Indians Prospect Insider

The focus for the Cleveland Indians has been nothing but positive so far in 2013. With all the talk of winning baseball, the potential negatives have been shuffled under the rug a bit. With the team heading into the regular season in two weeks, is there something about this team that just doesn't feel right? This week's power poll takes a look at the potential struggles heading into April.

The Indians minor leaguers took on the Rangers on Sunday, and there were plenty of noteworthy performances and some not so good showings. Tony was there to witness the action yesterday and provides all the stats for all four teams, and touches on the great day at the plate for the likes of Jose Ramirez, Dorssys Paulino, Manuel Boscan, Francisco Mejia and lots of others, and also gives his thoughts on some good and bad performances from some high profile Indians minor league pitchers.

Right-hander Justin Masterson struggled in the first inning before settling down while Matt Carson, Cord Phelps and Chris McGuiness all recorded two hits each for the Indians on Sunday. Plus, Carlos Moncrief hit a key home run in the ninth inning to lift the Indians and clinch a 7-7 tie. Join the IBI's Arthur Kinney as he looks back on all of Sunday's performances and offers some key takeaways from the contest.

Welcome to the first annual IBI March Madness Bracket Challenge! Do you think you know more than everyone else? Do you think you are the smartest member of IBI's loyal followers? Do you think March Madness is your private stomping grounds? Well, it's time to put up, or shut up. Make your picks, and be the first to wear the title of "IBI March Madness Champion!" Read on for the details...

The IBI's 2013 Indians Top 60 Prospect countdown concludes with shortstop Francisco Lindor. In what was a very tight race for the top spot between Lindor, Trevor Bauer, and Dorssys Paulino, the crown as the top prospect in the Indians' system once again goes to Lindor. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the countdown this year, and as a special treat to give a sneak peak at the kind of detail the rest of the 59 players had in the countdown, today's report is non-premium so all can view. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Happy St. Patty’s Day Tribe fans! The Indians made some decisions this past week which really helped define what the opening day bullpen will be for them, and Tony breaks down how it looks like it will be set up when camps concludes in two weeks. He also touches on the plan for Yan Gomes, the surgery for Frank Herrmann and much more. He is now out in Goodyear so expect tons of stuff this week on the site!

The Indians minor league teams were in action on Saturday against the Brewers, and Tony provides a recap of how everyone did in each game. T.J. House and Toru Murata were crisp in their outings for Columbus, Michael Goodnight struggled for Akron, Leonardo Castillo was perfect on the day for Carolina, Nelson Rodriguez showed the power (again) for Lake County, and tons more.

Delvi Cid is far from what most fans would label a can't-miss prospect, but the young outfielder certainly had a can't-miss moment on Saturday. Cid's walk-off RBI-triple allowed the Indians to clinch a 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants. Along with Cid, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Giambi and Asdrubal Cabrera also had impressive performances. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he recaps all of these performances and more as he looks back on the Indians' 13th win of the spring season.

The IBI Digest catches you up on anything you might have missed over the past week at Indians Baseball Insider and also notes some of the more popular columns posted at the major news sites and blogs.

Continuing with the series he started last week, Jim Piascik lists the most exciting prospects in the organization headed into 2013. There are many ways to define exciting, but Jim looked all around the minor league system for players that simply jump off the field at you. Find out who made the list (along with the obvious, Jim's favorite minor leaguer, Dorssys Paulino) after the jump.

The minor league spring games kicked off on Friday, and the IBI has the full detail on how every player did in all four games. Columbus was awesome on the mound throwing a one-hit shutout, Jeremy Hermida, Francisco Lindor, Juan Romero and others had big days at the plate, and several players returned from injury.

The IBI's 2013 Indians Top 60 Prospect countdown continues on with right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer. The Indians had strong interest in Bauer in the 2011 Draft, so when word got out that he may be available in the offseason the Indians pounced on the opportunity and acquired him from the Diamondbacks on December 11th. He is one of the best young pitching prospects in all of baseball and also has a very unique personality and pitching regimen. In yet another very detailed scouting report Tony goes into all the good he brings to the Indians - and some possible issues.

The Indians lost their second straight game on Friday as right-hander Brett Myers allowed four earned runs in four innings of work. Despite the loss, there were some positive performances as Nick Swisher and Yan Gomes each recorded two hits apiece. Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he recaps these performances and more.

The Indians completed another week of Spring Training games this past week, and the team's record of 12-7 is now tied for second in the Cactus League. Lonnie Chisenhall continues to heat up at the plate while the Indians received some unfortunate news this week after it was announced right-hander Frank Herrmann had undergone Tommy John surgery and would be out for a year. The IBI's Steve Orbanek touches on both of these points and many more in this week's edition of the Spring Training Notebook.

The IBI's 2013 Indians Top 60 Prospect countdown continues on with shortstop Dorssys Paulino. Paulino is kind of the anti-Lindor as Francisco Lindor is a gifted fielder that has the potential to be a solid offensive contributor whereas Paulino is a gifted hitter that has the tools to be a solid defensive player. Tony goes into great detail why he is such a special hitter and what he may become, but also provides several areas of concern in this detailed scouting report.

It's hard not to be somewhat concerned with what happened on the Goodyear Ballpark mound on Thursday, especially in regards to big club fourth starter Zach McAllister. He struggled in his outing as did fellow righty Trevor Bauer who ran into some trouble late in the game. The IB's Arthur Kinney recaps the the action...