Written by Al Ciammiachella

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Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 3-4, HR (4), 2B, 3 RBI, BB, 2 R.

Neal was having a decent season coming into the month of June, hitting around .280 and getting on base at a .360 clip. But there wasn't much power out of the corner outfielder, something that was somewhat surprising for a 24-year old repeating AA. In June, the power light has come on for Neal, who's hitting .281/.356/.516 with all four of his HR on the season this month. He's pushed his overall season line up to .289/.361/.413, and the California native is clearly warming up with the weather. The former 36th round pick by the Giants struggled with some nagging injuries towards the end of last season, limiting his playing time with the Indians organization after coming over in a trade for Orlando Cabrera. That means 2012 is his first real chance to make an impression on the front office and Indians fans, and if he can keep hitting the way he has been over the last 20 games or so, expect to see him back with the Clippers at some point in 2012.

Cory Kluber, SP-COL: W (7-6), 7 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 6 K, 2 BB. Kluber has been a different pitcher this year...his ERA is down two full runs, his K rate is up, his walk rate is down, his GO/AO ratio is up, his HR rate is down...basically everything you'd want to see improved from his 2011 has improved in 2012.

Frank Herrmann, RP-COL: S (1), 1 2/3 IP, 2 K. Perfect appearance for Frank the Tank, who retired all 5 batters he faced in nailing down the save. He'd given up 5 ER over his previous 4 outings, so it was good to see him get back on track with a solid outing.

Russ Canzler, DH-COL: 2-3, HR (9), 2 RBI, BB, 2 R. Canzler has been the hottest hitter for AAA Columbus this month, putting up a .308/.387/.603 line with 6 HR and 23 RBI in 23 June games.

Trevor Crowe, RF-COL: 1-4, HR (3), RBI, R, SB. Crowe has appeared in 28 games for AAA Columbus since coming off the DL back in May, and has an overall line of .286/.339/.448 with 3 HR and 11 RBI. He's an emergency option for the big club at this point, nothing more.

Bryce Stowell, RP-AKR: IP, ER, H, 2 K. Stowell allowed a solo HR, but came back to strike out a pair in his inning of work yesterday. He's allowed a run in 4 of his last 5 outings, an unexpected streak for someone with his stuff. He's now struck out 31 in 18 1/3 IP on the season for AA Akron.

Adam Abraham, 3B-AKR: 1-4, HR (6), RBI, BB, R. Abraham has put together a 7-game hitting streak, during which he has gone 12-26 with a HR, 5 2B and 6 RBI.

Chun Chen, C-AKR: 1-4, 2 RBI, R, BB. Back behind the dish, Chen continued his offensive tear with a double and two RBI last night in a 13-8 Aeros defeat. Yesterday was just the 7th game at catcher this season for the 23-year old Chen. 

Michael Goodnight, SP-CAR: L (2-8), 7 IP, ER, 9 H, 7 K, 2 BB. Pretty solid start for Goodnight, who was let down by his offense in a 1-0 loss to Frederick last night. He's gone 1-7 in his last 10 starts, but with a 3.99 ERA. Clearly he just doesn't know how to win.

Jesus Aguilar, 1B-CAR: 1-2, BB. As a team, the Mudcats managed 2 hits and one walk last night. Aguilar was responsible for 66% of the Mudcat baserunners. He's hit in 8 of his last 10, and posted a .406/.500/.688 line with 2 HR and 7 RBI in that timeframe.

Cody Anderson, SP-LCC: 3 IP, 2 H, 4 K, 2 BB. Anderson lowered his season ERA to 2.99, and has recorded 51 K in 69 1/3 IP for the Captains this season.

Mason Radeke, RP-LCC: W (5-1), 3 2/3 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 4 K, BB. Radeke piggybacked on Anderson's start and ended up earning the victory. In 16 appearances with the Captains, he's thrown 45 2/3 innings, struck out 49 while walking 11. His season ERA is 2.96.

Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 1-5, BB, 3 R, SB. Lindor has reclaimed the team lead with 17 stolen bases on the season. He's hit in 7 of his last 10 games, and has a .278/480/.361 line in that timeframe. He's going to be the youngest player in the MLB Futures Game next weekend, and the only 18-year old selected to participate.

Luigi Rodriguez, CF-LCC: 2-3, RBI, 2 BB, R, K. Rodriguez continues his hot streak at the plate, as he's put up a .302/.367/.535 line in his last 10 games. He still needs to work on his approach though, as he has struck out 72 times and walked 23 in 270 AB this year.

Jordan Smith, LF-LCC: 2-5, 2B, RBI. Smith has recorded 2 hits in back-to-back games, and has raised his season line to .291/.347/.435 in 57 games for the Captains.

Jose Ramirez, 2B-LCC: 2-4, RBI, BB, 2 R, K. Ramirez was just called up from Mahoning Valley, and the 19-year old switch hitter collected his first hits in the Midwest League last night.

Leo Castillo, 1B-LCC: 2-5, 2B, 2 R. Castillo has just a .507 OPS in the Midwest League this year, but he's just 18 and in his first season outside of the complex leagues. The jump from the Arizona Summer League to the low-A Midwest League is significant, and Castillo is having some trouble handling the more advanced pitching.

Luis DeJesus, SP-MVS: 6 IP, ER, 3 H, 8 K. You said it man...nobody F's with DeJesus. He's thrown 11 innings for the Scrappers in two starts, allowing just one run (a solo HR last night) on six hits and a walk. He has 10 K, and the 11th round pick in 2011 is becoming a guy to watch in the Scrappers rotation.

Tyler Naquin, CF-MVS: 1-4, 3 K, CS. You didn't really expect him to hit .750 for the season, did you?

Luis Morel, SP-AZL: 4 2/3 IP, ER, 4 H, 6 K, BB. It's awfully difficult to get a read on how the pitchers in the complex leagues are actually throwing, but 6 K in 4 2/3 is impressive no matter how you look at it. He's now struck out 9 in 5 2/3 innings in his two appearances in Arizona, and is just 19 years old.

Dorssys Paulino, SS-AZL: 1-4, 3B, R, K. In 5 AZL games, the 17-year old Paulino is hitting .304/.360/.478 with a triple, two doubles and 2 RBI. I know, small sample size, but he's going up against kids 1-3 years older than he is, so it's impressive nonetheless.