Cleveland Sports Forum

MLB Pipeline just updated their top 30 prospects by team, and their top 100 overall.

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=cle

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=prospects

Frazier 24th and Zimmer 35th. 5 players in top 100 overall.

Indians Prospective
Most (Hits) by an #Indians Milb player last 2 years

Yandy Diaz 262
Clint Frazier 241
Greg Allen 240
Erik Gonzalez 240

#Indians prospect Yandy Diaz over his last 162 games:
191-591 81R 28(2B) 7(3B) 12HR 71RBI 97BB 13SB .323 AVG .417 OBP

#YearningForYandy

Indians Prospective

#Indians Milb HR leaders in July
Anthony Santander 8
Jesus Aguilar 4
Bobby Bradley 4
Michael Choice 4
Clint Frazier 4
Nellie Rodriguez 4

Lynchburg Hillcats OF Anthony Santander @roller_mvp over his last 39 games
55-159 32R 14(2B) 11HR 37RBI 14BB 1SB .346 AVG .401 OBP #Indians

Most HR's by an #Indians minor league player since July of 2015
Bobby Bradley 33
Nellie Rodriguez 31
Jesus Aguilar 27
Anthony Santander 26

#Indians OF prospect Anthony Santander @roller_mvp over his last 162 games
186-637 116R 51(2B) 27HR 122RBI 54BB 12SB .292 AVG .358 OBP

On Santander ...
... still 21 putting up #'s at High A. Had couple scouts I chat with say where did this guy come from. Talents been there, injuries.

Indians Prospective

#Indians RHP @mesparza27 looks like a steal taken in the 14th round of 2015 draft.
143.1(IP) 121H 54R 46ER 35BB 163SO 2.89 ERA (10.24 SO/9)

(DSL) #Indians 19yr old RHP Luis Araujo has been sensational so far in 2016
3-0 35.2(IP) 19H 9R 4ER 5BB 33SO 1.01 ERA

Indians prospect Francisco Mejia became just the 16th player in Minor League Baseball history to hit in 40 consecutive games when he singled in his third at-bat for Class A Lynchburg at Winston-Salem on Thursday night. Mejia, ranked No. 6 on the Indians' Top 30 Prospects list, grounded out in his first at-bat and struck out in his second trip to the plate.
On an 0-1 count, Mejia chopped a two-hopper in front of the mound. Dash pitcher Zach Thompson fielded it cleanly and threw to first, but Mejia and was ruled to have beaten the throw on a bang-bang play to extend his streak, which is the longest in the Minors since James McOwen hit in 45 straight for High Desert in 2009.



Entering Thursday's game, Mejia had posted a .395/.419/.637 slash line, with 10 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 36 RBIs during his streak, which began over two months ago, on May 27.

Only 3 of the following are since 1961:

Joe Wilhoit 69 1919
Joe DiMaggio 61 1933
Roman Mejias 55 1954
Otto Pahlman 50 1922
Jack Ness 49 1915
Harry Chozen 49 1945
James McOwen 45 2009
Brandon Watson 43 2007
Eddie Marshall 43 1935
Orlando Moreno 43 1947
Howie Bedell 43 1961
Jack Lelivelt 42 1912
Herbert Chapman 42 1950
Francisco Mejia 40 2016
Ducky Detweiler 40 1942
Frosty Kennedy 40 1953


The MiLB hit streak record is 69, set by Joe Wilhoit in 1919. Joe DiMaggio, whose big league record hit streak of 56 games is being celebrated for its 75th anniversary this season, had a 61-game Minor League hit streak in 1933, second-longest all-time.

Perhaps most impressive in Mejia's current run is how he's hurdled major obstacles that could've potentially led to an hitless night.

Mejia was promoted to Lynchburg 24 games into the streak, and he has had three layoffs of four days or more during his incredible run: four days due to the Midwest League All-Star Game on June 21, in which he fittingly registered a hit; four days due to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on July 10, in which he also recorded a hit; and he was sidelined from July 18-22 while dealing with the stomach flu. Also adding to the marvel, Mejia has been his team's catcher in 31 of the 39 games, while serving as the designated hitter in the others.

Here is a look at how Mejia reached via hit over the past two months to set the longest streak of 2016 in pro baseball:

40 -- July 28: Single in third at-bat (6th inning) at Winston-Salem
39 -- July 26: Single in first at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Wilmington
38 -- July 25: Single first at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Wilmington
37 -- July 23: Grand slam in first at-bat (1st inning) vs. Carolina
36 -- July 17: Single in first at-bat (1st inning) at Wilmington
35 -- July 16: Single in first at-bat (2nd inning) at Wilmington
34 -- July 13: Single in third at-bat (6th inning) at Carolina
33 -- July 8: Single in fourth at-bat (7th inning) vs. Salem
32 -- July 6: Single in second at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Frederick
31 -- July 5: RBI single in fourth at-bat (7th inning) vs. Frederick
30 -- July 4: Single in second at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Frederick
29 -- July 3: Single in second at-bat (4th inning) vs. Carolina
28 -- July 2: Triple in third and final at-bat (6th inning) of at Carolina
27 -- July 1: Double in first at-bat (2nd inning) at Carolina
26 -- June 30: Double in first at-bat (2nd inning) at Carolina
25 -- June 29: Single in first at-bat (2nd inning) at Wilmington (first game for Lynchburg)
24 -- June 26: Single in first at-bat (3rd inning) vs. Great Lakes
23 -- June 25: Single in first at-bat (3rd inning) vs. Great Lakes
22 -- June 24: Single in first at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Great Lakes
21 -- June 19: Single in third at-bat (7th inning) at South Bend
20 -- June 18: Single in third at-bat (6th inning) at South Bend
19 -- June 17: Single in second at-bat (4th inning) at South Bend
18 -- June 16: Double in third at-bat (6th inning) at South Bend
17 -- June 15: Single in first at-bat (2nd inning) at Bowling Green
16 -- June 15: Double in first at-bat (1st inning) at Bowling Green.
15 -- June 13: Two-run homer in first at-bat (1st inning) at Bowling Green
14 -- June 12: Single in fourth and final at-bat (7th inning) vs. Great Lakes
13 -- June 11: Home run in first at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Great Lakes
12 -- June 10: Home run in first at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Great Lakes
11 -- June 9: Single in first at-bat (1st inning) vs. Lansing
10 -- June 8: Home run in second at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Lansing
9 -- June 7: Home run in first at-bat (1st inning) vs. Lansing
8 -- June 5: Single in fourth at-bat (7th inning) at Great Lakes
7 -- June 4: Single in second at-bat (3rd inning) at Great Lakes
6 -- June 3: Single in first at-bat (2nd inning) at Great Lakes
5 -- June 2: Single in first at-bat (1st inning) vs. Bowling Green
4 -- June 1: Single in third at-bat (6th inning) vs. Bowling Green
3 -- May 29: Single in first and only at-bat (2nd inning) vs. Fort Wayne
2 -- May 28: Triple in first at-bat (1st inning) vs. Fort Wayne
1 -- May 27: Single in third at-bat (6th inning) vs. Fort Wayne

James McOwen, the most recent hit-streaker, was at the time a 23-year-old OF in High A. The next season he played in Australia. HIs career peaked briefly in AA. After being out of baseball for 3 years, he's played a bit this summer in the Atlantic League.

Brandon Watson who had 43 game streak in 2007, was then a 25-year-old on the Columbus Clippers [then a Washington farm team]. He made it, briefly, to the majors with 86 career at bats and a career line of 198/250/279

Mejia is only 20 playing in High A, after his mid-streak promotion. I would not take much for him to turn out to be the second-best major leaguer out of the guys on that list. But I doubt he'll top Jolting Joe.

not too many other notable achievements on Thursday.

NRod and Allen both 0-5 with 2 k in Akron. LRod singled and homered.
Mathias singled and walked; Chang tripled again [#8]; and BA's favorite overlooked hitter Santander singled 3 times, homered [#16], raised RBI total to 76 and avg to 295 and is certainly not one of the minor's hot prospects.

Cleveland Indians
Released: 3B Grofi Cruz, OF LeVon Washington

Two big busts. Cruz was lumped with Francisco Mejia in the report on the 2013 international signings:
"The international scouting community was not nearly as high as the Indians were on Hector Caro, who signed for $1.1 million. The Indians also added a pair of strong-armed catchers and ventured into Japan to add three young players" Caro's been gone for awhile.


LWash was a 2nd rounder who also was considered a bit of a risk. He has been hurt most of the time we had him. Never played this season.
"2 (55). LeVon Washington. CF/LHH. $1.2MM bonus. Age 18.
Washington is currently riding the pine in extended Spring Training and can no longer be considered a prospect. While his many injuries have undoubtedly played their part, it’s highly possible that Washington was simply over-drafted in the first place. For example, Baseball America was never that high on Washington:

"Many scouts still didn’t know what to make of Washington, but the Indians drafted him 55th overall and gave him $1.2 million … While he has the raw speed to play center field, he needs to improve his reads and and has a well below-average arm." 2011 Prospect Handbook

"He takes a big swing and can become pull conscious, which doesn’t help a player with below-average power … Washington’s a 65 runner on a 20-80 scale, though his home-to-first times don’t always reflect that." 2012 Prospect Handbook

Although most of current prospects are getting glowing reports this summer, this isn't so great:

It felt like a steal when the Cleveland Indians landed Brady Aiken with the 17th pick of last year's draft. The former number one overall pick was coming off Tommy John surgery and dropped due to concern over the procedure. Sure, Aiken would miss the entire 2015 season and likely most of 2016, but the potential was there and enough Tommy John surgeries have been successful that getting his kind of talent midway through the first round seemed like a no-brainer.

According to a recent report from Jessica Kleinschmidt at Today's Knuckleball, the Indians appear to be worried about their decision. Aiken has struggled in his first handful of professional starts for the Indians' Rookie League team, allowing 11 earned runs in 14.2 innings and issuing nine walks. Many Indians fans have remained unphased by his struggles -- working out kinks is what the Rookie League is for, after all, and he still has 22 strikeouts in those 14.2 innings.

However, in speaking to an unnamed scout at the Rookie League, the Indians appear to have some second thoughts. As Kleinschmidt said in her report:


"It’s evident from the numbers," the scout explained. "He’s been 86-88 miles an hour with his fastball, which is still really far down from pre-Tommy John velocities."

He also told me Aiken’s fastball velocity varied before the surgery, usually in the 92-96 range, and that the "Indians are worried." Sitting at 86-88 is not a good sign for Aiken at all.

FanGraph's Eric Longenhagen was at Aiken's 2016 debut, and he noted the 19-year-old had actually beefed up from his pre-Tommy John form (an estimated 25 pounds larger), likely due to his gym rat mentality. Even with the added bulk, he is still throwing a full 3-4 miles per hour slower than he was prior to the surgery. Longenhagen also noted in his scouting report that Aiken's changeup was "firm and below average" in that May debut.

There is still plenty of time for Aiken to turn it around, and the stats at this level mean almost nothing, but if scouts and even the Indians are truly worried, and Aiken's velocity stays this low -- that is an issue.

The good news is that there is no rush to get Brady to the majors. The Indians currently have one of the best staffs in the major league and the majority of them are with the team until at least 2020. On top of that, the farm system is loaded with future pitching talent, including fellow 2015 draft picks Triston McKenzie and Juan Hillman, who have both looked superb in Low-A Mahoning Valley.

41 !!


MiLB.com Verified account @MiLB
BREAKING: 41 and counting -- #Indians #8 prospect Francisco Mejia extends hitting streak. http://atmilb.com/2a6fL6q

Greg Allen hits his first AA homer tonight too.

Ouch. I've been wondering where Hentges was ...

Indians Prospective ‏@indiansPro 3 hours ago
#Indians 2014 4th Round Pick 20yr old LHP Sam Hentges who started the year pitching w/ (Low A) Lake County underwent TJ surgery last week.

Clippers won, on back of strong pitching by Clevinger. Zimmer 1-3 with a walk. Yandy got night off, hopefully about ready to get a call.

Angry Ducks won 3-1 on back of strong pitching by Merryweather. Allen 2-4 with homer.

Hillcats taste defeat, but good outing by Esparza. And Frankie extended hit streak as mentioned.

The Captains go down, again.

Scrappers lose 6-2. Babe Mejia 2-4 and Calica 1-2.

AZL Indians won 11-6, everyone seemed to hit.

Well crap, was hoping Yandy was out of lineup yesterday cause they were calling him up. Nope. Lineup card for today ...

What has happened to Aguilar? Is he officially a non-prospect?