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Dillon Howard started the first game of two seven inning ball games on Sunday night and pitched one of his better game in the AZL thus far. The Indians lost the first game 2-1 but rebounded in the second game to beat the Padres 7-3.

The AZL Indians pitching had some impressive starts this week, though the defense struggled throughout the week. The Arizona squad went 2-4 on the week and had their share of growing pains with 13 errors in the six games. Let’s run through the players and highlights of the week…

The AZL Indians made three errors on Friday night, but their offense was able to bury the defensive woes as they slugged 12 hits and defeated the Dodgers 9-6 with hit parades in the fourth and sixth innings.

Dylan Baker proved why he was one of the most highly regarded JUCO prospect in the 2012 draft on Wednesday night. The Alaska native threw 3.1 innings on the evening, struck out six—including striking out the side in the 2nd inning—and was absolutely owning the Cubs offense with a fastball

In this week's second edition of Minor Happenings, Tony takes a long, hard look at the Triple-A Columbus roster. He takes a look at the hot hitting Tim Fedroff, Ezequiel Carrera and Jared Goedert and provides insight and analysis on whether they are big league options for the Indians anytime soon, provides several interesting comments from Ross Atkins on how they handle players that are affected by trades as well as some thoughts on Vinny Rottino and J.C. Romero, and more.

With the trade deadline now in the past and my vacation but a distant memory, it is time to get back into the swing of things with Minor Happenings as we head down the home stretch of the minor league season. Today, Tony provides updates on the departing Steven Wright and incoming Lars Anderson, the recent impressive performances from lefties T.J. House and Danny Jimenez, all sorts of goodies from Farm Director Ross Atkins on some pitchers in the system, an update on the health of Jeremie Tice, and more.

Things started off on the right foot for the AZL Indians as they battled their next door neighbor in Goodyear and scored three early runs against the Reds. First baseman Nelson Rodriguez did the bulk of the damage as he crushed a 3-run homer over 410 ft. to centerfield after D’vone McClure and Jorge Martinez reached base on a HBP and single, respectively.

The AZL Rangers have one of the best teams in the Arizona Rookie League. The Indians found out why last night as they were pounded 11-2. The IPI's Sean Mahon was once again in attendance last night in Goodyear and shares firsthand observations from himself and from scouts on the performance of players like Lovegrove, Sterling, Cleto, Polanco, and more.

In today's Arizona League Indians notebook, Sean Mahon recaps the week that was and provides a ton of updates on several of the Indians young guns in Arizona like Kieran Lovegrove, Mitch Brown, Dylan Baker and others with velocities and pitch effectiveness. He also provides updates on others like Nelson Rodriguez, Tyler Booth and more. This is a must read piece with tons of comments from scouts and others on what may be the most talented team of the Indians six stateside affiliates.

GOODYEAR-The Indians offense struck early, but not often on Friday evening with a five run 1st inning off of the Brewers' Austin Hall. The remarkable thing about that 5-run 1st inning is the fact they did it all with two outs; the Tribe's outfield tandem of D'Vone McClure and Tyler Booth grounded out to start the game and then came the heavy lifting--Dorssys Paulino legged out a triple followed by a single and walk courtesy of Jorge Martinez and Nelson Rodriguez, respectively.

The rookie Tribe followed the lead of the Major League Tribe on Thursday night as they engineered a big three run 7th inning in a 5-4 comeback win against the AZL Padres. The teenage Tribe traded in their powerful offense for a solid defensive showing last night as they did not commit an error in the contest after committing 11 errors over the previous two games.

Every winter, Tony Lastoria produces the preeminent Indians prospect rankings each winter. With the season in full swing, and our massive website being Tony's major focus, Jim Pete has modified the top 22, taking into account performance, the draft, and several other criteria over the course of the first 2/3rds of the season. You must have a subscription to view #2-7, #9-#14 and #16-#22, but the players residing at #1, #8 and #15 are free! Here's a look at #1 (and more), after the jump....

It was another series of unfortunate defensive events for the AZL Indians on Wednesday night as the team committed five errors on the evening, a rather discouraging event considering their six errors committed the previous night. Shortstop Dorssys Paulino made his 12th error on the season and has 12 errors in 24 games. In all it led to a 9-4 loss to the AZL Royals.

A lot of people think that being a minor league player or coach is a glamorous lifestyle, but that is far from the truth. The reality is that for those with families it requires a strong commitment from all parties involved while they deal with all of the travel, time apart, ever-changing living arrangements, and low pay. Tony recently sat down and talked to the the wives of Lake County coaches Dave Wallace and Jeff Harris to get their side of the minor league lifestyle.

The AZL Indians looked the part of a rookie league squad last night as they committed six errors in the field and went 0-for-5 with RISP on the evening in a 9-2 loss to the AZL Cubs. Leaving six runners on base and striking out ten times on the night were part of the problem.

Another night, another teenage Tribe thumping. The young Tribe hit Angels’ pitching hard on Sunday night, punching 13 hits and scored in five of the nine innings played. The Baby Tribe would go on to beat the Angels, 15-6, as D'vone McClure and Mitch Brown showcased a potential future devastating duo. Check out Sean's exclusive look at the rookie league match-ups, after the jump...