Wahoo's on First » zach putnam

Indians Acquire Kevin Slowey: A Solid Deal for Cleveland

Lewie Pollis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:30:02 +0000

Just after the Indians (and the world) learned that the pitcher we had all known as 28-year-old Fausto Carmona was really 31-year-old Roberto Hernandez Heredia, they had added a new starter to compete for his likely vacant rotation spot.

On Friday, Cleveland sent reliever prospect Zach Putnam to the Rockies for right-handed starting pitcher Kevin Slowey and $1.25 million cash. The move reportedly wasn’t a reaction to the news about Carmona, which had broken a day earlier—”We’ve actually had dialogue with the Rockies for the better part of the offseason,” GM Chris Antonetti said—but Slowey is now a potential fit to fill a hole that did not exist a week ago. (more…)

Kevin Goldstein Releases 2012 Indians Top Prospect List

Lewie Pollis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:50:24 +0000

Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein became the latest prospect guru to chime in on the Indians’ farm system this week when he released his 2012 Top 20 list for the Cleveland organization.

Topping the list—surprise, surprise—is shortstop Francisco Lindor, the Tribe’s first-round pick in the 2011 MLB amateur draft. Lindor, who Goldstein says is “loaded with tools.” is the sole Indians prospect to receive a five-star rating. In particular, Goldstein praises the 18-year-old’s “outstanding bat speed,” “impressive range,” and “off-the-charts makeup” and says Lindor has the potential to be an All-Star. (more…)

Baseball America Ranks Cleveland Indians’ 2012 Top 10 Prospects

Lewie Pollis — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:53:09 +0000

It’s been a big week for Cleveland Indians prospect talk, and it just got bigger: today, Baseball America, the biggest prospect analysis publication in the game, unveiled its list of the Tribe’s top 10 prospects.

Topping the list is shortstop Francisco Lindor; the Indians’ first-round pick in the 2011 amateur draft is also ranked as the best contact hitter and defensive infielder in the system. He’s followed by right-handed starting pitcher Dillon Howard, who Cleveland took in the second round. Neither pick was surprising.

Things get more interesting after the obvious top two. (more…)