Written by Al Ciammiachella

Al Ciammiachella

Tyler Naquin, CF-MVS: 3-4, 2B, SB, K. naquin


Well, I'd call that a succesful debut. Naquin was held out of the first two Scrappers games this season, but made his professional debut last night in the home opener for Mahoning Valley. He singled to the SS in his first at bat and promptly stole 2nd, showing off both his hit tool and above-average speed. His 2nd AB was a double, followed by another infield single, and then finally a strikeout as Naquin failed in his bid to become the first ever batter who reached base in every at bat in his professional career. Later in the game, he reportedly uncorked a couple of rocket throws from CF, showing off his plus-plus throwing arm which is probably his best overall tool. The lefthanded hitting Naquin was of course the Indians first round pick this June out of Texas A&M, and he promptly signed for less that the allotted slot for the pick and is already playing in short-season ball. The one part of the new CBA that I actually like is the earlier signing deadline, as in past seasons there's a good chance that Naquin might not have signed quickly enough to play in 2012. Well, he's playing, and so far he's playing well. One game does not a prospect make of course, but three hits is better than three strikeouts. 

 Cody Allen, RP-COL: 1 2/3 IP, H, K. Allen has recorded at least one K in 9 consecutive appearances now, and has thrown 7 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

Tim Fedroff, CF-COL: 4-4, 2B, RBI, BB. Fedroff is hitting an impressive .382/.465/.529 in his last 10 games, and has been outstanding so far in 11 games for AAA Columbus. He's regarded as a bit of a "tweener," but if he keeps up these numbers then he's an option going forward in LF.

Matt LaPorta, 1B-COL: 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 K. Since returning to AAA Columbus, LaPorta is 8-22 with a HR, 3 RBI, one 2B and 8 strikeouts.

Russ Canzler, LF-COL: 2-5, RBI, K. Canzler continues his hot streak, and during his 9-game hitting streak he's 12-29 with 4 HR and 16 RBI, and has pushed his season line to .274/.328/.435.

Jared Goedert, 3B-COL: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, K. Goedert is 6-10 in his last two games, but hasn't hit a HR since back on June 8, a rare power outage for the slugging corner OF/3B.

T.J. House, SP-AKR: W (5-2), 7 IP, 2 H, 4 K, 2 BB. An outstanding bounceback start for House, who allowed 7 ER in 4 1/3 IP his last time out. He's started 10 games for AA Akron, and has a 3.12 ERA that if anything is deceptively high. If you throw his two bad starts in which he allowed a combined 13 ER in 9 1/3 IP, he's allowed just 7 ER in 48 1/3 innings. Obviously, you can't just pick and choose what stats to keep and what stats to throw out, but House's overall body of work for the Aeros has been impressive.

Rob Bryson, RP-AKR: IP, H, 3 K. Bryson has walked 22 in 31 1/3 IP this seasonm but hasn't issued a free pass in his last 3 outings (4 IP) and struck out 5. An encouraging sign for the talented righty who came over in the C.C. Sabathia trade from the Brewers organization.

Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 1-4, RBI, BB. The Aeros only managed 3 runs in yesterday's doubleheader, and Wegz was one of the few Aeros to reach base in both games of the double-dip.

Louis Head, RP-MVS: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 K.Head was selected by the Indians in the 18th round of the 2012 draft out of Texas State, and last night was a successful professional debut for the righty.

Enosil Tejeda, RP-MVS: W (1-0), IP, 2 H, K.  Surprising absolutely no one, Tejeda recorded a K in his inning last night.

Juan Romero, RF-MVS: 0-4, RBI, BB, 4 K. No HR for Romero last night, but he did draw his first free pass of the season in the bottom of the 10th for a walk-off walk.

Joe Wendle, 2B-MVS: 2-4, RBI, BB, R. Wendle was the Indians 6th round pick out of Division II West Chester, and signed for a well-under slot $10,000 early in the process. Wendle hit .399/.479/.768 with 12 bombs for the D II national champions, and struck out just 5 times in 198 collegiate at bats last season. He's not a high profile guy, but there could be something here as a 2B with a little pop.