Around the Farm: August 5, 2012

Around the Farm was originated here at Indians Prospect Insider, and 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.

Roberto Hernandez: SP, Lake County Captains: L (1-1), 7 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R/ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 4 HR:

Talk about your mixed bag with Hernandez, but I’m not sure it’s on the good side at all. So, he went into the eighth inning, and that’s good. He struck out nine, with only one walk, and you have to believe that’s a good sign, especially considering his wild past. He only gave up six hits, and that’s not too bad. Here’s the thing, all four runs that he gave up were solo home runs. That’s definitively not a good thing. So, where are we at with Hernandez? Well, one more minor league start…at least.

T.J. McFarland: SP, Columbus Clippers: W (5-5), 8 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K:

The big lefty has been all over the place this season in Columbus, and today he was in the place in the scenario that is a good thing. He had given up at least four runs in four of the last five ball games (23 total), so this was a welcome change. It’s really hard to figure McFarland out. He’s built like a guy that should be able to steamroll hitters, but he doesn’t. He can bring some heat sometimes, but he lives in the low 90’s or slower, and the higher he’s gotten in the system, the more he’s struggled with hitters.  Then, he puts together a game like this. So, who is this guy? Is he a middle of the rotation, innings eater, or is he just another inconsistent starter that the Indians are so good at drafting and developing? Your guess is as good as mine.

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

Wolters has a four game hit streak, and over his last two ballgames, he’s 5-for-9. Wolters has had an interesting year that’s had its well-documented ups and downs. Here’s the thing. Those are the exact types of scenarios that showcase just how good a player can be going forward. Wolters isn’t a guy that’s going to hit 30 homers, and he’s not a kid who’s going to hit .350. He’s just the hardest working player on every team that he plays on, and has one of the best attitudes of any player in the system. What will be interesting is where he ultimately plays, because there are better prospects or players at his position. Of course, you can never have too many options.

• Cord Phelps: 2B, Columbus: 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 BB: Phelps is playing some of his best baseball of the season. He’s the only player with multiple hits for Columbus, and now has a four game hit streak. He has hits in eight of the last ten games, and is hitting .333 during that stretch.
• Columbus Offense: 5-for-33, 1 R, two doubles, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K’s: Their offense was putrid, but it got the job done. The one run was enough for T.J. McFarland and the Clippers staff.
• Frank Herrmann: Closer, Columbus: S (7), 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K: Since Herrmann has moved into the closer role, he’s really been light’s out, minus one run, over the last 7 1/3 innings.
• Chun-Hsiu Chen: DH, Akron: 3-for-4, 1 R: Chen has been out for nearly a month thanks to a thumb injury, but he hasn’t seemed worse-for-wear, going 5-for-12 since his return, with two runs, a double and an RBI.
• Thomas Neal: RF/LF, Akron: 0-for-3, 1 R: Neal saw his four-game multi-hit streak end, but I had to mention him in this piece because he’s just exploded over the past couple of months. He’s now third in the league in hitting at .321, and sixth in the league in runs. This kid needs a shot. How about letting his play dictate where he is, and not the Tribe pencil pushers…
• Nick Weglarz: LF, Akron: 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB: Weglarz rolled out two doubles in this game, then had another in game two, which was suspended. It’ll be finished next week, so that’s when we’ll talk about it here. Hopefully Weglarz can finish with a flourish.
• Danny Salazar: SP, Akron: 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR: Salazar made his first start at the Double A level, and got touched up pretty good. He made 76 pitches though, so it appears as though he’s a few starts away from being able to pitch without a limited count.
• Rob Bryson: RP, Akron: L (4-2), 1 1/3, 2 H, 2 R/ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR: This is the dichotomy of Bryson. He’s been dominant in his previous three starts, looking like a plus arm, than he got lit up, as he always does after a few appearances, proving that the only thing consistent about his pitching is his inconsistency.
• Carlos Moncrief: CF, Carolina: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K: He has a six-game hit streak now, but is only hitting .216 over his last ten because all those games were one-hit affairs, except for Sunday.
• Alex Monsalve: C, Carolina: 2-for-3, 1 R: Monsalve has slowly started to figure things out in the Carolina League. Over his last ten ballgames, he’s hitting .303, but only has one extra base hit…a double.  Cleveland isn’t hoping Monsalve is a slap-hitting catcher, so that power will have to start showing itself as he moves through the system.
• Jesus Aguilar: 1B, Carolina: 1-for-5, 1 RBI: The big first baseman has been struggling of late, but his lone hit happened to be the game-winner on Sunday afternoon.
• Jose Ramirez: 2B, Lake County: 2-for-4, 1 K: Ramirez has a six-game hit streak with four multi-hit games during that stretch, and six in his last ten games. His ten game line is .442/.467/.535, and he has his season average up to .347.
• Jordan Smith: RF, Lake County: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI: This wasn’t Smith’s best game of his career by any stretch, but he hit his sixth home run, which is definitely something to take a notice of. If Smith adds power to his game, this kid becomes something special.
• Jerrud Sabourin: 1B, Lake County: 2-for-4: While I’m not going to say it out loud, those of you that follow my ATF’s know exactly what I’m thinking of with regards to Sabourin. This is his third straight two-hit game, and his fourth in five games. He has six multi-hit games in his last eight.
• Leonardo Castillo: DH, Lake County: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 3B: Castillo is only hitting .207 on the season, but is hitting .297 over his last ten.
• Joseph Wendle: 2B, Mahoning Valley: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI: Mr. Wendle continues to rack things up in the New York/Penn league. He hit his third homer, and upped his average to .326 on the season.
• Joe Sever: 3B, Mahoning Valley: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 2 K: Sever has his average over .300 with his two-hit game, and is a bit of a surprise with the stick this year.
• Robel Garcia: SS, Mahoning Valley: 2-for-3, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 PO: Garcia continues to rejuvenate his career with his second straight two-hit game. He has four in his last ten games, and is hitting .345 during that stretch.
• Eric Haase: C, AZL Indians: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B: Haase had two hits, and the Indians had four hits. I’m not sure what’s more amazing, the fact that Haase had half the total team hits, or the fact that in this league, there were only three total runs in a game.
• Dillon Howard: SP, AZL Indians: L (0-6): 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 6 K: What is this? Did Dillon Howard just roll out a good start?  It sure looks like it from this perspective. At the very least, Howard had his control, but was still hittable. Perhaps it’s a step in the right direction though.
• Anderson Polanco: RP, AZL Indians: 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 4 K: Polanco was absolutely dominant in perhaps his best outing in 2012.

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.