Guilmet Working His Way to Cleveland, One Step at a Time

When you are trying to build a baseball team you need to find cornerstone players that are not only successful but are also have high quality personality wise. The Columbus Clippers have just that in their closer Preston Guilmet. Guilmet is not just a great baseball player, which he has shown saving 13 out of his 14 chances, but also a great person who his teammates and manager love to be around.

Guilmet grew up in Rosefield California, where he played pitcher and infield. He dominated the high school level, giving up just five runs in 70.1 innings pitch his senior year, along with a 14:1 strikeout to walk ratio. During his junior and senior years he has voted team captain and all-metro pitcher. 

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Nieve, Langwell and Guilmet Create Strong Bullpen in Columbus

The Columbus Clippers have recently been doing their best Bullpen Mafia impressions, as the three best bullpen pieces for the Clippers, Fernando Nieve, Matt Langwell and Preston Guilmet have been nothing short of spectacular this season.  Between the three pitchers they have throw a combined 64.1 innings while only allowing 46 hits, 15 earned runs, 21 walks and striking out 68 batters. The bullpen roles seem to have been clearly defined with Nieve coming in as a middle reliever, Langwell as the setup man and Guilmet as the closer for the Clippers.

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Despite Struggles in Cleveland, Carrasco Thrives in Columbus

Carlos Carrasco has struggled in Cleveland with control, not just over the baseball but over his emotions as well. During his only start this season in Cleveland, Carrasco was pitching poorly against New York Yankees when he gave up his second home run in less than four innings. The next batter, Kevin Youkilis, Carrasco intentionally hit and was ejected from the game and suspended for eight games.

After getting suspended for the second time for hitting a batter as an Indian, rather than take a roster spot serving his suspension, Carrasco was sent down to Triple-A Columbus, with the hopes he can pitch well and show that he is worth bringing back. So far he has pitched well, going 23.2 innings over five games, giving up only 14 hits, five runs, four walks and one home run while striking out 24 batters and earning a 1-0 record with one save.

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Matsuzaka’s Early Progress Appears All Wet

Many fans this spring saw the signing of Daisuke Matsuzaka and were optimistic that he could come in and help this Indians rotation. Unfortunately, this has not been the case as he has failed to find success at even the minor league level, pitching 20.2 innings with an ERA near four with 18 walks and an 0-2 record with Triple-A Columbus.

Matsuzaka has had a relatively successful yet short career in the majors, helping the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 2007. In 2008 he posted his best season ever, going 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 154 strikeouts. After that 2008 season he began to struggle with injuries as his stats became worse with less innings pitched, leading up to having Tommy John surgery in 2011. He attempted to come back in 2012 but posted awful numbers for the Red Sox going 1-7 with an ERA of 8.28.

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Former Marlins Top Prospect Provides Clippers Pop and Indians Depth

The Columbus Clippers have started the season well, opening with a 6-5 record. The key so far to the Clippers success has been driving in runs to have very high scoring games. The driving force for the offense has been Jeremy Hermida, who leads the Clippers in home runs, runs batted in, walks and batting average.

So far this season, it seems that Hermida has rebounded from an injury plagued 2012 season to refind his 2011 form. In 11 games this season for the Clippers, his batting average is .297 with an OBP of .409. Hermida however is not just a contact hitter, as he already as driven in 10 RBI’s, placing him third in the International League, and a slugging percentage at .568, which is currently in the top 20 in the International League.

Hermida was the 11^th pick in the 2002 First Year Player Draft by the Florida Marlins, straight out of high school in Marietta, Georgia. He played right field in high school the majority of the time but has also played left and center field, an ability he carried with him after he was drafted.

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Clippers Team Full of Pitching Potential, Young and Old

The excitement of the new season is not just contained up on the shore of Lake Erie, but is going strong in Columbus as the Clippers start their new season. This season marks their fifth year in their beautiful new ballpark, Huntington Park.

The Clippers ended last year by closely missing the playoffs, finishing with a record of 75-69. Last season was viewed as a disappointment, as their 2011 season was capped off by winning their second consecutive Governors Cup. This season however is viewed with the same sense of strong optimism that follows the Indians into the new season.

The Clippers this season are lead by a new manager Chris Tremie. Tremie played in the majors from 1995 through 2004, being a journeyman moving through six organizations. After his career was over, he started managing for the Tribe through the Gulf Coast Indians, working his way up to the Akron Aeros for the last two seasons and now the Clippers this year.

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