Minor League Week 6 Games (6/8 - 6/13/21)

[DickyLeftridge]

He looked great in the spring didn't he? Not the end all be all by any means (Hint: Logan Allen) but a sign that we didn't get too aggressive with him.

I have said. I am saying. I will continue to say. This stuff about bouncing players around to half a dozen different positions is a disservice to their development. We are stunting the growth of our best players trying to mask (1) the fact that we'll never be able to afford ponying up for a corner OF/IF bat in FA; and (2) can't find a corner OF/IF bat through the draft to save our life.

Not everyone is Jose Ramirez, ok? In fact, most players aren't. You can't just stick them around 15 positions til you find a position for them in the lineup every day and expect them to hit the ground running each time. I'm not talking about moving a SS to 2B or 3B on occasion. I'm talking about our organizational principle at this point is that every bat that comes up should be able to play every position on the IF and some on the OF. Come on man. It's not Owen Miller or Gabriel Arias fault that the owner is cheap and you can't draft a bat to save your life.

 

[sportscoach]

He looked great in the spring didn't he? Not the end all be all by any means (Hint: Logan Allen) but a sign that we didn't get too aggressive with him.

I have said. I am saying. I will continue to say. This stuff about bouncing players around to half a dozen different positions is a disservice to their development. We are stunting the growth of our best players trying to mask (1) the fact that we'll never be able to afford ponying up for a corner OF/IF bat in FA; and (2) can't find a corner OF/IF bat through the draft to save our life.

Not everyone is Jose Ramirez, ok? In fact, most players aren't. You can't just stick them around 15 positions til you find a position for them in the lineup every day and expect them to hit the ground running each time. I'm not talking about moving a SS to 2B or 3B on occasion. I'm talking about our organizational principle at this point is that every bat that comes up should be able to play every position on the IF and some on the OF. Come on man. It's not Owen Miller or Gabriel Arias fault that the owner is cheap and you can't draft a bat to save your life.

I don't agree with this, it's quite normal for players to play multi positions in the minors... JRam is actually more of an outlier since he really play very many positions until the pros... Francona wants guys to be able to play at multiple positions if need be and honestly if a player cannot respect that philosophy then he likely isn't long for this organization...

 

[DickyLeftridge]

I don't agree with this, it's quite normal for players to play multi positions in the minors... JRam is actually more of an outlier since he really play very many positions until the pros... Francona wants guys to be able to play at multiple positions if need be and honestly if a player cannot respect that philosophy then he likely isn't long for this organization...

Then we disagree.

It's also not about players respecting the philosophy. I'm not a player. I'm commenting as a fan. The philosophy sucks and is a bandaid approach at compensating for organizational weaknesses that seems to consistently stunt the development of our best prospects and put a garbage defensive product on the field. Make no mistake. We aren't adopting this philosophy like it's some sure-fire winning recipe. We are adopting it out of necessity because we're a small market team and because we are going on 10 years now since the last time we've drafted or developed a bat.

 

[sportscoach]

Then we disagree.

It's also not about players respecting the philosophy. I'm not a player. I'm commenting as a fan. The philosophy sucks and is a bandaid approach at compensating for organizational weaknesses that seems to consistently stunt the development of our best prospects and put a garbage defensive product on the field. Make no mistake. We aren't adopting this philosophy like it's some sure-fire winning recipe. We are adopting it out of necessity because we're a small market team and because we are going on 10 years now since the last time we've drafted or developed a bat.

Reason why we haven't developed a bat has nothing to do with our position philosophy but our drafting/signing philosophy of players.... We were drafting athletes first for awhile and it hasn't been panning out.... It sincerely has nothing to do with moving guys around position wise...

 

[CATS44]

I agree with sportscoach to a point.

The lack of developed young hitters up to now is more about raw material than development. That has changed and we will see if this next wave produces.

The trend in baseball...not just the Tribe...is towards positional flexibility. Everybody is doing it. The Tribe is doing maybe more than others, because they have concentrated on drafting/signing shortstops. A team can't have a dozen shortstops at one time, but having a lot of youngsters with the athletic ability to play short leads to a lot of players capable of playing anywhere on the diamond.

I absolutely do not agree with the idea of offensive profiles for certain positions. I dont care where OBP or power comes from. Offense profiles are based upon defensive short comings. A player profiles as a corner player, more so because he is deficient with a glove than because he can hit the ball out of the park.

I do agree that certain prospects should be groomed for positions of need that the MLB team has in the foreseeable future....which is why I do not like the fact that Nolan Jones is playing 3B most of the time. He can't learn the OF or 1B by playing third. I also do not like the fact that Freeman is being moved around. He is not gonna play 3B here, and unlikely to be playing short. He is IMO our top prospect. He has torn up every level he has played. And IMO he is the most likely candidate we have at second. When the FO targeted Kipnis to be our future 2B, they didn't screw around. He played 2B every freaking day in the minors, until being installed in Cleveland.

 

[MadThinker88]

Weds lineups (that I can access) have been added to the Weds info post..

 

[MadThinker88]

Weds games updates:

AA Akron is underway. They have jumped out to a 2-0 going into the bottom of the 1st at Altoona.

Low A Lynchburg is underway. No score as Hillcats bat in bottom of the 1st vs Delmarva
--------------------------------
Edit #1:
Thomas P for Akron has given up the lead plus.. RDucks trail 5-2 to the Curve after 1 complete.
Thomas tossed 31 pitches/ 19 strikes in the 1st. It will be interesting to see if he comes out for the 2nd inning to pitch..
------------------------------------
Edit #2:
High A Lake County is underway. Currently going into the 2nd. XCurry making his 1st High A start/ appearance. He struck out 1st batter faced & had a 3 up/ 3 down inning
Now Captains lead 1-0 thanks to leadoff homer by Aaron Bracho to start the 2nd..

AA Akron is fighting back. Have already scored 4 in the 2nd & still have a runner on base.. Its now 6-5 Akron in the 2nd & the Curve are going to the pen..

Low A Lynchburg now in rain delay going into the 3rd inning. No score in the contest.

 

[Criznit]

Aaron Bracho smashes his 4th homer of the year - a solo shot leading off the 2nd. LC 1 FW 0.

 

[Martyinnewyork]

Re: Tyler Freeman. I’m sort of ok with him playing some shortstop along with 2B. But he’s playing 3B tonight, which seems idiotic. And Richie Palacios, who Tondo thinks could be the big club’s CF in the future, plays 2B as much or more than Freeman. He’s played CF 6 times if I recall MadThinker’s data correctly.

 

[Martyinnewyork]

Actually, the 2B position for Akron has been Palacios for 12 games or so, Jose Fermin for around 6 games, and Freeman for 4. Guess Tyler is our future SS or 3B.

 

[Criznit]

Re: Tyler Freeman. I’m sort of ok with him playing some shortstop along with 2B. But he’s playing 3B tonight, which seems idiotic. And Richie Palacios, who Tondo thinks could be the big club’s CF in the future, plays 2B as much or more than Freeman. He’s played CF 6 times if I recall MadThinker’s data correctly.

Freeman is a SS by trade. He won't be playing substantial innings at 2nd until AAA/call up... In fact (I am in the minority on this one) think he has a chance to stick at SS. Playing 3rd... Is to help others to get reps, plus I don't see how it really hurts.

 

[Martyinnewyork]

If he’s playing 3rd to give other guys reps, that makes him sound like a AAAA guy.

 

[MadThinker88]

Weds gm updates:

AAA Columbus is still tied/ no score in top of the 2nd

AA Akron is tied 6-6 in bottom of the 4th.

High A Lake County still leads 1-0 after 3 completed innings.

Low A Lynchburg is still in a rain delay before the start of the 3rd inning.. No score thru 2 innings.

 

[Criznit]

If he’s playing 3rd to give other guys reps, that makes him sound like a AAAA guy.

Well - don't know what to tell ya. The minors are fluid.

He is also playing 3rd to "play" it.. One of Freeman's biggest knocks is his arm, and playing 3rd should allow him to work on his biggest "weakness" if you want to look at it that way.

Quite simply, if you can play quality SS you can play anywhere. Chisenhall came into the system as a SS and ended up moving to 3B almost immediately, but ultimately ended up in the OF. I wouldn't worry to much about the juggling.

 

[Criznit]

Pretty solid/excellent outing for Xzavion Curry in his 1st appearance for LC. Definitely started hitting a wall in the 5th though..

5IP 2H 0R/0ER 2BB 7K and 2WP.... 91 pitches with 54 strikes.