Indians Prospect Insider

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers season has come to a close and site columnist Andrew Zajac recaps the season that was. He hands out some hardware for hitter, starter, and reliever of the year, looks at the stats, and projects the top prospects of this team going forward.

The minor league season may be over, but there is no end in sight for Minor Happenings or the minor league coverage here on the IPI. In this week’s Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the emergence of Low-A Lake County second baseman Jose Ramirez and what kind of prospect he really is, the strong finish from Lake County catcher Jake Lowery, and the good year but unfortunate injury to short season Single-A Mahoning Valley lefty Geoff Davenport. As always, he has lots of quotes on players like Matt Langwell, Carlos Moncrief, Matt Packer and others provided by the front office, and lots more.

While many people view the Indians situation at the moment as a complete train wreck, Adam McGavin tries to look past the darkness and find some light to shine on a bleak situation. In his first part of a two-part article, he says that any positive vibe should start with a strong group of players up the middle of the diamond and some key trade pieces that could bring in a few players that could help now and in the future.

Bryson Myles scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the tenth inning as The Lake County Captains defeated the Bowling Green Hot Rods 5-4 in Bowling Green, Kentucky to advance to the semi-finals.

The Akron Aeros fell to a 2-0 series deficit against the Bowie Baysox in a 7-5 loss on Thursday as the Aeros couldn’t overcome the Baysox two-run eighth inning. Lefty T.J. House (10-5, 3.56) received the nod to start for the Aeros against Bowie right-hander Mike Wright (10-5, 4.06).

The good news: the Lake County Captains won their playoff series! The bad news: the Akron Aeros dropped to a 2-0 series deficit. Luckily, the Aeros will be coming home to Canal Park, where they are 46-26 on the season tonight to attempt to rebound now that their backs are against the wall. Until then, join Jim Piascik and take a short trip Around The Farm to check out all the playoff action from last night.

2012 was a mixed bag for the Carolina Mudcats, playing their inaugural season in Zebulon, NC after a quarter of a century in nearby Kinston. The Mudcats didn't set the Carolina League on fire by any stretch, but a bevy of good prospects showcased their talents here this season, in what turned into a year of massive development for several top prospects. Join Jim Pete in the second-to-last edition of Fishing for Mudcats, as the season closes shop...

The 2012 Fall Instructional League gets underway next week out in Goodyear, Arizona. Over a span of a month around 50 players will participate in weight training and conditioning drills, on-field instruction, and play in 14 games until it wraps up on Friday October 12th. Tony has the details on what players are going out there and the schedule the next four weeks. Be sure to follow the IPI all fall for updates on the happenings in "Instructs".

With their record at 58-79, the Indians have become difficult to watch for many fans. With only 25 games left to play, interest in the Tribe seems to be waning each day. However, IPI's Steve Orbanek suggests that fans should look at these final 25 games in a different light to find some possible enjoyment.

The Indians fell short in their quest to sweep the Tigers as they were on the short end of a 7-1 score last night. Ubaldo Jimenez pitched well well for seven innings before falling apart in the eighth inning, and the offense continued its struggle to score runs. Charlie Adams shares his second thoughts on the game.

Enter the playoffs. The Akron Aeros and the Lake County Captains both started their respective playoff series on Wednesday night, and with mixed results. The Aeros lost their game 4-2, while the Captains won their game 5-4. Jesus Aguilar rolled out a couple of hits for Akron, while Lake County filled the stat sheet, as always. Not one, but TWO first round draft picks scored four of the five runs for the Captains. Find out who...after the jump...

The Bowie Baysox slugged three home runs to beat the Akron Aeros, 4-2, in the opening game of the Eastern League Western Division Series at Prince George’s Stadium. The Baysox (1-0) now lead by one game in the best of five series, which continues Thursday at 7:05 p.m. in Maryland.

The Lake County Captains clung to a one-run lead on Wednesday as reliever Nick Pasquale pitched the Captains to a 5-4 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Right-hander Cody Anderson (4-7, 3.20) took the bump for the Captains to counter Bowling Green's Parker Markel (11-5, 3.53), who has been the Hot Rods most formidable starter during the second half of the season.

The Scrappers and Spikes finished what they started way back in June on Wednesday, squaring off one final time to close out the 2012 season. The Scrappers entered the finale on a five game slide, and just 1-9 in their last ten games to cap off a terrible second half of 2012.

Born and raised an Indians fan in Avon Lake, OH, Nick Hamilton now has one of the most unique perspectives of the Indians. Not only is he a diehard fan of the team and was drafted by the team he loves, but his father is the Voice of the Indians. Sean Mahon recently sat down with Hamilton out in Arizona and talked about his love of the Indians, his perseverance overcoming obstacles on and off the diamond, and his dreams.

The 2012 Minor League Baseball playoffs get underway tonight, and two Indians’ affiliates Low-A Lake County and Double-A Akron are a part of the postseason fun this year. Tony provides a brief preview for Lake County and Akron with the pitching probables for each series, the game schedule for the duration of the playoffs for both teams, some recent additions to both rosters, and more.