We continue on with our year end notebooks, this time focusing in on Double-A Akron. They may not have had much success in the win and loss column, but the team was loaded with prospects and arguably had as many as 10-12 of the Indians top 20 prospects at one point or another.
Just the Facts
Akron finished the season at 68-73, good for fifth place and 8.5 games out of first in the Eastern League’s Western Division.
The strength of the team all year was the offense. Akron finished 2nd out of 12 teams in hitting (.268), 3rd in runs (654), 4th in doubles (255), 4th in triples (41), 8th in home runs (96), 1st in total bases (1939), 8th in walks (466), 12th in strikeouts (909), 4th in stolen bases (127) and 4th in OPS (.730).
Once again, the Indians had an affiliate that was strong in one area but struggled in another. This was the case with Akron and their pitching as they ranked 10th in ERA (4.31), 2nd for most hits allowed (1251), 3rd for most home runs allowed (108), 1st for most hit batters allowed (73), 4th for most walks allowed (480), 4th in strikeouts (1150) and 7th in WHIP (1.37).
Some Hits
Here are a few players of note that had good seasons:
Carlos Moncrief (Outfielder)
129 games, .284 AVG, 77 R, 26 2B, 7 3B, 17 HR, 75 RBI, 55 BB, 98 K, 15 SB, .824 OPS
Moncrief had a breakout campaign as a prospect. He always had the tools as a guy with power in his bat and arm, some speed and athleticism, and as a guy that plays very defense. The one thing that was always missing was consistency with the bat and improving his plate discipline, and he did that this season. He’s on the major league radar and an option for the Indians at some point next season.
Jesus Aguilar (First Baseman)
130 games, .275 AVG, 66 R, 28 2B, 0 3B, 16 HR, 105 RBI, 56 BB, 107 K, 0 SB, .776 OPS
Aguilar had a huge season with the RBI totals, although all of his other numbers were down across the board except he also did strikeout a little less. Even so, it was another solid season for the hulking first baseman who could soon be in the mix to help the Indians at the major league level. He’s not a big impact bat but could be another good complementary piece to a deep young core of hitters.
Jose Ramirez (Infielder)
113 games, .272 AVG, 78 R, 16 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 39 BB, 41 K, 38 SB, .674 OPS
Think about this for a second: Ramirez started last season in extended spring training and finished at Low-A Lake County. He completely skipped High-A Carolina and was assigned to Double-A Akron to start this season and ended the year in Cleveland. How much more of impressive can you be? The numbers are not eye-popping, but it is his overall game that is so impressive as he is an excellent defender, runs very well, hits for average and is tough to strike out.
Matt Packer (Left-handed Pitcher)
12-9, 3.27 ERA, 28 G, 154.0 IP, 172 H, 71 R (56 ER), 8 HR, 44 BB, 119 K, .286 BAA
Packer returned from a rough 2012 season that saw him miss half of it with a shoulder issue and pitch the other half at less than 100%. He came back and was able to rack up 150+ innings and was really strong down the stretch and competed every night. He’s a good depth starting option for the Indians going forward, and could fill an Aaron Laffey type of role in Cleveland at some point.
Some Misses
Here are a few players of note who struggled this season:
Rob Bryson (Right-handed Pitcher)
1-2, 9.53 ERA, 29 G, 34.0 IP, 39 H, 37 R (36 ER), 11 HR, 34 BB, 41 K, .283 BAA
As some may recall, Bryson is the pitcher the Indians received as part of the C.C. Sabathia trade five years ago. He had a pretty solid minor league career up to this point and his two most recent seasons prior to this year were very good. Unfortunately, he pitched all of last offseason in winter ball and looked out of gas from the start of this season and it showed in the numbers before hip issues forced him to miss most of the last half of the season.
Trey Haley (Right-handed Pitcher)
1-4, 4.70 ERA, 39 G, 44.0 IP, 37 H, 24 R (23 ER), 0 HR, 39 BB, 46 K, .239 BAA
Haley was added to the 40-man roster last offseason purely because of his stuff as he has a nasty curveball and a 100 MPH fastball. But command has always been a problem for him and that issue continued this season. In his defense, he dealt with several nagging injuries all year and he did look better in the second half. But the command issues are still a problem he will need to overcome.
Shawn Armstrong (Right-handed Pitcher)
2-3, 4.14 ERA, 33 G, 37.0 IP, 35 H, 20 R (17 ER), 3 HR, 21 BB, 48 K, .246 BAA
One of the best stories of 2012 was the rise of Armstrong as a legit relief pitcher prospect for the Indians. Armed with a fastball that got up to 99 MPH last year and some other interesting stuff, he came into this season with high expectations. Unfortunately, he broke his wrist early in the season and it set him back for several weeks. He did finish strong, but this was a lost year and he fell back in a pack of strong relievers the Indians have stashed away in the upper levels.
Ronny Rodriguez (Infielder)
116 games, .265 AVG, 62 R, 25 2B, 6 3B, 5 HR, 52 RBI, 16 BB, 76 K, 12 SB, .667 OPS
It is tough to say Rodriguez was a miss as he did finish with a career high batting average and did lower his strikeout rate; however, he saw a significant decrease in his power numbers and his defense was inconsistent. The power in his bat to go along with a cannon for an arm and some very good athleticism are what make him so intriguing, so he will need to find a way to more consistently unleash his power next season and make some strides as a defender if he is to progress to the next level as a prospect.
Parting Shots
- Right-handed relievers Enosil Tejeda (1.23 ERA, 58.1 IP, 0 HR, 22 BB, 66 K, .173 BAA) and Jeff Johnson (2.25 ERA, 48.0 IP, 2 HR, 15 BB, 50 K, .221 BAA) are two relievers that jumped onto the prospect scene. They really impressed this season with their ability to throw lots of strikes, keep the ball in the ballpark, limit baserunners and get strikeouts.
- Three other right-handed relievers Bryce Stowell (2.58 ERA, 45.1 IP, 2 HR, 21 BB, 62 K), Austin Adams (2.62 ERA, 55.0 IP, 3 HR, 29 BB, 76 K) and Jose Flores (2.71 ERA, 66.1 IP, 1 HR, 27 BB, 87 K) are all hard throwers that piled up some impressive numbers but due to the depth of relievers in Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus the Indians were never able to promote them.
- Catcher Jake Lowery (.275 AVG, 6 HR, 28 RBI, .812 OPS) had a nice rebound season and improved his stock as a catching prospect for the Indians.
- Right-hander Will Roberts (7-9, 4.57 ERA) had a nice season in Akron and showed some significant development with his pitches and velocity. He is expected to pitch in the Arizona Fall League as a starter this offseason.
- Left-handed reliever Kyle Crockett (9 G, 10.1 IP, 0 R, 9 K) and shortstop Francisco Lindor (21 G, .289 AVG, .801 OPS) were up with Akron briefly and impressed in the short time they were there. Lindor will open next season as the starting shortstop for Akron though Crockett might open at Triple-A Columbus.
