Indians Prospect Insider

Two important dates are quickly approaching – Easter Sunday and Opening Day!
Both of these days will always be remembered in Tribe history. On Easter Sunday, April 17, 1960 – the day before Opening Day – Frank “Trader” Lane made the most hated trade in Cleveland Indians franchise history. Rocky Colavito, the 1959 A.L. home-run champ (42) was traded for Harvey Kuenn,...

Friday represented the final day of inter-organization exhibition games for the Indians' farmhands. Players will practice and play a camp game on Saturday, and then by the time they leave the complex they will know where they have been assigned. Tony has all the stats from the five games played on Friday and provides some insight on where some players are going this season and more.

Friday's outing by Ubaldo Jimenez was nothing if not unusual. If not for three solo homers that he allowed, he pitched well. The lineup was loaded with minor leaguers filling in so regulars could be well rested and not risk injury before the start of the season. Saturday is the final day of spring training before the Indians break camp and get this party started for real!

The Nostalgia League - an 18-team league matching up the greatest Indians teams of all time - continues on. July started out with a no-no and was bookended on July 30th with another no-no. Mike Hargrove's 1995 Indians have built up a comfortable lead in the Boudreau Division, but the Speaker Division changed leaders. Larry Doby and Mike Garcia shined in July, and the IBI's Rick Lamborn shares all the details of what happened over the entire month.

Zach McAllister had some unexpected success during the 2012 season. With the 2013 season now just days away, how can fans expect McAllister to perform? Could he perhaps be the cog that holds the Indians' rotation together? Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he touches on McAllister's future in the first edition of a new IBI weekly staple appropriately titled Orbiting Cleveland.

It has been almost five years since the Indians traded C.C. Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers for a package of four players. The key player at the time of the deal, Matt LaPorta, has since struggled with injuries and performance; however, in his debut piece for the IBI, John Mast says that the deal is not a bust thanks to one player in particular.

Only two days remain before another minor league spring training breaks on Saturday afternoon. Juan Diaz, Anthony Gallas, Carlos Moncrief, Leo Castillo and several others had good days at the plate for the Indians' affiliates, and Fernando Nieve, Danny Salazar, Jake Sisco and others impressed on the mound. The full stats from all four minor league games on Thursday are included....

Some Tribe fans may have had flashbacks to opening day 2012 watching Thursday’s bout between the Indians and Padres in Peoria, Arizona. Justin Masterson shined in five innings of work leaving with a 3-2 lead. In the seventh, closer Chris Perez came in and not only blew the lead, but gave up four runs on five hits including a pair of 2-run bombs, leading to a 6-4 loss.

The 18-team Nostalgia League has reached the midpoint of its season. Where do all of the Indians great teams of the past sit as of July 1st? How are former great players and fan favorites doing? Which teams are running away with their division and which teams have been a disappointment so far? The IBI's history guru Rick Lamborn gets us all up to date in this fascinating simulation league!

Spring training officially comes to a close today, and who better to wrap it all up than the IBI's DJ Sebastian. You may recall that when spring training opened he provided an overview of memories from spring training's passed, and today he provides some thoughts, insights, and neat little anecdotes from this year's spring training.

The fourth installment of our 2013 Cleveland Indians Key Player series focuses on Carlos Santana. After arriving in 2010 with an impressive showing before suffering a serious knee injury, while he has shown flashes the last two seasons, the Indians are waiting for Santana to truly arrive as an offensive weapon. The IBI's Michael Goodman takes a deeper look into Santana, a player he believes is the engine that will make the Indians offense flourish.

It was another busy day at camp for the minor leaguers on Wednesday as releases were announced first thing in the morning, and then the rest of the players went out for morning workouts and then games in the afternoon. With camp winding down the rosters for the four full season teams are really starting to come into focus, and Tony discusses how those are shaping up and also some of arms set to open in the Carolina and Lake County rotation, plus much more.

Daisuke Matsuzaka made his first appearance since being resigned by the Indians to a minor league deal, and the right-hander impressed as he allowed just two runs while pitching into the sixth inning. On the offense end, third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall also continued his tear and led the Indians with two hits. Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he looks back at Wednesday's game and offers some key takeaways.

The Nostalgia League continues on and two months are in the books. As the season moves into June, some teams like the 1995 and 2005 Indians continue to dominate, while the 1968 and 1976 Indians have struggled. Shortstop Lou Bourdreau is setting the league on fire with his hitting, Vic Wertz and Rocky Colavito are showing the power, and Cy Falkenberg has been dominant on the mound. Check it out!

It's hard to believe, but this is the last Corner of Carnegie and Ontario before the regular season kicks off next Tuesday in Toronto. The Indians secured one of their most successful offseasons of the year, and are now led by one of the best baseball minds in the game today. Will their offseason success translate to on-the-field victories? Jim Pete walks through the 25-man rotation, with a preview of what's to come...

The Indians today announced that have released five players from their minor league contracts: shortstop Jairo Kelly, outfielder Chia-Ching Lin, outfielder Andrew Campbell, catcher Dwight Childs, and infielder Davis Stoneburner.