Gio Urshela, 3B-CAR: 6-13, HR (10), 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, K.
Urshela has been a streaky hitter this season, putting up great numbers for a week or two and then cratering for a week. He's in the midst of one of his hot streaks right now, as after a big weekend he's hitting .413/.413/.717 with 3 HR and 6 RBI in 11 August games. He's hit in 8 straight games and compiled 8 XBH (5 2B and 3 HR) in those 8 contests. For the season, Urshela is hitting .279/.311/.434 with 10 HR, 26 doubles and 52 RBI in 94 games for the Mudcats. Coming into this season, Urshela was a very well-regarded player on the defensive side of the ledger, but he was seen as a guy who really needed to step up his offensive output to play at a corner position in the major leagues. A .745 OPS isn't going to win any silver slugger awards at the hot corner, but it's a big step in the right direction for a kid who's previous career high for a season is just .693 at Mahoning Valley in 2010. Urshela is still just 20 years old, and there's room in his 6', 195lb frame for some more strength as he continues to mature and fill out. If he were a 23-year old with a .745 OPS in high-A, he wouldn't be worth a 2nd look. But his age combined with his elite defense make him a guy to keep an eye on, as he could become a top prospect if he continues to advance his offensive game. If he can take another step forward at AA Akron next year, likely through improving his approach at the plate, the Indians will really have found something with the young international free agent out of Panama.
Roberto Hernandez, SP-LCC: W (1-0), 7 IP, ER, 4 H, 5 K, BB. Hernandez's final minor league tuneup was a sucessful one, as he shut down Indianapolis over seven innings of one-run ball. In four starts between Lake County and Columbus, Hernandez posted a 4.07 ERA in 24 1/3 innings of work. He gave up 11 ER on 25 hits, striking out 20 and walking just four. He'll make his Indians season debut this Wendsday.
T.J. McFarland, SP-LCC: L (5-6), 7 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 K, BB. Three of the six hits McFarland gave up on Saturday left the yard. After giving up just one HR in 60 1/3 IP for AA Akron, he's allowed eight bombs in 78 1/3 AAA innings. The good news is that all eight of those HR have been hit in the friendly confines of Huntington Park, as he hasn't given up a single big fly in 38 2/3 innings on the road.
Rafael Perez, RP-COL: IP, BB. Perez was shut down with shoulder tightness after a July 18 appearance, and this was his first outing since then. He's thrown 6 minor league innings between Akron and Columbus, and has allowed no runs on 3 hits with a strikeout and a walk.
Scott Barnes, RP-COL: 2 1/3 IP, H, 4 K. In his last 8 appearances, Barnes has thrown 10 2/3 innings, allowing just one ER and striking out 17. In 28 1/3 AAA innings as a reliever he has a 1.90 ERA, 28 K and 13 BB.
Tim Fedroff, RF-COL: 2-13, 3B, 2B, BB, 2 R, 3 K. Fedroff has cooled off considerably for Columbus, but is still hitting an impressive .337/.396/.549 with 7 HR and 22 RBI in 49 games for the Clip Show.
Russ Canzler, LF-COL: 3-12, 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 R, 3 K. Canzler is hitting just .194/.286/.419 in 9 August games, and his season OPS stands at an even .800. It seems that we won't have a repeat winner of the International League MVP award this year.
Brett Brach, SP-AKR: L (3-5), 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 5 K, BB. Solid start for Brach, but the Aeros offense was shut out so he ended up saddled with his 5th loss of the year. He has a 4.68 ERA in 67 1/3 AA innings this season.
Shawn Armstrong, RP-AKR: S (1), 2 2/3 IP, H, 2 K, 2 BB. Armstrong has been a breakout arm in the system this year, posting a 1.61 ERA with 72 K and 33 BB in 61 1/3 IP between Lake County, Carolina and Akron.
Trey Haley, RP-AKR: 3 1/3 IP, ER, H, 5 K, 3 BB. Haley allowed his first AA run, but also picked up 5 more K. I know I've said it before, but the main thing with Haley is just keeping his triple-digit right arm healthy.
Ludovicus Jacobus Maria Van Mil, RP-AKR: 2 IP, R (0 ER), 2 H, K. Van Mil has a 1.94 ERA in 46 1/3 IP since coming over to the Indians organization. He's struck out 40 and walked 11, and opposing hitters are batting .204 against him.
Bryce Stowell, RP-AKR: IP, K. This was Stowell's first appearance since July 2, and he's only thrown 20 2/3 innings for the Aeros this season. He does have 33 K and just 6 BB in those innings, but if he can't stay healthy and on the mound it doesn't matter how talented he is.
Preston Guilmet, RP-AKR: IP, H, 2 K, BB. Guilmet has an even 43 K in 43 1/3 IP this season. He's 2-2 with a 2.49 ERA, and has walked just 10 hitters.
Tyler Holt, CF-AKR: 5-12, 2B, RBI, BB, SB, 2 K. Holt is finally settling into a groove for AA Akron, hitting .324/.395/.353 in his last 10 games. He's stolen 8 bases in 35 games for the Aeros, getting caught just once.
Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 2-8, HR (10), 2B, RBI, 3 BB, 3 R, 2 K. Neal is 6th in the Eastern League with a .852 OPS this season. He's hitting .310/.389/.463 overall, and has 10 HR, 22 2B and 8 stolen bases.
Roberto Perez, C-AKR: 1-4, 3 RBI, BB, R. Perez is hitting just .212/.339/.298 with one HR and 30 RBI this season, but he's doing it while providing gold glove-level defense behind the plate. He should have a long future as a defense-oriented backup catcher in the bigs.
Jordan Cooper, SP-CAR: L (6-6), 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 2 BB. In his last two outings, Coop has started for the Mudcats after primarily working out of the bullpen this year. He's allowed 7 ER in 11 2/3 IP with 9 K in those two starts to raise his season ERA to 4.16 in the Carolina League.
Mike Rayl, SP-CAR: W (9-8), 5 UP, 2 H, 4 K, 4 BB. Five shutout innings for Rayl, who lowered his season ERA to 4.06.
Cole Cook, RP-CAR: 2 IP, ER, 2 H, K, BB. Cook gave up an earned run for the first time since June. He's thrown 17 1/3 innings out of the bullpen for the Mudcats, giving up just 2 ER while striking out 12 and walking 6.
Fabio Martinez, RP-CAR: IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, K. Martinez is the arm that the Indians took a flier on when the Angels tried to sneak him off their 40-man roster. He's coming off a shoulder injury, but has shown big velocity in his 23 2/3 IP this year (24 K) and serious control problems (32 BB).
Tony Wolters, 2B-CAR: 4-14, 2B, 2 RBI, R, K. Wolters has hit in 9 straight games, and is batting .326/.370/.581n 10 August games. He's up to .270/.330/.401 on the season with 5 HR, 50 RBI, 7 triples and 25 doubles.
Bo Greenwell, RF-CAR: 4-13, RBI, BB, 2 K. Greenwell has played in 45 games for the Mudcats since coming off the DL in mid-June, and he's hitting a solid .314/.391/.432 with a pair of HR, 17 RBI and 10 two-base hits. He's stolen 5 bases in 6 attempts and is a great candidate for fall ball to make up for some of the time he's lost to various injuries the past two seasons.
Mason Radeke, SP-LCC: L (5-6), 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 7 K, BB. Radeke continues to increase his impressive K rate, and now has 95 strikeouts in 86 IP with the Captains this year. He has a 3.77 ERA and has issued 22 walks.
Cody Penny, RP-LCC: IP, 2 K. Penny was the Indians 16th round pick out of the University of North Carolina this year, and was called up to Lake County after posting a 3.05 ERA with 18 K in 20 2/3 IP with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. He's thrown four innings with the Captains, allowing one earned run on two hits with 4 K.
Enosil Tejeda, RP-LCC: 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, K. Tejeda now has 12 2/3 consecutive shutout innings over 9 outings with the Captains. He's struck out 10 and walked just 3 in that timeframe, and after a rough start he has a 1.84 low-A ERA.
Luigi Rodriguez, CF-LCC: 4-10, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 R, 2 K. Rodriguez has been unable to replicate his success in the month of April, when he hit .349/.402/.542 in 20 Midwest League games. His season line sits at .269/.336/.402, and the switch-hitter is batting just .230/.262/.350 from the right side of the plate.
Jordan Smith, LF-LCC: 4-11, 3B, RBI, 2 R. Scientists from the future will study Smith's silky-smooth, lefthanded swing and be astonished at the number of line-drives it can produce. He's hitting .311/.358/.443 with 6 HR, 7 triples and 19 doubles this year for the Captains.
Jerrud Sabourin, 1B-LCC: 5-10, 2 2B, 4 RBI, BB, 3 R, K. The former Indiana Hoosier walk-on and undrafted free agent is hitting an improbable .306/.376/.396 this season. He's not showing quite enough power to be a legit 1B prospect, but he's hitting the ball well and is a good story nonetheless.
Jake Lowery, C-LCC: 4-10, HR (6), 2 2B, 5 RBI, BB, 3 R, 3 K. Lowery is finally showing some of the pop he had in college, hitting an impressive .306/.342/.806 with 5 HR and 13 RBI in his last 10 games for the Captains.
Luis Morel, SP-MVS: 4 2/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 5 H, 5 K, 5 BB. Morel is 2-2 with a 4.39 ERA since being moved up from the AZ Summer League to the Scrappers. He's struck out 26 in 26 2/3 IP, but has also walked 21.
Robbie Aviles, RP-MVS: 2 IP, H, K. Aviles has thrown 25 1/3 innings for the Scrappers this season coming off of Tommy John surgery. The lefty was the Indians 7th round pick in 2010, but was projected to go much higher before his injury.
Jim Stokes, RP-MVS: 2 1/3 IP, 3 K, BB. Stokes was the Indians 22nd round pick out of Elon University, and Friday was his best outing as a professional. He's thrown 16 innings in the NYPL, and has a 6.75 ERA with 12 K and 9 BB.
Rafael Homblert, RP-MVS: 2 IP, H, 4 K. Homblert has been outstanding over his last 10 appearances, allowing just 1 ER on 11 hits in 11 IP, striking out a dozen and walking just 3. The 20-year old righty signed with the Indians as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic back in 2009.
Charlie Valerio, C-MVS: 5-14, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 3 K. The 21-year old switch hitter is up to .296/.371/.456 in 46 NYPL games. He has 5 HR, 10 doubles and 35 RBI, and has even stolen 5 bases (pretty good for a catcher).
Juan Romero, RF-MVS: 2-3, HR (7), 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, R. Romero has 7 HR in just 104 AB, but he's also hitting only .192/.250/.433 overall. Half of his 20 hits have gone for extra bases (7 HR/2 2B/1 3B).
Kieran Lovegrove, SP-AZL: 3 IP, H, 4 K, BB. Lovegrove, the Indians 3rd round pick in this June's draft, has appeared in 5 games for the Arizona League Indians. This was his best start by far, lowering his ERA to 7.50 with 9 K in 12 IP overall.
Dillon Howard, SP-AZL: 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 K, 4 BB. This is the longest start of Howard's professional career, throwing 6 innings in the complex league. He has a 6.25 ERA in 31 2/3 IP for the AZL Indians, striking out 24 but walking 16.
Jorge Martinez, 3B-AZL: 4-9, HR (6), 2 RBI, BB, R. Martinez has been every bit as impressive as teammate Dorssys Paulino, hitting .353/.387/.567 with 6 HR, 10 doubles and a pair of triples in 35 AZL games. Also a switch-hitter, Martinez won't turn 19 until the end of spring training next year.
Anthony Santander, LF-AZL: 3-9, 2 2B, RBI, K. It appears that 17-year old switch-hitting Dominicans are the new market inneffiency. Santander is hitting an impressive .305/.359/.492, and like Paulino was born after the baseball strike in 1994. Tell me that doesn't make you feel old.