2018 Minor League Thread

[EdMonix11]

Shane Bieber. Pretty good.

 

[Derek]

Elijah Morgan debuted at Lynchburg tonight after dominating at Lake County to start the year.

So-so start, 5 IP 3 ER 2 BB 5 K

 

[Ob1]

How good is Bieber?

 

[Chris]

How good is Bieber?

Should be a 4th starter or so in mlb

 

[Ob1]

Should be a 4th starter or so in mlb

That his current, floor, or his ceiling?

 

[Chris]

That his current, floor, or his ceiling?

I was half joking trying to remember what someone else said a while back. Thought they said a 3 or 4 starter, maybe I'm wrong. Guy looks great right now though, but I'm not really qualified to project prospects.

 

[macbdog]

How good is Bieber?

Think Greg Maddux, only hopefully not a choker in the playoffs.

 

[Derek]

Nolan Jones - brief DL stint, .189/.333/.378 in 11 games. Excellent patience, power is developing. Think he's in for a big year.

Shane Bieber - He's been discussed at length, but he's exceeding even the loftiest expectations so far this year.

Aaron Civale - Same mold as Bieber as a low walk guy, although not quite to the same extent. Still, he's at 20:4 K:BB so far this year with a sub-3.00 ERA at Akron.

Will Benson - .218/.394/.473 so far this year. K's are still high, but down quite a bit. His walks are way up, and he already has 4 HRs.

Conner Capel - .324/.395/.465 through 19 games to go along with 8 steals. Only 1 HR so far, but had 22 last year.

Andrew Calica - Struggling to hit along with everyone else in that Akron lineup.

Eli Morgan - 27 K's and only 5 BB's in 20.2 IP with a 1.74 ERA so far at Lake County.


Another guy I'd like to add in is Sam Hentges. The big lefty is finally healthy and tearing it up at Lynchburg so far with 22 K's in 19.2 IP and a 2.29 ERA.

Nolan Jones - .235/.372/.345 at Lake County. He hasn't grown as much power-wise as I'd like, but he just turned 20 this month. Got off to a slow start with his DL stint. Still waiting for him to heat up.

Shane Bieber - 54:3 K:BB across 9 starts at Akron/Columbus with a 1.23 ERA in 58.1 IP. Might see him in Cleveland this summer if Plutko can't take hold of that 5th spot, or if we just need a spot starter.

Aaron Civale - Hasn't pitched since 5/4 due to shoulder soreness, but had a 2.51 ERA in 6 starts prior at Akron with a 32:4 K:BB in 32.1 IP.

Will Benson - .208/.372/.438 at Lake County. He turns 20 next month. K's are down, walks are up, he's hitting for power.

Conner Capel - Just turned 21 this month, and is hitting .298/.394/.417 at Lynchburg. Only 1 HR and 1 steal since the last time I checked in. Has struggled on the base paths with quite a few failed steal attempts.

Andrew Calica - Is absolutely raking at Akron now pushing his slash line to .331/.394/.441 on the season. He's already 24, but all he's done is hit in his professional career. Could end up at Columbus pretty soon.

Eli Morgan - Just debuted at Lynchburg. Has a 2.19 ERA with 61:10 K:BB in 49.1 IP in 8 starts at Lake County, and 1 at Lynchburg.

Sam Hentges - The 21 years old 6'6 245 lb lefty at Lynchburg has a 3.23 ERA at 43:15 K:BB in 39 IP this year.

 

[sportscoach]

That his current, floor, or his ceiling?

Right now with his current ability he would be our 5th starter, I am not sure if he will be a Kluber type of Ace potentially but at least a 3rd starter on most teams I believe is easily obtainable for Bieber. I don't expect him to impact the ball club in 18, but in 19, he really has a chance to get into the rotation.

We may trade Carrasco and Kipnis to rebuild the OF and bullpen while trying to get Bauer and Lindor an extension. I think we may move EE as well (if possible) to make room to resign those two guys long term. So with the flux of pitchers off the roster and trading a few veterans, it is likely Bieber is in the rotation in 19.

 

[AZ_]

Trading a cost-efficient 1a starter in Carrasco to "rebuild the outfield or bullpen" is...

Well, it's not going to happen. So I'm not really going to even go into the myriad of reasons it's not a good idea.

 

[Derek]

Carrasco is only going out the door if we're bringing in a young All-Star bat with multiple years of team control remaining

In regards to Bieber, I think some a safe comp is Rick Porcello with a high end comp being Zack Greinke.

At this point, it's tough to argue that he can't be an ace. His K:BB ratio is unheard of. Still, MOR is probably a safe bet.

 

[sportscoach]

Trading a cost-efficient 1a starter in Carrasco to "rebuild the outfield or bullpen" is...

Well, it's not going to happen. So I'm not really going to even go into the myriad of reasons it's not a good idea.

Carrasco is only going out the door if we're bringing in a young All-Star bat with multiple years of team control remaining

I am not saying we are trading him for nothing, but it wouldn't surprise me since he has two option years left and going into his what 32-33 age season, that the Indians will look to move him to help sign Bauer/Lindor long term and make room for a guy like Bieber in the rotation. I mean we could get a very good OF/player in general for Carrasco back to help replace the guys that we lost (aka Brantley).

19 we loose a good portion of our team, and guys like Carrasco still have a ton of value in a trade. I am not saying we trade him to make a deal, but it wouldn't surprise me if Carrasco, Kipnis, EE all weren't on the team next season and we get some young guys in here for them back. I mean you could get a top prospect/two for Carrasco pretty easily.

 

[sportscoach]

On a different note @AZ_ @Derek, I see Marabell and Calica are doing well numbers wise at Akron. Is this a sign of the future for these two or just more of a fluke situation?

 

[Derek]

I am not saying we are trading him for nothing, but it wouldn't surprise me since he has two option years left and going into his what 32-33 age season, that the Indians will look to move him to help sign Bauer/Lindor long term and make room for a guy like Bieber in the rotation. I mean we could get a very good OF/player in general for Carrasco back to help replace the guys that we lost (aka Brantley).

19 we loose a good portion of our team, and guys like Carrasco still have a ton of value in a trade. I am not saying we trade him to make a deal, but it wouldn't surprise me if Carrasco, Kipnis, EE all weren't on the team next season and we get some young guys in here for them back. I mean you could get a top prospect/two for Carrasco pretty easily.

I would honestly be shocked if they traded Carrasco this off-season. He's had a healthy arm, and 32-33 isn't really that old. Plus, he doesn't make much, so trading him doesn't exactly pave the way to back up the Brinks truck for Lindor.

As far as Marabell and Calica go, I wouldn't lump them together. Calica has hit at every level while Marabell has largely sucked prior to this season.

 

[sportscoach]

I would honestly be shocked if they traded Carrasco this off-season. He's had a healthy arm, and 32-33 isn't really that old. Plus, he doesn't make much, so trading him doesn't exactly pave the way to back up the Brinks truck for Lindor.

As far as Marabell and Calica go, I wouldn't lump them together. Calica has hit at every level while Marabell has largely sucked prior to this season.

I am not saying we will trade him, but they will listen to offers for him, but we differ on what we think will happen and thats part of being on a sports forum.

Do you know if Marabell is doing something different this season with his swing or anything like that? I haven't gotten to watch him play much, but once in awhile in spring training the last couple seasons and his OF numbers defensively don't seem to bad.