Written by Tony Lastoria

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In Tony's weekly recap of what transpired with the Indians minor league teams, the focus is on a former 1st round pick playing at Lake County by the name of Mike Conroy. And as always, Tony provides stats and updates from the previous week for each of the Indians minor league affiliates. (for game from Saturday May 27 through Friday June 2)

Minor League Player of the Week:

Mike Conroy (OF- Lake County): .368 (7-19), 4 HRs, 8 RBIs, 1 stolen base

Of all the position players in the Indians minor league system, Conroy put forth one of the best efforts in leading the system in HRs and RBIs for the week. The Captains lineup has been downright pathetic this year, and Conroy has been one of the big disappointments. Conroy is a minor league veteran, and a former 1st round pick out of high school in the bomb of a draft from 2001. As a 1st round pick, Conroy has been a big disappointment, totaling only 21 HRs and 156 RBIs with a .256 batting average in four minor league seasons coming into this year.

His up-to-date numbers have him at a .256 average with 8 HRs and 32 RBIs, which are decent for low Class A. He still is only 22 years old, so maybe the recent hot streak is a sign he might be on the verge of coming out of his funk. Indians officials probably hoped a return to Lake County this year might help jump start him, but at this point he has shown he might now just be an organizational player and roster filler going forward.

Honorable Mention: Rafael Perez (SP-Akron), Jeremy Guthrie (SP- Buffalo), Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B- Akron)

Buffalo Update:

Team Stats: The Bisons went 4-2 for the week, and currently stand at 29-27 on the season in 3rd place (4.0 GB) in the Northern Division of the International League (IL)…. Offensively, Buffalo is 5th in the league in hitting with a .260 average, and they are 4th out of 14 teams in pitching with a 3.38 ERA.

League Top 10’s: Ben Francisco is 8th in stolen bases (13)….Ryan Garko is 7th in RBIs (33) and 10th in walks (25)….Jason Dubois is 4th in RBIs (35)….Jeremy Sowers is tied for 2nd in wins (6), 2nd in ERA (1.12), 1st in IP (72.1), and 8th in WHIP (1.11)….Jake Dittler is 1st in losses (8)….Ben Howard is tied for 2nd in saves (10).

Player Notes: Kelly Shoppach continues to hit well in Buffalo since being sent there over a week ago. He is hitting .370 (10-27) with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs….Ramon Vazquez keeps proving he is a 4A player, as he is pounding AAA pitching in hitting .286 (11-42) with 2 HRs, 9 RBIs and a .892 OPS….Combined at Buffalo and Akron Joe Inglett is hitting .375 with 4 HRs, 19 RBIs, 9 stolen bases, and has a .995 OPS….Guthrie has made six AAA starts this year, and has only allowed a run in one of those starts….Eddie Mujica is now a combined 4-0 with 8 saves at Akron and Buffalo, and still has yet to allow a run in 30 IP….Andrew Brown has an impressive 2.40 ERA, but still is battling control problems as he has walked 24 in 30 IP.

Noteworthy Year-to-Date Stats:

Franklin Gutierrez (OF): .288 avg, 16 2Bs, 3 HRs, 16 RBIs, 9 stolen bases, .789 OPS

Ryan Garko (1B): .278 avg, 13 2Bs, 6 HRs, 33 RBIs, .834 OPS

Jason Dubois (OF): .256 avg, 12 2Bs, 7 HRs, 35 RBIs, .754 OPS

Andy Marte (3B): .255 avg, 12 2Bs, 2 HRs, 13 RBIs, .673 OPS

Ben Francisco (OF): .254 avg, 9 2Bs, 6 HRs, 25 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, .727 OPS

Jeremy Sowers (SP): 6-1, 1.12 ERA, 72.1 IP, 39 Ks, 1.11 WHIP

Jeremy Guthrie (SP): 3-0, 0.53 ERA, 34 IP, 25 Ks, 1.00 WHIP

Akron Update:

Team Stats: Akron went 4-3 this week, and are currently are 32-22 on the season good for 2nd place (0.5 GB) in the Southern Division of the Eastern League (EL)….Offensively, the Aeros are ranked 1st in the league with a .273 batting average, and on the pitching front are ranked 4th in the league out of 12 teams with a 3.32 ERA.

League Top 10’s: Kevin Kouzmanoff is 1st in hitting (.419), 1st in OPS (1.109), tied for 9th in HRs (7), and tied for 6th in RBIs (32)….John Van Every is tied for 6th HRs (8), tied for 6th in RBIs (32), 5th in OPS (.891), 8th in walks (25)….Eider Torres is 2nd in stolen bases (19)….Ryan Mulhern is tied for 9th in HRs (7) and 9th in RBIs (31)….Brad Snyder is tied for 9th in HRs (7) and 10th in RBIs (30)….Sean Smith is 3rd in ERA (1.57) and 1st in WHIP (0.89)….Rafael Perez is 8th in IP (63.1)….Adam Miller is 7th in Ks (55).

Player Notes: Ryan Goleski had a solid first week as an Aero, as in six games he hit .263 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs while posting a .918 OPS….Brad Snyder continues to strikeout at an enormous rate, as he has 62 on the season….Combined at Kinston and Akron, Sean Smith is 6-2 with a 2.28 ERA and 0.94 WHIP….Aaron Laffey has made two good starts for the Aeros since being called up from Kinston, going 0-0 with a 3.27 ERA….On the flip-side, Kyle Collins should be back on the Kinston Express soon, as in 5 appearances (3.0 IP) he has a 21.00 ERA and 4.00 WHIP.

Noteworthy Year-to-Date Stats:

Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B): .419 avg, 12 2Bs, 7 HRs, 32 RBIs, 1.109 OPS

Ryan Mulhern (1B): .280 avg, 14 2Bs, 1 3B, 7 HRs, 31 RBIs, .818 OPS

John Van Every (OF): .271 avg, 13 2Bs, 4 3Bs, 8 HRs, 32 RBIs, .891 OPS

Brad Snyder (OF): .255 avg, 8 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 7 HRs, 31 RBIs, 6 stolen bases, .751 OPS

Rafael Perez (SP): 4-5, 2.98 ERA, 63.1 IP, 50 Ks, 1.09 WHIP

Adam Miller (SP): 5-4, 4.35 ERA, 60.0 IP, 55 Ks, 1.17 WHIP

Kinston Update:

Team Stats: Kinston continues to roll as they went 5-3 on the week, and currently are 37-17 on the season which is good for 1st place (up 7.5 games) in the Southern Division of the Carolina League…..Offensively, Kinston ranks 1st in the league with a .276 team batting average, and are 1st in pitching in the 8-team league with a 3.00 ERA.

League Top 10’s: Wyatt Toregas is 1st in hitting (.336) and 4th in OPS (.928)….Brian Barton is 5th in hitting (.325), 2nd in OPS (.972), tied for 6th in HRs (7), 6th in RBIs (31), and 9th in walks (24)….Trevor Crowe is 9th in hitting (.303), 9th in OPS (.859), 8th in RBIs (27), 2nd in stolen bases (22), and 1st in walks (39)….Stephen Head is 5th in RBIs (32)….Argenis Reyes is 10th in RBIs (27)….Matt Whitney is tied for 8th in HRs (6)….Chuck Lofgren is 1st in wins (8), 3rd in ERA (1.77), 10th in Ks (48), and 6th in WHIP (1.09)….Jensen Lewis is 3rd in wins (6) and 9th in IP (59.0)….Joe Ness is tied for 4th in wins (5), 6th in ERA (2.15), and 9th in Ks (52)….Scott Lewis is 1st in ERA (0.80), 5th in Ks (58), and 1st in WHIP (0.73)….TJ Burton is 2nd in saves (9).

Player Notes: It should be noted, that Ryan Goleski was moved up to Akron recently. Even after missing a week of action in the Carolina League, he is in the top 5 in hitting, OPS, HRs, and RBIs….Since being called up from Lake County, Jose Constanza is hitting .429 (3-7) with no HRs or RBIs but he has drawn 3 walks and scored 4 runs….Matt Whitney is quietly putting together a solid season. After a horrific start to the season, his average is now up to .230 and he has 6 HRs and 21 RBIs….In addition to his ridiculously low ERA and WHIP, Scott Lewis has an amazing 58 strikeouts in only 45 IP. That’s almost 12 Ks per 9 innings….Lofgren’s 8 wins leads all of minor league baseball….Newcomer Kevin Dixon from Lake County still is working things out in High A as in three starts he is 1-1 with a 5.28 ERA….Recently activated reliever Wyatt Allen has pitched well in 2 appearance, not allowing a run in 4 IP and allowing only 2 hits while striking out 5.

Noteworthy Year-to-Date Stats:

Wyatt Toregas (C): .336 avg, 13 2Bs, 3 HRs, 20 RBIs, .928 OPS

Brian Barton (OF): .325 avg, 9 2Bs, 1 3B, 7 HRs, 31 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, .972 OPS

Trevor Crowe (OF): .303 avg, 11 2Bs, 1 3B, 4 HRs, 27 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, .859 OPS

Stephen Head (1B): .225 avg, 10 2Bs, 5 HRs, 32 RBIs, .652 OPS

Jensen Lewis (SP): 6-3, 4.42 ERA, 59 IP, 43 Ks, 1.31 WHIP

Chuck Lofgren (SP): 8-2, 1.77 ERA, 56.0 IP, 48 Ks, 1.09 WHIP

Joe Ness (SP): 5-0, 2.15 ERA, 50.1 IP, 52 Ks, 1.25 WHIP

Scott Lewis (SP): 1-1, 0.80 ERA, 45 IP, 58 Ks, 0.73 WHIP

Lake County Update:

Team Stats: The Captains continue to slide, going 2-4 for the week which puts them at 24-30 on the season and in 7th place (10 GB) in the Northern Division of the South Atlantic League (SAL) standings….Offensively, the Captains are ranked 12th in the league out of 16 teams in hitting with a .241 average, and are ranked 7th in pitching with a 3.74 ERA.

League Top 10’s: Matt Davis is 2nd in saves (13)….James Deters is 9th in IP (62.1).

Player Notes: Conroy’s recent surge has put him just out of the top 10 in HRs and RBIs….In only 29 games, highly touted outfield prospect John Drennen is hitting .304 with 2 HRs and 13 RBIs. He also has swiped 4 bases and has an .849 OPS….Remember all the hype with Juan Valdes two years ago? All the speed he had, and being Carlos Beltran’s cousin? Well, he is hitting .228 with 7 stolen bases and a .642 OPS….Two regulars in the Captains lineup, 3B Nick Petrucci (.199) and 1B Fernando Pacheco (.187) are hitting under .200….Carlton Smith is settling down a little. In six starts, he is now 1-2 with a 4.85 ERA and 24 Ks in 29.2 IP….Cody Bunkelman also is settling down in the bullpen, as in 11 appearances he has a 3.38 ERA with 26 Ks in 18.2 IP.

Noteworthy Year-to-Date Stats:

James Deters (SP): 3-3, 4.48 ERA, 62.1 IP, 54 Ks, 1.33 WHIP

Albert Vargas (SP): 4-6, 4.08 ERA, 57.1 IP, 36 Ks, 1.36 WHIP

Matt Davis (RP): 0-3, 13 saves, 3.09 ERA, 23.1 IP, 32 Ks, 1.33 WHIP