Gio Soto, SP-AKR: W (6-6), 9 IP, R (0 ER), 6 K, 3 BB.
We have a little rule here on Around the Farm...anytime a guy throws a no-hitter, he gets top billing the next day. Soto was acquired back in 2010 in exchange for Jhonny Peralta, and the 21-year old southpaw has yet to post a season ERA over 3.13 as a professional. So far in 2012, he's 6-6 with a 3.73 ERA, 87 K and 39 BB in 101 1/3 IP for the Aeros. Soto has been between 89-92 with his fastball this season, and he compliments the pitch with a cutter, curve and changeup. When he's commanding the fastball well to both sides of the plate, he's pretty tough to hit. Clearly, that was the case yesterday when he allowed just one unearned run and zero hits. Soto has had some injury issues in the past, missing time last year with neuritis in his throwing elbow that caused some numbness in the fingers of his left hand. The Indians understandably played it slow with the injury, but he was able to come back at the end of 2011 and make a few starts in the Carolina League. The club aggressively pushed him to AA Akron to start the season, and he's responded with a solid season so far. The Indians wanted Soto to be less of a nibbler, and just trust his stuff and attack hitters in the strike zone. He's still walking a few more hitters than he should, but his overall numbers are good especially considering his age and the level he's pitching at. and outings like this can only serve to improve his confidence.
Jenmar Gomez, SP-COL: W (2-1), 9 IP, 2 H, 7 K, 2 BB. Gomez has made three starts at AAA Columbus since being sent down in favor of Zach McAllister. He's thrown 22 innings, allowed 4 earned runs while striking out 14 and walking 5.
Eric Berger, RP-COL: 1 1/3 IP, 3 K, BB. Berger had allowed runs in his last two outings, so it was good to see him bounce back with a scoreless outing yesterday. He struck out 3 of the 5 hitters he faced, and lowered his season ERA to ?.??
Tyler Sturdevant, RP-COL: 2 ER, H, BB. Sturdevant was just promoted to AAA Columbus, and has struggled in his two appearances so far. In two outings, he's allowed 3 ER on 2 hits, walking three and retiring just one hitter. He's a talented pitcher who has been rushed a little this year after suffering an arm injury in spring training.
Jason Donald, 3B-COL: 4-12, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, 3 R, SB, 2 K, CS. Donald has seen his AAA numbers drop to .256/.355/.375 overall in his 46 games with the Clippers.
Matt LaPorta, 1B-COL: 0-12, RBI, 2 K. LaPorta is hitting .190/.222/.357 in his last 10 games for Columbus. He hasn't homered since July 3.
Russ Canzler, LF-COL: 4-11, 2 HR (14), 2B, 3 RBI, BB, 2 R, 2 K. Canzler has been hot of late, putting up a .297/.395/.757 line over his last 10, with 4 HR, 5 2B and 10 RBI. For the season, he's up to .276/.339/.488 overall after a slow start.
Rafael Perez, SP-AKR: IP. Perez made his first rehab appearance over the weekend, and needed only 8 pitches to retire the side in order on two groundouts and a flyout.
Steven Wright, SP-AKR: W (7-6), 6 IP, H, 4 K, 5 BB. Such an appropriate line for a knuckleballer. Wright's signature pitch was difficult to hit on Friday, but it was difficult to control as well. Still, 6 baserunners in 6 IP is pretty good, and the Eastern League All-Star lowered his season ERA to 2.46 for the Aeros this year.
Brian Price, RP-AKR: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K. Price lowered his season ERA to 3.02, and has struck out 46 in 50 2/3 IP. He's issued just 12 walks, and has a 1.41 GO/AO ratio.
Preston Guilmet, RP-AKR: S (13), IP, 2 K. Guilmet nailed down his 13th save on the season to go along with a 2-1 win/loss record. He's been lights-out in his last 10 appearances, throwing 11 scorless innings while allowing just 3 hits and two walks while striking out 8.
Shawn Armstrong, RP-AKR: W (1-0), 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 4 K. This was Armstrong's 1st apperance in AA, having just been called up from the Carolina Mudcats. He started off his AA career much like he finished his A career, with a scoreless outing and a handful of strikeouts.
Rob Bryson, RP-AKR: S (1), 1 1/3 IP, ER, H, 3 K, 2 BB. Bryson got himself into trouble, walking a batter and giving up an RBI triple to lead off the 9th. He then got himself out of trouble, by striking out three hitters in a row.
Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 2-10, HR (7), 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, SB, 4 K. After going homerless for the first two months of the season, Neal has hit seven since the beginning of June. His season line is up to a solid .301/.389/.465 with 7 HR, 19 doubles and 35 RBI.
Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 2-11, HR (8), 2 RBI, 2 R, 4 K. Diaz's HR was a tape-measure job over the batters eye in CF at Canal Park, and he hit it off of last year's #1 overall draft pick Gerritt Cole.
Matt Packer, SP-CAR: W (1-0), 5 IP, 3 H, 4 K, BB. The rehabbing Packer was making his 2nd Carolina League start, and outduled uber-prospect Dylan Bundy for the victory. He's thrown 8 scorless innings for the Mudcats, giving up just 3 hits, one walk and striking out 7.
Jordan Cooper, RP-CAR: W (5-3), 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 K, BB. In his last 10 outings for the Mudcats, Cooper has posted a 3.16 ERA in 31 1/3 IP, striking out 24 and walking just 4.
Cole Cook, RP-CAR: IP, BB. Cook has thrown 7 consecutive scorless innings out of the Mudcats bullpen, and has struck out 7 in 10 1/3 overall innings of work in the Carolina League.
Tony Wolters, 2B-CAR: 5-13, HR (3), 3 RBI, 5 R, 2 K. Wolters' HR was an inside-the-park job, and he's hitting an impressive .350/.395/.575 in his last 10 games.
Bo Greenwell, LF-CAR: 7-13, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 SB. Greenwell has now played in 20 games for the Mudcats, and is doing his best to convince the Indians brass that he's ready for Akron. He's hitting .378/.446/.554 with a HR, 6 doubles, 2 triples and 5 stolen bases in his third tour of the Carolina League, and sure seems ready to take on Eastern League pitching to me.
Gio Urshela, 3B-CAR: 4-12, HR (7), 2B, 4 RBI, BB, 2 R, 3 K. Urshela's career high in HR is 9, set last year in 505 AB. He now has 7 in 263 AB this season, so he seems primed to blow past that number.
Carlos Moncrief, RF-CAR: 5-12, 2 HR (12), 5 RBI, 2 BB, 4 R, 3 K. Moncrief now has 12 HR and 12 SB (with just 1 CS) as his march to 20/20 continues. The cannon-armed RF is hitting .249/.344/.466 in 80 games for the Mudcats this season.
Ronny Rodriguez, SS-CAR: 2-11, 2 HR (11), 3 RBI, BB, 2 R, SB, K. It will be interesting to see what the Indians end up doing with Rodriguez long-term. He's a little older than Francisco Lindor, so if Lindor pans out as expected, Rodriguez really doesn't have a future in the org as a SS. Either a position switch to 2B or a trade seems likely at some point. Like any prospect, Lindor is hardly a sure thing though, and it's tough to have "too many" solid SS prospects.
Mason Radeke, SP-LCC: 5 IP, ER, 3 H, 8 K, BB. Radeke gave the Captains five solid innings on Friday, but that ended up being less than a third of the game as they ended up winning a marathon 17-inning affair. It was Radeke's third start of the season, and in those three outings he's gone 15 innings, allowing 6 ER on 16 hits with 14 K and 2 BB.
Joseph Colon, SP-LCC: W (8-8), 7 IP, ER, 6 H, 2 K, BB. Colon didn't miss a lot of bats, but turned in 7 solid innings for his 8th victory of the season. His 2.90 ERA is 11th in the Midwest League.
Kyle Petter, RP-LCC: W (1-0) IP, K, BB. Petter earned the victory in the 17-inning game, sending the home fans home happy, if late for their bedtimes. He has a 0.96 ERA in 18 2/3 Midwest League innings, striking out 24 and walking 8.
Felix Sterling, RP-LCC: S (1), 4 IP, H, 2 K, BB. Sterling nailed down his first career save with 4 scoreless innings yesterday, and hopefully the move to the bullpen can jumpstart the big righty's stuff.
Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 4-12, HR (5), 2 2B, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 3 R. Lindor has a 9-game hitting streak going, and his season line stands at a solid .264/.354/.380 with 5 HR, 17 doubles, 29 RBI and 19 stolen bases.
Jordan Smith, DH-LCC: 8-14, 6 RBI, BB, 2 R. Smith has been scorching lately, with hits in 8 of his last 10 games. He's 18-40 (.450) with 2 HR, 11 RBI and a .465 OBP and .625 SLG over that timeframe as well.
Luigi Rodriguez, CF-LCC: 4-8, HR (7), 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 3 R, 2 SB, 3 K, CS. Rodriguez has his season line up to .277/.346/.412 with 7 HR, 15 doubles, 36 RBI and 17 SB.
Josh Martin, SP-MVS: W (3-1), 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 K, BB. Martin has thrown 20 1/3 innings for the Scrappers, posting a 3.10 ERA with 20 K and 4 BB.
Jacob Lee, RP-MVS: 2 1/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 4 K. In 7 appearances out of the Scrappers bullpen, Lee has a 2.81 ERA, 22 K and just 3 BB in 16 IP.
Luis Morel, RP-MVS: 3 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 5 K, 6 BB. I think we can say this was an "effectively wild" appearance for Morel. He struck out 19 and walked just 3 in 14 2/3 IP in the Arizona Summer League, so walking 6 in a single outing is an abberation that hopefully doesn't become a habit.
Tyler Naquin, CF-MVS: 3-8, RBI, BB, 2 R, 3 K. Naquin is hitting .300/.417/.414 with four dobles, two triples, 9 RBI and three stolen bases for the Scrappers in 17 games this season. By all reports, he's playing excellent defense in CF, and his arm is a weapon in the OF. Obviously it is way to early to tell whether it was a good pick or not, but early returns are positive.
Robel Garcia, 2B-MVS: 3-7, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R, K, CS. Garcia has some pop in his bat, but there's still too much swing and miss in the 19-year old's game. He's hitting .200/.316/.246 in 20 games in the New York-Penn League.
Joe Sever, DH-MVS: 4-8, 2 2B, RBI, BB, R. Selected in the 21st round out of Pepperdine, Sever is hitting .351/.419/.405 in 10 games with the Scrappers.
Kieran Lovegrove, SP-AZL: 2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB. Lovegrove was the Indians 3rd round pick out of Mission Viejo, California this June. Saturday was his professional debut, and there were surely some nerves at work for the 17-year old.
Trey Haley, RP-AZL: IP, H. Haley can touch triple-digits with his fastball, but the Nacodoches, TX native just can't seem to stay on the mound. He threw 14 1/3 innings for the Mudcats, but Saturday was his first appearance in over a month.
Jorge Martinez, 3B-AZL: 4-6, RBI, R. Martinez has been one of the more impressive hitters in the entire Arizona League this summer. In 16 games, he's hitting a robust .417/.442/.684 with 3 HR, 6 doubles, a pair of triples and 15 RBI.
Josh McAdams, RF-AZL: 2-3, RBI, R. The 2012 draftee is scuffling a bit of late; he's just 4 for his last 30 in the complex leagues.
Eric Haase, C-AZL: 1-1, RBI. Haase stroked a pinch-hit, RBI single on Saturday and is hitting a solid .310/.348/.500 in 11 AZL games. I'm all-in on Eric Haase folks.