Minor Happenings: Atkins Fills the Director's Chair

Rule 5 Draft changes: A significant change to the CBA which directly affects the minor leagues is the update to Rule 5 eligibility where teams have been given one extra year to protect players. This rule change is immediate, and is in effect for the upcoming 2006 Rule 5 Draft. With the new change, players signed at 19 or older now get four years before they become Rule 5 eligible, and players signed at age 18 or younger get five years before they become Rule 5 eligible (previously it was three and four years respectively). The change allows teams to keep their own prospects longer, provides more flexibility with their roster, and helps prevent teams from having to push players onto the 40-man roster before they are ready.

With the changes to player eligibility, players like Max Ramirez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Scott Lewis, Adam Miller, Wyatt Toregas, and Tony Sipp no longer need to be protected this year as they are no longer eligible for the draft. With that, the top 10 players in the Indians system that will be available for selection in the Rule 5 draft this year are listed below:

Ryan Goleski OF
Sean Smith RHP
Nick Pesco RHP
Reid Santos LHP
Ben Francisco OF
Ryan Mulhern 1B
JD Martin RHP
Argenis Reyes IF
Jim Ed Warden RHP
Jon Van Every OF

Farewell Farrell

Prior to the end of the season, there were no rumblings that Farrell would be leaving the Indians, and in a recent radio interview Indians GM Mark Shapiro even admitted he was sort of surprised by Farrell’s departure. But, according to Farrell, the lure of getting back into the dugout was too much for him to pass up. Farrell’s friendship with Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona and Farm Director Mike Hazen carried a lot of weight with his decision to leave and go to Boston .

New Guy In Charge

His transition to his new role should be relatively smooth because of his prior experience with the player development side within the US . Prior to becoming the Director of Latin Operations in August 2003, Atkins was an assistant under Farrell from 2001-2003, so he has a very good understanding of the job. Under his old role as Director of Latin Operations, Atkins efforts had primarily focused on overseeing the academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela , as well as all budgetary, amateur scouting, and player development activities.

Indians Also Lose Scouting Director

Farrell’s former assistant Mike Hazen left the Indians last year to become the Red Sox Director of Player Development. With the recent exodus of Farrell, Hazen and Watson the strength of the Indians front office and scouting is being shown, and very much resembles when some of former Tribe GM John Hart’s top assistants were popping up as GM’s and in other important roles with various teams.

While Farrell and Watson have left for more challenging opportunities and greener pastures, Special Assistant Ellis Burks has elected to stay with the Indians after being offered the first-base coach job for the Colorado Rockies. Besides being comfortable working directly with Indians GM Mark Shapiro, Burks also preferred the more flexible schedule his Special Assistant role with the Indians provides.

Former Director’s Cuts

On Wyatt Toregas: Farrell mentioned that Toregas was up with the Indians in September to get a firsthand look at the atmosphere and how players prep for games. Toregas actually sat behind home plate at Indians games and watched the action while charting games. Right now, the Indians are working with Toregas on blocking balls in the dirt and how to smother and control them.

On Sung-Wei Tseng: Farrell mentioned that Tseng will start 2007 at Kinston . He has a compact build, throws right-handed with average velocity, and has good control of his body throughout his delivery.

Prior to leaving, Farrell and the Indians decided to nix the 2B experiment for top Indians prospect Trevor Crowe. The general feeling was that it would take at least two years for him to become adequate at the position defensively, and when weighing this with where he is at currently as an offensive player, they just did not want to slow down Crowe’s progress. Crowe even admitted he never seemed to get comfortable at 2B as he was thinking too much, rather than reacting like he does when he plays in the outfield.

JD Martin Shutdown

Award Winners

Both players persevered in their recovery from serious injuries in 2005, as Kouzmanoff missed almost two months of the 2005 season with a back injury, and Miller (who won the award in 2004) suffered an elbow injury that forced him to miss pretty much the first two months of the 2005 season. At Akron and Buffalo , Kouzmanoff combined to hit .379 with 22 HRs and 75 RBIs in only 94 games and 346 at bats. Miller went 15-6 with a 2.75 ERA in 26 games at Akron , and was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.

Baseball America recently completed a Top 20 Prospect list for each league in the minors, and the Indians were well represented. Here are the Indians six affiliates, and who made the list in the respective league:

• Gulf Coast League (GCL Indians): None
• NY-Penn League (Mahoning Valley Scrappers): C Matt McBride (#3), RHP Neil Wagner (#20)
• South Atlantic League (Lake County Captains):  OF John Drennen (#12)
• Carolina League (Kinston Indians): LHP Chuck Lofgren (#1), OF Trevor Crowe (#4), LHP Scott Lewis (#10), OF Brian Barton (#16)
• Eastern League (Akron Aeros): RHP Adam Miller (#4), OF Trevor Crowe (#12), 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (#13)
• International League (Buffalo Bisons): LHP Jeremy Sowers (#3),3B Andy Marte (#8)