Thanks for the update on Lofgren's velocity; I knew he threw mid-90s at one time and thought he still did, but I guess he just dials it up there once in a while if need be.  89-93 MPH still isn't bad, especially with the results he's gotten at High-A at the young age of 20.

As for your revised Top 10 List, a pretty good list.  Two minor disagreements:

1. I might have Gutierrez ahead of Snyder; granted, Snyder may be displaying more pop, but Gutierrez's strike zone judgment is much better than Snyder, and that's one level up.  On top of that, Gutierrez is only 23, Snyder is actually 24.  Plus, some reports (especially from Baseball America) seem to think as Gutierrez becomes more comfortable with his new swing and his new approach at the plate, he may hit for more power than he is currently showing.

One report even had him hitting 40 HRs; I'm not sure I believe he will show that much power, but 20-25 HRs may not be out of the question for him.  Combine that with a .270-.300+ AVG and I would think that potential would put Gutierrez higher on the list than Brad Snyder, who I hope still turns out, but am having more doubts about him, since he was supposed to be handling AAA right now, but still can't get a total grasp on AA because of his weak plate discipline.

The other disagreement is about Michael Aubrey.  While I hope he becomes a productive MLer, I have serious doubts about him becoming one with all of his injuries, especially his back injuries.

I'd actually put Kouzmanoff in the #10 spot on your list - similar injury history to Aubrey, though not as severe or extensive as Aubrey, plus has hit over .300 at every level of the Minors, plus has handled AA, something Aubrey hasn't done yet.  

Plus, Kouzmanoff has been blocked by Corey Smith, Pat Osborn, and Andy Marte over the last three years, which partly explains why he wasn't advanced more quickly, even though his performance at each level seems to indicate he should have.  Aubrey, on the other hand, was the frontrunner to become the future 1B of the Indians, ahead of Ryan Mulhern, Stephen Head, and even Ryan Garko at one time.  Garko has surpassed him, while Mulhern and Head have been more healthy than Aubrey has been.  

So, in essence, Aubrey lost his hold on the job of being the Indians' future 1B because of his injuries, while Kouzmanoff was blocked by several prospects who were highly regarded at one time or another, but has overcome two of the three, with only Marte still blocking him.

Even though Kouzmanoff is 9 months older than Aubrey, being that he has handled AA already and has a slightly better injury history than Aubrey and has improved his prospect value in the organization, I'd probably rank Kouzmanoff ahead of Aubrey.  I feel more confident Kouzmanoff will be a more productive MLer than Aubrey at this point due to Aubrey's continuous injuries and lack of progression due to those injuries.

Just my 2 cents.

Still, a very good effort on your list! :-)

Take care and have a great day!

Regarding Carmona, I think his increase in velocity to the mid-90s has really helped him strike out more guys than expected, plus enable him to keep opposing hitters from doing too much against his stuff.  Plus, he has kept his walk rate down as his Minor League numbers suggested he would (may that continue.)  That's why I think the Indians are seriously considering him for the closer's role, along with Cabrera if he can regain his mechanics (I think the lack of a real Spring Training due to the WBC really messed him up, in my opinion.)

Regarding Weglarz, he just had surgery on his hamate bone in his wrist and could be gone the rest of the season (4-8 weeks.)  Supposedly, he's had trouble with curveballs because he hadn't seen many advanced ones while playing in Canada, but once he figures them out, I think BA was the one who said that he could be a pretty good prospect.

In fact, if I recall correctly, I think he hit 8 HRs in fewer ABs last year than John Drennen or his walk rate was slightly better than Drennen's (don't remember which it was, and thebaseballcube.com doesn't show Weglarz's stats from last year,) all while being a year younger than Drennen, so I certainly think he is one to keep an eye on in the future, since he'll only be 19 next season.

Also realize that Franklin Gutierrez has made significant progress this year and was even getting in a good hitting groove with the Indians.  He was sent back to AAA Buffalo today to make room for Blake, as well as to prevent possible Super-2 arbitration status, but it's likely he'll be back up in a few weeks, probably after a position player or two is traded by the end of July.

So, I definitely agree with John that the Indians' future still seems bright, despite the disappointing 2006 performance from the parent Indians.  The AL Central should certainly be very interesting over the next several years with likely 4, maybe 5, teams battling it out for one or maybe two playoff spots.  Should be fun to watch. :-)

Just my 2 cents.

Take care and have a great day!

You beat me by about a minute in regards to Carmona possibly becoming the future closer of the Indians - nice job! :-)

Regarding Carmona's high starter ERA, I'm not sure that's truly commensurate with his true abilities; after all, he only made three starts, one very good start against Detroit and two rather poor ones against Baltimore and Texas, so I wouldn't totally count him out as a future starter yet, either, and I don't think the Indians are, but being that there are more doubts about Fernando Cabrera and Andrew Brown in regards to their command, I think that's why Carmona is being more strongly considered as a closer or late bullpen guy at this point.

Keep in mind that Sowers' ERA after three starts isn't great after one good start (NYY,) one so-so start (CIN,) and one bad start (BAL,) leading to a 7.47 ERA, but I think most still expect him to be a solid #3 starter, maybe a #2 guy (ala Jamie Moyer,) in the MLs after more adjustment.  I'm sure Carmona could do better than that high starter ERA if given more time to adjust to the Majors as well.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care and have a great day!

As far as I know, Aubrey hasn't called it quits, though I can imagine how frustrating it must be for him to continue missing time.  He's tried everything for his back, from rehab and core strengthening exercises to yoga (a suggestion his wife made and something that did help for a while, but didn't solve the back problem entirely either.)  Then when the back isn't bothering him, he injures a knee sliding into second base.

As far as I know, he's still rehabbing and on the Akron roster (I think.)

I agree with you that he still showed some good hitting skills at Kinston and even at Akron, but with his constant injuries, he hasn't been able to play for an extended period of time in order for him to master AA.  He barely is healthy long enough to show that he is getting in a good groove at AA Akron, but then he becomes injured again and has to start over into getting into a good groove again.

At this rate, as I've said before, if he can become a productive ML player, I'll consider it a bonus, but at this point, I have serious doubts whether he'll be able to stay healthy enough in order to be a productive ML player.  

I have a bit more faith in Kouzmanoff's ability to stay healthy, since he was healthy for most of this season and has shown that he can handle AA and is ready for AAA.  Just hopefully, he can stay healthy and be productive, like he has for most of this season.  

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care and have a great weekend!