Around the Farm: August 26, 2012

Around the Farm takes a quick look at some of yesterday’s performances by Indians prospects throughout the system. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game.

Russ Canzler: 1B, Columbus Clippers: 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI:

Canzler hit his 21^st home run of the season, and drove in his 73^rd run. He’s put together three massive minor league offensive seasons together in a row, hitting a total of 60 homers, and driving in a total of 222 runs. Out of that deal, Canzler has gotten a grand total of three games at the major league level. I’ve been around baseball evaluators, so you know what that means, but it’s hard to believe that someone couldn’t find that useful at the highest level. While you can look at a guy at Triple A and predict his major league worth, you just never know when a guy could click and be a productive player. It would seem as though the Indians would be in a position to find out at some point, and if Canzler turns out to be just another Quad A guy, at least they found out. With LaPorta up, it will be interesting to see if Canzler gets a look in September.

T.J. McFarland: SP, Columbus Clippers: W (7-6), 6 2/3 IP, 3 R/ER, 4 K:

McFarland’s start wasn’t brilliant, but it got the job done, and fell into the pattern that he’s starting to put together of a good start, followed by a bad start. The 23-year-old is an intriguing prospect at best, who will no doubt start the season off in Columbus next year, and perhaps get a look with regards to spot starts with the Tribe in 2013. A lot of that will depend on consistency at that level, as he’s struggling right now to find the Big C. If he had velocity, he’d be a top prospect, especially as a lefty. Unfortunately, his fastball tops out in the low-90’s, which really puts him in the Sowers/Laffey realm, which isn’t what ANYONE wants to see. Hopefully McFarland can be something more.

Tony Wolters: SS, Carolina Mudcats: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 K:

Wolters had been struggling a bit at the plate heading into this game, going 1-for-10 over his past three games, and 6-for-30 over his past nine. This was his second three-hit ballgame in his last five however, as the sparkplug up the middle continues to showcase a nice offensive game. He’s hit near .300 since May, and has really proven his value heading for Akron in 2013. There seems to be no doubt on his promotion heading into next season…and as always…a year ahead of schedule. It will be interesting to see how he handles the first month of Akron, as opposed to the first month at Carolina.

• Anthony Gallas RF, Columbus: 2-for-4, 1 R: Gallas made the most of his call-up, with two hits in his second appearance at Triple A. He’s not long there, and won’t start there in 2013, but it’s good to see the Cleveland product get this chance, no matter what the reason.
• Matt Langwell: RP, Columbus: 1 1/3 IP, 1 K: Langwell has pitched very well in the month of August. In eight appearances, he’s gone 11.2 innings, striking out 17 batters. He’s given up nine hits, two runs and seven hits during that stretch.
• Dan Wheeler: RP, Columbus: S (3), 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K: Wheeler not only is STILL with the Clippers, but he’s been pretty good. His ERA is 2.56 on the season.
• Jordan Henry: RF, Akron: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB: These are the subtle types of games that Henry is so good at. He gets on base, steels some bases, and puts pressure on the pitcher. Unfortunately, it’s been a couple of seasons since Henry did this with any regularity, and now finds himself lumped in with three or four guys with a similar skill set.
• Jesus Aguilar: 1B, Akron: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 K: Aguilar has found Double-A to be a bit more difficult than High-A, but to be fair, he was struggling in Carolina before he made the move to Akron. Perhaps the playoffs will give him an opportunity to finish strong, and he’ll start the year back with the Aeros in 2013.
• Adam Abraham: 3B, Akron: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K: Abraham cracked his 13^th homer, and drove in his 52^nd RBI. He’s about as productive a non-prospect as you can be. He’s likely going to be stuck in Akron another year though, as I foresee Columbus ending up full of guys that will block him. Abraham isn’t major league material, but he is a guy you root for because of his ethic.
• Thomas Neal: PH, Akron: 1-for-1: Neal got a hit in his only at-bat, raising his average to .315.
• Toru Murata: SP, Akron:  5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K: Murata has put together as solid a campaign as you can, without getting noticed. He’s another one of those guys that gets moved around a bit, starting and relieving, and he’s not nearly a major league level sort at 27, but he’s good at this minor league piece. His ERA is 1.56 over his last 10, and 2.87 overall at the Double-A level.
• Trey Haley: RP, Akron: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K: Haley’s been solid in Akron, with a few blips on the radar in his seven appearances. He’s given up runs in three of his seven appearances, so clearly, he needs to gain some more consistency as he progresses next year. He has a special arm, and just has to get it working day-in and day-out.
• Bryce Stowell: RP, Akron: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 1 K, 2 HR: It’s never good when you give up two home runs in an inning as a reliever. Stowell continues to struggle.
• Justin Toole: 2B, Carolina: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB: Toole followed up his nine-position day with a nice two-hit performance batting second.
• Ronny Rodriguez: DH, Carolina: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB: The Rodriguez-watch begins, as it seems that there’s a path for him to get to Akron before the season ends for the playoff series. It’s not a lock, but it will be interesting to see if they make the move, and when.
• LeVon Washington:  CF, Carolina: 0-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K: WashTime got his first taste of High-A ball after his rehab time in the rookie league. I wouldn’t look too much into this, although it’s conceivable that he could start the year off here in 2013.
• Delvi Cid: LF, Carolina: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 SB: Cid continues to hit the ball well, and he stole his 32^nd base of the season. He’s had an incredibly productive season, and I can’t fathom that he’s not going to finally make the move to Akron.
• Grant Sides: RP, Carolina: 2 IP, 1 BB, 2 K: Benny Suarez did well in his debut, but J.D. Reichenbach and Fabio Martinez were beat up in their 2 1/3. Sides righted the ship for the Muddies, getting a much-needed two lock-down innings after giving up six runs (three earned) in his two previous.
• Rob Nixon: RP, Carolina: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB: Nixon let a couple get on base, but didn’t give up a run, running his shutout streak to six games. After getting jack-hammered in his first six, this is a good sign heading towards 2013.
• Jose Ramirez: 2B, Lake County: 3-for-5: Ramirez had gone 0-for-9 in his previous two games, which doesn’t seem like a long time, but for Ramirez this season, that’s a lifetime of hitless games. His average is sitting at .339. He had three of the Captains eight hits.
• Leonardo Castillo: 3B, Lake County: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 K: Castillo had his second two-hit game in three nights, ending a 2-for-25 drought in his previous seven games.
• Danny Jimenez: SP, Lake County: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R/ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR: It wasn’t a bad start for Jimenez, but nothing special either. His offense couldn’t put anything together to get him runs, so he takes the loss after giving up four.
• Cody Penny: RP, Lake County: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K: Penny has been stout on the hill. He gave up one run in his first appearance, and hasn’t given up a thing since, and been dominating in doing it. Overall, he’s given up only five hits, a run and a walk in 10 2/3 innings, while striking out 11 hitters.
• Mahoning Valley Offense: 3-for-28, 3 BB, 7 K: What a difference a year makes. Last season, the Scrappers offense was off the charts. This season, it hasn’t hit the radar yet. Dorssys Paulino managed another hit, and he’s certainly improved this unit along with Joe Wendle, but there’s really not a whole lot else to get too excited about in the near future.
• James Stokes: RP, Mahoning Valley: 2 1/3 IP, 2 K: Stokes has his third straight shutout appearance, but looks can be deceiving. He gave up seven runs in the first two of the three, they just weren’t earned runs.
• Harold Guerrero: RP, Mahoning Valley: 1 IP, 1 H, 3 K: Guerrero made his return to Mahoning count, striking out the side in his only inning of work.
• Claudio Bautista: 2B, AZL Indians: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI: Bautista’s bat is warming up a bit after a tough stretch last week, in which he went 2-for-25. He now has a three-game hit streak, and back-to-back home run games.
• Nelson Rodriguez: 1B, AZL Indians: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI: Rodriguez is only hitting .229, but there’s been enough offense to showcase a high level of talent. I’m sure the Indians will take their time with the 1B/C in his development, and will be interesting to see where they start him off in 2013.
• Eric Haase: C, AZL Indians: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K: Haase has had a nice offensive season in his first fullish year in minor league ball (he’s played in 28 games…about half). He does possess a nice offensive game, which is always intriguing for a catcher.
• Dylan Baker: SP, AZL Indians: 3 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 7 K: Okay, let’s start off with the good. He struck out seven out of 11 outs. Okay, now the bad. He got absolutely shellacked. Luckily enough for Baker, his offense destroyed the opposing starter to keep him out of the L column.
• Alexis Peredes: RP, AZL Indians: 2 1/3 IP, 3 K: Baker struggled, but Peredes came in and locked things down. It was good to see after he had given up four earned runs in his last two inning stint five days before. Gotta love rookie league…eh?
• Caleb Hamrick: RP, AZL Indians: 2 IP, 2 K: Hamrick has been getting a feel for things over his first four appearances in the rookie league. He’s made four two inning starts, and been dominating twice, and average twice. He’ll likely end up on the dominating side of things, and it’s good to see these light-out performances.

Jim is currently the co-site editor, the ATF/Carolina Mudcats/Indians/General Site Columnist, and the co-host of IPI's weekly online radio show, Smoke Signals. You can follow Jim on Twitter @Jim_IPI, or contact him via e-mail at jpete@indiansprospectinsider.com.