Akron’s Calica Selected as Eastern League’s Player of the Week

Another offensive outburst at the plate from Akron outfielder Andrew Calica earned him the Eastern League’s Player of the Week Award, the league announced on Monday from its home office in Portland, Maine.

Calica was on fire throughout the week in games played between June 4 and June 10, hitting in all six games that he appeared in. Three times he put up two-hit games, he homered in back-to-back games, and he knocked in at least one run in four straight contests. Read More

Bieber Named Eastern League’s Pitcher of the Week

Last season, Shane Bieber proved that his nearly spotless record in his debut season in 2016 with the short-season Mahoning Valley Scrappers was no fluke, appearing at three different levels of the Indians organization while putting up strong numbers at each stop.

On Monday, the Akron right-hander was recognized by the Eastern League for his dominant start to the 2018 season when he was named its Pitcher of the Week for games played between April 5 and April 15. Read More

Former Tribe Farmhands on the Move Throughout the Winter

Free agent moves of Major League players get the majority of attention in the offseason, but plenty of role players and other prospects still hoping for a chance at a big league pay day bounce around the country when their pro contracts come to an end. A handful of Indians farmhands were on the move over the winter, with several others still unsigned.

The Baltimore Orioles came sniffing around the Tribe’s former prospects, including snatching one up through a Rule 5 claim. Read More

RubberDucks Announce 2018 Opening Day Roster

The Minor League schedule kicks off this week and young prospects are reporting to their respective homes to start the season.

The Akron RubberDucks announced the members of their Opening Day roster on Tuesday as players settled in to Canal Park before the club hits the road for Altoona for their season opening series with the Curve (Pirates affiliate) in Pennsylvania.

The ‘Ducks will look to improve upon a 69-71 third place finish last season. Following their four-game set against the Eastern League champions, they will head to Binghamton to face the Rumble Ponies (Mets) from April 9 to April 11 before returning home to Akron for a four-game series against the Trenton Thunder (Yankees), starting on Friday, April 13. Read More

Indians Reassign Five Players to Minor League Camp

With less than three weeks to go until the start of the Major League Baseball regular season schedule, the Indians have started to trim away at the long list of camp candidates in Goodyear, Arizona, looking for a job with Cleveland.

The Indians optioned infielders Willi Castro and Yu-Cheng Chang to Double-A Akron on Friday prior to the team’s action against the Colorado Rockies. Right-handed pitcher Cole Sulser, left-hander Robert Zarate, and first baseman Nellie Rodriguez were also re-assigned to minor league camp. Read More

Alomar and Wickman Headline Minor League Hot Stove Events in February

Two former Cleveland Indians All-Stars will return to northeast Ohio this month to engage fans at special events hosted by a pair of Cleveland farm clubs.

Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar and 15-year Major League pitcher Bob Wickman will be the headliners for annual offseason fan events held by the Akron RubberDucks and the Lake County Captains, respectively. Both events are scheduled for early February. Read More

Indians’ Minor Leaguers on the Move this Winter

While plenty of focus has been given to the big name free agents departing the Cleveland Indians organization this offseason, there has been plenty of movement down on the farm for the club’s minor league free agent class.

The names are nowhere near as big as Carlos Santana, Bryan Shaw, and Joe Smith, who have all signed lucrative contracts in Philadelphia, Colorado, and Houston, respectively, nor are they as big as Jay Bruce, who is still testing the free agent waters while waiting for the right deal, but the moves cut into some of the existing depth in the team’s minor league system.

Baltimore claimed a pair of former Indians pitchers when they added right-hander Perci Garner and left-hander Luis Lugo to minor league deals. Read More

Indians Prospects on the Move in the Rule 5 Draft

The annual Winter Meetings wrapped up on Thursday from Orlando, Florida, with the completion of the Rule 5 draft.

Despite having an open 40-man roster spot, the Cleveland Indians did not make a selection during the Major League portion of the procedures, but the club did lose right-handed pitcher Jordan Milbrath to the Pittsburgh Pirates with the eighth pick in the draft.

During the minor league phase, the Indians selected left-handed pitcher R.C. Orlan from the Washington Nationals farm system during Round 1 of the Triple-A phase. The Tribe lost two more minor leaguers, when outfielder Junior Soto was nabbed by the New York Yankees several picks earlier in the round and shortstop Ivan Castillo was selected with the 41st pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in Round 3. Read More

Tribe Prospects Performing Well in Dominican Winter League Action

The Cleveland Indians’ season may be over and the World Series nearly half way complete, but competitive baseball continues to be played at spots across the globe.

Eight different Tribe prospects are in Glendale, Arizona, working in Arizona Fall League play. Four more have headed to South America to work in the Venezuelan Winter League, while nine more have taken up temporary residence in the Caribbean while participating in the Dominican Winter League.

Three different Tribe position prospects and six pitchers are scattered throughout the six-team Liga de Beisbol Dominicano. Read More

Tribe Minor Leaguers in Action in Arizona Fall League

Arizona Fall League play is under way as some of the top prospects around the minor league landscape pair up for competition in the annual six-team offseason league.

Hopeful prospects are a week into the six-week schedule as players work to hone their craft against a collection of some of the best up-and-coming names working their way through the levels of professional baseball. The Indians are well represented in their home-away-from-home in Arizona, where eight of their minor leaguers help make up the roster of the Glendale Desert Dogs.

Those eight Indians prospects have teamed up with representatives from the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates for league action in Glendale this year, after Cleveland players worked with different clubs while playing for the Mesa Solar Sox last October and November. Read More

Tanner Tully – Rising Up the Ranks

Tanner Tully is a 6’0”, 200 lb. left-handed starter out of Elkhart, Indiana, selected by Cleveland Indians in the 26th round. He was the last of six Ohio State Buckeyes taken in 2016.

Growing up in Indiana, he developed an appreciation for hunting, fishing, and sports. These made up a rotation across the seasons that kept him engaged. Read More

Tribe Prospects Perform Well in this Week’s All-Star Game Losses

Six members total between the Akron RubberDucks and Columbus Clippers earned the honor of playing in their respective league’s All-Star Games this week and several took advantage of the opportunity on a big stage to shine.

The International League faced off with the Pacific Coast League on Wednesday night from Tacoma, Washington. A four-run fourth inning by the PCL All-Stars would prove to be too much for the IL squad to overcome in a 6-4 contest. Columbus’ Richie Shaffer was one of the players to best utilize his time as his performance for the losing squad earned him the league’s All-Star Game MVP award. Read More