Tag Archives: Joe Gardner

2011 Cleveland Indians Top 15 Prospects Post Season Report Card

With the 2011 minor league season complete we check in on the progress of each of the Cleveland Indians preseason Top 15 prospects as ranked by our prospect ranker J.P. Schwartz. The post season grading report was done by the publisher of Top Prospect Alert, not Mr. Schwartz, and reflects only the 2011 season and not future upside or downside of the individual prospect. Our 2012 preseason rankings will be published in the coming months.

#1 Lonnie Chisenhall GRADE: B+
Chisenhall, through September 14th, is batting .240 with 11 Doubles, 7 Home Runs and 15 RBI’s in 54 games with the Indians. For the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, Chisenhall batted .267 with 15 Doubles, 3 Triples, 7 Home Runs and 45 RBI’s in 66 games.

#2 Alex White TRADED TO COLORADO
White was dealt to the Rockies as part of the Ubaldo Jimenez deal. He went a combined 2-1 with a 1.80ERA in eight starts between Columbus and the Rockies Double-A Tulsa Drillers. At the big league level through September 14th, White is 3-1 with a 6.32ERA in seven starts with the Rockies.

#3 Drew Pomeranz TRADED TO COLORADO
Pomeranz was dealt to the Rockies as part of the Ubaldo Jimenez deal. In the minors, Pomeranz went a combined 4-3 with a 1.78ERA in 20 starts between the High-A Kinston Indians, Double-A Akron Aeros, and the Rockies Double-A Tulsa. At the big league level with the Rockies, through September 14th, Pomeranz was 1-0 with a 0.00ERA in one major league start.

#4 Jason Kipnis GRADE: A
Kipnis batted .280 with 16 Doubles, 9 Triples, 12 Home Runs, and 55 RBI’s for Triple-A Columbus. He also tallied 12 stolen bases on the season. Through September 14th, Kipnis was batting .280 with 5 Doubles, 6 Home Runs, and 12 RBI’s in 22 big league games with the Indians.

#5 Jason Knapp DID NOT PLAY
Knapp missed the 2011 season following Tommy John Surgery.

#6 Joe Gardner TRADED TO COLORADO
Gardner was dealt to the Rockies as part of the Ubaldo Jimenez deal. Gardner went a combined 10-11 with a 4.31 ERA between Double-A Akron and the Rockies Double-A Tulsa.

#7 Corey Kluber GRADE: C+
Kluber went 7-11 with a 5.56 ERA for Triple-A Columbus. He walked 70 and struck out 143 in 150.2 innings of work. Opposing hitters batted .263 off Kluber on the year. Through September 14th, Kluber was 0-0 with a 0.00ERA in 1.1 innings at the big league level with Cleveland.

#8 Nick Hagadone GRADE: B
Hagadone went a combined 6-4 with 4 Saves and a 2.79ERA between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. He walked 22 and struck out 77 in 71 innings of work. Opposing hitters batted just .222 off Hagadone this season. Through September 14th, Hagadone was 0-0 with a 7.94ERA in 5.2 innings out of the Indians bullpen.

#9 Kelvin de la Cruz GRADE: B-
De La Cruz went 5-6 with a 4.19ERA for Double-A Akron. He walked 57 and struck out 95 in 86 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .227 off De La Cruz on the season.

#10 Levon Washington GRADE: C
Washington batted .218 with 9 Doubles, 4 Triples, 4 Home Runs and 20 RBI’s for the Low-A Lake County Captains. He stole 15 bases on the year. Washington walked 49 times and struck out 89 times in 79 games.

#11 Nick Weglarz GRADE: D
Weglarz batted .179 with 8 Doubles, 3 Home Runs, and 12 RBI’s in an injury plagued 41 games for Double-A Akron. It was his third consecutive season at the Double-A level.

#12 Robbie Aviles GRADE: C
Aviles went 0-2 with a 6.52ERA in 9.2 innings for the Rookie League AZL Indians. He walked 2 and struck out 7.

#13 Jordan Henry GRADE: C
Henry batted .256 with 7 Doubles, 2 Triples, and 33 RBI’s for Double-A Akron. He drew 69 walks and struck out 75 times in 119 games. Henry also had 33 stolen bases on the season.

#14 Tony Wolters GRADE: B
Wolters batted .292 with 10 Doubles, 3 Triples, 1 Home Run and 20 RBI’s in 69 games for the Short-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers. He also stole 19 bases.

#15 Felix Sterling GRADE: A-
Sterling who is one of the youngest players in professional baseball, went a combined 4-6 with a 4.12ERA between the AZL Indians and Low-A Lake County. He walked 33 and struck out 66 in 67.2 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .236 against Sterling on the season.

Prospect Breakdown: Rockies Trade Ubaldo Jimenez To Indians For Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Joe Gardner, & Matt McBride

The Colorado Rockies have traded Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians for a package that includes Drew Pomeranz (who will be a player to be named later as he cannot be traded until August 15th, a year after he signed), Alex White, Joe Gardner, and Matt McBride. The 22 year old Pomeranz was the 5th overall pick out of Ole Miss in the 2010 draft and has been lights out since turning pro. This season he is a combined 3-3 with a 1.98ERA and has struck out 112 batters in 91 innings between the High-A Kinston Indians and the Double-A Akron Aeros. He was a participant in the 2011 Futures Game. The 6’5″ lefty has as high a ceiling as any pitcher in the minor leagues. White went 1-0 with a 3.60 in 3 starts with the Indians earlier this year before going on the DL with a finger injury. The 22 year old pitched a simulated game on Monday and was scheduled to start tonight for Akron before being scratched upon news of the pending trade. White went 10-10 with 2.45ERA in 25 starts between Kinston and Akron in 2010. He was the 15th overall pick of the 2009 draft out of North Carolina. Gardner is another product of the 2009 draft. The Indians took the 23 year old in the third round out of UC Santa Barbara. He is currently 7-8 with a 4.99ERA in 19 starts for Akron. Gardner was 12-6 with a 2.68ERA in 28 starts for Kinston in 2010. McBride is a 26 year old with a solid bat who has yet to play above the Triple-A level. He was second round pick by the Indians out of LeHigh University way back in 2006 and has been in the Indians organization since. After not hitting more than eight home runs in any of his previous minor league seasons, McBride broke out with a 44 Double, 18 Home Run, 99 RBI year between Kinston and Akron in 2009. He followed that up with a 31 Double, 21 Home Run, 79 RBI year between Akron and the Triple-A Columbus Clippers in 2010. This season McBride has once again split between Akron and Columbus and has posted a combined .279, 26 Double, 15 Home Run, 56 RBI year to this point.