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The Carolina Mudcats received the clutch hits they had been searching for, and the bullpen held the Salem Red Sox at bay in a doubleheader sweep on Thursday night at LewisGale Field. The Mudcats snapped a five-game losing skid with a 2-1 triumph in game one, and pulled away for a game two victory, 4-1.

In this week’s Minor Happenings, Tony talks about the rapid growth of Danny Salazar and his alleged promotion to Columbus and what he needs to work on. He also looks at the return of Matt LaPorta and if his showing to date is any different from last year, provides some detailed comments from the front office on Trevor Bauer’s progression as a pitcher as well as the 411 on extended spring training, and also provides some insight and information on the likes of Preston Guilmet, Justin Toole, Francisco Lindor, Mitch Brown, and more.

SALEM, VA- After waiting out a one-hour, 20-minute rain delay, the Carolina Mudcats took the field against the Salem Red Sox Tuesday night. Despite the fact that they outhit the Sox 10-4, the Mudcats fell 6-4 in the contest. Tuesday's game was the first of the three-day game series at LewisGale Field.

The IBI Hot List is back for another week and recaps the hot (and some cold) performances in the Indians system over the past week. The top 20 performances over the past seven days are ranked with some commentary, and the five worst showings are also ranked with some commentary there as well. This week I take a look at the hot showing by shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder LeVon Washington, right-hander Jordan Cooper, outfielder Logan Vick and others, and then also look at the recent struggles of shortstop Dorssys Paulino, first baseman Jesus Aguilar, left-hander Shawn Morimando and others.

The Carolina Mudcats battled through the dreary Carolina mist, but couldn’t avoid the series sweep, falling 6-5 to the Frederick Keys.
Left-handed pitcher Shawn Morimando (1-4) started the game for the Mudcats but did not fare well. Morimando walked six batters over four innings, giving up two hits and two runs.

The Carolina Mudcats don't look all that good on paper, but Francisco Lindor makes it all better in the land of Carolina. Lindor has exploded offensively, and while there are some that says he still needs seasoning, the #1 prospect is making a case to be moved now. Join Jim Pete with his weekly Carolina Mudcats notebook, as he takes a close look at Lindor, and the rest of the Mudcats week.

A back and forth contest got out of hand late, as the Carolina Mudcats lost to the Frederick Keys 7-4 on Saturday night. The loss was the Mudcats third straight and their seventh out of their last ten, which dropped their record to 11-18 on the season.

It's only two games, but Matt LaPorta is doing his best to prove that he is all the way back after years of disappointment and injuries. The first baseman is making waves at Columbus and starting to turn some heads. On the other side of the spectrum, Francisco Lindor just continues to impress day-in and day-out, stating his case to move up with each great performance. For all this and more, join Arthur Kinney as he goes Around The Farm.

The Carolina Mudcats and Frederick Keys decided nine innings wasn’t enough time to decide a winner so they went extra innings. Unfortunately, the Mudcats were on the short end of a 4-3 loss to the Keys in 11 innings on Friday night at Five County Stadium.

On Thursday, Matt LaPorta came back to action in a big way, while one of the top pitching prospects in the Indians farm system had a huge day in Akron. On the opposite side, there was a rough outing in Columbus, but the bullpen was able to limit the damage. Contributor Andrew Zajac recaps all the minor league action from around the organization and takes you Around the Farm, after the jump...

The Carolina Mudcats fell behind early and did not get going offensively until it was too late to fall to the Potomac Nationals 5-1 on Thursday night. The loss drops the Mudcats record to 11-16 after the Nationals took three out of four games. Mudcats starting pitcher Cody Anderson struggled early but settled down to throw six innings, giving up 11 hits, five runs, all earned, with five strikeouts, one hit batsmen, but no batters walked.

In today’s week ending edition of Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the blazing hot return of Low-A Lake County outfielder LeVon Washington, what the plan is for him, and what areas he is making some strides. He also recaps Double-A Akron first baseman Chun Chen’s impressive month and looks at when and how he can be promoted to Triple-A Columbus, shares tons of comments from the front office on several position players at Akron, reviews the great Double-A debut by Will Roberts, the good recovery Tyler Holt has made after some early struggles, the growing legend of Anthony Santander, and more.

What could top another dominating day from the man known as #WashTime, the top prospect in the system continuing to make his case for a quick promotion to Double-A, and even a former top prospect doing his best to mash his way back into the major league picture? How about winning a game in extra innings at the plate and behind it? To find out who our late-inning hero is tonight and to find the rest of the action from around the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he goes Around The Farm.

Carolina Mudcats catcher Charlie Valerio’s second home run of the year came at just the right time. His tenth inning, game-winning home run lifted the Mudcats past the Potomac Nationals 3-2. With the win on Wednesday night, Carolina stopped a four-game slide. Owen Dew earned the win in relief for the Mudcats. The right-hander tossed a scoreless eighth inning and allowed just one hit. Jeff Johnson closed the ninth for his fifth save.

Today is the first “stock watch” of the 2013 season for players in the Indians’ minor league system. This report is a snapshot of a few players up and down the system and how their value may be decreasing or increasing as prospects. In today's report, Tony looks at all four levels in the Indians system and touches on the likes of Jeremy Hermida, Mike McDade, Preston Guilmet, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Moncrief, Jerrud Sabourin, Jordan Smith, Dorssys Paulino, Nellie Rodriguez and more.

Michael Taylor lined the game-winner off the left field wall in the bottom of the seventh as the Potomac Nationals rallied past the Carolina Mudcats 4-3 in game two. The walkoff, coupled with a 5-0 shutout in game one, earned a doubleheader sweep for the Nationals (12-13). The Mudcats (10-15) have lost four straight.