April 25, 2026 • 38 mins
A look back at the week in review as the Guardians battle the Houston Astros at Progressive Field before heading north of the border to take on the Blue Jays in Toronto. Plus, conversations with starter Gavin Williams and reliever Peyton Pallette who are both off to strong starts this season. Also, the Farm Report talking Hill City Howlers this week. That's all on this edition of Guardians Weekly with Jim Rosenhaus on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardian's weekly gym Rosen House along
with you from the Rogers Center in Toronto where the
Guardians taking on the Blue Jays this week weekend. Just
a short road trip Toronto only, and then it's back
home early next week to take on the Tampa Bay
Rays at Progressive Field starting on Monday. But some good
baseball here to start things off on Friday night. Will
(01:13):
get to more of that in a moment in our
weekend review, but just to preview our show coming up.
Gavin Williams will join us, so will Peyton Paulette, a
couple of members of that pitching staff for the Guardians.
We'll also hear from Northeast Ohio native from Belleville, Ohio,
just outside of Mansfield, aj Bluebaugh, who pitches for the
(01:34):
Houston Astros and he pitched in Cleveland this week for
the first time, and some good stories from him about
what it was like growing up as a Cleveland Indians fan.
And he'll join us as well on this week's show,
and we'll have a full farm report on the Hills
City Howlers, the former Lynchburg Hillcats. They still play in Lynchburg,
(01:54):
but they renamed the team, and we'll have a season
preview and some early season reports on some of the
good young prospects at the first full season level of
the Cleveland farm system from Assistant Director of player Development
Alyssa Nakin, who will join us in just a little bit.
But first our week in review. After a loss to
(02:15):
Houston on Monday night, nine to two to the Astros,
the Guardians were back at it against the Astros on
Tuesday night. Parker Messe's first outing since his near no
hitter last week against the Orioles, and he looks sharp
again early in this one.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
The pitch down and in and Cleveland will challenge pitches
challenging first batter here in the ball game, and the
video board says strike three called challenge accepted, Challenge one
by the Cleveland Guardians. The next pitch got I'm swinging
(02:51):
on a change up, so messick with a one two
three first He's got an old hitter through one. Cleveland
coming to.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Bat, Guardian's got the scoring started in the bottom half
of the first inning, after a two out hit from
Jose Ramirez and a walk to Kyle man Zardo, George
Vlara stepped in the pitch, swung.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
On grunbo base hit in the hole in the left center.
That'll score Ramirez, everybody else up one spot. Man Zardo
stops aid second and George Valera punches one through the
vacated shortstop position in the left center and one nothing
Cleveland if Valera, RBI number four on the campaign, didn't.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Hit it hard, but he hit it a perfect spot.
Then in the second inning, on Hell Martinez let things off.
Ryan Weiss rocks into the delivery the three to one
pinch swung.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Out in hammer Hi deep to right.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
There she goes at its two nothing Cleveland on El
Martinez with a stir at home run as the lasts
one the right and the Guardians with a tune nothing lead.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
What are year Martinez has going? Houston, though, they got
things going, scoring three runs in the fifth and another
run in the seventh, and they had the lead four
to two. But in the eighth inning, the Guardians' bats
really came alive. The first two hitters reached and with
one out, Brian Rochio came through sneaming at second Martinez
at first, the pitch swing at line, right base, it
(04:32):
towards center. That'll get down, that'll score, steaming stopping at
second as Martinez he's done it again. Ryan Rochio, the
number nine hitter, picks up his team high fifteenth RBI
with that simple approach, short compact line drive swing and
(04:55):
RBI single to center and it's four to three. Houston's
down to a run. Stephen Quandt followed with a walk,
and that loaded the bases for Chase the latter.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Now the count even that two and two. The pitch
swung on line, toward the line and left over as
Matthews he can't make the catch, trying to slide it
gup by him, rolls into the corner. That'll clear the bases. Martinez,
Rochio quan All score on triple for the ladder. The
(05:31):
composure of Chase the later. At a different level, he
might have been one for twenty six. He might have
fouled off two pitches. He finally could hit and then
sliced a triple down the left field line into the corner.
Once Matthews left his feet to try to make the
(05:51):
diving catch and that ball scoot into the wall.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
And was off to the races for Cleveland. The Guardians
weren't done yet. Houston intentionally walked Jose Ramirez and that
brought Kyle Manzardo to the plate. The one one to Manzardo.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Swung a line right pace, hit to right, Here comes
to water, Here comes riverz Eight to four Cleveland. Man
Sardo hits a two run single down that right field
line and the Guardians had blown it wide open. A
(06:28):
six run eighth, eight to four Cleveland off the Houston bullpen.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
The Astros offense wouldn't go quietly in the ninth, as
the dangerous Jordan Alvarez drove in a run with a
devil to make it eight to five, but in the
end Kate Smith was able to lock in and finish
the job the pinch strike free call bowl game.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Kate Smith gets out to bay looking and the Guardians
explode for six in the eighth. They even series with
an eight to five.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Win, so a nice win on Tuesday, but the Guardians
couldn't keep it going as Wednesday afternoon, Houston shut out
Cleveland by a final score of two. Nothing off day
Thursday in Toronto and the Guardians were back at it
against the Blue Jays at the Rogers Center, and they
were facing future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, but the
(07:23):
Guardians got to him early and often. Stephen Kwan had
the night off, so it was Daniel Schneman leading things
off for the Guardians. Daniel Schneman hitting three ten overall,
two homers, eleven ribbies tonight at second the pitch and
he hits one on a dro line drive the deep rite.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Luke's licking up gon and Daniel Schneeman continues to thrive
at the Rogers Center. A line drive home run to
right and it's won nothing Cleveland. On Schneeman's third home
run of the campaign. Two years later, Jose Ramirez walked
(08:02):
and then Reese Hoskins with a two out single put
runners on the corners for George Valera. Now the two
to one pitch swung on drill deep bright center field.
This fall off the top of the wall. Ramira scores
Hoskins coming around third, no throw in. With a two out,
(08:23):
two run double, George Valera makes it three nothing Cleveland.
He just missed a three run homer. He'll settle for
a two out, two run double and Cleveland does not
let Scherzer off the hook.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
The next batter was on hell Martinez and it was
just the beginning of a big night. This is pitch
number thirty six, and it swung in and hammered to.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Deep bright Hawai back and y'all five nothing Cleveland on
Hell Martinez, two out, two run, two iron to right center.
It's his fourth home run, three of them left handed.
(09:10):
Now a dozen RBIs for Martinez. Saw a big first
inning for the Guardians, but the Blue Jays struck for
two runs of their own in the first and another
in the second that cut Cleveland's lead to five to three.
Then in the third, batting with a runner aboard, once again,
it was on Hell Martinez facing Max Scherzer. Now the
payoff pitch swung on, hit high in the air, deep
(09:34):
right center back goes Sanchez track wall down on hell
Martinez with his second two run home run to right center.
Cleveland's got a seven to three lead. What on that
beat by on Hell Martinez and eleven pitch and fan
(09:56):
and his first two homer game, and the night is
for mac Scherzer and on hell Martinez. Someday when he's
got little ones, we'll be able to say I got
mac Schurzer twice.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Toronto picked up a run in the fifth on an
RBI double from Ernie Clement that made it a seven
to four game, but the Guardians got that run right
back in the sixth with Chase the Latter batting and
some good hustle from Brian Rocchio.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
The pit swung on the.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Top of the first grabbed by Guerrero, throat of the
play at first slide safe as Rochio in the third
is Schneeman and the latter to first on the fielder's
choice RB I is sixteenth. Why that ball was not
hit hard and Guerrero charged never hesitated, but Rochio got
(10:51):
a great secondary lead down the third base line and
that makes it Cleveland eight and Toronto foo.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
In the bottom of the sixth, that was another former Guardian,
Andre Semenez, driving home a couple of runs to pull
the Blue Jays to within two. But the bullpen combination
of Hunter Gaddis, Eric Sabrowski and Kate Smith were up
to the challenge and slammed the door on the Blue Jays.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Cad Smith and chest Tie Lunson fly swung on a
little pop shallow center, sneaming out Kwan in steaming makes
the catch Bowl game. The Guardian second baseman did it
in the field, did it at the plate, and Cleveland
jumped all over Max sure, sir early and able to
(11:39):
hang on and they beat Toronto.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Eight to six.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
So a nice start to the weekend for the Guardians.
On Friday night, They're back at it against the Blue
Jays Saturday afternoon at three seven and wrap up this
brief road trip to Toronto with a one thirty seven
start on Sunday. Stay with us when we come back.
We'll hear from Gavin william that's next.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
Switching to Progressive is a game winning call, and that
reminds us of other game winning calls in the history
of sports.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
So it was the fourth quarter and went down by five,
sweat pouring down my face. Suddenly it hit me, if
only I could rep part of the towel around my forehead,
and that's how I became the first basketball player. It's
a wear ahead bag.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
Okay, not really a game winning call, but it was
a good call. You can make one to switch to
Progressive and you could save hundreds. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company
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Speaker 2 (12:43):
Welcome back. It's Guardian's Weekly Jim Rosenhouse back with you
from the Rogers Center in Toronto. Gavin William's been off
to a good start this season, with wins in his
last three outings, including Friday night in Toronto. We had
a chance to catch up with him following a win
over to More last weekend, and he talked about some
of the keys to his consistency during this first month
(13:06):
of the season.
Speaker 7 (13:08):
Yeah, just talking to the pitching coaches and leaning on
the catchers a little bit. I mean they've been great,
all of them. They've helped me through, uh, some some
delivery stuff, some pitch calling and and just the little
things like that.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
And when you look at your game on Saturday, breaking
ball heavy and and how do you arrive at that?
Is that pregame or is that adjustments that you make
during the game.
Speaker 7 (13:32):
Yeah, that was a little pregame action. Uh, that was
the plan going in and we stuck to that plan.
I knew through some fastballs and different counts and and
got them off of the breaking balls and just flip
flopped that the whole the whole game and both He
did a tremendous job back there calling the game and
seeing seeing the swings they take and throwing what we
(13:54):
needed to throw.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
And your command seemed a lot better, maybe the best
of the season so far. When you do have a
game where where maybe it gets away from me a
little bit with the walks, is that more a mechanical
thing or is it something else that allows you to
get back to where you'd like to be?
Speaker 7 (14:10):
Uh, it's definitely mechanical. Like just like last night, throwing
a lot of curveball, as that means I was staying
up right more so I helped out with the fastball.
So the more I throw my curveball, my delivery cleans
up a lot more. And that's just the way it
goes sometimes. So I'm just gonna just gonna work on
that in the future with the with the fastball.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
When you look at at pitches that have been successful
for you, I know that the two seamer you've kind
of worked in there a little bit and a cutter
a little bit more. How are those coming along and
how have they helped you really take another step?
Speaker 7 (14:43):
Yeah? Uh, the cutter's just like if I need a striker,
get me over pitch maybe like a little weak ground ball.
I can use that in any account, I know that
I have that in my back pocket. Same with the
same with the sinker. Just throwing through the rioties I can,
I can back door it, which is nice. So it
just opens up the whole strikes one when I when
(15:03):
I have those two pitches, commanding them and throwing them
where I want to.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
And you're at a station in your career where you
have some experience under your belt, how has that helped
you if you have the occasional game where or maybe
it's difficult my first inning to settle in, but you
manage to keep it within good range and not let
it get away from you.
Speaker 7 (15:23):
Yeah, I mean it goes back to having five different pitches,
saying with the cutter ins the sinker, kind of like
with Saint Louis, I started throwing those a good amount
and that's when I would get the one, one, two
pitches and get it out. So that helps helps keep
the pitch count low and knowing I can rely on
different pitches rather than just the just the fastball.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
That's Gavin Williams, who once again picked up win number
four on Friday night against the Blue Jays as he
is off to a tremendous start this year. Another picture
off to a nice start is Peyton Paulette. He was
a Rule five selection for the Guardians this past offseason
off of the White Sox rosters. That means he's had
to stay in the major leagues all year or they
(16:07):
have to offer him back, and he has done more
than enough to warrant a spot in that Guardian's bullpen.
He picked up his first major league win on Tuesday
night against the Astros. We caught up with him the
next day and he talked about what it meant to
see his name in the wind column.
Speaker 7 (16:23):
It was cool those for circles.
Speaker 8 (16:25):
I was glad to see the offense get a rally
going there in the bottom of the eighth inning. But
you know, I just went out there and did my job,
and I held it where it was and came out
on top.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
And your story is a great one. Every year I
think throughout baseball there's some Rule fives who.
Speaker 7 (16:43):
Make it, and it seems like though you expect.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
To be here, just seeing how you carry yourself and
how important is that part of it to feel like
you belong.
Speaker 8 (16:54):
Well, it just starts with my faith and believing that
I'm here for a reason. God has put me here,
and you know, I just continue to put my faith
in him. So my faith in him gives me confidence
of where I'm at in my life. Uh So, wherever
I'm at, I'm gonna you know, keep that rolling and
you know, just keep my head high.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
And you're around a bullpen that has a variety of experience.
How much has that helped to be able to bounce
some things off of some others down there?
Speaker 8 (17:21):
It's been great. You know, Kid Armstrong, Sebrowski, you know, Festa,
there's some some veteran down there that's been in the
game for for a little bit. So it's good to
just see how they go about their business, how they
how they compete and attack hitters, and you know, just
overall just their confidence on the mountain as well. So
their energy feeds to you know, guys like me that
(17:41):
are that are new to the game. That's it's fun
to watch, it's and it's great to learn, and I'm
just excited to be here and keep.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Going as much fun as you've had in the game
pro ball wise at least.
Speaker 8 (17:53):
Yeah, No, there's not a lot of things that can
top this, maybe besides getting married and having a kid,
but no, This is awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Peyton, congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Thanks sir.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
And is Peyton Paulette who could become a bigger and
bigger key in that Guardian's bullpen as the season moves along,
stay with us when we come back. We'll visit with
a Houston Astros pitcher with great Northeast Ohio ties. That's
next time in Cleveland Clinic Radio Edward. Now the Yo
(18:48):
one pitch swinging a jam job to first man. Sarto
fires to second.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
One, relate a Smith double one on three six one
twin killer man. Sardo never hesitated, got the runner and
second Brochio fired up baby to Kate Smith that first
and you don't see that play that often and now
(19:14):
two done with an Astros runner at third.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rose announced back with
you from the Rogers Center in Toronto. Earlier this week,
the Guardians took on the Houston Astros back home at
Progressive Field, and the Astros have a relief pitcher from Belleville, Ohio,
by the name of aj Bluebaugh. He heils from just
outside of Mansfield and he pitched in Monday night's game
(19:40):
for the first time at Progressive Field. Why was that
a big deal. Well, you can imagine he grew up
as a big time Cleveland Indians fan, and he talked
about how special it was for not only himself but
his family to pitch in the ballpark that he grew
up going to games at.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Yeah, I mean everything.
Speaker 9 (20:00):
I mean the whole time, I'm just I'm picturing my
ten year old self, you know, watching or listening to
the guard to the Indians games at the time, and
just wanting to be here so bad and for me
to be able to achieve that dream and in all
of God's glory and to do that last night, it
was just a dream come true.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
And you just had a chance to meet Hall of
Famer Tom Hamilton, who I'm sure you were listening to
growing up.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
What was that like for you?
Speaker 9 (20:23):
I mean, that's his voice still was ringing inside my
head when I got inside last night I started watching
the game, I was like, man, that voice it's the
same as it was, you know, ten fifteen years ago.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
So I mean, that's just super cool.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
You had. I don't know how many people were here,
but there was a full section behind the dugout after
the game waiting to meet you. Everyone likes to be
able to pitch near home. I'm sure at some point
in time. What did it mean to have all them
here last night and you're fortunate enough to get.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
In the game.
Speaker 9 (20:55):
Yeah, I mean, it just shows that where I'm from Balba, Ohio,
the Clear Fork, it's you know, we roll deep.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
I mean, the support. Even throughout my.
Speaker 9 (21:04):
High school career career, we would play in a way
basketball away football game and we would have just as
many fans as the opposing team.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
It's been like that my entire life. So it was
very surprising.
Speaker 9 (21:14):
But honestly, it really wasn't for for me that that
all those people showed up last night and to support
me and my family, you know, having them there too,
that was that was so unbelievable. But yeah, it just
shows that that That's that's why, that's why it's so special.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
You know, where I grew up and where I come from.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
AJ Bluebot joining us. He's a reliever for the Houston Astros,
but hails from Belleville, Ohio, just outside of Mansfield and AJ.
Everybody's path to the major leagues is different and how
they grew up around the game. Uh, specialization such a
big part of it nowadays. But you play just about
every sport growing up, including through high school three sports.
(21:56):
Rattle off some of them and why it was important
to you to be up to do that.
Speaker 9 (22:01):
Yeah, I mean, I I want to shout out my
mom first of all, because without her, I'm not here.
Because she pushed me more than I would have ever
pushed myself. And then she also allowed me to grow
into who I am today. So the dream of playing
every sport under the sun, such as you know. Obviously baseball, basketball,
and football were the big three in high school, but
then growing up it was swim team, dive team, wrestling, soccer,
(22:25):
cross country track.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
I think that's about all we offered back home.
Speaker 9 (22:30):
But to be able to play all those sports, I
feel like I definitely had an impact of who I
am today and how I carry myself. And then my
mom driving me to every travel ball every summer growing up,
just playing travel ball and driving me wherever at in
Ohio and surrounding states.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
It just mean, it means so much to me.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
And I know in past off seasons you had back
home spent some time there as a substitute teacher. Tell
us about that and the grade range and some of
the things that you try and teach the kids or
how they react to you.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Yeah, I mean it was super fun. Yeah.
Speaker 9 (23:04):
I taught anywhere from grades K through twelve, any subject.
At one point, I was middle school to elementary gym
teacher to a high school Spanish teacher. One day, I
think I taught a little bit of calculus in there.
I mean it's nothing. I'm it's gonna say I'm an
expert in but I do know how to get the
point across.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
But no, I mean the kids always responded well. I
mean I was.
Speaker 9 (23:27):
I was kind of the sub that was like, you
know what, guys, if we can just lock in for
twenty thirty minutes and get through this lesson and you
guys do your homework, then we can do whatever we
want after that. So you know, I tried to be
a cool sub. But no, it was a lot of fun.
And seeing a bunch of the kids that I taught
here last night, it really meant a lot to me.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
My teachers out there listening are applauding you right now
for what you just said. All right, we'll finish with
this interesting hobby for your dad. I don't know if
it's maybe more than a hobby, but a bee farm
to produce honey, and you helped out a little bit
when you were younger. What was that like, What were
some of the things that you had to do to
make sure you did that safely?
Speaker 9 (24:05):
Yeah, I think I think the biggest thing about the
honey and the bees is not only seeing my dad,
you know, put in that much work to something like that,
but also how he responded when people would ask about it.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
You know, my dad is one of the nicest guys
I've ever met.
Speaker 9 (24:18):
I really try to implement that into my life and
anybody in the valley or surrounding areas that that ever
has asked him for honey, no questions asked. He would
give him some and then he said, hey, you finished
that jar, you give me back that jar.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
I will fill it back up for you. And that's
just how he's been his whole life.
Speaker 9 (24:34):
And I feel like that's that's one of the biggest
life lessons he's taught me, is that you can help
anyone out. All it takes is a little bit of
work and a little bit of time, And you know,
I feel like that's helped me grow into who I
am today.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
AJ pleasure to meet you, and congratulations, I'm sure on
fulfilling a lifelong dream last night here at Progressive Field.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Well, a great thrill that was for HJ Blue Bot
earlier this week coming in with Houston and having a
chance to pitch at Progressive Field. Stay with us while
we come back. We will hear from Alyssa Knackin, the
director of player Development Arizona Operations, and we'll talk about
some of the young prospects currently in Lynchburg, Virginia at
the Single a affiliate there Fort Cleveland. That's next the
(25:17):
Cleveland Clinic Radio Network.
Speaker 10 (25:35):
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next superstar.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Or not.
Speaker 10 (25:48):
I mean, sure, it's silly for your happiness to hinge
on the success of a twenty year old entry level employee,
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Speaker 2 (26:36):
Kim rosannounced back with you for our final segment of
Guardians Weekly. We're in Toronto at the Rogers Center, and
earlier this week we had a chance to check in
with Alyssa Nakin, who is the director of Player Development
Arizona Operations, and last year she oversaw the complex out
there where the Guardians hold their spring training and that
featured a lot of players who this year are playing
(26:58):
in Lynchburg, Virginia for the high single eight team. The
Hill City Howlers is the name of the BAK club
and that they changed their name. They used to be
the Lynchburg Hillcats. We asked Alyssa if but that's had
any impact on what happens there in terms of developing
young prospects.
Speaker 11 (27:15):
We just have to change a lot of our internal systems.
So there's a few days where it takes a while
for things to upload because we've got to change, you know,
from l y N to HC, so some of the
documents and the internal software systems take a little bit
to respond to that. But other than that, you know,
we're excited for this team and this name change, some
(27:40):
cool new uniforms.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I'm sure for a lot of players that you saw
last year out here in Arizona in the Summer League,
and now they're embarking on it that first full season
and you've been in the game a while. That adjustment.
How big an adjustment is it to going from a
couple of months of baseball to one hundred and forty
plus games.
Speaker 11 (28:01):
I think it's one of the biggest adjustments and jumps
that a baseball player can take, because not only is
the season much much longer, the lifestyle is completely different.
So in Arizona, they live across the street at the apartments.
We've got all of the meals here, incredible training resources,
(28:22):
a lot of staff in and around the building all year,
pretty consistent schedule with consistent off days. And then you know,
when a player makes that jump to affiliate ball, it's different.
They're living in apartments and you know, coming to the
field later and have to start to learn how to
work their schedule around and the day to day is
(28:44):
much different. So it's it's a big adjustment, but our
guys are ready for.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
That, and it helps when there is tremendous talent, and
we've had a chance to see a lot of them
in Major League spring training games, including Dari Fernandez and
infielder what has been impressive obviously very early in his
career that that's allowed him to stand out.
Speaker 11 (29:03):
Yeah, I mean, I think he fits right into the
mold of you know, young, contact driven middle infielders, and
he's a switch hitter, strong bat to ball skills, really
natural field for the zone. I think he was, you know,
advanced for a complex pitching last year. He consistently was
(29:23):
squaring up balls and from both sides and putting together
real quality at bats with very little swing and myths,
which we're really excited about. And I think on defensively,
there's a lot of versatility there across the infield with
a really strong arm, and he's shown he can handle
shortstop even if he moves around the infield a bit.
(29:45):
So we're really really excited for what's to come with Dary.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Another infielder that we've seen in Major League spring training
games and was really impressive at the plate was Gabrielle Rodriguez.
And how advanced is he for his age?
Speaker 11 (29:58):
Yeah, I think he's one of the most like complete
and intriguing players. He's extremely athletic with very clean defensive actions.
He moves well and he can throw the ball from
all angles. There's, you know, a lot of confidence in
Gabby from from our org. And offensively, he's got this loose,
(30:20):
whippy swing with good feel for the barrel and very
like clean and clear approach. He's geared for like a
lot of line drive and on more on base than power,
big power right now, but he controls his own really
well and shows the ability to adjust throughout the abbats.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Let's move to the outfield, and I hope I get
the name right, Juni Casseris will be one of your
outfielders at I was going to say Lynchberg, there's a
dollar in the pot, but for Hill City, what do
you have on Casseros In terms of his development.
Speaker 11 (30:57):
Yeah, he's been trending in the right way since his
first run in Arizona last year. And he actually went
to what was then Lynchburg last year at the tail
end of the season. I think one of the youngest
players in the league when he got out there, and
like most of our young guys, the biggest focus is
building the foundation, so controlling the zone, competing pitch to
(31:20):
pitch learning how to handle the day to day, and
he's been doing a very nice job with that. The
bat to ball skill really stands out again. Loose would
be left handed swing with real feel for the barrel
and more impact than you'd imagine. Right now, he's consistently
producing solid exit v low's and can do real damage
(31:44):
when he gets extended, with the next step being to
turn around more of that contact into game power as
he had strength and just kind of refines the swing.
But really excited about him.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
And another outfielder, Robert Arius. Why should fans keep him
on the radar?
Speaker 9 (32:02):
Two.
Speaker 11 (32:02):
He's fun to watch. I don't think you can watch
Robert without smiling. He loves baseball, he loves his teammates.
He's just you know, he's having so much fun when
he's out there. You know, he's got a really strong
foundation of contact skill and athleticism. He's lean, twitchy center
(32:23):
fielder with plus speed, natural fear feel for the zone.
He's consistently finding the barrel with his quick left handed swing.
Right now, he's putting a lot of balls in play,
and he's controlling at bats, which is really what we're
asking the most out of him, I think there's a
(32:44):
lot of upside, especially as he starts to add strength
and power. His exit velo's and the bat speed are
suggesting that there's a lot more in the tank. So
there's a lot to be excited about for Arius.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
And that seems like a common theme with players this
young getting started as they grow and develop and get
more into the weight training. Part of it is that
where the excitement comes of what could be as they
fill out and just physically mature.
Speaker 11 (33:10):
Absolutely, when guys are coming to Arizona, you're you know,
they're seventeen, eighteen, nineteen years old and really haven't been
in an environment like this, and I think we really
try to get them excited about what could come when
they really start to put an emphasis in their nutritional
(33:31):
habits and their strength and conditioning routines and their recovery routines.
You know, Robert and a lot of these guys put
a lot of focus into that last year. So it's
really fun to see. I think when you look at Robert,
he spent so much time on his physical development last year,
and you look now he's about seven or eight pounds
more lean mass this time than he was last year.
(33:53):
So still a lot of room to grow there, but
that is a huge emphasis that we're putting on our
youngest players and just really every player throughout the system.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
We are visiting with Alyssa Akin, the director of player
Development Arizona, and we're talking about the team in Lynchburg,
the Hill City Howlers in the Carolina League, the first
full season affiliate for the Guardians in their minor league system,
and we're going to switch to the mound. Joey Oki
is a name that I think is familiar to a
(34:25):
lot of fans, draft status and had some impressive games
a year ago. What are you looking for at the
outset of a season at lynch Hill City or Lynchburg?
Speaker 11 (34:35):
I know, well, I mean, I think he's been making
waves across baseball since he headed out to again what
was called Lynchburg last year at the tail end of
last year, And just like our younger first year pitchers,
are really trying to hammer home the foundations of what
we think are going to lead to long term development.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
So again, the.
Speaker 11 (34:56):
Routines, learning the the within the within day routine, day
to day routines and weeked week routines. It's a lot,
a lot to navigate. So it's extremely valuable that Joey
just continues to, you know, build on all of the
progress he made last year. He really crushed that part
(35:16):
of it last year and then things really started to
click and it gave him a great opportunity to dive
into more of the technical things in the off season.
So he's expanded his arsenal a bit. He's now throwing
a big and short slider, and he gained some size
and strength and he's really looked awesome in spring so far.
(35:37):
So he's got electric stuff and we would not be
surprised if we saw Joey break out again this year.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Exciting stuff for sure. Another picture a rarity, it seems
like at this level, but a college drafted picture in
Aiden major out of West Virginia. What he's saying from
him is he gets gone here.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 11 (35:57):
Really interesting arm to track as he's coming off of
an injury, especially given what his stuff looked like before
he went down. He's an athletic mover, clean arm, legit,
three pitch mix, really good fastball in the mid nineties
with ride and two secondaries and his slider and his
change up. I think the changeup has been extremely consistent
(36:19):
from a location standpoint, and the slider shows a lot
of shape and swing and miss when he's around the zone.
So I think for Aiden, just locking in on the
strike throwing, especially you know during transitions into a starting
role where things got a little bit scattered at times.
But now it's just all about seeing what comes back
(36:39):
post Tommy John and whether you can tighten up the
fastball usage and the overall command.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
And we'll finish up with Chase Mobley. Another intriguing picture
with a great story, and when you look at where
he's at in his career, what are you looking forward to?
Speaker 11 (36:55):
Yeah, he said it best. I think extremely intriguing. He's big,
he's physical six' five frame with real, velocity and he's
already running it into the mid to upper nineties and
touching a bit. Higher so the fastball really plays when
he gets to the top of the zone and the slider.
Flashes is the, real like legit outpitch that can miss
(37:17):
bats even when it's not perfectly. Executed so right, now For,
chase it's really about the strike throwing and overall, consistency
and his delivery can be a little bit tough to,
repeat but he's still learning how to sync everything up
and command the. Baseball SO i think there's just a
lot of excitement around around him and the things that
he's shown this.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Spring good stuff From Alissa nakin talking about some of
the younger players in The guardian's farm system In, Lynchburg.
Virginia she's the director of Player Development Arizona. Operations and
that's going to do it for our show this. Week
thanks as always To Brian matse for all of his
help and putting it together each and every. Week next
week we'll join you From, Sacramento. Caliborn The guardians back
(38:01):
out on the road for A west coast road swing
to take on The, athletics and we'll talk to you
then for another edition Of Guardians. Weekly until, then this
Is Jim rosenhouse reminding you that you've been listening To
Guardians weekly on The Cleveland Clinic radio.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Network Guardians weekly has been brought to you By progressive
Helping guardians fans save hundreds on car.
Speaker 7 (38:25):
Insurance
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardian's weekly gym Rosen House along
with you from the Rogers Center in Toronto where the
Guardians taking on the Blue Jays this week weekend. Just
a short road trip Toronto only, and then it's back
home early next week to take on the Tampa Bay
Rays at Progressive Field starting on Monday. But some good
baseball here to start things off on Friday night. Will
(01:13):
get to more of that in a moment in our
weekend review, but just to preview our show coming up.
Gavin Williams will join us, so will Peyton Paulette, a
couple of members of that pitching staff for the Guardians.
We'll also hear from Northeast Ohio native from Belleville, Ohio,
just outside of Mansfield, aj Bluebaugh, who pitches for the
(01:34):
Houston Astros and he pitched in Cleveland this week for
the first time, and some good stories from him about
what it was like growing up as a Cleveland Indians fan.
And he'll join us as well on this week's show,
and we'll have a full farm report on the Hills
City Howlers, the former Lynchburg Hillcats. They still play in Lynchburg,
(01:54):
but they renamed the team, and we'll have a season
preview and some early season reports on some of the
good young prospects at the first full season level of
the Cleveland farm system from Assistant Director of player Development
Alyssa Nakin, who will join us in just a little bit.
But first our week in review. After a loss to
(02:15):
Houston on Monday night, nine to two to the Astros,
the Guardians were back at it against the Astros on
Tuesday night. Parker Messe's first outing since his near no
hitter last week against the Orioles, and he looks sharp
again early in this one.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
The pitch down and in and Cleveland will challenge pitches
challenging first batter here in the ball game, and the
video board says strike three called challenge accepted, Challenge one
by the Cleveland Guardians. The next pitch got I'm swinging
(02:51):
on a change up, so messick with a one two
three first He's got an old hitter through one. Cleveland
coming to.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Bat, Guardian's got the scoring started in the bottom half
of the first inning, after a two out hit from
Jose Ramirez and a walk to Kyle man Zardo, George
Vlara stepped in the pitch, swung.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
On grunbo base hit in the hole in the left center.
That'll score Ramirez, everybody else up one spot. Man Zardo
stops aid second and George Valera punches one through the
vacated shortstop position in the left center and one nothing
Cleveland if Valera, RBI number four on the campaign, didn't.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Hit it hard, but he hit it a perfect spot.
Then in the second inning, on Hell Martinez let things off.
Ryan Weiss rocks into the delivery the three to one
pinch swung.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Out in hammer Hi deep to right.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
There she goes at its two nothing Cleveland on El
Martinez with a stir at home run as the lasts
one the right and the Guardians with a tune nothing lead.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
What are year Martinez has going? Houston, though, they got
things going, scoring three runs in the fifth and another
run in the seventh, and they had the lead four
to two. But in the eighth inning, the Guardians' bats
really came alive. The first two hitters reached and with
one out, Brian Rochio came through sneaming at second Martinez
at first, the pitch swing at line, right base, it
(04:32):
towards center. That'll get down, that'll score, steaming stopping at
second as Martinez he's done it again. Ryan Rochio, the
number nine hitter, picks up his team high fifteenth RBI
with that simple approach, short compact line drive swing and
(04:55):
RBI single to center and it's four to three. Houston's
down to a run. Stephen Quandt followed with a walk,
and that loaded the bases for Chase the latter.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Now the count even that two and two. The pitch
swung on line, toward the line and left over as
Matthews he can't make the catch, trying to slide it
gup by him, rolls into the corner. That'll clear the bases. Martinez,
Rochio quan All score on triple for the ladder. The
(05:31):
composure of Chase the later. At a different level, he
might have been one for twenty six. He might have
fouled off two pitches. He finally could hit and then
sliced a triple down the left field line into the corner.
Once Matthews left his feet to try to make the
(05:51):
diving catch and that ball scoot into the wall.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
And was off to the races for Cleveland. The Guardians
weren't done yet. Houston intentionally walked Jose Ramirez and that
brought Kyle Manzardo to the plate. The one one to Manzardo.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Swung a line right pace, hit to right, Here comes
to water, Here comes riverz Eight to four Cleveland. Man
Sardo hits a two run single down that right field
line and the Guardians had blown it wide open. A
(06:28):
six run eighth, eight to four Cleveland off the Houston bullpen.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
The Astros offense wouldn't go quietly in the ninth, as
the dangerous Jordan Alvarez drove in a run with a
devil to make it eight to five, but in the
end Kate Smith was able to lock in and finish
the job the pinch strike free call bowl game.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Kate Smith gets out to bay looking and the Guardians
explode for six in the eighth. They even series with
an eight to five.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Win, so a nice win on Tuesday, but the Guardians
couldn't keep it going as Wednesday afternoon, Houston shut out
Cleveland by a final score of two. Nothing off day
Thursday in Toronto and the Guardians were back at it
against the Blue Jays at the Rogers Center, and they
were facing future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, but the
(07:23):
Guardians got to him early and often. Stephen Kwan had
the night off, so it was Daniel Schneman leading things
off for the Guardians. Daniel Schneman hitting three ten overall,
two homers, eleven ribbies tonight at second the pitch and
he hits one on a dro line drive the deep rite.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Luke's licking up gon and Daniel Schneeman continues to thrive
at the Rogers Center. A line drive home run to
right and it's won nothing Cleveland. On Schneeman's third home
run of the campaign. Two years later, Jose Ramirez walked
(08:02):
and then Reese Hoskins with a two out single put
runners on the corners for George Valera. Now the two
to one pitch swung on drill deep bright center field.
This fall off the top of the wall. Ramira scores
Hoskins coming around third, no throw in. With a two out,
(08:23):
two run double, George Valera makes it three nothing Cleveland.
He just missed a three run homer. He'll settle for
a two out, two run double and Cleveland does not
let Scherzer off the hook.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
The next batter was on hell Martinez and it was
just the beginning of a big night. This is pitch
number thirty six, and it swung in and hammered to.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Deep bright Hawai back and y'all five nothing Cleveland on
Hell Martinez, two out, two run, two iron to right center.
It's his fourth home run, three of them left handed.
(09:10):
Now a dozen RBIs for Martinez. Saw a big first
inning for the Guardians, but the Blue Jays struck for
two runs of their own in the first and another
in the second that cut Cleveland's lead to five to three.
Then in the third, batting with a runner aboard, once again,
it was on Hell Martinez facing Max Scherzer. Now the
payoff pitch swung on, hit high in the air, deep
(09:34):
right center back goes Sanchez track wall down on hell
Martinez with his second two run home run to right center.
Cleveland's got a seven to three lead. What on that
beat by on Hell Martinez and eleven pitch and fan
(09:56):
and his first two homer game, and the night is
for mac Scherzer and on hell Martinez. Someday when he's
got little ones, we'll be able to say I got
mac Schurzer twice.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Toronto picked up a run in the fifth on an
RBI double from Ernie Clement that made it a seven
to four game, but the Guardians got that run right
back in the sixth with Chase the Latter batting and
some good hustle from Brian Rocchio.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
The pit swung on the.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Top of the first grabbed by Guerrero, throat of the
play at first slide safe as Rochio in the third
is Schneeman and the latter to first on the fielder's
choice RB I is sixteenth. Why that ball was not
hit hard and Guerrero charged never hesitated, but Rochio got
(10:51):
a great secondary lead down the third base line and
that makes it Cleveland eight and Toronto foo.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
In the bottom of the sixth, that was another former Guardian,
Andre Semenez, driving home a couple of runs to pull
the Blue Jays to within two. But the bullpen combination
of Hunter Gaddis, Eric Sabrowski and Kate Smith were up
to the challenge and slammed the door on the Blue Jays.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Cad Smith and chest Tie Lunson fly swung on a
little pop shallow center, sneaming out Kwan in steaming makes
the catch Bowl game. The Guardian second baseman did it
in the field, did it at the plate, and Cleveland
jumped all over Max sure, sir early and able to
(11:39):
hang on and they beat Toronto.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Eight to six.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
So a nice start to the weekend for the Guardians.
On Friday night, They're back at it against the Blue
Jays Saturday afternoon at three seven and wrap up this
brief road trip to Toronto with a one thirty seven
start on Sunday. Stay with us when we come back.
We'll hear from Gavin william that's next.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
Switching to Progressive is a game winning call, and that
reminds us of other game winning calls in the history
of sports.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
So it was the fourth quarter and went down by five,
sweat pouring down my face. Suddenly it hit me, if
only I could rep part of the towel around my forehead,
and that's how I became the first basketball player. It's
a wear ahead bag.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
Okay, not really a game winning call, but it was
a good call. You can make one to switch to
Progressive and you could save hundreds. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company
and affiliates not available in all states.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Welcome back. It's Guardian's Weekly Jim Rosenhouse back with you
from the Rogers Center in Toronto. Gavin William's been off
to a good start this season, with wins in his
last three outings, including Friday night in Toronto. We had
a chance to catch up with him following a win
over to More last weekend, and he talked about some
of the keys to his consistency during this first month
(13:06):
of the season.
Speaker 7 (13:08):
Yeah, just talking to the pitching coaches and leaning on
the catchers a little bit. I mean they've been great,
all of them. They've helped me through, uh, some some
delivery stuff, some pitch calling and and just the little
things like that.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
And when you look at your game on Saturday, breaking
ball heavy and and how do you arrive at that?
Is that pregame or is that adjustments that you make
during the game.
Speaker 7 (13:32):
Yeah, that was a little pregame action. Uh, that was
the plan going in and we stuck to that plan.
I knew through some fastballs and different counts and and
got them off of the breaking balls and just flip
flopped that the whole the whole game and both He
did a tremendous job back there calling the game and
seeing seeing the swings they take and throwing what we
(13:54):
needed to throw.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
And your command seemed a lot better, maybe the best
of the season so far. When you do have a
game where where maybe it gets away from me a
little bit with the walks, is that more a mechanical
thing or is it something else that allows you to
get back to where you'd like to be?
Speaker 7 (14:10):
Uh, it's definitely mechanical. Like just like last night, throwing
a lot of curveball, as that means I was staying
up right more so I helped out with the fastball.
So the more I throw my curveball, my delivery cleans
up a lot more. And that's just the way it
goes sometimes. So I'm just gonna just gonna work on
that in the future with the with the fastball.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
When you look at at pitches that have been successful
for you, I know that the two seamer you've kind
of worked in there a little bit and a cutter
a little bit more. How are those coming along and
how have they helped you really take another step?
Speaker 7 (14:43):
Yeah? Uh, the cutter's just like if I need a striker,
get me over pitch maybe like a little weak ground ball.
I can use that in any account, I know that
I have that in my back pocket. Same with the
same with the sinker. Just throwing through the rioties I can,
I can back door it, which is nice. So it
just opens up the whole strikes one when I when
(15:03):
I have those two pitches, commanding them and throwing them
where I want to.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
And you're at a station in your career where you
have some experience under your belt, how has that helped
you if you have the occasional game where or maybe
it's difficult my first inning to settle in, but you
manage to keep it within good range and not let
it get away from you.
Speaker 7 (15:23):
Yeah, I mean it goes back to having five different pitches,
saying with the cutter ins the sinker, kind of like
with Saint Louis, I started throwing those a good amount
and that's when I would get the one, one, two
pitches and get it out. So that helps helps keep
the pitch count low and knowing I can rely on
different pitches rather than just the just the fastball.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
That's Gavin Williams, who once again picked up win number
four on Friday night against the Blue Jays as he
is off to a tremendous start this year. Another picture
off to a nice start is Peyton Paulette. He was
a Rule five selection for the Guardians this past offseason
off of the White Sox rosters. That means he's had
to stay in the major leagues all year or they
(16:07):
have to offer him back, and he has done more
than enough to warrant a spot in that Guardian's bullpen.
He picked up his first major league win on Tuesday
night against the Astros. We caught up with him the
next day and he talked about what it meant to
see his name in the wind column.
Speaker 7 (16:23):
It was cool those for circles.
Speaker 8 (16:25):
I was glad to see the offense get a rally
going there in the bottom of the eighth inning. But
you know, I just went out there and did my job,
and I held it where it was and came out
on top.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
And your story is a great one. Every year I
think throughout baseball there's some Rule fives who.
Speaker 7 (16:43):
Make it, and it seems like though you expect.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
To be here, just seeing how you carry yourself and
how important is that part of it to feel like
you belong.
Speaker 8 (16:54):
Well, it just starts with my faith and believing that
I'm here for a reason. God has put me here,
and you know, I just continue to put my faith
in him. So my faith in him gives me confidence
of where I'm at in my life. Uh So, wherever
I'm at, I'm gonna you know, keep that rolling and
you know, just keep my head high.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
And you're around a bullpen that has a variety of experience.
How much has that helped to be able to bounce
some things off of some others down there?
Speaker 8 (17:21):
It's been great. You know, Kid Armstrong, Sebrowski, you know, Festa,
there's some some veteran down there that's been in the
game for for a little bit. So it's good to
just see how they go about their business, how they
how they compete and attack hitters, and you know, just
overall just their confidence on the mountain as well. So
their energy feeds to you know, guys like me that
(17:41):
are that are new to the game. That's it's fun
to watch, it's and it's great to learn, and I'm
just excited to be here and keep.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Going as much fun as you've had in the game
pro ball wise at least.
Speaker 8 (17:53):
Yeah, No, there's not a lot of things that can
top this, maybe besides getting married and having a kid,
but no, This is awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Peyton, congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Thanks sir.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
And is Peyton Paulette who could become a bigger and
bigger key in that Guardian's bullpen as the season moves along,
stay with us when we come back. We'll visit with
a Houston Astros pitcher with great Northeast Ohio ties. That's
next time in Cleveland Clinic Radio Edward. Now the Yo
(18:48):
one pitch swinging a jam job to first man. Sarto
fires to second.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
One, relate a Smith double one on three six one
twin killer man. Sardo never hesitated, got the runner and
second Brochio fired up baby to Kate Smith that first
and you don't see that play that often and now
(19:14):
two done with an Astros runner at third.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rose announced back with
you from the Rogers Center in Toronto. Earlier this week,
the Guardians took on the Houston Astros back home at
Progressive Field, and the Astros have a relief pitcher from Belleville, Ohio,
by the name of aj Bluebaugh. He heils from just
outside of Mansfield and he pitched in Monday night's game
(19:40):
for the first time at Progressive Field. Why was that
a big deal. Well, you can imagine he grew up
as a big time Cleveland Indians fan, and he talked
about how special it was for not only himself but
his family to pitch in the ballpark that he grew
up going to games at.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Yeah, I mean everything.
Speaker 9 (20:00):
I mean the whole time, I'm just I'm picturing my
ten year old self, you know, watching or listening to
the guard to the Indians games at the time, and
just wanting to be here so bad and for me
to be able to achieve that dream and in all
of God's glory and to do that last night, it
was just a dream come true.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
And you just had a chance to meet Hall of
Famer Tom Hamilton, who I'm sure you were listening to
growing up.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
What was that like for you?
Speaker 9 (20:23):
I mean, that's his voice still was ringing inside my
head when I got inside last night I started watching
the game, I was like, man, that voice it's the
same as it was, you know, ten fifteen years ago.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
So I mean, that's just super cool.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
You had. I don't know how many people were here,
but there was a full section behind the dugout after
the game waiting to meet you. Everyone likes to be
able to pitch near home. I'm sure at some point
in time. What did it mean to have all them
here last night and you're fortunate enough to get.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
In the game.
Speaker 9 (20:55):
Yeah, I mean, it just shows that where I'm from Balba, Ohio,
the Clear Fork, it's you know, we roll deep.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
I mean, the support. Even throughout my.
Speaker 9 (21:04):
High school career career, we would play in a way
basketball away football game and we would have just as
many fans as the opposing team.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
It's been like that my entire life. So it was
very surprising.
Speaker 9 (21:14):
But honestly, it really wasn't for for me that that
all those people showed up last night and to support
me and my family, you know, having them there too,
that was that was so unbelievable. But yeah, it just
shows that that That's that's why, that's why it's so special.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
You know, where I grew up and where I come from.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
AJ Bluebot joining us. He's a reliever for the Houston Astros,
but hails from Belleville, Ohio, just outside of Mansfield and AJ.
Everybody's path to the major leagues is different and how
they grew up around the game. Uh, specialization such a
big part of it nowadays. But you play just about
every sport growing up, including through high school three sports.
(21:56):
Rattle off some of them and why it was important
to you to be up to do that.
Speaker 9 (22:01):
Yeah, I mean, I I want to shout out my
mom first of all, because without her, I'm not here.
Because she pushed me more than I would have ever
pushed myself. And then she also allowed me to grow
into who I am today. So the dream of playing
every sport under the sun, such as you know. Obviously baseball, basketball,
and football were the big three in high school, but
then growing up it was swim team, dive team, wrestling, soccer,
(22:25):
cross country track.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
I think that's about all we offered back home.
Speaker 9 (22:30):
But to be able to play all those sports, I
feel like I definitely had an impact of who I
am today and how I carry myself. And then my
mom driving me to every travel ball every summer growing up,
just playing travel ball and driving me wherever at in
Ohio and surrounding states.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
It just mean, it means so much to me.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
And I know in past off seasons you had back
home spent some time there as a substitute teacher. Tell
us about that and the grade range and some of
the things that you try and teach the kids or
how they react to you.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Yeah, I mean it was super fun. Yeah.
Speaker 9 (23:04):
I taught anywhere from grades K through twelve, any subject.
At one point, I was middle school to elementary gym
teacher to a high school Spanish teacher. One day, I
think I taught a little bit of calculus in there.
I mean it's nothing. I'm it's gonna say I'm an
expert in but I do know how to get the
point across.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
But no, I mean the kids always responded well. I
mean I was.
Speaker 9 (23:27):
I was kind of the sub that was like, you
know what, guys, if we can just lock in for
twenty thirty minutes and get through this lesson and you
guys do your homework, then we can do whatever we
want after that. So you know, I tried to be
a cool sub. But no, it was a lot of fun.
And seeing a bunch of the kids that I taught
here last night, it really meant a lot to me.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
My teachers out there listening are applauding you right now
for what you just said. All right, we'll finish with
this interesting hobby for your dad. I don't know if
it's maybe more than a hobby, but a bee farm
to produce honey, and you helped out a little bit
when you were younger. What was that like, What were
some of the things that you had to do to
make sure you did that safely?
Speaker 9 (24:05):
Yeah, I think I think the biggest thing about the
honey and the bees is not only seeing my dad,
you know, put in that much work to something like that,
but also how he responded when people would ask about it.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
You know, my dad is one of the nicest guys
I've ever met.
Speaker 9 (24:18):
I really try to implement that into my life and
anybody in the valley or surrounding areas that that ever
has asked him for honey, no questions asked. He would
give him some and then he said, hey, you finished
that jar, you give me back that jar.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
I will fill it back up for you. And that's
just how he's been his whole life.
Speaker 9 (24:34):
And I feel like that's that's one of the biggest
life lessons he's taught me, is that you can help
anyone out. All it takes is a little bit of
work and a little bit of time, And you know,
I feel like that's helped me grow into who I
am today.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
AJ pleasure to meet you, and congratulations, I'm sure on
fulfilling a lifelong dream last night here at Progressive Field.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Well, a great thrill that was for HJ Blue Bot
earlier this week coming in with Houston and having a
chance to pitch at Progressive Field. Stay with us while
we come back. We will hear from Alyssa Knackin, the
director of player Development Arizona Operations, and we'll talk about
some of the young prospects currently in Lynchburg, Virginia at
the Single a affiliate there Fort Cleveland. That's next the
(25:17):
Cleveland Clinic Radio Network.
Speaker 10 (25:35):
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Or not.
Speaker 10 (25:48):
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Speaker 2 (26:36):
Kim rosannounced back with you for our final segment of
Guardians Weekly. We're in Toronto at the Rogers Center, and
earlier this week we had a chance to check in
with Alyssa Nakin, who is the director of Player Development
Arizona Operations, and last year she oversaw the complex out
there where the Guardians hold their spring training and that
featured a lot of players who this year are playing
(26:58):
in Lynchburg, Virginia for the high single eight team. The
Hill City Howlers is the name of the BAK club
and that they changed their name. They used to be
the Lynchburg Hillcats. We asked Alyssa if but that's had
any impact on what happens there in terms of developing
young prospects.
Speaker 11 (27:15):
We just have to change a lot of our internal systems.
So there's a few days where it takes a while
for things to upload because we've got to change, you know,
from l y N to HC, so some of the
documents and the internal software systems take a little bit
to respond to that. But other than that, you know,
we're excited for this team and this name change, some
(27:40):
cool new uniforms.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I'm sure for a lot of players that you saw
last year out here in Arizona in the Summer League,
and now they're embarking on it that first full season
and you've been in the game a while. That adjustment.
How big an adjustment is it to going from a
couple of months of baseball to one hundred and forty
plus games.
Speaker 11 (28:01):
I think it's one of the biggest adjustments and jumps
that a baseball player can take, because not only is
the season much much longer, the lifestyle is completely different.
So in Arizona, they live across the street at the apartments.
We've got all of the meals here, incredible training resources,
(28:22):
a lot of staff in and around the building all year,
pretty consistent schedule with consistent off days. And then you know,
when a player makes that jump to affiliate ball, it's different.
They're living in apartments and you know, coming to the
field later and have to start to learn how to
work their schedule around and the day to day is
(28:44):
much different. So it's it's a big adjustment, but our
guys are ready for.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
That, and it helps when there is tremendous talent, and
we've had a chance to see a lot of them
in Major League spring training games, including Dari Fernandez and
infielder what has been impressive obviously very early in his
career that that's allowed him to stand out.
Speaker 11 (29:03):
Yeah, I mean, I think he fits right into the
mold of you know, young, contact driven middle infielders, and
he's a switch hitter, strong bat to ball skills, really
natural field for the zone. I think he was, you know,
advanced for a complex pitching last year. He consistently was
(29:23):
squaring up balls and from both sides and putting together
real quality at bats with very little swing and myths,
which we're really excited about. And I think on defensively,
there's a lot of versatility there across the infield with
a really strong arm, and he's shown he can handle
shortstop even if he moves around the infield a bit.
(29:45):
So we're really really excited for what's to come with Dary.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Another infielder that we've seen in Major League spring training
games and was really impressive at the plate was Gabrielle Rodriguez.
And how advanced is he for his age?
Speaker 11 (29:58):
Yeah, I think he's one of the most like complete
and intriguing players. He's extremely athletic with very clean defensive actions.
He moves well and he can throw the ball from
all angles. There's, you know, a lot of confidence in
Gabby from from our org. And offensively, he's got this loose,
(30:20):
whippy swing with good feel for the barrel and very
like clean and clear approach. He's geared for like a
lot of line drive and on more on base than power,
big power right now, but he controls his own really
well and shows the ability to adjust throughout the abbats.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Let's move to the outfield, and I hope I get
the name right, Juni Casseris will be one of your
outfielders at I was going to say Lynchberg, there's a
dollar in the pot, but for Hill City, what do
you have on Casseros In terms of his development.
Speaker 11 (30:57):
Yeah, he's been trending in the right way since his
first run in Arizona last year. And he actually went
to what was then Lynchburg last year at the tail
end of the season. I think one of the youngest
players in the league when he got out there, and
like most of our young guys, the biggest focus is
building the foundation, so controlling the zone, competing pitch to
(31:20):
pitch learning how to handle the day to day, and
he's been doing a very nice job with that. The
bat to ball skill really stands out again. Loose would
be left handed swing with real feel for the barrel
and more impact than you'd imagine. Right now, he's consistently
producing solid exit v low's and can do real damage
(31:44):
when he gets extended, with the next step being to
turn around more of that contact into game power as
he had strength and just kind of refines the swing.
But really excited about him.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
And another outfielder, Robert Arius. Why should fans keep him
on the radar?
Speaker 9 (32:02):
Two.
Speaker 11 (32:02):
He's fun to watch. I don't think you can watch
Robert without smiling. He loves baseball, he loves his teammates.
He's just you know, he's having so much fun when
he's out there. You know, he's got a really strong
foundation of contact skill and athleticism. He's lean, twitchy center
(32:23):
fielder with plus speed, natural fear feel for the zone.
He's consistently finding the barrel with his quick left handed swing.
Right now, he's putting a lot of balls in play,
and he's controlling at bats, which is really what we're
asking the most out of him, I think there's a
(32:44):
lot of upside, especially as he starts to add strength
and power. His exit velo's and the bat speed are
suggesting that there's a lot more in the tank. So
there's a lot to be excited about for Arius.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
And that seems like a common theme with players this
young getting started as they grow and develop and get
more into the weight training. Part of it is that
where the excitement comes of what could be as they
fill out and just physically mature.
Speaker 11 (33:10):
Absolutely, when guys are coming to Arizona, you're you know,
they're seventeen, eighteen, nineteen years old and really haven't been
in an environment like this, and I think we really
try to get them excited about what could come when
they really start to put an emphasis in their nutritional
(33:31):
habits and their strength and conditioning routines and their recovery routines.
You know, Robert and a lot of these guys put
a lot of focus into that last year. So it's
really fun to see. I think when you look at Robert,
he spent so much time on his physical development last year,
and you look now he's about seven or eight pounds
more lean mass this time than he was last year.
(33:53):
So still a lot of room to grow there, but
that is a huge emphasis that we're putting on our
youngest players and just really every player throughout the system.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
We are visiting with Alyssa Akin, the director of player
Development Arizona, and we're talking about the team in Lynchburg,
the Hill City Howlers in the Carolina League, the first
full season affiliate for the Guardians in their minor league system,
and we're going to switch to the mound. Joey Oki
is a name that I think is familiar to a
(34:25):
lot of fans, draft status and had some impressive games
a year ago. What are you looking for at the
outset of a season at lynch Hill City or Lynchburg?
Speaker 11 (34:35):
I know, well, I mean, I think he's been making
waves across baseball since he headed out to again what
was called Lynchburg last year at the tail end of
last year, And just like our younger first year pitchers,
are really trying to hammer home the foundations of what
we think are going to lead to long term development.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
So again, the.
Speaker 11 (34:56):
Routines, learning the the within the within day routine, day
to day routines and weeked week routines. It's a lot,
a lot to navigate. So it's extremely valuable that Joey
just continues to, you know, build on all of the
progress he made last year. He really crushed that part
(35:16):
of it last year and then things really started to
click and it gave him a great opportunity to dive
into more of the technical things in the off season.
So he's expanded his arsenal a bit. He's now throwing
a big and short slider, and he gained some size
and strength and he's really looked awesome in spring so far.
(35:37):
So he's got electric stuff and we would not be
surprised if we saw Joey break out again this year.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Exciting stuff for sure. Another picture a rarity, it seems
like at this level, but a college drafted picture in
Aiden major out of West Virginia. What he's saying from
him is he gets gone here.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 11 (35:57):
Really interesting arm to track as he's coming off of
an injury, especially given what his stuff looked like before
he went down. He's an athletic mover, clean arm, legit,
three pitch mix, really good fastball in the mid nineties
with ride and two secondaries and his slider and his
change up. I think the changeup has been extremely consistent
(36:19):
from a location standpoint, and the slider shows a lot
of shape and swing and miss when he's around the zone.
So I think for Aiden, just locking in on the
strike throwing, especially you know during transitions into a starting
role where things got a little bit scattered at times.
But now it's just all about seeing what comes back
(36:39):
post Tommy John and whether you can tighten up the
fastball usage and the overall command.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
And we'll finish up with Chase Mobley. Another intriguing picture
with a great story, and when you look at where
he's at in his career, what are you looking forward to?
Speaker 11 (36:55):
Yeah, he said it best. I think extremely intriguing. He's big,
he's physical six' five frame with real, velocity and he's
already running it into the mid to upper nineties and
touching a bit. Higher so the fastball really plays when
he gets to the top of the zone and the slider.
Flashes is the, real like legit outpitch that can miss
(37:17):
bats even when it's not perfectly. Executed so right, now For,
chase it's really about the strike throwing and overall, consistency
and his delivery can be a little bit tough to,
repeat but he's still learning how to sync everything up
and command the. Baseball SO i think there's just a
lot of excitement around around him and the things that
he's shown this.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Spring good stuff From Alissa nakin talking about some of
the younger players in The guardian's farm system In, Lynchburg.
Virginia she's the director of Player Development Arizona. Operations and
that's going to do it for our show this. Week
thanks as always To Brian matse for all of his
help and putting it together each and every. Week next
week we'll join you From, Sacramento. Caliborn The guardians back
(38:01):
out on the road for A west coast road swing
to take on The, athletics and we'll talk to you
then for another edition Of Guardians. Weekly until, then this
Is Jim rosenhouse reminding you that you've been listening To
Guardians weekly on The Cleveland Clinic radio.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Network Guardians weekly has been brought to you By progressive
Helping guardians fans save hundreds on car.
Speaker 7 (38:25):
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