Just hours after getting the call from AA Akron to AAA Columbus on Thursday, outfielder MATT McBRIDE (age 25) put on yet another power display in his debut for the Clippers. Against Buffalo, he went 4 for 5 at the dish, hitting a double, a HR, and driving in 3 runs. Such a showing is consistent with his performance of the last month or so with Akron, where he hit .364 with 11 HR in 23 July games. Although he started the season slowly, his AA line stood at .285 with 25 doubles, 17 HR, 64 RBI, and a .349 OBP (30 BB, 62 K). As the season winds down and the Indians look toward the future, considering the future of Austin Kearns in particular, it will be interesting to see if McBride can compete with the likes of Michael Brantley, Nick Weglarz, and company for a spot with the Tribe in 2011. But if he keeps up his torrid pace, it might not be much of a competition.
ALEX WHITE (age 21) had another solid outing on Thursday, “starting” after Kerry Wood pitched an inning of rehab work. White threw 5.1 innings, allowing 1 earned run (including 4 unearned) on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. It’s all the more impressive that White made this appearance on only 4 days rest, after tossing 7 strong innings against Reading on July 24. Although he has only 57 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched at the AA level this season, White has showed some lethal stuff as of late, striking out 29 batters in his last 25.1 innings on the mound. During that same stretch, he has walked only 3 batters and allowed only 3 earned runs. At this point, I am not sure how much more he has to prove at the AA level. He’s been downright dominant and deserves a shot in AAA sooner rather than later. This guy is demonstrating that he has the stuff to be a key component of the Tribe’s rotation for years to come.
I’m not convinced that JOSH RODRIGUEZ‘s (age 25) early success with Columbus was a flash-in-the-pan. He’s cooled off as of late, but he had a great day at the plate yesterday, only to be overshadowed by Matt McBride’s monster AAA debut. Rodriguez went 3 for 5, slugging 2 home runs and driving in 3. Over his last 7 games, he’s hitting .308 with a 2B, 4 HR, and 10 RBI to go along with a 7:5 K to BB ratio. His AAA season stats stand at .314 with 12 doubles, 10 HR, and 48 RBI (28 BB and 42 Ks). I like how he hits both RHPs and LHPs well, for both average and power (.323 with 5 HR in 65 ABs against LHPs and .310 with 5 HR in 129 ABs against RHPs). If Rodriguez maintains his recent hot streak while CORD PHELPS (age 23) remains cool in the aftermath of his recent hitting streak (3 for 16 since July 25), he should become the Tribe’s clear-cut top AAA second baseman.
A trio of Kinston Indians pitchers combined to shut out high A Wilmington on Thursday. T.J. HOUSE (age 20) started on the mound for the Indians, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings while striking out 4. In his last 2 starts combined, he’s allowed 1 earned run on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 9 in 12 innings of work. One key to his recent success appears to be that he’s issued fewer free passes than usual. If he keeps minimizing those walks, his success should continue. TYLER STURDEVANT (age 24) relieved House, tossing 2 innings of 3-hit ball. Through 5 appearances with Kinston (7.1 IP), he’s allowed only 1 earned run on 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. Surprisingly, he failed to tally a single K in Thursday’s outing, but that will be rare for him. CORY BURNS (age 22) closed the door on Wilmington, recording his 30th save of the season (18th with Kinston) with 1 inning of work in which he allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. Burns has a 2.23 ERA between Lake County and Kinston this season with 62 strikeouts and 12 walks in 40.1 innings (.221 BAA). Those are strong numbers for a guy in only his second season of professional ball; the Indians drafted him in the 8th round of the 2009 draft out of the University of Arizona.
The Rundown: Thursday was a busy, productive day in the Indians’ farm system, so without further ado… Clippers left fielder JORDAN BROWN continues to be an RBI machine. He added 2 more to his season total (now 63, even after missing the first 39 games of the season) in a 2 for 5 performance at the dish. He deserves a shot with the Tribe… Teammate JARED GOEDERT looks to be turning around his recent slump. Third baseman went 2 for 5 yesterday with a double. He’s batting .282 over his last 10 games with 5 2B, a HR, 3 RBI, and 8 walks to 7 Ks… Outfielder MICHAEL BRANTLEY continued his dominance in AAA, going 2 for 3 with a solo HR, 2 SBs, and 2 BBs. He’s 3 for 6 with 4 BBs in 2 games since his most recent demotion from Cleveland… LOU MARSON had another good game on Thursday, going 2 for 4 with a HR and 2 RBI. He’s now batting .333 in his last 10 games and .381 (8 for 21) in his last 6. In those last 6 contests, he also has 3 2B, a HR, 6 RBI, and 4 BB to 2 Ks. If he keeps playing this well, he could become valuable in a trade package unless the Indians want to keep him around as insurance in case something happens to Carlos Santana… Aeros third baseman LONNIE CHISENHALL just keeps on heating up. On Thursday, he went 3 for 4 with a 3B and 3 RBI. He’s now hitting .325 in his last 10 games and .412 (7 for 17) over his last 4. In those last 4 games, he’s also logged a 3B, a HR, and 7 RBI. His season average is now up to .277… First baseman BEAU MILLS pulled his season BA up to .240 after going 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored on Thursday. He’s hitting .333 in his last 10 games with 6 doubles, a triple, 2 HR, and 10 RBI… JORDAN HENRY continues to be an on-base machine. Against Reading on Thursday, he outfielder went 1 for 2 with 2 BBs and a run scored. Over his last 10 games, he is batting .371 and getting on base at a .450 clip. Over his last 5 games, he’s batting .500 (8 for 16) with an OBP of .619… In Wilmington, catcher CHUN CHEN had another impressive day for Kinston, going 2 for 3 at the plate with a BB and a run scored. He’s now batting .344 with a .465 OBP in his last 10 games (4 2B, a HR, and 8 RBI as well). In his last 4 games, he’s hitting .429 (6 of 14) with an OBP of .556 (HR, 2 2B, 4RBI)… Third baseman JEREMIE TICE remained hot on Thursday, going 2 for 4 at the plate with a solo home run. He’s hitting .390 over his last 10 games with 5 2B, a HR, and 8 RBI… ADAM ABRAHAM of Lake County went 1 for 4 on Thursday, doubling, driving in a run, and drawing 2 walks. Over his last 10 games, he’s hitting .436 with 5 2B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, and 4 BB to 5 Ks (.488 OBP). He’s on fire… Outfielder DELVI CID somehow managed to swipe another base on Thursday, his 49th of the season, even though he went 0 for 6 with a K. Just imagine if he could get on base at a rate better than his current season average of .238 and .293 OBP… MATT PACKER made yet another impressive start for the Captains, tossing 7 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 5 hits and no walks while striking out 7. Over his past 10 starts, he’s posted a 1.14 ERA with 63 Ks and 10 walks in 63 innings of work while holding opponents to a .219 batting average. What is this lefty still doing in A ball? Get him up to Kinston, and now… PRESTON GUILMET followed Packer with 2 innings of shutout ball in which he allowed 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out a pair. He’s now struck out 44 batters in 29.1 innings of work for the Captains this season while maintaining a 2.45 ERA… The only notable performance in the Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ doubleheader (game 1 was the remainder of Wednesday’s suspended contest) was that of second baseman DANIEL DeGEORGE, who went 5 for 7 with a double, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored between the two games. He’s batting .279 on the season with the Scrappers, but .367 over his last 10 games with a .441 OBP.