Indians Prospect Insider

The Cleveland Indians can be really, really good and really, really bad, seemingly at the drop of a hat. With a pitching staff that has more questions than the riddler, and an offense that scores in bunches, or not at all, can this team put together enough to be a contender? Jim Pete takes a look at this enigmatic team from the Corner of Carnegie and Ontario, and what it may take to take the next step.

Today the Cleveland Indians announced that right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus and will make a spot start tonight against the Phillies. To make room on the 25-man roster, the Indians have optioned left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone to Columbus.

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.

The Cleveland Indians last night defeated their third straight Cy Young winner this season. Two-time award winner Roy Halladay took the mound for the Phillies at Progressive Field, but his stay would be brief as the hot-swinging Tribesman tagged the right-hander for eight runs and three homers in only three and two thirds innings of work. The Indians didn’t settle for that as they went on to score six more runs and hit four more bombs in a 14-2 blowout of the Phillies in their first interleague matchup of 2013.

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.

Five games, 47 innings, and an aircraft carrier-load of notable performances. It wasn't easy, but, after exactly three and a third hours, the IBI's Arthur Kinney has boiled this crazy day in the Indians' minor league system down into this extended trip Around the Farm. Francisco Lindor, Cord Phelps and Will Roberts all had strong performances, so join Arthur as he recaps all the action in today's edition of ATF.

So much for that lack of offense, right? The Indians exploded for seven home runs as they earned a 14-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday. The offense was not the only part of the team that impressed though as Zach McAllister pitched seven strong innings while only allowing two runs. Jojn the IBI's Jim Berdysz as he recaps all of the night's action from what proved to be a very memorable Tribe win.

Coming off two victories from Monday’s double-header against the Kane County Cougars, the Lake County Captains couldn’t come away with a third victory on Tuesday and fell to the Cougars 13-9.

ALTOONA - Akron Aeros' new additions showed their worth Tuesday as the team struck back and earned a 5-0 win to tie up the series with the Altoona Curve 1-1.

The Akron Aeros began to turn around their season over the past week, winning four out of six and moving their overall record to 10-14. Sure, the team is still in last place in the Eastern League, but they did begin digging themselves out from their slow start. The pitching was a big key for Akron, though they also got some key contributions from the offense. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks it all down and go Launching Off With The Aeros.

PAWTUCKET, RI – The Columbus Clippers are currently ranked last in the International League with a league-low 175 hits — but Tuesday was a different story. The Clippers grinded out a win against the Pawtucket Red Sox 6-5 Tuesday after 15 innings of play. The win splits the series between to the two clubs 2-2.

In this week’s first edition of Minor Happenings this week, Tony takes a look at several pitchers throughout the organization. Right-hander Jordan Cooper has used last season’s late success as a springboard to a good start to this season and is starting to round into form as a solid pitching prospect, and he touches on where he has improved and what kind of future he may have. In addition to that he provides an update and outlook on Diasuke Matsuzaka, shares some comments made by the front office this past week on the likes of T.J. House, Trey Haley, Austin Adams and others, and also some insight and updates on the progress of the likes of Giovanni Soto, Bret Brach, Jacob Lee, Luis DeJesus and others.

Smoke Signals is back on the cyberwaves tonight from 10:00pm – 11:00pm EST. In tonight's episode, Tony and Jim discuss the Indians just completed 11-day nine-game road trip that they went 5-4 on, the Indians keystone combination of Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera and if they can get things going, Carlos Santana's breakout month and if his start is sustainable and if it is time to move him up in the lineup, Ubaldo Jimenez's and Corey Kluber's excellent outings the last two nights, and more.

Who was that masked man? That was not the Ubaldo we have all come to loathe, and to his credit he pitched a wonderful ballgame and helped the Indians cruise to a much needed 9-0 win and more importantly finish the road trip with a 5-4 record. Ryan Raburn got into the action and clubbed two home runs, Carlos Santana continues to sizzle, and Asdrubal Cabrera looks to be heating up. All of that and more in today's "second thoughts"...

The Columbus Clippers lack of offense led them to their second loss of the series with the Pawtucket Rex Sox, falling, 5-1.

The Indians lower level affiliates have begun to produce some interesting position players over the past couple of season, but there aren't many as intriguing as Lake County's LeVon Washington. He has an abundance of talent, but has had a tough time staying on the field, as injury issues have sideline him over the past three seasons. After a 5-for-5 outing on Saturday, the centerfielder was at it again on Monday Night. Find out what he did in today's ATF...