Around The Farm: August 9, 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.

Francisco Lindor (SS, Lake County): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 SB

Sure, the home run from Francisco Lindor last night was an inside the park one that may have been aided by the ball getting stuck under the wall, but that doesn’t take away from Lindor’s night or his season. As much as people want to complain about Lindor’s season, he is an 18-year old kid playing full season ball for the first time. It would be an accomplishment if Lindor managed to keep his head above water, but he’s actually managing to be above average in the Midwest League (average Midwest League player: .253/.325/.379 slash line; Lindor: .263/.357/.371 slash line). Add in Lindor’s speed (25 steals) and the general raving from scouts about his makeup and you get the recipe for a truly special player. Just think: the Indians pushed Tony Wolters to High-A as a 20-year old and that was considered aggressive; Lindor is in position to make that jump next year at 19.

Dorssys Paulino (SS, AZL Indians): 3-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 SB, 1 CS

As if a week could go by without me gushing about Dorssys Paulino. Paulino drove the ball well last night, flashed some speed, and, most importantly, didn’t make an error! As unimportant as Arizona League stats are, Paulino’s .338/.393/.559 slash line is impressive in any context. Paulino has some problems with strikeouts (23 in 33 games), but like his issues with errors, it’s important to remember he’s only 17. The upside on Paulino is immense and he is absolutely someone to keep an eye on the rest of the way.

Delvi Cid (LF-CF, Carolina): 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 SO

I know that Delvi Cid isn’t much of a prospect, but somehow I can’t help but get a little excited about him. His slash line is just good enough to warrant attention (.286/.350/.419) and his speed is legit (28 steals in 72 games). Since he would profile as a top of the order tablesetter, Cid needs to work on drawing walks and not striking out as much (56:18 SO:BB this year), but you never know. Cid already has one plus tool in his speed; maybe he can develop enough to make some sort of impact.

• Matt LaPorta (1B, Columbus): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI. Another home run for LaPorta, giving him 19 on the year. It’s likely he’ll get a chance at some point in the near future since the Indians aren’t contending anymore. That is, unless the next guy steals it from him.
• Russ Canzler (LF, Columbus): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 E. Canzler and LaPorta hit back-to-back home runs last night, which is funny since they’re basically competing with each other for the next callup to Cleveland. They’re both not likely to have any big role with the 2013 Indians, but you never know.
• David Huff (SP, Columbus): L (5-6), 4.2 IP, 8 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 4 HR. This really should be the end of the line for Huff. At some point a 5.52 ERA and 21 home runs allowed in 104.1 innings is just unacceptable for a 27-year old in AAA, especially one that is on the 40-man roster.
• Bryan Price (RP, Columbus): 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO. Price, who was a part of the Victor Martinez trade, really has not adapted well to life in AAA. In his first 10.1 innings, Price has allowed 16 hits, 12 earned runs, two home runs, and eight walks. Even with 12 strikeouts, that’s ugly no matter how you slice it.
• Jordan Henry (RF, Akron): 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SO. It’s always nice to see Henry hit for extra bases since it’s one of the rarest things in baseball (he only owns a .037 ISO for his career). Kidding aside, it’s great to see Henry responding pretty well after microfracture surgery in the offseason.
• Nick Weglarz (DH, Akron): 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO.  Weglarz managed the only other extra base hit for the Aeros last night, but his lack of home runs has to be concerning. The last two home runs Weglarz hit came on July 3 and July 22.
• T.J. House (SP, Akron): ND, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO. This wasn’t a dominant outing for House, but it wasn’t all that bad. House wasn’t all that efficient with his pitches (93 last night), but there’s nothing wrong with striking out a batter per inning and only allowing one walk.
• Rob Bryson (RP, Akron): L (4-3), 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR. And the bad Rob Bryson is back. Walks remain the big problem for Bryson, who now has walked 38 batters in 52.2 innings.
• Will Roberts (SP, Carolina): ND, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO. It hasn’t been a great season in Carolina for Roberts, who is sporting a 5.73 ERA even after last night’s strong outing. Hopefully Roberts can build on last night’s strikeout binge to augment his ability to limit walks (2.33 BB/9).
• Tony Wolters (SS, Carolina): 1-for-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SO. Just another extra base hit for Wolters, who has been nothing short of impressive since the All-Star break (.327/.382/.506 slash line, 4 HR in 42 games).
• Giovanny Urshela (3B, Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 2B. Urshela continues to do a decent job putting the bat on the ball (.272 AVG) and hitting for decent power (.149 ISO, 9 HR), but his worth is harmed greatly by his inability to draw walks. Seriously, how does someone only draw 14 walks in 91 games?
• Alex Lavisky (C, Lake County): 1-for-1, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB. It hasn’t been a great season for Lavisky, but the 21-year old may be coming around. Lavisky is supposed to be developing power as he matures and his six home runs in 26 games since June 17 and .198 ISO since the All-Star break (compared to .122 before) are good signs.
• Shawn Morimando (SP, Lake County): L (5-4), 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR. Morimando is a decent pitcher, but he will need to start controlling his walks (4.2 BB/9) and be a little more overpowering (4.8 SO/9) if he wants to succeed at the next level.
• Nick Pasquale (RP, Lake County): 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO. Pasquale, the Tribe’s 20^th round pick in this year’s draft may have given up two runs last night, but he still has had a very strong start to his professional career (4.28 ERA, but 22:4 SO:BB in 33.2 innings).
• Joe Sever (DH, Mahoning Valley): 3-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 SB. After being drafted in the 21^st round, Sever has done nothing but impress. His .304/.395/.402 slash line and 20:14 SO:BB in 31 games earned him an All-Star nomination and he has certainly put himself on the map going forward.
• Charlie Valerio (C, Mahoning Valley): 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 SO, 1 E. Valerio is also having a pretty good year at the plate (.290/.372/.452 slash line) and is another All-Star, but he could use some work on his strikeouts (37 in 43 games).
• Ryan Merritt (SP, Mahoning Valley): ND, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 2 SO. Merritt has had some trouble with hits this year (52 in 41.0 innings), but that feels fluky to me. He rarely issues walks (1.76 BB/9) which bodes well for him going forward.
• Evan Frazar (1B, Mahoning Valley): 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SO, 1 E. Frazar had a decent night last night, but he really needs to work on not striking out so much (24 in 23 games). Fixing that issue would probably do wonders for his slash line (.284/.337/.364).
• Anthony Santander (LF, AZL Indians): 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI. Santander launched his fourth home run of the season last night and raised his season line to .303/.364/.486. Even more importantly, Santander did it off of a right-hander. Santander recently started switch-hitting and isn’t as good from the left-side, not that you would not that from his season line versus righties (.306/.381/.529 slash line, all four of his home runs).
• Mitch Brown (SP, AZL Indians): ND, 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO. Not a banner outing from Brown, but as I’ve said before, all of these 2012 draft picks would not be getting all of this work in under the previous CBA. Brown may not be dominant, but at least he’s getting his feet wet.
• Joshua Nervis (RP, AZL Indians): 2.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO. Nervis was only a 38^th round pick for the Indians this year, but he’s been downright filthy in the Arizona league this year (1.77 ERA, 30:8 SO:BB in 20.1 innings). 

If you want to follow Jim, he’s @DarkestDiamond

If you want to follow Jim on Twitter, he’s @JimPiascik. If you want to e-mail him, you can do so at jpiasci1@kent.edu