Indians Prospect Insider

After the Akron Aeros win a game at home, they typically play the song "All I Do Is Win." Of late, that really is all the Aeros are doing. The Aeros won all six of their games over the past week, moving to 39-20 on the season and continuing their dominance of the Eastern League. As always, Jim Piascik breaks down the good and bad from the week and, as an added bonus, this edition of "Launching Off With The Aeros" is chock full of quotes from manager Chris Tremie and players Steven Wright and Roberto Perez.

Smoke Signals is back on the cyberwaves tonight from 10:00 – 11:00PM EST. Tonight we will give our thoughts on game one of the Indians’ series with the Reds and their play on their current nine-game road trip. We will also discuss how this team may have weathered the storm with injuries and poor play which all came together at once, have a post-draft discussion on the Indians’ draft, and may even have one of their draft picks on-air for an interview.

The Indians are having a lot of success this season even without a big payroll or big numbers from their lineup. Adam McGavin says the Indians have the look of a National League team where they do a lot of the little things well by getting on base, running the bases well, playing good defense, getting good quality starts, and having a very good bullpen.

The Lansing Lugnuts sent the Lake County Captains packing after a three-game sweep as Lake County failed to overcome a rough start by Cody Anderson and a trio of errors in a 7-1 loss. Starting for the Captains was All-Star Cody Anderson (4-3, 2.91) against Lansing’s Justin Nicolino (2-0, 1.47). This time, though, Anderson struggled to keep the Lugnuts from stealing an early lead.

Jack Hannahan returned on Monday night for a short rehab assignment before returning to the Tribe later this week. Andy LaRoche showed some of his former major league stock, with his second homer in his past five games. Grant Sides continues to look like an elite arm, albeit in Low A Lake County. The top of ATF tonight belongs to a guy that does it all for any pitching staff he's ever on, and tonight, was perfect doing it.

A rainy afternoon in Columbus turned into a sunny and warm evening at Huntington Park, but the Clippers bats remained cool for a majority of their game against the Charlotte Knights. Columbus (30-34) failed to extend its winning streak to four, falling to the Knights, 4-2, in game three of a four-game set between the clubs.

After a short hiatus due to the Memorial Day holiday and last week’s MLB Draft, it is time for another Monday edition of “3 Up, 3 Down”. This is a weekly premium feature on the site that focuses in on a few of the good and not so good performances from the past week in the Indians’ minor league system. Insight gathered from talking with scouts, coaches and executives inside and outside the organization are used when talking about each of these players. Today's featured players are Ezequiel Carrera, David Huff, Mason Radeke, Jerrud Sabourin, Giovanny Urshela, and Nick Weglarz,

It it time to go "Sailing with the Clippers" in Andrew Holleran's weekly notebook which posts every Monday here at the IPI. Andrew gets us all caught up on the week that was in Columbus with recaps of the games, who is hot and who is not, and so much more.

Tony checks in again today with a few updates on the signing front for the Indians and players taken in the 2012 MLB Draft. Another player has signed a contract and he gives updates on two more players that are weighing options to sign or go to (or return) college.

Russ Canzler had the game-winner for the Columbus Clippers. Nick Weglarz had his fourth straight game with a extra-base hit. Tyler Sturdevant didn't give up a run in his third appearance since returning to Carolina from the DL. Francisco Lindor rolled out three more hits to continue to climb out of a three-week slump. Tonight's top spot goes to an emerging third baseman in the system mostly known for defense, but has been showcasing a big-time bat to go with it. Jim Pete closes out the weekend with Around the Farm...after the jump...

Sunday's rubber match between the Indians and Cardinals played out a lot like the previous game early on. Both teams received great outings from their starters, and the Cardinals took an early lead. However, the Indians tied the game on this day, and they were the team that eventually added on in a later round. And in dramatic fashion.

It was a matchup between two ball clubs that weren’t at the top of their game, but sometimes it’s a matter of making just one less mistake than the other team. That was certainly the case on Sunday, as the Columbus Clippers (30-33) came back to beat the Charlotte Knights (37-28) by a final score of 5-4 after trailing 4-0. It is Columbus’ third straight win.

Akron third baseman Kyle Bellows went 4-for-5, with a pair of doubles and four runs batted in on Sunday, as the Aeros beat up the Altoona Curve, 7-1, completing a three-game sweep at Canal Park. Bellows’ four RBI’s increased his season total to 26, which is the most on the team. It was his second four-hit game of the season and also his second four-RBI effort.

The Carolina Mudcats (29-33) bounced back after losing both ends of a double header yesterday to take the final game of the series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (32-30) 3-1. Mike Rayl got the start for the Mudcats and turned in one of his better outings of the year, hurling five innings while giving up only one run and striking out five.

Lake County (29-33) was unable to come up with base hits in the clutch on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Lansing Lugnuts (43-19) by a score of 4-1. The Captains certainly did not struggle to put runners on base, netting 11 hits and walking twice. However, the team went 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men stranded on the afternoon. Lake County did not help their cause by striking out 13 times.

Jose Lopez is making an impact, while Michael Brantley is becoming a major cog. Carlos Santana is struggling, while Ubaldo Jimenez has an opportunity to replicate. Welcome Michael Hattery aboard with six thoughts for the Indians heading forward in 2012.