Cleveland Indians

I snatched him up in a couple of leagues where I need 3B help. Ya never know, and the kid is still young. I for one am pulling for him.

What are we to make of Marte at this point? On the positive side, he’s hardly ancient at 25 years of age, was going postal on International League competition, and his 16.7 K% was rather low. On the other, he’s still not working the count all that well (6.8 BB%), and a .345 BABIP suggests that his batting average-driven line will come down some.

Prior to the 2009 season, CHONE was the most optimistic projection system regarding Marte’s future (.248/.316/.421). But that forecast does not take into consideration his resurgent hitting at AAA (per Minor League Splits, Marte’s Major League Equivalent line is .292/.326/.498). The truth probably lies somewhere in between those two lines. While it’s not a perfect comparison, Marte calls to mind a Joe Crede-type, with good pop and a slick glove helping to compensate for an aggressive, lower-OBP approach at the plate.

From a fantasy perspective, Marte is well worth a look in AL-only and deep mixed leagues. With Ryan Garko gone, Andy should get a decent amount of playing time at first base.

FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball

The trades are coming fast and furious today ...

The Philadelphia Phillies seriously bolstered their chances of repeating as World Series champions by outbidding several teams for reigning American League Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians, according to baseball sources.

The Phillies also received left fielder Ben Francisco and in return, the Indians netted a strong group of prospects: Class A right-handed pitcher Jason Knapp, Class AAA right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson.

Yahoo! Sports

Andy Marte is up!

Ryan Garko was traded to the Aints for Scott Barnes, no relation to Priscilla. Not sure why the Indians traded a cheap guy with 11 homers and a .285/.362/.464 line. Maybe the Giants offered some trinkets to the Indians. Besides his season line, Garko has been hot recently (.429 in his last seven games with two homers). Pac Bell/AT&T/The Fridge That Sandoval Raids is not a hitter’s haven, but Garko should hit in the heart of the order and see every day playing time. Definitely worth pursuing in NL-Only leagues and 12 team leagues, if you’re hurting at corner. The other name worth mentioning is Andy Marte, who was called up by the Indians yesterday.

Razzball.com

Shapiro said Marte will play mostly first base. Marte played mostly third base in Columbus.

cleveland.com

World famous football scribe RJ White, has a new piece up over at the cafe, reminding you that if you need pitching help this season, and you are an Indian, help may be on the way.

Hector Rondon, SP, Cle, Age 21, Triple-A
The Indians are a team in need of pitching, and help is on the way. After completely dominating Double-A, striking out 73 batters in 72 innings while allowing 16 walks, Rondon earned a promotion to the International League. Triple-A hitters haven’t done any better so far, with the Cleveland prospect striking out 13 in his first 12 innings, walking just two batters in the process. This excellent performance was an extension of his 2008 numbers in High-A, where he struck out a batter per inning over the course of the season and posted better than a 3/1 K/BB ratio. Rondon possesses good movement on his fastball, which can often be more important than speed. He should get a chance to compete for a rotation spot next season.

Fantasy Baseball Cafe

buy low.

The hitter in the deepest slump is Victor Martinez, who was leading the American League in batting before interleague play, which seems to have been his undoing. In his past 49 games, since May 22, Martinez is batting .182 with seven home runs and 29 RBI, dropping his average from .400 to .286.

Ohio.com

Yep. I saw Peralta hit the waiver wire in a couple of leagues already. I snatched him up in one of them where I had a need. I have him ticketed for a second half rebound.

On this date last year, Indians shortstop Jhonny Peralta was batting .263 with 16 home runs and 50 RBI. Today, Indians third baseman Jhonny Peralta is batting .256 with six homers and 39 RBI. This is one and the same person, of course, which makes it more difficult to explain the disparity in the numbers.

The switch of positions doesn't really account for the slump, because Peralta has been the regular third baseman for only five weeks, and he has underachieved at the plate virtually the entire season.  ''I don't think it has affected my hitting,'' he said. ''If I can play one position, it might be better for me at the plate, but I don't think it bothers me that much.''

So does that mean he will be the everyday third baseman next year? If Columbus third baseman Wes Hodges hadn't missed half the season with an injury, he probably would be a candidate to compete for the big-league job next spring. However, he might have lost too much development time to contend for the position that soon.

Ohio.com

Indians fans? I'd love to see one person, scout, gm, fantasy geek, link, whatever, anything, anybody, who predicated this.

Show me.

The Indians and their fans have to be wondering how in the world they let Franklin Gutierrez get away. No question he's an emerging star, and the emergence is happening fast. If Gutierrez can hit anywhere close to the way he has the past month, with his defense, he's an All-Star caliber player.

Mariners Blog

Keep an eye on Marte, as he is still only 25, and the Indians never really gave him a chance. Someone is going to get a steal this winter, just you watch.

Andy Marte continues to mash at Columbus, hitting his 13th homer and driving in his 54th run Friday night. His average, currently .321, has consistently been above .300 and he has struck out only once every six at-bats. But what does this mean? Has Marte actually figured it out, or has he put in so much time at Triple-A (1,370 at-bats) that he has reached a comfort level?

''He has made some fundamental adjustments that could put him in a position to succeed,'' Assistant General Manager Chris Antonetti said Saturday. On the other hand, Antonetti indicated that Marte has not made a 180-degree improvement in his judgment at the plate and in closing a huge hole in his swing, an inability to lay off breaking pitches wide of the strike zone.

Tribe officials aren't saying whether Marte will be called up before September or at all. Since he is a player who is out of options, the Indians more than likely will lose him next year unless he is on the big-league roster, a long shot right now. ''The reports I've seen on him are real,'' manager Eric Wedge said. ''What you have to do is see if it translates up here.''

Ohio.com

Out of sight, out of mind, that's the way it's been for Andy Marte, whose average continues to hover around .315 at Columbus. Wedge said he knows few details about Marte's season. Asked whether he has a chance for another shot with the Tribe, the manager said, ''Anybody with a uniform on, we would consider.''

Some observers have explained Marte's surge at the plate — he also has 11 home runs and 50 RBI — as a product of the work he's done with Clippers hitting coach Jon Nunally, who apparently has gotten through to the 25-year-old former hot prospect.

Ohio.com

Yes, yes he is.

But nowhere on Dierkes’ list of 20/20 players was Shin-Soo Choo. That’s because nobody expected Choo to steal 20 bases (ZiPS projected him to steal 8, while BP said he’d nab 10). Yet, through 81 games, he’s stolen 13 bags — and he’s yet to be caught.

Before this season started, people wondered if Choo’s 14 homers in 94 games in 2008 was a fluke. Now we know — it wasn’t. In fact, it was only a small part of the overall picture. So why isn’t Choo getting any love from Joe Madden or anyone else? For one, he plays for the last place Indians. Also, it’s hard to remember where to put the hyphen in his name.

But don’t worry, Choo will get his love. In January and February, when fantasy baseball nerds are getting ready for their leagues’ anual drafts, they’ll sort through the stats and come to the inevitable conclusion that Choo is a lot more than just a home run hitter. He’s a base-stealing, walk-taking, RBI and run-scoring machine.

umpbump.com