Indians Prospect Insider

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.

Welcome to "Trend Spotting", a weekly column here at the IBI from Michael Hattery which will look at current Indians performances and some of the peripheral statistics in order to see if they can provide any insight into whether good or bad performances are likely to continue. In today's first edition of the season, Michael takes a look at the hot start of Carlos Santana and cold start of Lonnie Chisenhall and if either performance is sustainable and if a drop or increase in performance is coming.

The Cleveland Indians continued their winning ways with another big win in their series opener against the Minnesota Twins. Justin Masterson scuffled through 6 2/3, but Drew Stubbs and Mark Reynolds picked up the slack with big-time performances in the Indians victory. Join IBI contributor Jake Dungan with his Second Thoughts on the Tribe's Friday Night victory.

It's only two games, but Matt LaPorta is doing his best to prove that he is all the way back after years of disappointment and injuries. The first baseman is making waves at Columbus and starting to turn some heads. On the other side of the spectrum, Francisco Lindor just continues to impress day-in and day-out, stating his case to move up with each great performance. For all this and more, join Arthur Kinney as he goes Around The Farm.

Baseball has returned to All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon with the official start of Lake Erie Crushers spring training under first-year head coach Jeff Isom. After spending the past six years coaching in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, Isom is back in the Frontier League for the first time since 2006 and said he is working to get another championship back to Avon.

Center fielder Drew Stubbs hit a game-winning double to deep center field, his fourth hit of the game, as the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6. The walkoff win was the second for the Tribe this season and extended the team's winning streak to five, their longest since the 2011 season.

The 77 degree weather was not the only pleasant thing at Huntington Park on Saturday. Led by right-hander Joe Martinez’s astounding performance, the Columbus Clippers downed the Rochester Red Wings 5-1 in the second game of the series.

The Carolina Mudcats and Frederick Keys decided nine innings wasn’t enough time to decide a winner so they went extra innings. Unfortunately, the Mudcats were on the short end of a 4-3 loss to the Keys in 11 innings on Friday night at Five County Stadium.

A three game win streak came to an end at Canal Park Friday night. The Akron Aeros were unable to hold the Bowie Baysox offense, losing 8-2. Pitching revealed itself as the Achilles heel for the Aeros during the first game of the series against Bowie.

The Lake County Captains game against the Peoria Chiefs, which was scheduled for Friday has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Due to the fact that the teams do not play again this season, the game will not be made up.

Life after the draft changes considerably for a player, but Lake County Captains’ starter Dylan Baker knows that baseball is just a game. Baker was taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 5th round of the 2012 draft and is an Alaska native who is still finding his way in pro ball. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger gives an update on the talented righty...

The Indians' bats have awoke over the past four games as the team has outscored opponents 39-5 and gone 4-0 in the process. Everyone from Ryan Raburn to Michael Brantley has been on a tear offensively, and it seems as if the Indians' offense has finally turned the corner... Or has it? Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he looks back at this four-game winning streak and offers his take on what it could mean for the Indians in the latest edition of Orbiting Cleveland.

Summer is in the air and Jake, Mike and Hayden are back to discuss the warming weather and warming bats in Cleveland. Cy Young winners are dropping like flies at the hands of Indians hitters as the Tribe is now working their way back to the .500 mark and staying in the AL Central race. The offense is scoring runs left and right while the starting pitching appears to be settling into a groove. Is something special brewing with this team? Listen to Jake, Mike and Hayden tonight and give a "call to the bullpen"...

Even outside of baseball, April is a month commonly described as a prelude to better things—showers begetting flowers and all that. So, for all our nail-biting over the Indians’ rather lifeless kickoff to the 2013 campaign, it can’t be too surprising to see things starting to balance out—more than a little bit—in the past few days. With things starting to look up for the team and spring in the air, join Andrew Clayman as he gives his off-day Second Thoughts.

On Thursday, Matt LaPorta came back to action in a big way, while one of the top pitching prospects in the Indians farm system had a huge day in Akron. On the opposite side, there was a rough outing in Columbus, but the bullpen was able to limit the damage. Contributor Andrew Zajac recaps all the minor league action from around the organization and takes you Around the Farm, after the jump...

First baseman Matt LaPorta’s triumphant return to the Clippers lineup was not enough to earn his team the victory as Columbus fell to the Rochester Red Wings 7-6 Thursday. LaPorta, fresh off the disabled list after undergoing off-season surgery on his left hip, went 3-4 with a home run, two singles and two RBI. Red Wings right-hander P.J. Walters (3-2, 3.60 ERA) pitched a solid game, allowing three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts in his 6.1 innings of work. Clippers left-hander T.J. House (0-1, 7.20 ERA), did not fare as well.