Indians Prospect Insider

The Indians middling at or near .500, and July has turned into a battling ground to find out whether or not they are a legit contender, or just a small market failure. With Grady Sizemore and Roberto Hernandez out of sight/out of mind, and with Carlos Santana in site and struggling, can the Tribe stop being a .500 team, and become something more? Join Jim Pete for his weekly rendition at the Corner of Carnegie and Ontario...

With all of the trade speculation swirling in Tribe nation about the best right-handed hitting options on the trade market, few have given much thought to targeting a starter or reliever. However, there is a better chance of the Indians landing a middle-reliever or middle of the rotation starter in a savvy, understated trade, than fleecing an unsuspecting seller who has a power-hitting righty for sale.

The Indians signed another player yesterday, which puts them up to 22 players that have been signed or agreed to terms (only 20 have "officially" signed). Tony gives the 411 on the new signing as well as an update on another player that is expected to soon sign, some stuff on their unsigned high profile picks, and more.

The Indians entered Friday Night's contest coming off a big opening series win and with their staff ace on the mound. The Tampa Bay Rays were struggling, and everything seemed pointed towards another victory. Of course, that's why they play the games. The Rays, given a big advantage by Masterson's lack of command, dominated the contest from the start. Check out Jim B's "Second Thoughts" on Friday Night's game action.

While there weren't many moves, there were certainly some moves of substance throughout the week. Tyler Holt finally made a progression, as did Alex Monsalve. The headliner had to be the return of Travis Hafner to the big league club. Take a look at our weekly transaction rundown from the entire Indians organization with Arthur Kinney...and did I fail to mention, Pronk is back?

In another trip "Around the Farm", Tony notes the big game Triple-A Columbus outfielder Tim Fedroff had last night as he was just a single short of hitting for the cycle, and also Low-A Lake County third baseman Leonardo Castillo arguably had his best game of the season with four hits. In addition to them, several others are noted including players like Chen, Canzler, Ramirez, Paulino and others who all hit homers last night.

The rubber match between the Carolina Mudcats (10-5) and Salem Red Sox (4-11) was delayed 41 minutes due to rain, but the Mudcats probably wish it had just been cancelled as they were walloped by the Red Sox 16-2. The Mudcats will look to get back on track as they hit the road to take on the Potomac Nationals on Sunday night at 6:35.

The Lake County Captains sailed to a 9-2 victory on a trio of home runs and a total of 18 hits against the West Michigan Whitecaps on Friday night. Left-hander Shawn Morimando (3-2, 3.90) started for the Captains, besting West Michigan’s Jeff Ferrell (2-3, 5.40).

Despite leading late, the Scrappers suffered their ninth defeat of the season Friday night, losing 7-6 to the Aberdeen Ironbirds. With the loss, the Scrappers lost the series and moved to 10-9 on the season. They will look to regain some of the lost ground over the weekend when the Connecticut Tigers come to town for a three-game set.

The Erie SeaWolves fought back from a three-run deficit, riding six unanswered runs to a 6-3 win over the Akron Aeros in the final game of a three-game series Friday night at Jerry Uht Park. The Aeros (50-37) lost two of three against the SeaWolves (42-43) to complete the first half of their current road trip.

For most of the season, the Indianapolis Indians have been the class of the IL West and the league as a whole. One game doesn’t change much of that, besides a mark in the standings, but the Clippers proved in game one of their series against the Indians Friday night that they can play with the league’s best, winning 10-6.

The Indians short season affiliate the Mahoning Valley Scrappers wrapped up their third full week of baseball on a roll. They swept two series' on the road and returned home this week to Eastwood Field for a long homestand. Site columnist Andrew Zajac analyzes the week that was for the Scrappers, recapping the good and bad in his "Scrapperbook".

Low-A Lake County is loaded with lots of young talent that is very raw and has lots of upside. But there are also some other players like Jerrud Sabourin, Todd Hankins, Cody Anderson, Shawn Morimando and the recently departed Grant Sides that may not have had the notoriety coming into the season that have all had good seasons to date, and Tony recently sat down with manager Dave Wallace to discuss those players in depth as well as many other things.

The Indians got the post-4th of July celebration cranked up with lots of good performances up and down their farm system on Thursday night. Tony chimes in on Around the Farm today to recap some of those good - and some bad - performances, and takes special note of the Double-A debut of Tyler Holt and the smoking hot Joe Wendle in Mahoning Valley.

The Akron Aeros lost a tough back-and-forth battle, 8-6, to the Erie Seawolves Thursday on the road at Jerry Uht Park. Both the Aeros and the Seawolves put eleven hits on the board, but a clutch single by Erie designated hitter Rawley Bishop in the bottom of the eighth inning would seal the deal for the Seawolves.

The Indians continued their winnings ways on Thursday night with a 3-1 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of a four game set. The Indians have now won three in a row and six of their last eight games, and with three games left before the All Star break they will look to finish strong this weekend. Jason Ruggiero shares his "second thoughts" on last night's Tribe victory...