Written by Al Ciammiachella

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Dillon Howard, SP-AZL: 4 IP, R (0 ER), 4 H, 4 K, BB.

Howard was the Indians 2nd round draft pick in 2011 out of an Arkansas high school, and didn't make his professional debut until the complex leagues this year. He was dealing with some minor injury issues in spring training, and the Indians decided to play it extremely careful with their prized draft choice. He's pitched in three games so far in the Arizona Summer League, throwing 10 1/3 innings, allowing 5 ER on 13 hits with 10 K and 5 walks. Howard flashes a mid-90's fastball, a hammer curveball and a changeup and slider that both lag behind his curve as secondary offerings. He's a 6'4", 210lb righthander with a smooth, easily repeatable delivery and there are no concerns about him remaining in the starting rotation long-term. He was the highest ranked prep player in the state of Arkansas last year, and required a overslot bonus of $1.85 million to sign, which is higher than the Indians gave to their 1st round pick this year. He's one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, and turned 20 years old on Sunday.

Scott Barnes, RP-COL: IP, K. In his last 9 MiLB appearances, dating back to May 17, Barnes has allowed just one earned run in 11 2/3 IP. He's allowed 7 hits, walked 5 and struck out 13 in that timeframe.

Eric Berger, RP-COL: IP, H, K. Berger has now gone 7 appearances and 13 1/3 innings without allowing a run, dating back to June 11. His AAA ERA is 3.68, and he's struck out 43 and walked 13 in 44 IP for the Clippers.

Matt LaPorta, 1B-COL: 1-4, HR (17), RBI, R. LaPorta is 3rd in the International League with a .988 OPS. Still not fooled.

Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 2-5, HR (12), 2 RBI, R, 2 K. The big lefty is hitting .247/.351/.466 on the season with 12 HR, 12 doubles and 38 RBI.

Roberto Perez, C-AKR: 2-4, 2B, RBI, K. Perez is 4 for his last 9 with 2 RBI. He also picked a runner off 1B with a snap-throw, which is pretty commonplace for Perez.

Mike Rayl, SP-CAR: 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 3 K, 3 BB. Quality start for Rayl, who's allowed just 3 ER in his last 13 IP. He's 4-7 on the season with a 4.45 ERA in 93 IP for the Mudcats.

Grant Sides, RP-CAR: W (1-0), 2 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 K. Sides gave up his first Carolina League run last night, but also picked up his first Carolina League victory. He's thrown 6 1/3 innings since being called up to the Mudcats from Lake County, giving up the one earned run, striking out 5 and walking two.

Jose Flores, RP-CAR: S (11), IP, 2 K. Flores has a 2.76 ERA as the Mudcats closer this season, with 35 K and 11 BB in 32 2/3 IP. He has a 1-2 record and has saved 11 games.

Ronny Rodriguez, SS-CAR: 2-4, R. The wiry shortstop is hitting .289/.308/.605 with 4 HR and 6 RBI in his last 10 games, and has raised his season OPS to .753.

Carlos Moncrief, RF-CAR: 2-4, HR (10), RBI, R, 2 K. Moncrief is still closing in on a 20/20 season, with 10 HR and 11 SB. He's hitting .247/.338/.465 in 70 games for the Mudcats.

Justin Toole, 2B-CAR: 2-4, RBI. Toole has hit in 7 of his last 9 games for the Mudcats, going 9-26 and has driven in runs in two straight games.

Tyler Cannon, C-CAR: 2-4, RBI, R, K. Cannon has been getting in a lot of time behind the plate, and has his season line up to .268/.319/.407 in 40 games for the Mudcats.

Elvis Araujo, SP-LCC: W (3-6), 5 IP, ER, 5 H, 3 K. Araujo didn't walk a batter yesterday and worked 5 innings for a complete-game victory. Confused? The Captains game was called after the top of the 5th due to weather with the home team leading 2-1.

Alex Monsalve, DH-LCC: 1-1, HR (7), RBI, BB, R. Monsalve has hit in 8 of his last 10, and has put up a .316/.350/.526 line iwth 2 HR, 2 doubles and 9 RBI in that span.

Geoffrey Davenport, SP-MVS: 5 1/3 IP, R (0 ER), 6 H, 2 K, 2 BB. The Scrappers opening day starter turned in his best outing of the season last night, and lowered his ERA to an even 5.00 in four starts this year.

Jacob Lee, RP-MVS: 1 2/3 IP, 3 K, BB. Lee has struck out an impressive 15 in 9 1/3 IP, and has allowed just one earned run. He was a senior sign out of Arkansas State, but was hardly a throwaway pick.

Enosil Tejeda, RP-MVS: S (3), 2 IP, H, 3 K. Tejeda actually has fewer K than I expected, with "just" 8 in 7 1/3 IP. Sounds good, but when you consider that he struck out 57 in just 34 IP for the Scrappers last year, it almost seems low.

Tyler Naquin, CF-MVS: 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI, K. Naquin has played in 9 games for the Scrappers, and is hitting an impressive .371/.488/.514 with 3 doubles, a triple, 4 RBI and 6 walks.

Juan Romero, DH-MVS: 1-4, HR (5), RBI, R, 3 K. All Romero does is hit home runs. He's hit 5 bombs and 5 singles, and he's struck out in exactly half of his at bats (23 times in 46 AB).

Robel Garcia, SS-MVS: 1-2, 2 BB, R. Garcia is hitting just .202 for Mahoning Valley, but has walked 7 times and struck out just 5 in 11 games.

Jorge Martinez, DH-AZL: 2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI, K. Martinez has played in 10 games for the AZL Indians, and has posted a .467/.500/.822 line with 3 HR, 5 doubles and a triple.