Written by Al Ciammiachella

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Dorssys Paulino, SS-AZL: 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 SB, CS.

We've covered the exploits of the 17-year old Paulino in this space before, but the kid just keeps on hitting. He's up to an outstanding .338/.393/.559 line in 33 games in the complex league, with 3 HR, 11 doubles, 5 triples and 21 RBI. Those are numbers that you typically see from a college player who beats up on younger complex league pitching, not from a kid younger than many high school seniors in his first taste of organized baseball. Paulino of course was the Indians big $$ signing out of the Dominican Republic last year, agreeing to a $1.1 million bonus on July 2, 2011. Most players coming to the US from the Dominican struggle with their approach, striking out far more than they walk. Paulino has struck out just 23 times while walking 13, which is outstanding for his age and experience level. AZL stats are not usually considered harebringers of future success, but as Baseball America pointed out in a recent article, Paulino is stacking up awfully well to some of the elite talent around baseball when you look at his numbers:

"Dominican teenagers who come to the U.S. for their pro debut aren't supposed to make it look this easy. Robinson Cano hit .230/.330/.365 in 57 games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League when he was 18. When Placido Polanco was 18, he hit .213/.259/.268 in 32 games in the AZL, while a 19-year-old Rafael Furcal (.258/.335/.342 in 50 GCL games) didn't fare much better.

Hanley Ramirez exploded on to the scene for the Red Sox 10 years ago as an 18-year-old in the GCL, where he hit .341/.402/.555 in 45 games, while Starlin Castro hit .311/.364/.464 in 51 AZL games at 18. Yet in addition to being a year older than Paulino at the time, both Ramirez and Castro had spent a season in the Dominican Summer League before making the jump to a U.S. complex league. The Indians have thrown Paulino into the fire, and he's responded by making the Arizona League look like Little League."

Again, this is by no means assuring Paulio of multiple all-star appearances, but when you're being favorably compared to Cano, Hanley Ramirez and Starlin Castro, that's a pretty nice start to your professional career.

Matt LaPorta, 1B-COL: 2-4, HR (19), RBI, R. LaPorta is 7th in the International League with his 19 HR this season, and his overall line now stands at .276/.362/.504.

Russ Canzler, LF-COL: 2-4, HR (17), RBI, R. Canzler has been in a funk lately, hitting just .184/.295/.474 in his last 10 games. His 17 HR put him 8th in the International League, one spot behind teammate LaPorta.

Lars Anderson, DH-COL: 1-3, 2B, K. Anderson has gone 3-20 (.150) with a pair of doubles, three walks and 7 strikeouts since coming over in the Indians only deadline deal this season.

T.J. House, SP-AKR: 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 5 K, BB. In his last 6 starts (including a 1 inning rain-shortened appearance), House has allowed 8 earned runs in 33 2/3 IP with 32 K and 7 BB. He's lowered his AA ERA to 3.58 in 105 2/3 IP with the Aeros this year.

Rob Bryson, RP-AKR: L (4-3), 1 1/3 IP, 2 ER, H, 4 BB, K. Everytime I think Bryson is figuring it out, he has a stretch like this one, where he's walked 8 batters in his last 3 appearances (4 2/3 IP). His 66 K in 52 2/3 AA innings look good, but not when you compare them with the 38 free passes he's issued.

Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 2-4, 2 2B, R, 2 K. Diaz is hitting .294/.351/.500 in his last 10 games, and is coming off of a month of July that saw him put up an impressive .303/.373/.545 line with 4 HR and 24 RBI. The switch-hitting Diaz is still just 23, and if he can learn to hit lefties, he's a legit SS prospect.

Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K. Wegz is 6 for his last 13, and is hitting .249/.352/.431 overall for the Aeros this year. He's hit 13 HR, 20 doubles and driven in 50 in his 95 games with the club.

Will Roberts, SP-CAR: 7 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 6 K, BB. This was probably Roberts' best start of the year, and helped lower his Carolina League ERA to 5.73 in 92 2/3 IP this season.

J.D. Reichenbach, RP-CAR: W (4-5) 2 IP, H, K, BB.  Reichenbach picked up the win in relief last night, and now has a 5.29 ERA with 35 K and 25 BB in 49 1/3 IP this season.

Dwight Childs, C-CAR: 1-3, 2B, RBI. Childs not only drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out, 9th-inning RBI double, he gunned down both Salem runners who attempted to steal on him. That's a big accomplishment considering the night before the Mudcats allowed eight...that's right, EIGHT stolen bases in ten attempts in a 1-run loss.

Tony Wolters, 2B-CAR: 1-5, 2B, RBI, K. Wolters is hitting .325/.378/.600 with 2 HR, 3 doubles, a triple and 7 RBI in his last 10 games. That helps pus his overall line to .269/.330/.403 with 5 and 49 in 103 games this season.

Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 1-3, HR (6), 2 RBI, BB, R, SB, K. Lindor's HR was the inside-the-park variety, the first of his young career. His season line stands at .263/.357/.371 with 6 HR, 37 RBI and 25 SB, which doesn't sound all that impressive until you consider that he's an 18-year old kid in his first season of professional baseball, and he's doing it while providing gold glove level defense at SS.

Alex Lavisky, C-LCC: 1-1, HR (9), 3 BB, RBI, R.  Honestly, this is about the best line you can hope for with Lavisky. I'm almost more encouraged by the 3 BB than the HR, as going into the game he had more than 3 strikeouts (83) for every walk (25).

Charlie Valerio, C-MVS: 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI, R, 2 K. Valerio is up to .290/.372/.452 in 43 games for the Scrappers, and the 21-year old switch hitter out of the Dominican Republic has popped 5 HR and driven in 31 runs.

Joe Sever, 3B-MVS: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, SB, K. The former Pepperdine Wave is hitting a solid .304/.395/.402 for the Scrappers this year, but only has 8 XBH in 30 games.

Juan Romero, DH-MVS: 2-5, R, 2 K. Romero recorded two hits last night, neither of which went for extra bases. That's the first time he's done that this season, as 8 of his 18 hits have been of the extra-base variety.

Mitch Brown, SP-AZL: 3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 2 BB. The Indians 2nd round pick this year, Brown has yet to record a decision in 5 AZL stars. He's thrown 14 2/3 innings, allowed 6 ER, walked 6 and struck out 11.

Joshua Nervis, RP-AZL: 2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 K, BB. Nervis was the Indians 38th round draft pick this year, and he's been lights-out in AZL play. He's thrown 20 1/3 innings with a 1.77 ERA, 30 K and 8 BB.

Anthony Santander, LF-AZL: 3-4, HR (4), 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB. Santander was another of the Indians big signings in the international FA market last year, and the switch-hitting, 17-year old Venezuelan has also been impressive this year. He's hit in 10 straight games in the AZL league, putting up a .441/.459/.794 line with 3 HR, 3 2B and 9 RBI in that timeframe. His approach is a little more raw than Paulino's with 30 K and just 7 BB, but this is a kid to keep an eye on as well.