Tribe Prospect Countdown: #29 C Alex Lavisky

6'1", 200 lbs, 21 in 2012
Bats: Right, Throws: Right

2011 Stats (A- Lake County/ SSA Mahoning Valley): .203, 13 HR, 52 RBI, .621 OPS, 4.72 K/BB

I have to say that I expected more from Alex in 2011.  The St Ed's grad caught the fireballer Stetson Allie in Lakewood and graduated at about 19 and a half years of age.  Based on thereon, one would think that Lavisky would come into the pros a bit more seasoned than your your average high school draft pick.  He has certainly not shown such maturity thus far.  Alex was given every opportunity to be the everyday catcher for the A- Captains and responded with 184 ABs that included 38 hits (.207), 9 walks and 66 punch-outs.  Ouch.  I mean ouch!  When short season Mahoning Valley opened play in June, Lavisky was sent down.  The move obviously affected him mentally as he batted just .173 to close out the month.  Overall, his numbers in Niles did not show much improvement (K/BB better @ 3.55 vs 7.33, OPS worse @ .604 vs .643).  Perhaps most troubling of all was the degradation of his defensive work.  At Lake County, he caught an abominable 7% (3/42) of basestealers and allowed 8 passed balls.  While his caught stealing percentage improved to a solid 33% for the Scrappers, Alex committed 7 errors and allowed 10 more passed balls.  His season numbers (23% CS, 18 PB, .986 FPCT) are pretty freakin' awful.  To tie a bow on it all, 2011 was an awful season for the young backstop.  Still, the kid is only 21.  Given his defensive struggles and the emergence of 2011 pick Jake Lowery, I would expect Lavisky to spend more time at DH in 2012.  He took the role for 40 games last season and a more consistent placement would allow him to focus more on delivering consistent contact than getting beaten up behind the dish.  Alex still has huge power potential.  If he can shorten his stroke a bit and reduce his swinging strikes, Lavisky is a solid offensive prospect, if still 2-3 years away.

Up Next: RHP Kyle Blair

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #30 LHP Matt Packer

6'0", 200 lbs, 24 in 2012

2011 Stats (AA Akron): 9-12, 4.31, 1.23 WHIP, .269 OBA, 1.8 BB/9, 6.9 K/9

The first left-handed pitcher on our countdown is a starter.  So, how is he this far down the list?  Well, that's mostly because I have already described his two best attributes.  Packer, while athletic, is in no way overpowering.  His fastball runs in the 90-92 range, complimented by a middle of the road slider and a curveball that has not developed quickly enough to enable notable success.  Matt's best metric is his control.  In eating 169.1 innings in 2011, he walked just 33, while fanning 129.  The salient truth is that a lot of balls get put in play against Packer.  He allowed 16 home runs, which is not too bad and the 1.23 is not an issue.  The problem is that Matt is inconsistent.  He had an awful June (0-3, 10.17), but finished strong (6-3, 2.78, .236 OBA after the All-Star Break).  This is likely due to the inability to repeat his delivery that led to a sub-par senior season at UVA.  Packer then dropped to the 32nd round and has bounced between the bullpen and the rotation ever since.  He was projected to earn a promotion to AAA in 2011, but that didn't happen until the post-season and he never made it to the hill.  Given the depth of starting pitching in the organization, Matt will have to earn that call-up, rather than simply being next in line.  He throws the ground balls (1.71 GO/AO) that the Tribe brass likes, drawing comparison to former rotation members Jeremy Sowers and Scott Lewis.  Packer now has to produce.  He needs to show a mastery of AA and move to Columbus quickly or risk getting lost as the next wave of young starters advance toward Major League readiness.

Up Next: C Alex Lavisky

Bienvenido A Miami

Los Marlins, y'all.

Waddya Say, Waddya Know?

The MLB hot stove has gone from zero to 451 in the blink of an eye.

Already Done --

The Tribe has lost OF Travis Buck to the Astros and DH Jim Thome (1-yr, $1.25mil) to the Phils.  Believe it or not, you will probably see Big Jim in the field in 2012.

This first big signing was CL Jonathan Papelbon to the Phils (5-yrs, $50mil).

Former Indian Jamey Carroll has inked a deal with the Twins (2-yr, $7mil) to be their starting shortstop.  The closest the 37-year old came to an everyday job was 109 games at second for the Rockies in 2006, his best offensive season.  In the four years since a disastrous 2007 (including 146 at 2B & SS for the Dodgers in 2010), Carroll has batted .284 with a .362 OBP.

After running through six starting catchers in 2011, Pittsburgh hopes to stabalize the position by adding Rod Barajas (1-yr, $4mil), late of the Dodgers.  

In the Works --

Word on the street is that former Indian CF Grady Sizemore will get a a one year contract worth slightly less than the $9mil option that the Tribe turned down.  He is expected to sign with a big market team that could afford the loss should he not regain form.  The first name I heard was Boston.  Ughhh...  Others rumored: A's, Nationals, Mets and... Indians?

The Marlins seem to be ready to buy another World Series to coincide with their new digs and Angelic renaming to the Miami Marlins.  Miami has made "substantial" offers to 1B Albert Pujols, SS Jose Reyes and SP Mark Buehrle.

Indians now-bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr has interview for the vacant managerial slots with both the Red Sox and Cubs.  While it would be a shame to Santos again, I will always wish him the best and his departure would, again, open a spot for Mike Sarbaugh at the big league level.

Btw...

Far eastern players are such a crap shoot, I shall not discuss them here.  We don't know who they are anyway.

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #31 3B/1B Jared Goedert

6'1", 205 lbs, 26 in 2012
Bats: Right, Throws: Right

2011 Stats (AAA Columbus/ AA Akron) - .272, 18 HR, 48 RBI, .858 OPS, 1.74 K/BB

If anyone has been reading this blog since last December (impossible) or March (still unlikely) then you know that I am a huge Jared Goedert supporter.  Coming off of the disgusting third base play of 2010 (see Jayson Nix) and with Lonnie Chisenhall destined to begin 2011 at AAA, I thought that Goedert, with his 40-man addition and his 27 2010 long balls, had an excellent shot at opening the campaign as the Indians' starting third bagger.  Many had maligned his defense (we'll return to this in a bit) and few agreed that he was the best option, especially after the acquisition of Jack Hannahan.  While I have grown to love (I do not use the word lightly) Captain Jack, I will readily admit that I was one of his harshest pre-opening day critics.  Thus, when Jared went down with an oblique strain 3 days into spring camp, I saw the injury as a big loss, not just just for Goedert, but for the Tribe as well.

Jared took quite some time to return from the disabled list and suffered a pair of setbacks during his rehab at AA Akron.  It was, in fact, nearly June before he saw his first PT for the Clippers.  Goedert, admittedly, stuggled.  He sputtered to a 1-for-15 starts, although it was a homer, en route to a .198 pre-all-star batting average.  The second half was a different story, as Jared mashed .333 with 11 dingers and a mad 1.030 OPS.  Let us not forget that Goedert is a right-handed power option (with improving discipline) for an organization that is sorely lacking such at the big league level.

All of this is roses and ice cream, but, Jared, 27 in May, has yet make an ML appearance.  With Chisenhall, barring a trade, now entrenched at third (with Jack second in line) and the Tribe toying with idea of carrying two DH-only guys, Goedert has to show the ability to play another position.  The thought originally arose out of the organization's opinion that he was a sub-par defender at the hot corner.  I have said it before and I will say it again: he might not be Brooks Robinson, but he is by no means a liability either.  In fact, having seen the man (Goedert not Brooks) play live about 20 times, I would put him on par with Chiz glove-wise and with a far more accurate arm.

Still, this is all irrelevant.  Unless Jared can prove himself to be useful at first base (or, less likely, in the outfield), he will be precluded the opportunity to hit for the Indians.  2011 saw 28 errorless AAA games at first and that's good enough for me.  Sadly, the braintrust seems deadset against giving the man a shot.

I like Goedert because his ceiling is incredibly high (like Adam Dunn high, bad example coming off of this past season, but you know what I mean).  Additionally, he is a hard worker and a good locker room guy.  Facts need be faced though, a lot of things will have to go right to get him to the lake and management sure isn't going to do him any favors.

Up Next: #30 - RHP Kelvin De La Cruz

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #32 RHP Bryan Price

6'4", 210 lbs, 25 in 2012

2011 Stats (AA - Akron): 2-3, 2.79, 1.26 WHIP, .258 OBA, 2.6 BB/9, 5.7 K/9

As our cavalcade of right-handers rolls on, we come to the forgotten piece of the Victor Martinez trade.  Originally selected #45 overall by the BoSox in 2008 out of Rice, Price was converted back to a reliever by the Indians organization in 2010.  A right shoulder injury stranded him at AA for the second consecutive season and limited him to 28 appearances in 2011.  While his strikeout numbers were down (8.3 K/9 career), Bryan posted career lows in ERA and WHIP.  He recovered from a rocky start with a 1.99 ERA after April and proved himself particularly effective against RHBs, holding same-side hitters to a .209 OBA and surrendering just one gopher ball.  Stuff-wise, Bryan throws a fastball that has touched 97 MPH and is consistently clocked around 93.  His secondary offering is a plus slider that easily qualifies as a swing and miss pitch and was consistently utilized as a two-strike hammer.  Last season's shoulder trouble limited the effectiveness of the breaking ball and resulted in the drop in strikeouts.  It may, however, been a blessing in disguise as Price was forced to rely more heavily on his heater and an emerging split, developing the ability to get contact outs without his best pitch.  Bryan is basically the check plus version of Matt Langwell and Langwell's future may well be tied to Price's.  If Bryan can stay healthy, he will likely see time on the lake before mid-2013, throwing a roadblock in front of Langwell.  Just like Matt, Bryan projects as a 7th-ish inning guy, coming on to get get three outs or to retire a specific right-handed hitter.  While the ceiling is not espceially high, Price has the tools and body to become a productive big league bullpen contributor.

Up Next: #31 3B/1B Jared Goedert

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #33 RHP Steven Wright

6'1", 200 lbs, 27 in 2012

2011 Stats (A, A+, AA, AAA): 4-8, 4.58, 1.61 WHIP, .284 OBA, 4.6 BB/9, 6.5 K/9)

Oh, good, another right-handed pitcher and this one's 27 with crappy numbers.  What's the deal?  As recently as 2009, Wright was a reasonable and traditional prospect.  At 24, he put up a 10-0 record and 2.32 ERA for AA Akron.  So, what happened?  As he pitched at four different levels last year, one might suspect that Steven is recovering from an injury.  That would be entirely incorrect.  After two unsuccessful stints with AAA Columbus (6.61 ERA), Wright traded in his 94 MPH fastball and hard slider for the hard-knock life of a knuckleballer.  Following extensive work with former Indian Tom Candiotti during the off-season and through spring camp, he built his repertoire from around 60% knucklers in his first 2011 start to around 90% as the season wound down.  The BB/9 average describes the predictable control issues and the 18 home runs he allowed over 133 innings are indicative of his overall lack of feel for the notoriously touch-oriented pitch.  Still, Steven has a lot going for him.  Given the the recent renaissance of knuckleballers (R.A. Dickey anyone?  Even Charlie Haeger), he will likely get a shot at the big league level if he can show even moderate command.  With the Candy Man in his corner, Wright has a leg up on those without easy access to one of the fraternity's select few.  Unlike many prospects, his success is a true coin flip.  Neither age, nor injury, and not even middling minor league statistics will hamper his advance.  Wright is completely committed to the new school 72-76 MPH knuckler and if he can continue to advance his mastery of Uncle Knails, then a big league call is truly just a knuckle's length away.

Up Next: #32 - RHP Bryan Price