Cord Phelps Has Arrived

The latest poll question on this site asked a question that has now been answered. It asked the question of who would be the first minor leaguer to be called up: Lonnie Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis, or Cord Phelps? Phelps has won this honor and made his debut Wednesday against the Twins.

Indians fans who do not know much about Phelps should be excited about his arrival in Cleveland. The basic info is that he is a switch hitting second baseman. It was said by Manny Acta that Phelps will get start over Orlando Cabrera at second against right handed pitchers. Cabrera has been struggling of late and needs to regain his offensive skills before he will regain his spot.

Phelps started the year in Columbus and had a solid year to date. In 55 games in AAA, he hit .299 with 7 home runs and a team leading 40 RBI. He is only 24 years old and was drafted in the third round of the 2008 draft by the Indians.

Cord Phelps has a lot of pressure on him right now with the teams’ current situation. He was called up to help change their current offensive slide, and continue their great defense. He made a great diving play in his debut, which shows that he should have no problem on the defensive side.

After seeing him play in just one game, it is clear that he has great potential. If he has success in the majors, it could lead to other rookies being called up, possibly Kipnis and/or Chisenhall. The way that the Indians are hitting right now, these are all posibilities. Jack Hannahan hit the game tying home run in the ninth today, but this does not change the fact that he is struggling. A guy like Chisenhall could provide a spark for the Tribe, just like Evan Longoria did for the Rays when he was called up.

There is still over 100 games left to play in the season, and if something doesn’t change, the Indians will not make the playoffs. Hopefully Phelps and other players will step up and return the Tribe to their winning ways. Back to their Windian ways.