Indians Prospect Insider

When you’re mired in a slump, the bat can feel like a lead pipe in big situations. The Scrapper offense must have been collectively swinging what felt like a thirty pound lead pipe, and they must have exchanged the lead for an old fashioned piece of lumber Thursday, though, as the big hits finally came multiple times, and helped give the Scrappers a big come-from-behind 6-5 win against the State College Spikes.

An ugly baseball game ended beautifully for first baseman Jerrud Sabourin and the Captains on Thursday night. Sabourin’s walk-off, opposite field three run home run that landed in the left field bleachers propelled Lake County (4-3, second half) to a 9-7 win over West Michigan (4-3).

Right fielder Thomas Neal had two extra-base hits, including a home run, as the Akron Aeros eased their way to a 7-1 comeback win over the Erie SeaWolves at Canal Park. The Aeros (48-31) ended a three-game losing streak and picked up another game on second-place Harrisburg, who lost at home against Altoona. The Aeros now lead the Eastern League Western Division by 7.5 games.

The Indians ended their season high five-game losing streak on Thursday night with a 7-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. With the offense struggling, a lefty starting for the Orioles, and the team on a long losing streak, it did not look good for the Indians going into the game; however, Zach McAllister gave the Indians a very good start and the offense came through with some big hits. Jason Ruggiero chimes in with his "second thoughts" on the game...

Indians 2012 first round pick outfielder Tyler Naquin is off to a good start to his professional debut with short season Single-A Mahoning Valley. But it is not just his performance on the field with his bat, arm and hustle that makes him so endearing, it is his attitude and determination that have already earned big points with Indians staffers and fans.

The signing deadline is two weeks from tomorrow, and right now we are in sort of a dead period with the signings as most of the early signs are in the books and now teams and players are just kind of holding out in the negotiations until the deadline gets closer. Tony gives an update on where he feels things will go with the Indians' remaining unsigned top ten round picks and also has a few updates on where a few other players are in the signing process.

The Indians were swept out of the Bronx on Wednesday as the Yankees beat them 5-4. The Indians are reeling as they have now dropped five straight and are 1-5 on a road trip that still has four more games in Baltimore to go. The Indians are in a crucial stretch of their season, and Kevin Dean chimes in with his "second thoughts" on yesterday's game.

The Dayton Dragons (1-5, 31-45) used a nine run bottom of the third inning to defeat the Lake County Captains (3-3, 34-41) by a final of 10-3. Dayton sent 13 men to the plate and scored nine times. In the inning Dayton hit for the cycle as a team including two triples, two doubles and a three run homer by the number nine hitter, Yovan Gonzalez.

Nick Weglarz is some kind of hot of late at Double-A Akron. Dare we say he is back? Felix Sterling has really struggled of late with Low-A Lake County. Has his prospect value taken a tumble? Stevie-O highlights both players and more in another edition of IPI's original daily look "Around the Farm"...

Jordan Cooper and the Carolina Mudcats held a pesky Frederick Keys team at bay on Wednesday afternoon to pick up a 4-2 win in front of 3,382 at Five County Stadium. Cooper (3-3) tossed four innings in relief of starter Danny Salazar, holding the Keys (3-4, 30-47) to one run while scattering three hits.

The Akron Aeros fell to the Erie Seawolves, 8-5, in game two of a four game series on Wednesday. Akron took the early lead in the first inning, but lost momentum after the fifth. Erie put up twelve runs against Aeros pitching with knuckleballer Steve Wright taking the loss.

In well-pitched games, it’s often about which team gets the breaks. On Wednesday night, the Columbus Clippers just couldn’t buy one. The Clippers (39-41) fell to the Norfolk Tides (40-41) by a final score of 3-1 Wednesday. While both pitching staffs had stellar performances, the game was also influenced by an error, a ball boy, and a very close call by the umpires.

It appeared that the Scrappers offense was poised to break out of their early season slump after showing some positive signs on Tuesday. Looks can be deceiving. The offense provided little positive to talk about on Wednesday, and despite solid pitching efforts, the Scrappers dropped their fifth game in six nights, losing 2-1 to the Williamsport Crosscutters.

After putting up some fantastic numbers during the 2011 season in the Indians minor league system, Double-A Akron Aeros right-handed pitcher Tyler Sturdevant had evolved into a legitimate major league relief pitching prospect. But he was set back by a shoulder injury early this year. Dylon Lyon recently spoke with him about he recent return and how he is feeling.

Today the Cleveland Indians have announced that they have claimed first baseman/left fielder Vinny Rottino off of waivers from the New York Mets. To make room on the 40-man roster for him the Indians have designated right-handed pitcher Chris Schwinden for assignment.

The annual July 2nd spending spree commences this coming Monday, though with the new changes to how teams operate and spend money internationally things are expected to be different. Tony gives an update on the new changes, talks with Indians Vice President of Scouting John Mirabelli about them, and also has the details on two new signings from the Pacific Rim.