It Doesn’t Matter Who the Cavs Play
May 18, 2009Cleveland Browns Care Not for Your Warm Fuzzy Feelings
May 18, 2009
A whole bunch of Tribe-related stuff going on today, folks. Keeping in line with my positive frame of mind, a lot of Indians fans may not know that their little brother – the Akron Aeros – are 27-8 on the season. While they have gotten to benefit from the sizzling start of Hector Rondon, they also have had some solid production at the plate.
One of the biggest producers thus far has been outfielder Nick Weglarz, the recipient of the most recent Eastern League Player of the Week Award. From the Aeros Media Relations:
Aeros left fielder Nick Weglarz was named Eastern League Player of the Week today for the week ending May 17th. He became the first Akron player this season to win a weekly honor, as the Aeros are off to their best start in franchise history and own the best record in professional baseball at 27-8.
Weglarz hit .458 (11-24) last week with three doubles, a home run, six runs scored and was tied for second in the league with eight RBI. He had a pair of two-hit games during Sunday’s doubleheader against Altoona, and now has nine multi-hit outings on the season. He also was the hero Friday night for Akron as his three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning at Altoona was the deciding factor in a 5-3 victory.
For what it’s worth, the team is 21-3 when he starts in left field.
The third-round selection in 2005, Weglarz is currently ranked as our third-best prospect. Over the past month, Weglarz has racked up an on-base percentage of .544 (1.322 OPS). He has been heralded for his plate discipline, and as the Aeros point out, the outfielder had seven walks and only three strike outs in the last week.
Given the amount of strikeouts that the Indians have racked up this year, leading the American League with 309 Ks, someone with plate discipline playing at a high level is good to see. The issue will obviously be his position, as he currently shares the same spot as Michael Brantley.
But if it’s power you’re looking for in the corner, Weglarz might just be your answer.
8 Comments
Akron’s finest Canadian sensation!
Hey, Wedgie, what are you waiting for? Bring him up and stick him at first base, or something.
Scott’s so positive.
I’m not too familiar w/ Columbus’ positioning…. who plays CF for them? Just wondering why Brantley isn’t in CF, since he seems like an “athaletic” type of guy to play there. Is it Crowe?
Crowe is not the best outfielders, and he didn’t play a great center for the Aeros back in the day. Neither does Jose Constanza here now. At least we have Grady for the future there.
We have so many guys with indeterminate positions that are kind of stuck in left field/first base/designated hitter. I’m looking at you Stephen Head, Matt LaPorta, Nick Weglarz, Jordan Brown, and Matt McBride…
[…] Weglarz, aptly nicknamed “Big Red” for his bright red locks, started the season 3-48 (.063) through his first 17 games played and admitted rather blatantly that he was trying to do too much at the plate in his first full season at the Double-A level. The 6-3, 255-lb. product of Lakeshore Catholic High School (ON) and the Indians 3rd-round pick in 2005 has been one of the best players in baseball recently however. In his past 50 games played, Weglarz is now batting .323 with 10 home runs, 46 RBI, 13 doubles and a stunning .610 slugging percentage including a player of the week honor May 18th. […]
[…] games played. This came after Weglarz began the year hitting just .063 (3-48) and then bolting to a Player of the Week award in lifting his batting average all the way to .261. Ever since that high watermark on June 28th […]
[…] Nick Weglarz: This 21-year-old Canadian may have his fair share of naysayers, but he showed in spurts last season the power and potential that made the Indians put him on the 40-man roster. Despite […]