Jordan Smith, DH-LCC: 3-11, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 R, K.
Smith had a solid weekend, but nothing compared to his numbers in the month of July. Smith was named the Indians minor league player of the week two weeks ago, and for good reason. He's hitting an eye-popping .397/.455/.522 with 2 HR and 14 RBI in 15 games during the month of July alone. Smith is a 6'5" lefthanded hitter out of St. Cloud State in North Dakota. He has a smooth, level swing that generates a lot of contact, but only gap power. He doesn't generate a lot of backspin, almost swinging down on the ball. I saw him hit a HR back on July 12 at Classic Park, and the ball couldn't have been more than 15 feet off the ground at its highest point. Without changes in his swing, he's never going to be a big HR guy, but he makes up for it with his pure hitting ability. His .316 average is 2nd in the Midwest League, and his .829 OPS is 11th. His overall season line in 77 games is .316/.371/.458 with 5 HR and 46 RBI. The tough thing for Smith is finding a position for him defensively, as he's mostly been at 3B and LF with the Captains this season, but is below-average at both spots. Still, he should be able to hit enough to make up for the defensive shortcomings, especially if he can tweak his swing a little to add some power to his game.
Cory Kluber, SP-COL: W (10-7), 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 7 K, BB. Another solid start for Kluber, who is quietly having a breakout season for the Clippers. He has a 3.65 ERA, 125 K and 46 BB in 118 1/3 IP. He's 26 years old, so the time is now for the 6'4", 215lb righty.
T.J. McFarland, SP-COL: W (4-3), 7 IP, ER, 8 H, 2 K, 2 BB. McFarland has made 9 starts in Columbus, and is 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA, 26 K and 19 BB in 53 1/3 IP. If you throw out his two worst starts, he's allowed just 11 ER in 46 2/3 IP.
Eric Berger, RP-COL: 2 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 K, 2 BB. Berger is 2-3 with the Clippers, with a 3.81 ERA, 52 K and 18 BB in 52 IP. His ERA as a reliever is just 1.69, as opposed to 5.28 as a starter. I think his future is pretty clearly in the bullpen.
J.C. Romero, RP-COL: IP, K. The newly-acquired Romero made his first appearance with the Clippers yesterday, striking out a batter in a clean inning of work. He has an out clause in his contract if he's not called up by August 15.
Tim Fedroff, LF-COL: 7-12, HR (4), 2B, RBI, BB, 3 R, 2 K. Federoff just keeps on hitting down in Columbus. He's played 30 games with the Clippers since getting called up from AA Akron, and the 25-year old is hitting .343/.415/.543 with 4 HR and 13 RBI.
Jared Goedert, 3B-COL: 4-12, HR (9), 2 RBI, BB, 4 R, 2 K. Goedert has hit in 9 of his last 10 games, with a .371/.421/.543 line with 2 HR in that timeframe.
Jason Donald, 2B-COL: 5-13, HR (5), 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 3 K. Donald is hitting .264/.358/.428 with 5 HR and 25 RBI in 52 AAA games. He's hit in 8 of his last 10, with 3 of his 5 HR coming in the last week.
T.J. House, SP-AKR: 6 IP, H, 6 K, BB. Dominant outing from House, who left with a 2-0 lead that the Aeros bullpen couldn't hold for him. House is 6-2 with Akron with a 3.69 ERA, 63 K and 30 BB in 92 2/3 IP.
Gio Soto, SP-AKR: L (6-7), 5 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, K, 3 BB. Soto followed up his no-hitter with a slightly less impressive effort, walking more than he struck out and taking the loss on Friday night. Still, his season ERA is down to 3.72 in 106 1/3 AA innings.
Shawn Armstrong, RP-AKR: 1 2/3 IP, 3 K, BB. Since getting the call up to Akron, the Carolina League All-Star has allowed 2 hits, no runs and struck out 8 while walking just one in 5 IP.
Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 4-12, HR (8), 4 RBI, BB, 2 R. Neal is hitting .300/.387/.459 on the season, and has hit all 8 of his HR since June 1.
Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 3-13, HR (13), 2 2B, RBI, 2 R. After a big June that saw Weglarz hit 8 HR and post a 1.040 OPS, he's fallen back to Earth here in July. In 20 games this month, he's hitting just .233/.305/.370 with 2 HR and 8 RBI.
Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 4-12, 2 HR (10), 2B, 4 RBI, BB, 3 R, 2 K, CS. Diaz has hit in 8 of his last 10, with 3 HR and a .250/.286/.550 line in that timeframe. He's not getting on base a lot, but the power is a nice surprise.
Jordan Cooper, RP-CAR: W (6-3), 4 IP, 4 K. Four perfect innings for Coop, who lowered his season ERA to 3.35 in 53 2/3 IP for the Mudcats. He's struck out 43 and walked just 9, and has recorded victories in 5 of his last 6 appearances.
Brett Brach, RP-CAR: 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 K. Back down in Carolina after spending two months in Akron, Brach had a successful return to the Mudcat bullpen.
Cole Cook, RP-CAR: S (2), 2/3 IP, K. Cook picked up the save after rain canceled the 9th inning on Saturday, but a save is a save. He hasn't allwed a run in 6 July appearances out of the bullpen for Carolina, now spanning 8 2/3 IP.
Bo Greenwell, LF-CAR: 4-11, 2 RBI, 2 BB, R, K. Greenwell has hit in 10 straight, going .372/.426/.465 with a HR and 7 RBI. He's still going strong with a .356/.422/.510 overall line in his 27 games this season. Get this kid to Akron already.
Tony Wolters, SS-CAR: 4-11, 2 2B, BB, 2 R, SB. Wolters has his OPS up over .700 for the first time this season, which is pretty good considering it was under .400 after the month of April. He's hitting .375/.435/.500 with a HR and 5 RBI in his last 10 games.
Felix Sterling, SP-LCC: W (4-8), 5 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 H, K. Banished to the bullpen to work on commanding his pitches, Sterling returned to the starting rotation for the first time in a month. He picked up wthe W without walking a batter, so hopefully some of is issues have been ironed out.
Jeff Johnson, RP-LCC: IP, H, K. Johnson has thrown 8 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings for the Captains, and has lowered his ERA to 4.38 with 52 K and 16 BB in 37 IP on the season.
Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 2-8, 2B, RBI, R, K. Lindor has hit in 8 of his last 10, and has a .297/.435/.514 line with a HR, 5 RBI and 9 BB. He's hitting .267/.360/.386 overall, and is providing elite defense at SS.
Alex Lavisky, C-LCC: 3-8. HR (7), RBI, BB, 2 R, 2 K. Lavisky continues to struggle at the plate, hitting just .239/.309/.378 with 7 HR and 34 RBI this season. He's providing solid defense behind the plate, but at some point he's going to have to start hitting.
Bryson Myles, RF-LCC: 4-13, 2B, 2 RBI, R, SB, 4 K, CS. Myles is hitting an impressive .359/.405/.436 in his last 10 games, and has a .709 OPS overall on the season.
Jose Ramirez, 2B-LCC: 5-13, RBI, R, SB. Ramirez is hitting .295/.360/.393 om 27 games with the Captains after starting the season in the New York-Penn League with the Scrappers.
Jake Lowrey, C-LCC: 1-4, HR (1), RBI, R, 2 K. Lowrey hit a homer on Saturday, which was also his birthday. It was his 1st Midwest League HR in 11 games with the Captains.
Jake Sisco, SP-MVS: L (0-2), 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 5 K, BB. This was Sisco's worst professional start, and he gave up his first ever professional home run. He has a 2.68 ERA with 22 K and 16 BB in 37 IP for the Scrappers this season.
Robbie Aviles, RP-MVS: IP, H, BB. This was Aviles' first scoreless outing for the Scrappers, and he has allowed 11 ER in 15 2/3 IP. Health is the primary concern with Avlies though, as he had Tommy John surgery after the Indians drafted him in 2010.
Mitch Brown, SP-AZL: 3 IP, H, 4 K, BB. Really solid outing for the Indians 2nd round pick in this June's draft. It was Brown's 2nd start of his professional career, and he's now thrown 5 innings, allowing 1 ER on 3 hits while striking out 5 and walking one.
Kieran Lovergove, RP-AZL: IP, 2 ER, 4 H, K, BB. The Indians 3rd round pick relieved the 2nd round pick, and the results weren't quite as good. Lovegrove has also made two appearances for the AZ Indians, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits in 3 IP, with one K and 2 BB.
Trey Haley, RP-AZL: 2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 K, BB. Rough outing for the flame throwing righty, who hadn't allowed a run in his two prior AZL outings. He has 7 K and 2 BB in 5 AZL IP.
Dorssys Paulino, SS-AZL: 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R. The 17-year old continues to tear up complex league pitching, with a .340/.406/.596 line in 22 games. He's hit 3 HR, 4 triples and 7 doubles, and has driven in 16 runs.
D'Vone McClure, CF-AZL: 3-7, HR (1), 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 K. The athletic McClure is 5-10 in his two professional games so far, with a HR, 3 RBI, 5 runs scored and a walk. Pretty solid start to a career, even if it is just the complex leagues.