Indians 1 Twins 0: The Kids Had Fun
June 8, 2011The Writing Was on the Wall
June 8, 2011With June in full swing, the Cleveland Indians have decided to promote much-discussed infielder Cord Phelps. The Triple-A standout will not only be in uniform for Wednesday afternoon’s rubber match with the Minnesota Twins but will start at second base and bat seventh.
Prior to getting the nod, Phelps had been hitting at a .299/.391/.488 line with the Columbus Clippers, chipping in seven home runs, 15 doubles and 40 RBI in his 211 at-bats. He had been the subject of many discussions, including but not limited to a recent WFNY podcast as well as a piece on the “Free Cord Phelps” movement that had picked up steam with each additional Indians loss.
Drafted in the third round of 2008, the 24-year-old Phelps has never made the top-10 list of the team’s top prospects, but has managed to produce nothing but excellent numbers since moving up the Tribe’s minor league ranks. After being promoted from Akron last season, Phelps did his damage at the Triple-A level, providing an OPS of .892 with 20 doubles and six home runs.
This season with the Clippers, Phelps has churned out his success at the plate while playing second base, shortstop, third base and designated hitter; his versatility not only provides the Indians with a servciable bat, but will also allow Manny Acta to give his infieders a day off without sacrificing much in terms of “replacement.”
Where fans should caution themselves is to expect an immediate impact from a player with absolutely zero major league at-bats to his name and could be considered a “switch-hitting Jason Donald.” As Jon said best:
[Yes], I think that the team should promote Cord Phelps. The corresponding roster move that makes the most sense to me would be to DFA Adam Everett, but I’d really not lose too much sleep over losing Kearns or O-Cab either. Whatever.
But we should also be clear about something else: Cord Phelps is not going to save this team. While we have a tendency to put all of our hopes into young players who we’ve not seen much of, we should remember that it’s exceedingly rare for these types to impact the team immediately.
Where things differ a bit is the lack of conviction involved in the decision to bring the much-deserving Phelps up. Rather than releasing or designating any one player for assignement, the Indians front office opted to…well, option. To clear room for Phelps on the 40-man roster, the team moved pitcher Alex White to the 60-day disabled list. Removed from the 25-man roster is pinch-hitter extraoridinarie Shelley Duncan, who was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
Prior to being sent down, Duncan was hitting .222 with six doubles, two home runs and 17 RBI. On the season, Indians’ second basemen are hitting .247 with a team-low OPS of .580.
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(Carl Kline/MiLB.com)
10 Comments
“the 24-year-old Phelps has never made the top-10 list of the team’s top prospects”
Goldstein, Keith Law, and IPI all have Phelps in the top10 coming into this season:
(all those can be found here):
http://www.indiansprospectinsider.com/2007/10/rankings.html
Before last season, you are correct he was considered a ‘fringe’ prospect and his inclusion in those top10 lists are likely largely due to his relative closeness to the MLB level coming into this season.
Poor Shelley…won us the game yesterday and off to Triple-A today. I woulda preferred Everett or Kearns but it’s just nice to have Phelps up.
@#2 I’m thinking it’s because of his inability to really play the field.
Glad to see this kid get a chance & hopefully he seizes it and doesn’t look back. We need it.
““the 24-year-old Phelps has never made the top-10 list of the team’s top prospects”
Was speaking purely from a Baseball Prospectus standpoint.
@Scott – Baseball Prospectus is the Goldstein rankings. Phelps was #10 on his list coming into this season.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=12505
still, as I mentioned, he only really made the top10 because he was so close to MLB-ready
Not expecting any miracles, but who’s to say he can’t have a positive impact on the team the way Drubal did in 2007? Solidify a position of need. Thats all Im hoping for.
Its probablu more due to him having options to exercise. Duncan plays serviceably at 1b and LF. Not great but not awful either.
Consider me ticked off if the Tribe squanders another good start from Justin Masterson.
Pat, are you ticked off yet?
What is Lonnie doing? Hannahan is who we thought he was!