MIDDLE INFIELD

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="06c00640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Arial" ><B>INDIANS PROSPECT WATCH</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>    |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="INDIANS PROSPECT WATCH"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CATCHER"><U>CATCHER</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FIRST BASE"><U>FIRST BASE</U></A>   |   <B>MIDDLE INFIELD</B>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="THIRD BASE"><U>THIRD BASE</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OUTFIELD"><U>OUTFIELD</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="RIGHTHANDED STARTERS"><U>RIGHT-HANDED STARTERS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LEFTHANDED STARTERS "><U>LEFT-HANDED STARTERS </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="RIGHTHANDED RELIEVERS"><U>RIGHT-HANDED RELIEVERS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LEFTHANDED RELIEVERS"><U>LEFT-HANDED RELIEVERS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DOMINICAN AND VENEZUELAN PROSPECTS"><U>DOMINICAN AND VENEZUELAN PROSPECTS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DAILY HIGHLIGHTS"><U>DAILY HIGHLIGHTS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="STAT AND OTHER LINKS"><U>STAT AND OTHER LINKS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="NEWS AND NOTES"><U>NEWS AND NOTES</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>MIDDLE INFIELD</I></div> <div> Updated 8/15/01</div> <bR> <div> The Tribe is loaded with legitimate middle infield prospects, making it one of the two strongest areas of the system, along with right-handed starters. <B>Scott Pratt</B> and <B>Zach Sorenson</B> were taken near the top of the 1997 draft and have progressed through the farm system together as the Tribe imagined them as a future double play combo. They have moved steadily through the system but both are spending a 2nd season at AA Akron. Sorenson's season has been mostly a wash due to arm surgery, but he has recently returned to the lineup. Pratt has had a pretty good year offensively, hitting .280 with some gap power. Both are more than adequate defensively. Their problem is that they are being squeezed from both directions. Alomar and Vizquel will be patrolling short and second for the big club the next few years barring injury and serious talent is coming up from behind. <B>Luis Gonzalez</B> hit only .246 last year at Kinston and returned there in 2001 and hammered Carolina League pitching to the tune of a .322 BA and an OPS of .872 which is excellent for a middle infielder. Midway through the year the Indians promoted him to Akron and he kept on hitting. He's now hitting .327, OPS .849 at AA. Gonzalez has primarily played second base but has seen action at short and third. Highly touted <B>Maicer Isturiz</B> and <B>Jhonny Peralta</B> make up the keystone combo at Kinston and both have come on strong with the bat after slow starts. Isturiz has manned second base in 2001, moving over from shortstop. Isturiz is very gifted defensively and Baseball America rated him as the Indians best minor league hitter for average. He got off to an incredibly slow start and languished well below the Mendoza line for the first couple of months. He has gradually pushed his average up to .225 since then. One encouraging sign is that he has remained healthy in 2001, after missing big chunks of the last two years with shoulder and elbow problems. Peralta has hiked his average up to .238 after just about going 0 for April. He's 6'1", 185 so he has the frame to develop some pop as he gets older. He is improving defensively but still has a ways to go. The fact that he's holding his own at Hi-A at 19 is a very good sign. The Indians drafted college outfielder J<B>oe Inglett </B>in 2000 and promptly moved him to second base. Inglett missed a lot of time this year due to injury, and time is something he doesn't have a lot of. He's hitting .268 and has been competent at second. <B>Hector Luna</B> is very highly regarded by the Tribe and got off to a good start before being derailed by injury. Luna's bat has been the question, but he's posted a .291 average over 47 games. He's above average defensively and has big time speed, going 10-12 in stolen bases. <B>Henry Pichardo</B> experienced a power explosion in 2001, hitting 15 home runs and posting an OPS of .857. <B>Maximo Made</B>, out of the Indians Dominican Program has manned second base at Mahoning Valley and has struggled, hitting .211. How far he goes depends on how much he winds up hitting. Burlington has <B>Rafael Garcia</B> and <B>Ivan Ochoa</B>. Garcia is from our Dominican program and Ochoa from Venezuela. Both are highly regarded and have a lot of upside.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>