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The minor leagues are all about learning and development. New beginnings are a constant and for Cleveland Indians’ starter Jake Sisco, new beginnings are occurring both on and off the field. Sisco, 22, was the Indians’ third-round pick of the 2011 draft and is pitching in the starting rotation for Low-A Lake County, and according to the IBI's Stephanie Metzger has a chance to start over this season after a tough year last year.

For the first time in a while, there were no rainouts on the farm and every team was in action. The return to action was not pretty for everyone, as Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Lake County defense struggled mightily. There were some positives, though, like the late-game heroics from Chun Chen for the Aeros and more power from Bryson Myles. Join Arthur Kinney as he navigates it all and goes Around The Farm.

The Fort Wayne Tincaps (5-3) used some early offense and solid pitching to drop the Lake County Captains (1-6) to their sixth straight loss by a final score of 9-1 on Friday night. The starting pitcher matchup featured two left-handed prospects from previous drafts. Max Fried (1-0, 1.00 ERA), the first round draft pick of the Padres in 2012, made his second start of the season for the Tincaps and was opposed by Ryan Merritt (0-2, 2.00 ERA) of the Captains, a 16th round pick by the Indians in the 2011 draft.

It was a quiet night all around in the Indians system as the rain in the midwestern and eastern areas of the United States resulted in rainouts in Cleveland and Columbus, and Lake County's game was called after six innings. But there was still plenty to talk about from Thursday's minor league action, and Tony steps in with some thoughts on several of the performances on the night.

The Fort Wayne Tincaps (4-3) took advantage of three errors by the Lake County Captains (1-5) to build a 4-0 advantage before the skies opened up. The game was called after five and a half innings, giving Fort Wayne a 4-0 win. Lake County has dropped five straight ballgames.

The first full edition of Minor Happenings is back for the 2013 season. This is the piece that started it all for this site several years ago, and in today's 4300+ word piece Tony gives all kinds of updates and insights on players up and down the Indians farm system. He talks about Francisco Lindor's impressive start to the season, the aggressive placement of Jose Ramirez, the tough first outing for Mitch Brown, the plan for Cord Phelps, shares a a ton of comments from Ross Atkins, and has all kinds of information and updates on the likes of Jeremy Hermida, Matt Packer, Bryson Myles, Dorssys Paulino and more.

There was plenty of rain throughout the region Wednesday night, forcing cancellations for Cleveland, Akron, and Lake County. Luckily for the Mudcats and Clippers -- and Bryson Myles, Francisco Lindor, and Tyler Naquin -- they avoided the weather and got their games in. Join Jim Piascik for a slightly shortened Around The Farm, after the jump.

It was a rough first week for the Lake County Captains as they kicked off the season with a 1-4 record, putting them in the basement of the Midwest League. The offense has yet to catch much fire and the pitching has allowed some early leads that the team has struggled to overcome. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger recaps the week that was in the 2013 debut of the Captains notebook....

MIDLAND, MI- The middle game of the three game series between the Lake County Captains (1-4) and the Great Lakes Loons (2-3) has been postponed due to bad field conditions and possible inclement weather. The game has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) April 10th at 1:05 PM. The game will be seven innings as a part of a doubleheader to close the series.

It has been some time since the Indians have had a hitter with such promise pass through their lower levels. There have been some good young prospects to pass through Low-A Lake County over the years, but none with the upside and potential to impact a game with the bat like that of shortstop Dorssys Paulino. This is a big growth year for him, and the IBI's Tony Lastoria recently sat down and talked to him about his goals for this season.

The Great Lakes Loons (2-3) scored two runs in the seventh inning to drop Lake County (1-4) to their fourth consecutive loss by a final score of 5-4 after winning on Opening Day. The Captains sent right-hander Dylan Baker to the mound for the first time in 2013 to oppose Jonathan Martinez, a right-hander who is the 15th ranked prospect in the Dodgers organization by mlb.com.

The Lake County Captains dropped the finale of a four-game series on Sunday as the Lansing Lugnuts and one of the Toronto Blue Jays’ top prospects put the brakes on the Captains’ bats. Right-hander Jake Sisco took the mound for his first start of the season to counter Lansing’s Roberto Osuno. Osuno, considered the top prospect on the current Lugnuts team, is an 18-year-old righty out of Mexico.

The Lansing Lugnuts used a four run first inning to grab an early lead en route to defeating the Captains by a score of 8-1 at Classic Park on Saturday Afternoon.

The first edition of Minor Happenings each year typically does not post until the first Thursday after the season opens, but there is a lot to talk about and get everyone caught up on. In today’s special edition of the Happenings, I give an update on Tony Wolters’ move to catcher, introduce Robert Whitenack, break down Tyler Naquin’s great opening night showing, and have all kinds of quotes from the front office on the catchers in the system and where some of the missing players are to start the season.

The minor league season is now in full swing as all 120 full-season affiliates are now underway. The last six teams, including Indians High-A affiliate Carolina Mudcats, opened their season Friday. Join the IBI's Arthur Kinney as he takes a look back at the best and worst performances of the first night of full-bore, four-team Tribe minor league action...

The Lansing Lugnuts used a four run two out rally in the sixth inning to secure the 5-3 victory over the Captains on Friday night at Classic Park. Ryan Merritt (0-1) started for the Captains and pitched five innings allowing five hits and one earned run and also struck out five, but was saddled with the loss.