finished the night allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out three.

Lewis was 7-9 with a 3.67 ERA in 25 starts for Akron last season.  Given his previous success in Akron and that he is on the Indians 40-man roster, he likely will be moved up to Buffalo quickly if he proves healthy and performs well for five to seven starts.

Davis Now At.....Catcher?

For those wondering why Adam Davis disappeared off the face of the Earth for the last few weeks of May, you now have your answer.  Davis last appeared in a game in Kinston on May 18th and then was promptly sent to extended spring training not because he was hurt, but to get a quick crash course to learn the catching position.  After two weeks of instruction, the Indians activated him at Kinston again and were pleased with what he showed in a handful of games, so decided to send him down to Lake County so he could get regular playing time at catcher.

I have no idea why Davis was converted to catcher, and this is something I hope to find out more about tonight when I am at Lake County.  I hope to get a chance to speak to him directly about it as well as some of the coaching staff.  In any case, since his return he has been on a power tear with a double and four home runs in just 25 at bats.  Also, in his first three games behind the plate he has caught four of eight men stealing.

Speed Demons

Speed is the hardest tool to find in baseball as so few burners exist in the game today.  That is not the case in Lake County as outfield duo Adam White and Lucas Montero have been burning up the basepaths this season.  White is currently ranked 9^th in the South Atlantic League with 20 stolen bases, and Montero is ranked 2^nd with 26 stolen bases.  As a team, Lake County is ranked 5^th out of 16 teams in the league in stolen bases (75).

White is the more highly publicized of the two, as he was a 9th round pick out of West Virginia University in last year's draft.  Scouts and Indians officials love his speed, and some who have been in the organization for over a decade say he is the fastest player they have seen since they have been with the Indians.  White is consistently timed from home to first at 3.8 seconds which is exceptional since a right-handed hitter on average times at 4.3 seconds from home to first.  There are times when White has come in at around 3.12 seconds, which is unheard of.  White is still raw and learning how to use his speed to his advantage with things like bunting, taking good leads on the bases, and getting good jumps to the next base.

On the season White is hitting .257 with 3 HR, 23 RBI and a .710 OPS, while Montero is hitting .250 with 3 HR, 20 RBI and a .722 OPS.

Comeback City

What a week of comebacks for the Akron Aeros.  In three straight games from Saturday through Tuesday, Akron came back from deficits of 10-0, 6-0, and 6-1 to win and is a big reason they are currently enjoying a seven game winning streak.  It all started on Saturday night where they entered the top of the 6th inning down 10-0.  Through five innings, Portland had put up 10 runs on 13 hits and the Akron offense was completely shutdown to no runs on three singles and had only brought the minimum 15 batters to the plate the first five innings.  Akron proceeded to then erupt for 11 runs over the final four innings, and came away with a miraculous 11-10 win.  Akron scored three in the 6th, four in the 7th on a key two-run triple from shortstop Josh Rodriguez, two in the 8th on a clutch two-out single by outfielder Trevor Crowe, and then two in the 9th with infielder Brandon Chaves plating the go-ahead-run with two outs on a sharp single up the middle.

Not even 24 hours after rallying for the dramatic 11-10 win on Saturday, Akron did it again on Sunday afternoon by coming back from six runs behind to secure a 7-6 victory.  Akron was down 6-0 going into the top of the 6th inning and scored one in the 6th, three in the 7th and three in the 8th inning to win 7-6.  The big blows were a pair of three-run home runs, one by catcher Armando Camacaro in the 7th inning and the other by first baseman Matt Whitney in the 8th inning which gave Akron the lead for good.

After an off-day on Monday, Akron was back at in on Tuesday as they were behind 6-1 going into the bottom of the 7th inning.  Akron scored one in the 7th, one in the 8th, and then down 6-3 going into the bottom of the 9th inning scored five runs for the win.  Outfielder Ryan Goleski socked a three-run walkoff home run to give Akron the 8-6 win.

Stiller Works His Way Through Struggles

Akron right-hander Erik Stiller has had an up and down experience so far since being called up to Akron on May 8th.  After dominating at advanced Single-A Kinston earlier in the year when he went 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in nine appearances and piled up 27 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched, Stiller has found the Double-A waters to be a little tougher to navigate.  In nine appearances at Akron, Stiller is 3-1 with a 5.51 ERA and has 14 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched.  Of late, Stiller has experienced some success in his last two outings by combining to throw five shutout innings.

Stiller's rise in the system is somewhat of a success story as he was an undrafted free agent signing out of Princeton in 2006.  Although, in a funny way, it is hard to call it a success story when the guy is coming from Princeton and passing up a six figure job to toil in the minor leagues making peanuts.  The Indians like Stiller's fastball, and it shows very good life.  Since coming into the organization he continues to add velocity and recently has topped out as high as 94 MPH on the radar gun.  The key to Stiller's success will be the development of at least one quality secondary pitch he can use to keep hitter's honest, and a lot of his struggles have come off opposing hitters touching up his off-speed stuff.  It is a growth opportunity, and something he will work hard to continue improving.

Affiliate Notebook

Buffalo Notes (30-36, 4th place, 10 GB):  The Indians signed left-hander John Halama to a minor league contract late last week and he debuted in the Buffalo rotation on Sunday going six innings giving up three runs, four hits, two walks and struck out four.  Halama, 36, was pitching for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Independent Atlantic League this year, and in eight games he was 4-1 with a 1.88ERA (56.2IP, 47H, 13H, 12ER, 8BB, 48K). ... With the signing of Halama, this is the second time the Indians have found an arm they liked on the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. On May 31^st, the Indians signed Blue Crabs' right-hander Dan Reichert and assigned him to Buffalo. The Southern Maryland roster also has a pair of former Bisons in outfielder Eric Crozier (2004) and left-hander Keith Ramsey (2004). ... First baseman Jordan Brown's most recent blog on MiLB.com is up.  Brown hit his first home run of the season on Monday night, and on the season is hitting .282 with 1 HR, 15 RBI, and a .745 OPS. ... First baseman Michael Aubrey is day-to-day after leaving the game on Monday night with a muscle twinge in his back.  Aubrey is hitting .294 with 3 HR, 23 RBI and a .786 OPS in 170 combined at bats between Akron and Buffalo this year. ... Outfielder Brad Snyder is hitting .257 with 5 HR, 27 RBI, and a .759 OPS.

Akron Notes (36-26, 2nd place, .5 GB):  Akron has been one of the hottest teams in the minors the past month.  On May 4th they were 13-18, which was their low-water mark of the season, but since then they have gone 23-8 and are currently riding a seven-game winning streak.  They also are within a half game of first place in the Eastern League's Southern Division which is as close as they have been since the first week of the season. ... Shortstop Josh Rodriguez is in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak, which is the longest hitting streak of the season for anyone at Akron this year.  Oddly enough, Rodriguez's batting average has not increased much as he is only hitting .262 (17-for-65) during the streak with four doubles, three triples, and 12 RBI.  On the season Rodriguez is hitting .270 with 2 HR, 23 RBI, 7 stolen bases, and a .731 OPS. ... Outfielder Bronson Sardinha saw his 12-game hitting streak end on Wednesday night.  The Hawaii native is hitting .278 with 1 HR, 15 RBI and a .704 OPS in 13 games at Akron. ... Right-hander J.D. Martin returned to Akron on Wednesday following a brief stint with Triple-A Buffalo where he appeared in just one game allowing a run in two innings of relief. ... Catcher Chris Gimenez is having quite the season offensively, as in his last ten games he is hitting .375 and also has walked 11 times.  On the season, he is hitting .327 with 4 HR, 18 RBI and has a .978 OPS.  His 47 walks and .478 on-base percentage lead the Eastern League.

Kinston Notes (33-32, 2nd place, 8.5 GB):  Kinston right-handed pitchers Steven Wright and Luis Perdomo were named to the Carolina League All-Star team on Tuesday.  They will head to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Carolina League vs. California League All-Star game on June 24th. ... Shortstop Niuman Romero is making the most of a chance to play every day while regular starter Carlos Rivero was out resting a bum ankle.  A career .242 hitter who has not hit more than two home runs in a season in his five years in the Indians organization, Romero has hit a career high four home runs this season and credits his newfound success to all the work in the batting cage this season with a focus on keeping his swing short and hitting down through the ball.  Rivero returned to the lineup on Monday night after a ten day absence. ... Utility man Jerad Head started the season well hitting .283 in April, but a lousy May when he hit .130 saw his batting average take a dive.  Head has shown signs of coming out of it though, and is hitting .286 in June and has raised his batting average from .186 to .205. ... On Sunday, outfielder Nick Weglarz's modest nine game hitting streak and 12-game on-base streak came to an end.  On the season, Weglarz is hitting .270 with 6 HR, 26 RBI, and an .841 OPS. ... Kinston posted the second best record in the Carolina League in May, going 17-12.  Kinston also had the third best ERA in the league (3.83). ... Kinston is second in the Carolina League in team fielding percentage with a .974 mark.  First baseman Beau Mills (.993, 3 errors) and third baseman Jared Goedert (.958, 5 errors) lead the Carolina League at their respective positions in fielding percentage. ... Kinston has won 11 of their last 16 games, and since April have the second most wins in the Carolina League with 24 (Myrtle Beach #1 with 27).  Kinston has lost only one series since the end of April.

Lake County Notes (39-27, 1st place, 2 GU):  With four games to go in the first half, Lake County's magic number to clinch the division title is now down to three. ... Over the weekend, the South Atlantic League announced that right-handed reliever Dallas Cawiezell has been added to the Northern Division All Star team.  Cawiezell is 22-years old and from Longrove, Iowa, and on the year is 2-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 21 appearances out of the bullpen. ... First baseman Dustin Realini's on-base streak came to an end on Wednesday night.  He had reached base via a walk or hit in 28-straight games before going 0-for-3 at the plate and not drawing a walk last night.  On the season he is hitting .306 with 3 HR, 28 RBI, and an .866 OPS. ... On Friday, left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz went five scoreless innings allowing three hits, two walks, and struck out seven.  On the season he is now 5-3 with a 1.60 ERA in 13 starts. ... On Saturday, left-hander Ryan Morris struggled through 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on four hits, walking a season high six, and struck out three.  On the season Morris is 6-1 with a 2.56 ERA in 12 starts. ... Left-hander Ryan Miller is in a bit of a slide, as in his last four starts he has allowed 15 walks and not pitched more than four innings in three of the starts.  He is now 7-2 with a 2.07 ERA in 12 starts. ... Right-hander Vinnie Pestano continues to roll in the bullpen, and is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and has 13 saves in 24 appearances.  He is ranked 6^th in the league in saves.

Photos courtesy of Ken Carr, Carl Kline, Lake County Captains, Kinston Indians, Akron Aeros, and Buffalo Bisons.