Written by Al Ciammiachella

---

Tim Fedroff, LF-COL: 5-6, 2B, 2 RBI, R.

The Clippers split a doubleheader yesterday, and Fedroff collected a team-high 5 hits between the two games. Fedroff has been scorching International League pitching since being called up to the Clippers back in early June, hitting an eye-popping .371/.433/.560 in 33 games with AAA Columbus. He doesn't have quite enough at bats to qualify for the league leaders, but if he did, he'd be leading the league in AVG, OBP and OPS, and be third in the league in SLG. I know what you must be thinking...just like Matt LaPorta earlier this season, this is just a Huntington Park mirage. Well, I have news for you; Fedroff is hitting .344/.411/.536 in 18 at home, and .404/.459/.558 in 15 contests on the road! Selected in the 7th round of the 2008 draft out of UNC, Fedroff has been given the dreaded "tweener" label during his professional career. That is, he's not able to handle CF defensively in the majors, and doesn't hit with enough power to play in a corner OF spot. That criticisim does have some merit, as he's hit 18 HR in 457 minor league games, and his career SLG is just .404. I haven't seen Fedroff since spring training this year, so I'm not sure if there were mechanical tweaks to his swing that are generating this newfound power, or if this is just a small-sample size that's destined to come back down to Earth. But either way, a .560 SLG is a .560 SLG. He has 4 HR in 31 games with the Clippers to go along with 5 doubles and a pair of triples and 13 RBI. His overall production is outpacing his scouting report right now, but he's always been a guy who has had a plus hit tool and below-average power so the batting average isn't a total shock. Fedroff is not on the Indians 40-man roster right now, and of course he is a left handed hitter so he's not the right handed bat that fans are so desperately clamoring for at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Other than that, I really can't figure out why he hasn't been given a shot to plug the gap the Indians have in LF.

 T.J. McFarland, SP-COL: L (4-4), 5 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 4 K, 2 BB. McFarland has been inconsistent in his 10 AAA starts. In his 6 good starts, he's allowed 7 ER in 41 2/3 IP. In his 4 bad starts, he's allowed 27 ER in 16 2/3 IP. Until he can master this Jekell and Hyde routine, he's not going to be an option for the major league squad.

Bryan Price, RP-COL: 2 IP, H, 5 K. Just when you think you have a guy figured out...Price had allowed 5 ER in his last 1 2/3 IP, then turned around and dominated for two innings yesterday. His AAA ERA is still 9.64, but outings like that can turn it around in a hurry.

Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 4-6, HR (11), 3 RBI, BB, 3 R, K, CS. Phelps has hit in 8 of his last 9 contests, and is 12-32 with 2 HR, a triple, an double, 5 walks and 5 RBI in that timeframe.

Zeke Carerra, CF-COL: 6-9, HR (6), 2B, RBI, 5 R, K. Carerra has hit in 10 straight games for the Clippers, putting up a .477/.511/.773 line with 2 HR and 5 doubles in that timeframe. He's been one of the hottest hitters in the org, and has surged to a .750 OPS overall.

Ludovicus Jacobus Maria Van Mil, RP-AKR: 2 IP, 3 H, K. Sorry, I just love seeing that name in print.

Rob Bryson, RP-AKR: 2 IP, 5 K. Dominant relief outing for Bryson, who came on with two runners on base in the 7th and struck out the side in order.

Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 2-4, BB, R, 2 K. Yesterday was Weglarz's first multi-hit game in his last 10. He's been struggling of late, hitting just .189/.302/.324 with one HR since July 16, so hopefully the two-hit night can jump start one of his legendary hot streaks.

Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 2-4, BB, R. Neal is now 5th in the Eastern League with his .307 AVG, and 4th with an .864 OPS. He has 9 HR, 20 doubles and 45 RBI this season in 84 games for AA Akron.

Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 2-5, 2B, RBI, K. Diaz has hit in 7 straight for the Aeros, going 10-29 with 2 HR, a triple and two doubles over the mini-streak. His season OPS is up to .735 after coming into the month of July below .700.

Roberto Perez, C-AKR: 2-4, 3B, 2B, BB, R. I can't imagine what must have happened in the outfield yesterday that Perez managed to leg out a triple. In much less suprising news, he picked (another) runner off 1B with a snap-throw.

Gio Urshela, 3B-CAR: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R. It was a slow offensive day for the Mudcats yesterday, but Urshela did manage to knock in a pair with a double. He's cooled off after a big June, hitting just .241/.261/.425 here in 22 July games.

Mason Radeke, SP-LCC: L (5-5), 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K. Radeke was the hard-luck loser yesterday for the Captains, as he pitched well but the Lake County offense managed just one run on 4 hits to support him. He's 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 71 IP in the Midwest League this year, with an impressive 78 K and 16 BB.

Tyler Naquin, CF-MVS: 1-4, 2B, R. Naquin has hit in four in a row for the Scrappers, and his season line is up to .288/.403/.404 with 15 BB and 19 K in 27 NYPL games.

Juan Romero, RF-MVS: 1-3, 2B, K. Romero has just 15 hits in 78 AB with the Scrappers, but 8 of those 15 have been for extra bases, including 6 HR. He's 2nd in the NYPL in HRs despite hitting just .192 on the season.

Dorssys Paulino, SS-AZL: 4-5, 4 1B. This is getting nuts. The 17-year old Paulino is now up to .359/.417/.602 in 24 AZL games, mostly against older and more experienced competition. That's a crazy-good line for a kid that young in his first real taste of professional baseball.

Tyler Booth, LF-AZL: 3-5, 2 HR (3), 3 RBI, 2 R. The Indians 13th round pick out of Central AZ JC, Booth signed for $100,000 and is hitting .292/.304/.508 with 3 HR and 20 RBI in 14 games in the complex league.

Nelson Rodriguez, 1B-AZL: 1-2, HR (2), RBI, 2 BB, R.  Selected in the 15th round of this year's draft, the massive Rodriguez signed late but is making up for it, hitting .286/.545/.667 with 2 HR, 2 doubles and 5 RBI in 7 games for the AZL Indians. He's just 18 and will have to take care of his body going forward to ensure he doesn't outgrow 1B, but the 6'4", 240lb kid out of New York City is an interesting guy to keep an eye on.