Minor Issues: Let's cover our bases

WHAT'S THE NEWS

So it's been a few days.

I haven't had time to breath, let alone do nothing more than tweet about the Indians.

A great minor league happenings, that updates things like playoff races and other stuff. Part one and part two.

So here is the past six or so days in the minor leagues. From Tuesday the 11th to the action that happened on Sunday. Good Monday Morning, I'm at work. Read my catch-up later for all the other news and links.

COLUMBUS

Record: 3-3 - All Against Indianapolis

3-3 against Indy this week in their week long series.

Transactions: Bobby Livingston Added, Jose Veras and RJ Swindle Added to Reserve), Andy Cannizaro Traded

Cannizaro was sent to Chicago (Charlotte) for cash. Veras cleared waivers and accepted his assignment, but him and the newly claimed RJ Swindle are on reserve for now.

Notable Performances

8/11: Carlos Carrasco - W (9-9), 8 IP, 1 ER, 10 SO, 0 BB; Lou Marson - 3/4, 1 R, 1 RBI
8/12: Ryan Edell - L (0-4), 5 IP, 2 ER, 1 BB; Matt LaPorta - 1/3, BB, Solo HR
8/13: Hector Rondon - W (4-2), 6.2 IP, 1 ER(4R), 8 SO, 1 BB; Jason Donald - 3/4, 3 R, 2B; Wes Hodges - 1/3, 1 R, 2 RBI
8/14: 9 Innings of Suck from Ken Ray, Bobby Livingston, Michael Tejera; Matt LaPorta - 4/4, 3 R, 2 Solo HR; Stephen Head - 2/4 1 R, Solo HR
8/15: Matt LaPorta - 1/2 2BB
8/16: Carlos Carrasco - W (10-9), 7.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 SO, 2 BB; Stephen Head - 3/4, 2-R HR; Josh Barfield - 2/3, 2 2B

As you can see, Matt LaPorta had a few good games and he's really ripping it up. He's hitting .303 on the season with a .386 OBP, 17 HR, and 60 RBI.

Let me just say, I knew he was a power hitter, we all did, and I was pretty sure the OBP would be high because of that, because even if he's a free swinger, he'll still get walks from pitchers pitching around him.

But that average is higher than I thought he'd maintain. Last year with Huntington he had a .288 average and his Akron average was .233. So really, this is pleasantly surprising.

Rondon and Carrasco keep putting forth great starts and Carrasco put in his best start yet with a 10 punch-out, 8 inning gem. No walks too? Sunday's start wasn't as good, but still good and this guy is an innings eater.

Frank Herrmann in his last ten games.. 1-1, 18 IP, 15 K, 2 BB, 2.00 ERA. He's got a 2.78 ERA on the season.

I wonder if the Indians are going to give him a shot next month, or if they want to avoid putting him on the 40-man until next season. He certainly deserves it.

AKRON

Record: 3-3 - Connecticut (2-1), New Britain (1-2)

Won the series against Connecticut, but dropped the first two to New Britain before winning the finale on Sunday.

Transactions: Added Scott Barnes

Vinnie Pestano is officially out for the rest of the season. Josh Judy will continue to close.

Notable Performances

8/11: Carlos Santana - 3/5, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, HR short of Cycle; Jose Constanza - 1/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 32nd SB
8/12: Scott Barnes - W (1-0), 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 SO, 0 BB; Lonnie Chisenhall - 1/5, 3-R HR; Jared Goedert - 2/3, 1 R, 2B, 2-R HR, 3 RBI, BB; Beau Mills - 2/5, 2B, 1 RBI; Carlos Santana - 2/4, 1 R
8/13: Eric Berger - 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 SO, 3 BB; Carlos Santana - 2/3, 2 BB
8/14: Jeanmar Gomez - 4 IP, 1 H, 3 SO, 3 BB, Offense 1 Hit by Cristo Arnal
8/15: Connor Graham - L (0-2), 5 IP, 4 ER, 5 SO, 2 BB; Carlos Santana, 2B
8/16: Josh Tomlin - W (12-8), 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 SO, 0 BB; Steven Wright - 3 IP, 0 ER; Matt McBride - 3 R HR; Carlos Rivero - 2/4, 2 Solo HR; Beau Mills - 1/3, SF, HR, SF, 2 RBI

Constanza ended up stealing another base, which puts him eight behind the Aeros franchise record of 41.

Carlos Santana is now hitting . He's really boosted his average with this rip he's been on, to add into his run production, which has been steady all year.

Eric Berger was much better in his second Akron start, showing the first start was just nerves. Barnes had a good debut at the new level. Gomez did not get injured in the game he went just 4 innings, he simply had thrown too many pitches. He ran into trouble in the fourth and his pitch count became too high to send him back out.

KINSTON

Record: 5-1 - Lynchburg (2-1), Salem (3-0)

Kinston continues to win at all costs, really making a playoff push and sweeping Salem.

Notable Performances

8/11: Paolo Espino - W (4-6), 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 SO, 1 BB; Alex Castillo - 2/4, 1 R, 2 RBI; Roman Pena - 2/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, SB
8/12: Lucas Montero - 3/5, 2 R, RBI; Tim Fedroff - 2/4, 2 R, RBI; Cord Phelps - 2/4, RBI, SB
8/13: Tim Fedroff - 2/4, 2 R, 3B, 2 RBI; Bo Pickens - 1/4, 3 R HR; Roman Pena - 1/3, 2 R, 2-R HR
8/14: Bryan Price - 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 SO, 0 BB; Tim Fedroff - 2/5, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI; Cord Phelps - 2/5, 2-R HR, 3 RBI; Adam Davis - 3/3, 1 R, 2B, BB
8/15: Scott Lewis - 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 SO, 1 BB; Tim Fedroff - 2/4, 2 RBI; Adam Davis - 3/5, R, RBI, 2 2B, SB
8/16: Paolo Espino - W (5-6), 0 ER (1R), 5 SO, 1 BB; Tim Fedroff - 2/3, 2 RBI, 2 2B; Adam Davis - 2/5, SB, RBI; All but two K-Tribe starters had RBI

Scott Lewis' start was a rehab start and Bryan Price keeps pitching awesome.

Tim Fedroff is absolutely on fire. In his last ten games, before Sunday, he's hit .452 with 10 RBI and 11 Runs. He's now carrying a 16 game hit streak and he's hit in 18 of his last 19. He's also got 34 hits in that span.

Great report on Bryan Price.

LAKE COUNTY

Record: 3-3 - Augusta (1-2), Rome (2-1)

Took the series against Rome.

Transactions: Added Roberto Perez from AZL, Sent Michael Valdez to AZL, Activated Jason Knapp

There's a lot of moving around, the Captains are practically running with a six-man rotation. I think Hagadone and Knapp are going to start following each other rather than starting, since both are only going three innings in each game.

Notable Performances

8/11: Jason Knapp - 1st Start, 2 IP, 1 ER(2R), 2 SO, 2 BB; Trey Haley - L, 2 IP, 4 ER(5R), 1 SO, 4 BB; Karexon Sanchez - 2/5, 2 RBI; Jeremie Tice - 2/4, R, RBI, 2B
8/12: Nick Hagadone - 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 SO, 2 BB; Chris Jones - 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 7 SO, 1 BB; John Allman - 2-R HR; Adam Abraham - 2/4
8/13: TJ McFarland - W (7-4), 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB, Francisco Jimenez - 3 IP , 0 ER, 3 SO, 0 BB; Nate Recknagel - 2/2, 2 BB; Chris Nash - 2/4, 2B, RBI; Donnie Webb - Solo HR
8/14: TJ House - W (5-8), 5.2 ER, 2 ER, 4 SO, 0 BB(11 H); Delvi Cid - 2/3, SB, Donnie Webb - 1/4, 2B, SB; Bo Greenwell - 2/4, 2 R, RBI; Roberto Perez - 2/4, RBI (LC Debut)
8/15: Danny Salazar - L (5-5), 7 IP, 3 ER, SO, BB; Delvi Cid - 1/3, SB, Jeremie Tice and John Allman - 2B Each
8/16: Jason Knapp - 3.2 IP, 2 ER(3R), 5 SO, 0 BB; Mark Thompson - 3/3, 3 R, 3-R HR, SB, 2 BB; Nate Recknagel - 3/3, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 BB, 3 RBI; Donnie Webb - 3/5, 1 RBI; John Allman - 2/4, 3-R HR

Delvi Cid is now at 27 and Donnie Webb is at 34 in the stolen base department. What a duo they are.

Jason Knapp made his LC debut and threw enough pitches before his three inning limit. Hagadone made start number two and same result. Like I said earlier, they might start working in the same game since they are both only going 3 IP or 50 pitches. Remember though, TJ House is going to start making less starts and they used Haley out of relief.

So really there are six pitchers they are rotating around to get starts and innings.

Knapp's second start on Sunday was more than three innings. He must have needed to go more than three to get at least enough pitches in.

MAHONING VALLEY

Record: 3-3 - Brooklyn (1-2), Lowell (2-1)

Notable Performances

8/11: Vidal Nuno - 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 SO, 0 BB; Kyle Bellows - 1/3, 2 R HR, BB, SB; Casey Frawley - 2/3, 2B
8/12: Clayton Cook - W (4-2), 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 SO, 1 BB; Jordan Henry - 3 R, RBI; Jason Kipnis - 3 R, 3 BB, RBI; Kyle Bellows - 2/5, 2 3B, 5 RBI; Greg Folgia - 2 H, 2B, 3 RBI; Jesus Brito - 2 H, 2 BB
8/13: Brett Brach - 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 SO, 2 BB; Jordan Henry - 1 H, 2 BB; Chun-Hsiu Chen - 2 H, 2B
8/14: Preston Guilmet - 3 IP, 1 ER(5 R), SO, BB; Matt Packer - 3 IP, 2 SO, 0 H, 0 BB (Debut)
8/15: Marty Popham - W (5-1), 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 SO, 0 BB; Jason Kipnis - 2/5, RBI; Kyle Bellows - 2/3, 2 R; Greg Folgia - 1/2, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB; Jesus Brito - 2/3, 3 RBI
8/16: Vidal Nuno - W (4-0), 7 IP, 0 ER (1R), 6 SO, 0 BB; Tim Palincsar - 1/3, Solo HR, 2 RBI

The pitching continues to be awesome. That's all. Matt Packer made his debut and went three innings.

Jordan Henry has 17 SB on the year. Nice little player there.

ARIZONA LEAGUE

Record: 2-2 - Padres (2-0), L Rangers, L Brewers

Remarkably, the AZL team is in the playoff hunt with a few weeks left

Transactions: Added Dwight Childs, Lost Roberto Perez, Added Michael Valdez

Michael Valdez went all the way to the AZL level, for what reason? Well Valdez is being converted to a pitcher. We'll see how that goes.

Notable Performances

8/11: Justin Toole - 3 RBI, Joel Torres - 3/4, 2 R
8/12: Mike Rayl - 4.0 IP, 0 ER(1R), 6 SO, 0 BB; Argenis Martinez - 3/5, 3 R, 3 RBI; Chris Kersten - 3/5, 2B, 3-R HR, 4 RBI; Roberto Perez - 2/4, 2 R, 2-R HR; Kelvin Rucker - 2 RBI
8/13: Justin Toole - 3/3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2B; Chris Kersten - 2/5
8/15: Danny Jimenez - 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 SO, 2 BB; Chris Kersten - 2/6, 2B, SB; Joel Torres - 2/4, 3B, R, 2 BB, SB; Giovanny Urshela - 2 RBI