May 2, 2026 • 39 mins
Guardians top prospect and 2024 first overall draft pick Travis Bazzana makes his highly anticipated MLB debut. We'll hear from the Aussie, and recap his first handful of games. Plus, a chat with Sandy Alomar Jr. who shares memories of his mentor Luis Isaac who passed away this week. Also, the weekly Farm Report from Akron with Director of Player Development Stephen Osterer. 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
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Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosen House along
with you from Sacramento, California, where the Guardians have opened
up a new road trip with three against the Athletics
than four in Kansas City. Now we'll get to our
weekend review shortly, but just a note on what's coming
up on the show. Today, we'll hear from Travis Bizana,
(01:11):
who made his major league much anticipated major league debut
earlier this week. We'll also visit with Sandy Alomar Junior
some great thoughts on the passing of Louis Isaac, who
spent forty three years in the Cleveland organization. He passed
away last weekend. Now we'll have a full farm report
focusing on double A acron with Vice President of Player
(01:33):
Development Stephen Ostro. But first our weekend review. Now we
begin with the series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Just
a brief homestand for the Guardians. A three game set
against Tampa Bay started on Monday night with a three
to two loss. Another one run defeat came on Tuesday night,
this time won nothing, and that set the stage for
(01:55):
Wednesday afternoon, the Guardians trying to salvage the finale of
the series on a day where it was not nice outside.
Cold foggy rain delayed the game by an hour and
a half, and the Guardians needed to win to snap
a four game losing skid. But they had the right
man on the mound in Gavin Williams, who looked good
(02:16):
early in this one. Gavin Williams four wins a loss
e er three twenty eight a one sixty three batting
average against Gavin Williams. Now the one two swinging a
jam job role, the first handled by Mansardo, steps on
the bag.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And an eight pitch inning for Gavin Williams. That's how
you get deep into games.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
In the third inning, Brian Rokio got things started with
a base hit. Then he'd steal second, move up to
third on a Jose Ramirez ground out, and then Kyle
Mansardo stepped in trying to drive in the game's first run.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Now the one to zero with the infield back swinging
a high fly ball fairly deep left, Simpson circling undrint
makes the catch taking coming home is Rochio. One nothing
Cleveland man Sarto a sackf line of left drives in
his seventh run. Now with the lead, Williams continued to
shut down the Ray's offense. Williams delivers swaying and I
(03:16):
miss strike three. Another strikeout for Gavin Williams his fourth
and he sets the side out in order again. In
the bottom of the fifth, the first two hitters reached,
setting the stage for Chase the latter Grass Mussin sets
at the belt. Here's his pitch, swung on ground ball
up the middle base hit in the center. Rocchio scores.
(03:38):
Right behind him is Kwan.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
He scores hits a two run single through the drawn
in infield for Chase the latter and the Guardians grab
a three nothing lead.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, they have struggled in this series.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
To come up with the key hit. In fact, hoo
for nine with men in scoring position. But the latter
delivers and that's two on the board this inning. So
it was a three run lead for the Guardians. As
Williams went back to work.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
The pitch strike three call on a back door slider.
Seven strikeouts. That was a long advam, believe it or
not a five pitch at VAM. Gavin Williams has had
eleven outs today that have been three pitches or less.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
The Rays did get an unearned run in the seventh
to break up the shutout bid, but that didn't slow
down Williams, who was back out there in the eighth the.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Two curveball, strike three call, no challenge available. Eightys is out,
nine strikeouts for Williams. Walls has been a victim three times.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Eric Sabrowski came on got a strikeout to end the eighth,
and then in the ninth it was Kate Smith looking
to close things out.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Here's the set in the two.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
In ans ball game, and he went monowing Medo with
a fastball. Kate Smith wipes out Tampa in the ninth.
Cleveland with a dominant pitching performance again today, salvages the
finale three to one.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So a nice win for the Guardians to wrap up
the brief homestand Thursday was an off day and the
opener to the series in Sacramento came Friday night, with
the Athletics jumping in front on a two run home
runoff the bat of Brent Rooker in the first inning,
but the Guardians answered in the second thanks to some
clutch two out hitting from Chase to Lawter the pitch
(05:39):
and do latter with a deep drive to right field
over the head of Thomas, short hops the wall into
scores Bizanna. Round third, coming home without a throw is
Bonnailer and we are tied at two and the kid
comes through. The A's re took the lead, scoring two
(05:59):
runs in the fourth. Well once again, the Guardians responded
in the fifth. They loaded the bases on three walks
and with one out, the Sacramento native Reese Hoskins came
to the plate again. Lets it fly and there's a
swing in a high fly ball deep right center. This
one's way back there here and it is off the wall.
(06:19):
Extra basis Hoskins. Two runs will score to tie the game,
as Kwon scores just ahead of de Laughter. Into third
is Manzarto and with a two run double is Reese Hoskins.
This game is tied at four, and man did Hoskins
need that? And then on hell Martinez was called on
(06:43):
to pinch hit for Daniel Steeman and he delivered the
pitch to him. He swings and skies it to right
fairly deep, but Thomas is there to make the catch.
This will score Manzarto with the go ahead run as
he trots on down the line from third. The throw
comes into third and Manzarno scores on the sack fly
by Martinez. The Guardians take a five to four lead.
(07:08):
It's stayed five to four until the seventh. That's when
the hometown kid, Reecee Hoskins put a charge into one.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
The pitch swung on, pounded deep left down the line.
This ball is gone.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
What a comeback to your hometown, Reese Hoskins a solo
homer down the I Feel line and Cleveland's got a
six to four lead. And what a joyous junt around
the bases for the Sacramento kid Reece Hoskins, who's had
(07:42):
his best game in a Cleveland uniform.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
A double, a homer and three RBIs. The Guardians kept
it rolling in the seventh with a big two out
hit from bow Nailor.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Bassel with a payoff pitch swung on line shot to
raight bank goes Thomas.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
He leaps, it's over his head, short hops the wall.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Bazana around third is going to score in with a
two double is bone Nailer and the Guardians lead at
seven to four and a huge two out RBYI double left.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
On left for bone Nailer.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Man The next batter, Brian Rochio, made it back to
back two baggers.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Now the O.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
One swung a light right base hit to left near
the line. That'll score Nailer. This ball will roll to
the wall on his way to second. With another ARBYI
double is Brian Rokio and the Guardians have scored three
and now leading eight to four.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Here in the seventh.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
The Athletics scored a run in the bottom of the
seventh to make it eight to five, and they were
looking for more in the eighth with runners on the
corners and the dangerous Nick Kurtz facing Kate Smith.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Now he awaits the payoff here it comes got him.
He went split finger four straight times. Tennent Kurtz. What
a job by Cage Smith eight to five Cleveland ninth
inning next.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
And then in the night. Smith was back out there
trying to finish off a four out save.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
The set the pits. Swinging a bouncing ball.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
The first bat Canaby Mansardo flips to Smith, covering four game.
It was a doosey to open up this road trip.
And Cleveland wins it eight to five.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
So a nice win for the Guardians and now head
into play over the weekend with a pair of four
to h five starts in Sacramento before the road trip
moves on to Kansas City. Stay with us when we
come back. We'll hear from Travis Bizana as he made
his Major League debut earlier this week.
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Speaker 1 (10:29):
The lineup pits Bisana drives one to deep center back
is Mulleins track wall.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Caught near the wall.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
By Mulleins Oh, the window isn't blowing out. As Lee
Smith once said, that would have been in the pork
and beans.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
The Bizana with a drive to deep center looking for
that first Mainjillage hit.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
But he put a nice swing on that, and you
see the power right there. Wind blowing in a miserable,
rainy day in Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhouse back with you
from Sacramento, California, where the Guardians and Athletics have a
three game series underway and continuing on Saturday afternoon with
a four h five start, and maybe in the lineup again.
Most likely Travis Bizana will be at second base, as
he was called up and made his major league debut
(11:24):
on Tuesday night against Tampa. Much anticipated the first overall
pick in the twenty twenty four draft has arrived in
the big leagues, and earlier on Tuesday, he met with
the assembled media in Cleveland and began by talking about
how he got the news that he was headed to
the big leagues, and.
Speaker 5 (11:43):
I'm kind of off to the doubleheader in Buffalo on Sunday.
I kind of had some wind because my parents were
kind of making a trip around that time too, so
they they arrived last night, but yeah, sort of off
to the games on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
To alter their exit plans to stay a little while.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
No, they I I, yeah, the plans. I don't know.
I don't even know what their plans are. They're here,
but they're excited.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
What was the reaction?
Speaker 7 (12:14):
What he told.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
My mom was smiling and crying at the same time,
very very excited, very emotional, and uh my dad was
like shocked and like just very excited. Yeah, when you
missed a couple of months last year, how did you
how did you kind of get through that knowing like
how close you had gotten maybe to this point. Yeah,
(12:37):
I mean it was May last year. I missed, missed
eight weeks, but I had just started in Double A.
I hadn't spent that much time there, so it wasn't
like I was knocking on the door at that point.
But obviously I had the intentions to keep moving forward
in twenty twenty five, and that like really halted that
in the middle of that year. So yeah, I was
just trying to put my best foot forward once I
(12:57):
went down, and how can I, you know, continue to
move forward? And obviously had some chance in Triple A
in twenty five, and that was obviously when it started
tom closer to a reality and just focused on having
a good spring and had a good start to the season.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
So, Travis, you're a guy that's obviously had a lot
of expectation, being a number one overall pick, now being
called up at this time of the year in April,
Just how do you mitigate through those expectations.
Speaker 5 (13:24):
Yeah, I mean it's it's a beautiful part of it
is like I've I've worked really hard to be in
a place where there's expectations and pressure, and realistically it's
like I've always been the highest. I've always wanted the
most for myself, like growing up and now, so I
think like any expectations that are out there, like I
(13:46):
have just as great for myself. So I'll continue to
hold myself to that and it won't be mitigating. Just
got to go out and be me, play hard, and
just be the best version of myself and I'm sure
it's all going to be really quality of work.
Speaker 8 (14:01):
I think this team this past month were you most
looking forward to to contributing with the squad?
Speaker 5 (14:06):
Yeah, I'm just excited to be a part of the
team that's winning. Obviously, a great a great group, and
hopefully I can provide on both sides of the ball
and help us, you know, keep winning and go win
the division.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
Anybody who's followed you, followed your career and your progression,
the plate discipline, the command of the strike zone really
stands out. What's the single biggest factor? What what what
helped you develop that in your compressions?
Speaker 5 (14:35):
Yeah, I'd always felt like I had a really good
hand eye coordination and really good ability to kind of
track it and put the ball on the barrel since young,
same thing in crickets, Like I just I had a
knack for ball sports and just you know, reaction and
different things. And funnily enough, like I get to America
and I obviously like made a lot of contact and
(14:57):
was on the barrel a lot. But when you have
that skill, often you want to just put the ball
in play at all cost. And I kind of developed
through kind of my sophomore in junior year of college
that there's value to count leverage and the power of
a walk and being able to just commit to like
hunting different zones where you can do damage and how
to plan against different pitches. And I was able to
(15:17):
use my skill of good eyes and yeah, essentially good
eyes that I didn't have to swing everything. I could,
you know, hunt my zone and I started to kind
of have better plans. And then honestly that's evolved too
in pro Bol. I think people notice this year and
I had made an intentional kind of thing that when
I got to Pro Bowl, like obviously somebody would say,
(15:39):
I'm very passive, and so start of this year had
been finding this fine line between zone aggression and still
having great eye to like not give in to stuff
kind of a pitcher's pitch strike to ball pitches, you know,
which I've always done well. So it's been i'd say
the last couple of weeks in Triple A, I've like
really been at my at my best with my swing decisions,
(16:01):
like really damaging the balls in the zone, walking a lot,
and yeah, it's it's I've found my I feel like
I've found my plans and the combination of how I
want my swing decisions to look.
Speaker 7 (16:15):
Now, Yeah, fans have been looking forward to this day.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
To anticipate the reception.
Speaker 7 (16:22):
You're going to guess when you both played, and what
do you have to say to the fans.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
Yeah, I'm not sure what it's going to look like.
I'm sure there'll be some kind of cheer and that'll
be obviously a great feeling. I'm going to take it
in and yeah, the fans that come show up or
watch on TV. Just I I'm going to give it
my hole and I hope to really impact Cleveland baseball
for a long time.
Speaker 6 (16:45):
So the city is a pretty good track record when
it comes to number one overall picks. You've got Lebron James,
you got Miles Heart putting you out there, and I'll
have to put that interpression around you. But knowing how
starve this city is for another championship, ye, a championship
that they haven't had since nineteen forty eight in baseball. Yeah,
just you know, what are your expectations and how are
(17:07):
you going to go about bringing that championship?
Speaker 5 (17:10):
Yeah, I'm gonna do everything. I love this game. I
love that challenge and I'm gonna do everything I can.
And we got a good group here and also young
guys coming through, So I'm really excited to play a
big pot in that and I'm gonna give it all
I got And you know, Hosey wants it as bad
(17:32):
as anyone too, So hopefully I can, you know, build
a good relationship with him and we can do some
special things.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Well, a great day for Travis Bisana and his family.
And he's off to a nice start. He looks like
he belongs up here. And that may sound odd to
maybe some fans who say, well, wait, he doesn't have
his first major league hit yet, but he's drawing his walks,
he's and he's playing good defense at second base and
brings some good energy to the ball club and that
first hit will come certainly soon enough. Stay with us
(18:01):
when we come back, we will hear from Sandy Alomar
Junior some of his thoughts on the passing of a
great friend and mentor, Louis Isaac. Forty three years as
a coach and also in player development in the Cleveland organization.
He passed away last weekend, and we'll get Sandy's thoughts
on that when we return after this Welcome back. It's
(18:38):
Guardian's Weekly Jim Rosenhouse along with you from Sacramento. Last weekend,
Louis Isaac passed away as it's been forty three seasons
in the Cleveland organization, twenty years as the bullpen coach
at the major league level, but also in player development,
was a minor league manager and actually played in the
(18:58):
Cleveland organization for a little bit. Sandy Alamar Junior goes
way back with Louis Isaac as far as anybody, as
they were both from Puerto Rico. Louis was great friends
with Sandy's dad. Sandy Senior and Sandy Junior talked about
some of the great memories and about how they first met.
Speaker 9 (19:18):
During winter ball. My dad was playing for the Santusa Crabvers.
Louis issa was a catcher there too, and then he
became a coach there and we were a little kids.
He always harassed us because you say we were hitting rocks.
Louis was the bullpen coach, and the bullpen in Santusa
was behind right field and they had these small shed
(19:43):
the bollop and picture you to sit in metal shed,
and me and Robbie used to head rocks with a
bruce stick and we used to hit the shed all
the time, and Louis used to go, hey, don't do
that over here, like but he did. The point is
we know Louis. We knew Louis Is who were young
(20:04):
six seven years old.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
So he kind of sees your development. And obviously fans
now know that that you had a wonderful career here
playing wise, you're in the Cleveland Baseball Hall of Fame.
It might not have happened were it not for Louis.
Isaac explain how that came about.
Speaker 9 (20:23):
Very correct. So when I was with the Padres organization
in the minor leagues during the winter, I go play
winter ball for Santusay and Louis was a coach there,
so he's so you know, he's seen me. He's always
been a great friend of my dad's and stuff like.
There were teammates in the in those in those in
that era, minor league players didn't play. They just cut
(20:46):
bullpens and learned from the veteran player. Most of the
big leagues play winna ball. So Louis was always on
top of me, working with my catching, kind of mentoring
me behind the play. So when I went to Triple
in Las Vegas, Grover's the manager for Colorado Springs and
(21:08):
Grover was also a team and my father. So if
you see me down, if you see me down something,
he used to show me up. But when the Indians
made a decision to trade your Carter. Those two people
brought my name in for the trades, Grover and Louis Isaac,
and that's how they pushed for that trade. So that's
(21:31):
how I ended up here. So I consider those two,
those two coaches Manager Grover Manager and Louis isa my mentors,
almost like my second parents.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Were visiting the Sandy Alamar Junior remembering the life and
times of Louis Isaac forty three years in the Indians
organization in many different roles, but when you were here
as a big leaguer, he was the bullpen coach. And
it's different now, But what did that mean to you
that that he was here and as a bullpen coach?
What were his other responsibilities that were really helpful for you?
Speaker 9 (22:06):
Well, he also worked with the catchers, so the the
continued development or catching since I was in winter ball
with Louis brought it here and kept giving me advice
about many things, and he literally was my mentor. He
helped me to be the catchers that I was, uh
(22:27):
until Jeff Newman came in that he took that role,
but Louis Aysa knew me in Saijau, so he was
the guy that really UH developed me as a catcher,
helped me develop as a catcher. Also, another guy that
passed away that I also was kimming and my dad
was Eli Rodriguez. He passed away a week ago. And
(22:47):
I had these two guys that helped me out tremendously
that passed in one week.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
I know it's a sad day today, but thanks for
some memories that Louis is.
Speaker 9 (22:54):
I appreciate it, saying absolutely absolutely. I hopefully you know
he's happy in him. Then maybe you can see my
dad out there and they can talking about stories.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
I'm sure they have a few really nice words from
Sandy Alamar Junior on the passing of his good friend
Louis Isaac Junior and a long time member on the
Cleveland Organization forty three seasons in the organization and passed
away last weekend. Stay with us while we come back.
We'll have a farm report focus in on double A
(23:25):
Acron this week. That's next on the Cleveland Clinic Radio Network.
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At least seats for the game.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
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Speaker 2 (24:14):
Jim rows Now is back with you from Sacramento, where
the Guardians and Athletics are meeting this weekend. Stephen Ostro
is the vice president of player development for the Guardians.
He brings us up on a regular basis to date
on some of the big time prospects in the organization.
And there are a ton at the Double A level
playing for the Akron Rubber Ducks, and when we caught
(24:36):
up with them yesterday talked about how things are going
in general for the Rubber Ducks as they face some
of those early season challenges that come with playing home
games in Ohio and the Northeast in general.
Speaker 7 (24:49):
In the month of April, Yeah, Akrons, like most of
our Ohio teams, have to battle some of the weather
challenges every single year, but thankfully a bit better this
year than it has been in the past. And they
haven't had any snow outs yet, so they guys have
hit the ground running actually pretty well. In Akron got
(25:09):
a lot of younger talent for the level, but overall
just the talented roster. And you know, you try to
get through that first week and get adjusted, and since
then they've they've all kind of taken off quite a bit.
So it's been really exciting to watch these guys go
out and play for their first month of games. And
Akron themselves have been really good to start.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
And so many of those players we saw in Major
League spring training. And let's start with on hell Hanau,
the infielder who really impressed in Big league spring training,
and how has his start gone as he gets rolling
out a full season injury free so far.
Speaker 7 (25:44):
He had a great spring. To your point in the
recent forty manter ad over the offseason, we're really excited
about what we're going to see from from Henau this year.
And yeah, you obviously had about eighty five ninety games
last year in Akron headed out after having a bit
of an injury, and he was somewhat of a down
year for him overall from a performance standpoint, So sometimes
(26:06):
it's it's really hard for him, you know, last year
and for other players to kind of join midway through
the season, and especially at a level where we're really young,
so we were excited to see what that was going
to look like after turning heads a little bit and
sprint training and having a really good physical offseason, so
he's he's carried that over really well into that first month.
(26:26):
He's consistently been one of the best hitters there of
a really talented group and continuing to show the things
that we were really excited about, you know, walking a ton,
not striking out. He's impacting the ball a little bit
more than he has in the past, his max exit
velocities up, and his defense has been a lot more
steady than what we've seen in the past too, So
he's explicitly exclusively playing shortstop. He's done a good job
(26:48):
of that, and you know, he just continues to develop.
So we've seen a lot of the positives that we
would expect and you know, to come out of the
gates hoot like an Alt has done. He has been
really exciting for him.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Man. A player who really gained some notoriety in Major
league camp was Ralphie Velaskaz, the big first baseman, and
it looks like he's settling in nicely and having some big,
big days and showing some of that power potential that
that we saw in the spring.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
Yeah, Ralphie turned a lot of heads too in spring training,
and you know we talked about, you know, the decision
to send him an akron or is the best fit
for him developmentally, And you know, he's settling and really
nice at that level, and he did the ball really well.
You know, he's walking as much as as he's striking out,
(27:35):
which is a lot. And uh, the underlying performance is
very very strong, and you know, the numbers are are
good and he's this is with him hitting the ball
straight at people really hard for a good portion of it.
And you know, we knew that the offense in the
bat we're going to be really strong to start the year.
And he just continues to dominate and grow in the
(27:55):
things that aren't necessarily showing up per se on the field,
the preparation for his games and scouting the opponents has
really picked up. You know, he's maturing and how he
handles the week and his routines and how to show
up and have a consistent mindset. He went through a
bit of a we're calling like a mini slump for
a week where you know, the performance wasn't as good
(28:18):
as we've seen and it made really quick changes and
stuck with the process. And he's battled out of that
that mini slump now. So he's twenty one. You know,
he's surpassing our expectations and how he thought he'd show
up as a professional and grow as a baseball player.
There's a lot to like there and where we continue
(28:38):
to be really excited about where he is from where he's.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Going to end up this year, Al Funds and Rosario
and I know there's a lot of good tools there,
but it seems like the power is the onetic could
be really exciting. And it seems like he's off to
a good start at Akron. And what are you seeing
so far from him?
Speaker 7 (28:54):
Yeah, Rosie got a taste of Akron last year and
it was fortu enough to face a little bit of
adversity at the plate. And to your point, he's a
very powerful, strong young man. He's capable of generating these
like elite edge of velocities and just needs to square
up the ball and have a little bit more consistent
contact and limit chase than secondaries. And he was making
(29:17):
some progress on that to start the year, but he's
also young and sometimes it takes a little bit more
time and he's working through it. But yeah, he's a
good outfielder. He's playing, you know, across the entire outfield
right now. He's mixing in some center field and we're
trying to see if he can make that, you know,
a long term position for him or an option form.
(29:38):
But he's got a great arm that's going to profile
really well in a corner outfield or right field long
term for us too. And you know, unfortunately for Rosie
had some soreness and cramping in one of his hamstrings
that has pulled him out of the lineup for a
few games. But you know, he's progressing really well and
we expect them to be back in really shortly.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Everyone's looking for good catching and you have a good
one at double A Acron and Jacob kosar Art, what
do you sing from him? Both offensively and the all
important defensive side of things.
Speaker 7 (30:05):
Yeah, we talked about the defense quite a bit, and
you know, so far, he's over a course of around
ninety games catching at that level, he's been one of
the best in all of Double A. And you know,
he receives and blocks at a light level. He prepares
for and calls a really good game, and you know
he's throwing, which maybe the thing that he needs to
(30:26):
move the needle of the most on defensively continues to
trend up. So you know, defensively, he's I mean, he's
been outstanding and we would say he's probably one of
our best, if not our best, defensive catchers across the system.
And you know, the bat is the thing that he
continues to need to develop and focus on. And you know,
he can really impact the ball. He's capable of swinging
(30:49):
really hard and in the ball really hard as well.
It's just a matter of doing that consistently and limiting
with So he saw improvements in that last year towards
the back half of the season and part the spring training,
and you know, we feel really good about Cozy be
able to do this. It's just unlocking that consistency over time,
and you know, it's a short four weeks now at
(31:09):
the Affiliates, and you know, we've seen it kind of
come up and down, and you know, we are really
excited about the defense and know that that's going to
be a thing for him that he can hang his
hat on long term. And you know, the back continues
to go in the right direction as well. So Cosey
has been really good too.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
To sir, we're joined by Vice president of player Development
Stephen Oster talking double a Akron and let's switch to
the mound. Josh Hartle, I know, is someone that you're
excited about, and almost half a dozen starts in and
it looks like durability and performances has matched up really
nicely for him starting the season.
Speaker 7 (31:44):
Yeah, he's coming off that Midwest League Pitcher of the
Year last year, and you know, a guy that's known
for commanding a deep arsenal and he's shown a continuation
of that so far this season. He's did a lot
of work this offseason trying to open things up on
his how much is plot moves, you know, maybe creating
a bit of the bigger shape than something you could
call a sweeper, and he's been having really good results
(32:07):
of that so far. He's continuing to limit damage and runs.
He's generating a lot of ground balls and you know,
there's there's still a lot of work to be done overall,
I think for Josh on the delivery and trying to
maximize and squeeze out as much velocity as we'd want.
And you know, it's hard to read into april velocities
too much, and it's maybe a tick down from what
we sawn last year, but there was a nice spike
(32:28):
in spring training and a huge focus Durim continues to
just be raining in that long term velocity and trying
to access that more consistently, and you know, continue to
just emphasize his plan of attack and figuring out exactly
what that looks like for him with the new news slider.
But yeah, Josh has shown a continuation of what we
were so excited about last year so far.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Always fun to talk about the tug boat Matt Wilkinson,
and I know he's had some special starts this year.
Doesn't seem like he allows any hits anymore. But but
what do you seeking from him as he kind of
continues to not reinvent himself but develop and try and
get hitters out at higher levels.
Speaker 7 (33:06):
Yeah, So yeah, I mean he had a bit of
an up and down year last year and came out
obviously really hot with that nickname in twenty four. And
he's just this incredibly competitive guy as a gamer, you know,
and he felt some of that up and down nature
this season last year. And you know, I think pitching
for Team Can in the WBC, had that great outing
against the US and I think we believe that kind
(33:28):
of reignited some of that twenty four version of him
to start this year. So you know, he doesn't throw
particularly hard, his stuff still grades out pretty well for US,
and there's a uniqueness there that is somewhat hard to measure.
And when he's confident pounding the zone, good locations and
starting around the mount after striking guys out like this
guy is really good. He gets knocked sometimes at the
velocity we think maybe a little bit too much. And
(33:51):
you know, we've seen roughly a half a mile an
hour increase year over years, so and he's showing that
again this year. So it's it's been exciting to see
him come out. You know, the last two starts, it's
I think it's ten and a thirty innings. He hasn't
given up a hit. He's whipping a ton of guys
are level, he's confident. You know, we still have worked
to do in solidifying some of that are so long
term and what to add or change and the VLO
(34:14):
we won't. We expect him and want that to continue
to climb. But you know, Tugboat is he's the name
to continue to keep an eye on. It can sometimes
get lost a bit in the shuffle some of these
other really good throwers, but we probably shouldn't lose sight
of put in what he's capable of doing, because he's
showing it right now.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
And Cal Steven, I know you're excited to have him
in the organization now for a full season and as
he gets into it, what are you seeing there after?
You know, some ups and downs a year ago after
the trade.
Speaker 7 (34:42):
Yeah, last year was tough, and you know, had a
great offseason to get settled and get more comfortable and
spend more time with with our staff and our resources
and around you know, the rest of the pitchers in
the organ You know, we talked about this last year too,
just how important it is for those guys to gel
and with each other and be competitive. And you see
that play out our major league level two with our
(35:04):
young rotation. But yeah, Cal's been good to start this year.
I think if you look at the surface, the walks
are elevated, maybe a bit uncharacteristic for him, but there
are a lot of things under the herd that that
he's working on, and we expect that to kind of
pull up and also expect that to kind of happens.
He's working on his arm slot a little bit and
you know, working on developing secondaries, and we're trying to
(35:26):
do both those things. Welcome, Pete. Sometimes your command is
going to wait for a bit, and you know it's
normal for us to see walks up a bit when
that happens, and you know, they're we're just really excited
about the progress that you know, he's made in terms
of understanding and navigating his own developmental path and what
it takes to be a starter, and the standards we
hold at the major league level for preparing for the day,
(35:48):
the week, the season. You know, the expectations for Calor
are really high long turment, and we are patient and
taking care of the right things now, and yeah, I
think we can solve for how he's helping for the
the big league team down the road and for the
long tile, and expect to take some bumps in some
of the things that make him special execution and command.
(36:09):
But it's also worthwhile remembering he's just twenty three years
old and he's still young for the level and the
excitement level for cow is really high.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
And one last picture from a really consistent starting rotation,
it appears, is Caden Favors. Maybe a name that the
people are just learning about now and what has he
done to kind of get on that radar and put
together a solid start.
Speaker 7 (36:30):
Yeah, a bit of an under the radar and name
maybe more publicly, but you know, he's a left handed
pitcher who had a lot of steam heading into the
off season with US and through spring training. He's a
lefty with good stuff above average cutter and fastball, and
has had a really nice developmental art so far. He's
gained the lawsuits since joining the ORG after the twenty
(36:52):
four draft. He's regaining some of this command identity that
he had in college, and he's just continuing to tweak
and improve his overall arsenal. And you he zoom out
and look at a left of you, you know, sitting
in and around ninety three and alls an hour with
good command and a number of developing pitches. That's a
pretty good recipe for a long term starter. And he's
(37:13):
been off to a really good start so far, an Akron,
and he's not giving up much damage or hits, and
he's above average strikeouts and he's starting to piece some
things together. So there's a lot of excitement around Caiden,
and you know, we expect the development to continue on.
He's a really hard worker and you know, great teammates,
so yeah, this could be a really big year for him.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Well, great stuff from Double a Acron. I know you're
excited about so many players there, and Austin always appreciate
the time.
Speaker 7 (37:40):
Thank you, Thanks Rosie, great to chat.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Good stuff is always from vice president of player Development
Stephen Ostro talking Double A Acron man a ton of
big time prospects playing right now for the Rubber Ducks.
That's going to do it for our show this week.
As always, thanks to Brian Motse for all of his
help and putting the show together each and every week.
We will join you from back home next week when
the Guardians are taking on the Minnesota Twins next weekend.
(38:06):
Until then, this is Jim rosen House. You're finding you
and you've been listening to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland
Clinic for Radio network.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive Helping
Guardians Fans say hundreds on car 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 Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosen House along
with you from Sacramento, California, where the Guardians have opened
up a new road trip with three against the Athletics
than four in Kansas City. Now we'll get to our
weekend review shortly, but just a note on what's coming
up on the show. Today, we'll hear from Travis Bizana,
(01:11):
who made his major league much anticipated major league debut
earlier this week. We'll also visit with Sandy Alomar Junior
some great thoughts on the passing of Louis Isaac, who
spent forty three years in the Cleveland organization. He passed
away last weekend. Now we'll have a full farm report
focusing on double A acron with Vice President of Player
(01:33):
Development Stephen Ostro. But first our weekend review. Now we
begin with the series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Just
a brief homestand for the Guardians. A three game set
against Tampa Bay started on Monday night with a three
to two loss. Another one run defeat came on Tuesday night,
this time won nothing, and that set the stage for
(01:55):
Wednesday afternoon, the Guardians trying to salvage the finale of
the series on a day where it was not nice outside.
Cold foggy rain delayed the game by an hour and
a half, and the Guardians needed to win to snap
a four game losing skid. But they had the right
man on the mound in Gavin Williams, who looked good
(02:16):
early in this one. Gavin Williams four wins a loss
e er three twenty eight a one sixty three batting
average against Gavin Williams. Now the one two swinging a
jam job role, the first handled by Mansardo, steps on
the bag.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And an eight pitch inning for Gavin Williams. That's how
you get deep into games.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
In the third inning, Brian Rokio got things started with
a base hit. Then he'd steal second, move up to
third on a Jose Ramirez ground out, and then Kyle
Mansardo stepped in trying to drive in the game's first run.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Now the one to zero with the infield back swinging
a high fly ball fairly deep left, Simpson circling undrint
makes the catch taking coming home is Rochio. One nothing
Cleveland man Sarto a sackf line of left drives in
his seventh run. Now with the lead, Williams continued to
shut down the Ray's offense. Williams delivers swaying and I
(03:16):
miss strike three. Another strikeout for Gavin Williams his fourth
and he sets the side out in order again. In
the bottom of the fifth, the first two hitters reached,
setting the stage for Chase the latter Grass Mussin sets
at the belt. Here's his pitch, swung on ground ball
up the middle base hit in the center. Rocchio scores.
(03:38):
Right behind him is Kwan.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
He scores hits a two run single through the drawn
in infield for Chase the latter and the Guardians grab
a three nothing lead.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, they have struggled in this series.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
To come up with the key hit. In fact, hoo
for nine with men in scoring position. But the latter
delivers and that's two on the board this inning. So
it was a three run lead for the Guardians. As
Williams went back to work.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
The pitch strike three call on a back door slider.
Seven strikeouts. That was a long advam, believe it or
not a five pitch at VAM. Gavin Williams has had
eleven outs today that have been three pitches or less.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
The Rays did get an unearned run in the seventh
to break up the shutout bid, but that didn't slow
down Williams, who was back out there in the eighth the.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Two curveball, strike three call, no challenge available. Eightys is out,
nine strikeouts for Williams. Walls has been a victim three times.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Eric Sabrowski came on got a strikeout to end the eighth,
and then in the ninth it was Kate Smith looking
to close things out.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Here's the set in the two.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
In ans ball game, and he went monowing Medo with
a fastball. Kate Smith wipes out Tampa in the ninth.
Cleveland with a dominant pitching performance again today, salvages the
finale three to one.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So a nice win for the Guardians to wrap up
the brief homestand Thursday was an off day and the
opener to the series in Sacramento came Friday night, with
the Athletics jumping in front on a two run home
runoff the bat of Brent Rooker in the first inning,
but the Guardians answered in the second thanks to some
clutch two out hitting from Chase to Lawter the pitch
(05:39):
and do latter with a deep drive to right field
over the head of Thomas, short hops the wall into
scores Bizanna. Round third, coming home without a throw is
Bonnailer and we are tied at two and the kid
comes through. The A's re took the lead, scoring two
(05:59):
runs in the fourth. Well once again, the Guardians responded
in the fifth. They loaded the bases on three walks
and with one out, the Sacramento native Reese Hoskins came
to the plate again. Lets it fly and there's a
swing in a high fly ball deep right center. This
one's way back there here and it is off the wall.
(06:19):
Extra basis Hoskins. Two runs will score to tie the game,
as Kwon scores just ahead of de Laughter. Into third
is Manzarto and with a two run double is Reese Hoskins.
This game is tied at four, and man did Hoskins
need that? And then on hell Martinez was called on
(06:43):
to pinch hit for Daniel Steeman and he delivered the
pitch to him. He swings and skies it to right
fairly deep, but Thomas is there to make the catch.
This will score Manzarto with the go ahead run as
he trots on down the line from third. The throw
comes into third and Manzarno scores on the sack fly
by Martinez. The Guardians take a five to four lead.
(07:08):
It's stayed five to four until the seventh. That's when
the hometown kid, Reecee Hoskins put a charge into one.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
The pitch swung on, pounded deep left down the line.
This ball is gone.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
What a comeback to your hometown, Reese Hoskins a solo
homer down the I Feel line and Cleveland's got a
six to four lead. And what a joyous junt around
the bases for the Sacramento kid Reece Hoskins, who's had
(07:42):
his best game in a Cleveland uniform.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
A double, a homer and three RBIs. The Guardians kept
it rolling in the seventh with a big two out
hit from bow Nailor.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Bassel with a payoff pitch swung on line shot to
raight bank goes Thomas.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
He leaps, it's over his head, short hops the wall.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Bazana around third is going to score in with a
two double is bone Nailer and the Guardians lead at
seven to four and a huge two out RBYI double left.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
On left for bone Nailer.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Man The next batter, Brian Rochio, made it back to
back two baggers.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Now the O.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
One swung a light right base hit to left near
the line. That'll score Nailer. This ball will roll to
the wall on his way to second. With another ARBYI
double is Brian Rokio and the Guardians have scored three
and now leading eight to four.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Here in the seventh.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
The Athletics scored a run in the bottom of the
seventh to make it eight to five, and they were
looking for more in the eighth with runners on the
corners and the dangerous Nick Kurtz facing Kate Smith.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Now he awaits the payoff here it comes got him.
He went split finger four straight times. Tennent Kurtz. What
a job by Cage Smith eight to five Cleveland ninth
inning next.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
And then in the night. Smith was back out there
trying to finish off a four out save.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
The set the pits. Swinging a bouncing ball.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
The first bat Canaby Mansardo flips to Smith, covering four game.
It was a doosey to open up this road trip.
And Cleveland wins it eight to five.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
So a nice win for the Guardians and now head
into play over the weekend with a pair of four
to h five starts in Sacramento before the road trip
moves on to Kansas City. Stay with us when we
come back. We'll hear from Travis Bizana as he made
his Major League debut earlier this week.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
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Speaker 1 (10:29):
The lineup pits Bisana drives one to deep center back
is Mulleins track wall.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Caught near the wall.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
By Mulleins Oh, the window isn't blowing out. As Lee
Smith once said, that would have been in the pork
and beans.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
The Bizana with a drive to deep center looking for
that first Mainjillage hit.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
But he put a nice swing on that, and you
see the power right there. Wind blowing in a miserable,
rainy day in Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhouse back with you
from Sacramento, California, where the Guardians and Athletics have a
three game series underway and continuing on Saturday afternoon with
a four h five start, and maybe in the lineup again.
Most likely Travis Bizana will be at second base, as
he was called up and made his major league debut
(11:24):
on Tuesday night against Tampa. Much anticipated the first overall
pick in the twenty twenty four draft has arrived in
the big leagues, and earlier on Tuesday, he met with
the assembled media in Cleveland and began by talking about
how he got the news that he was headed to
the big leagues, and.
Speaker 5 (11:43):
I'm kind of off to the doubleheader in Buffalo on Sunday.
I kind of had some wind because my parents were
kind of making a trip around that time too, so
they they arrived last night, but yeah, sort of off
to the games on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
To alter their exit plans to stay a little while.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
No, they I I, yeah, the plans. I don't know.
I don't even know what their plans are. They're here,
but they're excited.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
What was the reaction?
Speaker 7 (12:14):
What he told.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
My mom was smiling and crying at the same time,
very very excited, very emotional, and uh my dad was
like shocked and like just very excited. Yeah, when you
missed a couple of months last year, how did you
how did you kind of get through that knowing like
how close you had gotten maybe to this point. Yeah,
(12:37):
I mean it was May last year. I missed, missed
eight weeks, but I had just started in Double A.
I hadn't spent that much time there, so it wasn't
like I was knocking on the door at that point.
But obviously I had the intentions to keep moving forward
in twenty twenty five, and that like really halted that
in the middle of that year. So yeah, I was
just trying to put my best foot forward once I
(12:57):
went down, and how can I, you know, continue to
move forward? And obviously had some chance in Triple A
in twenty five, and that was obviously when it started
tom closer to a reality and just focused on having
a good spring and had a good start to the season.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
So, Travis, you're a guy that's obviously had a lot
of expectation, being a number one overall pick, now being
called up at this time of the year in April,
Just how do you mitigate through those expectations.
Speaker 5 (13:24):
Yeah, I mean it's it's a beautiful part of it
is like I've I've worked really hard to be in
a place where there's expectations and pressure, and realistically it's
like I've always been the highest. I've always wanted the
most for myself, like growing up and now, so I
think like any expectations that are out there, like I
(13:46):
have just as great for myself. So I'll continue to
hold myself to that and it won't be mitigating. Just
got to go out and be me, play hard, and
just be the best version of myself and I'm sure
it's all going to be really quality of work.
Speaker 8 (14:01):
I think this team this past month were you most
looking forward to to contributing with the squad?
Speaker 5 (14:06):
Yeah, I'm just excited to be a part of the
team that's winning. Obviously, a great a great group, and
hopefully I can provide on both sides of the ball
and help us, you know, keep winning and go win
the division.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
Anybody who's followed you, followed your career and your progression,
the plate discipline, the command of the strike zone really
stands out. What's the single biggest factor? What what what
helped you develop that in your compressions?
Speaker 5 (14:35):
Yeah, I'd always felt like I had a really good
hand eye coordination and really good ability to kind of
track it and put the ball on the barrel since young,
same thing in crickets, Like I just I had a
knack for ball sports and just you know, reaction and
different things. And funnily enough, like I get to America
and I obviously like made a lot of contact and
(14:57):
was on the barrel a lot. But when you have
that skill, often you want to just put the ball
in play at all cost. And I kind of developed
through kind of my sophomore in junior year of college
that there's value to count leverage and the power of
a walk and being able to just commit to like
hunting different zones where you can do damage and how
to plan against different pitches. And I was able to
(15:17):
use my skill of good eyes and yeah, essentially good
eyes that I didn't have to swing everything. I could,
you know, hunt my zone and I started to kind
of have better plans. And then honestly that's evolved too
in pro Bol. I think people notice this year and
I had made an intentional kind of thing that when
I got to Pro Bowl, like obviously somebody would say,
(15:39):
I'm very passive, and so start of this year had
been finding this fine line between zone aggression and still
having great eye to like not give in to stuff
kind of a pitcher's pitch strike to ball pitches, you know,
which I've always done well. So it's been i'd say
the last couple of weeks in Triple A, I've like
really been at my at my best with my swing decisions,
(16:01):
like really damaging the balls in the zone, walking a lot,
and yeah, it's it's I've found my I feel like
I've found my plans and the combination of how I
want my swing decisions to look.
Speaker 7 (16:15):
Now, Yeah, fans have been looking forward to this day.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
To anticipate the reception.
Speaker 7 (16:22):
You're going to guess when you both played, and what
do you have to say to the fans.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
Yeah, I'm not sure what it's going to look like.
I'm sure there'll be some kind of cheer and that'll
be obviously a great feeling. I'm going to take it
in and yeah, the fans that come show up or
watch on TV. Just I I'm going to give it
my hole and I hope to really impact Cleveland baseball
for a long time.
Speaker 6 (16:45):
So the city is a pretty good track record when
it comes to number one overall picks. You've got Lebron James,
you got Miles Heart putting you out there, and I'll
have to put that interpression around you. But knowing how
starve this city is for another championship, ye, a championship
that they haven't had since nineteen forty eight in baseball. Yeah,
just you know, what are your expectations and how are
(17:07):
you going to go about bringing that championship?
Speaker 5 (17:10):
Yeah, I'm gonna do everything. I love this game. I
love that challenge and I'm gonna do everything I can.
And we got a good group here and also young
guys coming through, So I'm really excited to play a
big pot in that and I'm gonna give it all
I got And you know, Hosey wants it as bad
(17:32):
as anyone too, So hopefully I can, you know, build
a good relationship with him and we can do some
special things.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Well, a great day for Travis Bisana and his family.
And he's off to a nice start. He looks like
he belongs up here. And that may sound odd to
maybe some fans who say, well, wait, he doesn't have
his first major league hit yet, but he's drawing his walks,
he's and he's playing good defense at second base and
brings some good energy to the ball club and that
first hit will come certainly soon enough. Stay with us
(18:01):
when we come back, we will hear from Sandy Alomar
Junior some of his thoughts on the passing of a
great friend and mentor, Louis Isaac. Forty three years as
a coach and also in player development in the Cleveland organization.
He passed away last weekend, and we'll get Sandy's thoughts
on that when we return after this Welcome back. It's
(18:38):
Guardian's Weekly Jim Rosenhouse along with you from Sacramento. Last weekend,
Louis Isaac passed away as it's been forty three seasons
in the Cleveland organization, twenty years as the bullpen coach
at the major league level, but also in player development,
was a minor league manager and actually played in the
(18:58):
Cleveland organization for a little bit. Sandy Alamar Junior goes
way back with Louis Isaac as far as anybody, as
they were both from Puerto Rico. Louis was great friends
with Sandy's dad. Sandy Senior and Sandy Junior talked about
some of the great memories and about how they first met.
Speaker 9 (19:18):
During winter ball. My dad was playing for the Santusa Crabvers.
Louis issa was a catcher there too, and then he
became a coach there and we were a little kids.
He always harassed us because you say we were hitting rocks.
Louis was the bullpen coach, and the bullpen in Santusa
was behind right field and they had these small shed
(19:43):
the bollop and picture you to sit in metal shed,
and me and Robbie used to head rocks with a
bruce stick and we used to hit the shed all
the time, and Louis used to go, hey, don't do
that over here, like but he did. The point is
we know Louis. We knew Louis Is who were young
(20:04):
six seven years old.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
So he kind of sees your development. And obviously fans
now know that that you had a wonderful career here
playing wise, you're in the Cleveland Baseball Hall of Fame.
It might not have happened were it not for Louis.
Isaac explain how that came about.
Speaker 9 (20:23):
Very correct. So when I was with the Padres organization
in the minor leagues during the winter, I go play
winter ball for Santusay and Louis was a coach there,
so he's so you know, he's seen me. He's always
been a great friend of my dad's and stuff like.
There were teammates in the in those in those in
that era, minor league players didn't play. They just cut
(20:46):
bullpens and learned from the veteran player. Most of the
big leagues play winna ball. So Louis was always on
top of me, working with my catching, kind of mentoring
me behind the play. So when I went to Triple
in Las Vegas, Grover's the manager for Colorado Springs and
(21:08):
Grover was also a team and my father. So if
you see me down, if you see me down something,
he used to show me up. But when the Indians
made a decision to trade your Carter. Those two people
brought my name in for the trades, Grover and Louis Isaac,
and that's how they pushed for that trade. So that's
(21:31):
how I ended up here. So I consider those two,
those two coaches Manager Grover Manager and Louis isa my mentors,
almost like my second parents.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Were visiting the Sandy Alamar Junior remembering the life and
times of Louis Isaac forty three years in the Indians
organization in many different roles, but when you were here
as a big leaguer, he was the bullpen coach. And
it's different now, But what did that mean to you
that that he was here and as a bullpen coach?
What were his other responsibilities that were really helpful for you?
Speaker 9 (22:06):
Well, he also worked with the catchers, so the the
continued development or catching since I was in winter ball
with Louis brought it here and kept giving me advice
about many things, and he literally was my mentor. He
helped me to be the catchers that I was, uh
(22:27):
until Jeff Newman came in that he took that role,
but Louis Aysa knew me in Saijau, so he was
the guy that really UH developed me as a catcher,
helped me develop as a catcher. Also, another guy that
passed away that I also was kimming and my dad
was Eli Rodriguez. He passed away a week ago. And
(22:47):
I had these two guys that helped me out tremendously
that passed in one week.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
I know it's a sad day today, but thanks for
some memories that Louis is.
Speaker 9 (22:54):
I appreciate it, saying absolutely absolutely. I hopefully you know
he's happy in him. Then maybe you can see my
dad out there and they can talking about stories.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
I'm sure they have a few really nice words from
Sandy Alamar Junior on the passing of his good friend
Louis Isaac Junior and a long time member on the
Cleveland Organization forty three seasons in the organization and passed
away last weekend. Stay with us while we come back.
We'll have a farm report focus in on double A
(23:25):
Acron this week. That's next on the Cleveland Clinic Radio Network.
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Speaker 2 (24:14):
Jim rows Now is back with you from Sacramento, where
the Guardians and Athletics are meeting this weekend. Stephen Ostro
is the vice president of player development for the Guardians.
He brings us up on a regular basis to date
on some of the big time prospects in the organization.
And there are a ton at the Double A level
playing for the Akron Rubber Ducks, and when we caught
(24:36):
up with them yesterday talked about how things are going
in general for the Rubber Ducks as they face some
of those early season challenges that come with playing home
games in Ohio and the Northeast in general.
Speaker 7 (24:49):
In the month of April, Yeah, Akrons, like most of
our Ohio teams, have to battle some of the weather
challenges every single year, but thankfully a bit better this
year than it has been in the past. And they
haven't had any snow outs yet, so they guys have
hit the ground running actually pretty well. In Akron got
(25:09):
a lot of younger talent for the level, but overall
just the talented roster. And you know, you try to
get through that first week and get adjusted, and since
then they've they've all kind of taken off quite a bit.
So it's been really exciting to watch these guys go
out and play for their first month of games. And
Akron themselves have been really good to start.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
And so many of those players we saw in Major
League spring training. And let's start with on hell Hanau,
the infielder who really impressed in Big league spring training,
and how has his start gone as he gets rolling
out a full season injury free so far.
Speaker 7 (25:44):
He had a great spring. To your point in the
recent forty manter ad over the offseason, we're really excited
about what we're going to see from from Henau this year.
And yeah, you obviously had about eighty five ninety games
last year in Akron headed out after having a bit
of an injury, and he was somewhat of a down
year for him overall from a performance standpoint, So sometimes
(26:06):
it's it's really hard for him, you know, last year
and for other players to kind of join midway through
the season, and especially at a level where we're really young,
so we were excited to see what that was going
to look like after turning heads a little bit and
sprint training and having a really good physical offseason, so
he's he's carried that over really well into that first month.
(26:26):
He's consistently been one of the best hitters there of
a really talented group and continuing to show the things
that we were really excited about, you know, walking a ton,
not striking out. He's impacting the ball a little bit
more than he has in the past, his max exit
velocities up, and his defense has been a lot more
steady than what we've seen in the past too, So
he's explicitly exclusively playing shortstop. He's done a good job
(26:48):
of that, and you know, he just continues to develop.
So we've seen a lot of the positives that we
would expect and you know, to come out of the
gates hoot like an Alt has done. He has been
really exciting for him.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Man. A player who really gained some notoriety in Major
league camp was Ralphie Velaskaz, the big first baseman, and
it looks like he's settling in nicely and having some big,
big days and showing some of that power potential that
that we saw in the spring.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
Yeah, Ralphie turned a lot of heads too in spring training,
and you know we talked about, you know, the decision
to send him an akron or is the best fit
for him developmentally, And you know, he's settling and really
nice at that level, and he did the ball really well.
You know, he's walking as much as as he's striking out,
(27:35):
which is a lot. And uh, the underlying performance is
very very strong, and you know, the numbers are are
good and he's this is with him hitting the ball
straight at people really hard for a good portion of it.
And you know, we knew that the offense in the
bat we're going to be really strong to start the year.
And he just continues to dominate and grow in the
(27:55):
things that aren't necessarily showing up per se on the field,
the preparation for his games and scouting the opponents has
really picked up. You know, he's maturing and how he
handles the week and his routines and how to show
up and have a consistent mindset. He went through a
bit of a we're calling like a mini slump for
a week where you know, the performance wasn't as good
(28:18):
as we've seen and it made really quick changes and
stuck with the process. And he's battled out of that
that mini slump now. So he's twenty one. You know,
he's surpassing our expectations and how he thought he'd show
up as a professional and grow as a baseball player.
There's a lot to like there and where we continue
(28:38):
to be really excited about where he is from where he's.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Going to end up this year, Al Funds and Rosario
and I know there's a lot of good tools there,
but it seems like the power is the onetic could
be really exciting. And it seems like he's off to
a good start at Akron. And what are you seeing
so far from him?
Speaker 7 (28:54):
Yeah, Rosie got a taste of Akron last year and
it was fortu enough to face a little bit of
adversity at the plate. And to your point, he's a
very powerful, strong young man. He's capable of generating these
like elite edge of velocities and just needs to square
up the ball and have a little bit more consistent
contact and limit chase than secondaries. And he was making
(29:17):
some progress on that to start the year, but he's
also young and sometimes it takes a little bit more
time and he's working through it. But yeah, he's a
good outfielder. He's playing, you know, across the entire outfield
right now. He's mixing in some center field and we're
trying to see if he can make that, you know,
a long term position for him or an option form.
(29:38):
But he's got a great arm that's going to profile
really well in a corner outfield or right field long
term for us too. And you know, unfortunately for Rosie
had some soreness and cramping in one of his hamstrings
that has pulled him out of the lineup for a
few games. But you know, he's progressing really well and
we expect them to be back in really shortly.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Everyone's looking for good catching and you have a good
one at double A Acron and Jacob kosar Art, what
do you sing from him? Both offensively and the all
important defensive side of things.
Speaker 7 (30:05):
Yeah, we talked about the defense quite a bit, and
you know, so far, he's over a course of around
ninety games catching at that level, he's been one of
the best in all of Double A. And you know,
he receives and blocks at a light level. He prepares
for and calls a really good game, and you know
he's throwing, which maybe the thing that he needs to
(30:26):
move the needle of the most on defensively continues to
trend up. So you know, defensively, he's I mean, he's
been outstanding and we would say he's probably one of
our best, if not our best, defensive catchers across the system.
And you know, the bat is the thing that he
continues to need to develop and focus on. And you know,
he can really impact the ball. He's capable of swinging
(30:49):
really hard and in the ball really hard as well.
It's just a matter of doing that consistently and limiting
with So he saw improvements in that last year towards
the back half of the season and part the spring training,
and you know, we feel really good about Cozy be
able to do this. It's just unlocking that consistency over time,
and you know, it's a short four weeks now at
(31:09):
the Affiliates, and you know, we've seen it kind of
come up and down, and you know, we are really
excited about the defense and know that that's going to
be a thing for him that he can hang his
hat on long term. And you know, the back continues
to go in the right direction as well. So Cosey
has been really good too.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
To sir, we're joined by Vice president of player Development
Stephen Oster talking double a Akron and let's switch to
the mound. Josh Hartle, I know, is someone that you're
excited about, and almost half a dozen starts in and
it looks like durability and performances has matched up really
nicely for him starting the season.
Speaker 7 (31:44):
Yeah, he's coming off that Midwest League Pitcher of the
Year last year, and you know, a guy that's known
for commanding a deep arsenal and he's shown a continuation
of that so far this season. He's did a lot
of work this offseason trying to open things up on
his how much is plot moves, you know, maybe creating
a bit of the bigger shape than something you could
call a sweeper, and he's been having really good results
(32:07):
of that so far. He's continuing to limit damage and runs.
He's generating a lot of ground balls and you know,
there's there's still a lot of work to be done overall,
I think for Josh on the delivery and trying to
maximize and squeeze out as much velocity as we'd want.
And you know, it's hard to read into april velocities
too much, and it's maybe a tick down from what
we sawn last year, but there was a nice spike
(32:28):
in spring training and a huge focus Durim continues to
just be raining in that long term velocity and trying
to access that more consistently, and you know, continue to
just emphasize his plan of attack and figuring out exactly
what that looks like for him with the new news slider.
But yeah, Josh has shown a continuation of what we
were so excited about last year so far.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Always fun to talk about the tug boat Matt Wilkinson,
and I know he's had some special starts this year.
Doesn't seem like he allows any hits anymore. But but
what do you seeking from him as he kind of
continues to not reinvent himself but develop and try and
get hitters out at higher levels.
Speaker 7 (33:06):
Yeah, So yeah, I mean he had a bit of
an up and down year last year and came out
obviously really hot with that nickname in twenty four. And
he's just this incredibly competitive guy as a gamer, you know,
and he felt some of that up and down nature
this season last year. And you know, I think pitching
for Team Can in the WBC, had that great outing
against the US and I think we believe that kind
(33:28):
of reignited some of that twenty four version of him
to start this year. So you know, he doesn't throw
particularly hard, his stuff still grades out pretty well for US,
and there's a uniqueness there that is somewhat hard to measure.
And when he's confident pounding the zone, good locations and
starting around the mount after striking guys out like this
guy is really good. He gets knocked sometimes at the
velocity we think maybe a little bit too much. And
(33:51):
you know, we've seen roughly a half a mile an
hour increase year over years, so and he's showing that
again this year. So it's it's been exciting to see
him come out. You know, the last two starts, it's
I think it's ten and a thirty innings. He hasn't
given up a hit. He's whipping a ton of guys
are level, he's confident. You know, we still have worked
to do in solidifying some of that are so long
term and what to add or change and the VLO
(34:14):
we won't. We expect him and want that to continue
to climb. But you know, Tugboat is he's the name
to continue to keep an eye on. It can sometimes
get lost a bit in the shuffle some of these
other really good throwers, but we probably shouldn't lose sight
of put in what he's capable of doing, because he's
showing it right now.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
And Cal Steven, I know you're excited to have him
in the organization now for a full season and as
he gets into it, what are you seeing there after?
You know, some ups and downs a year ago after
the trade.
Speaker 7 (34:42):
Yeah, last year was tough, and you know, had a
great offseason to get settled and get more comfortable and
spend more time with with our staff and our resources
and around you know, the rest of the pitchers in
the organ You know, we talked about this last year too,
just how important it is for those guys to gel
and with each other and be competitive. And you see
that play out our major league level two with our
(35:04):
young rotation. But yeah, Cal's been good to start this year.
I think if you look at the surface, the walks
are elevated, maybe a bit uncharacteristic for him, but there
are a lot of things under the herd that that
he's working on, and we expect that to kind of
pull up and also expect that to kind of happens.
He's working on his arm slot a little bit and
you know, working on developing secondaries, and we're trying to
(35:26):
do both those things. Welcome, Pete. Sometimes your command is
going to wait for a bit, and you know it's
normal for us to see walks up a bit when
that happens, and you know, they're we're just really excited
about the progress that you know, he's made in terms
of understanding and navigating his own developmental path and what
it takes to be a starter, and the standards we
hold at the major league level for preparing for the day,
(35:48):
the week, the season. You know, the expectations for Calor
are really high long turment, and we are patient and
taking care of the right things now, and yeah, I
think we can solve for how he's helping for the
the big league team down the road and for the
long tile, and expect to take some bumps in some
of the things that make him special execution and command.
(36:09):
But it's also worthwhile remembering he's just twenty three years
old and he's still young for the level and the
excitement level for cow is really high.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
And one last picture from a really consistent starting rotation,
it appears, is Caden Favors. Maybe a name that the
people are just learning about now and what has he
done to kind of get on that radar and put
together a solid start.
Speaker 7 (36:30):
Yeah, a bit of an under the radar and name
maybe more publicly, but you know, he's a left handed
pitcher who had a lot of steam heading into the
off season with US and through spring training. He's a
lefty with good stuff above average cutter and fastball, and
has had a really nice developmental art so far. He's
gained the lawsuits since joining the ORG after the twenty
(36:52):
four draft. He's regaining some of this command identity that
he had in college, and he's just continuing to tweak
and improve his overall arsenal. And you he zoom out
and look at a left of you, you know, sitting
in and around ninety three and alls an hour with
good command and a number of developing pitches. That's a
pretty good recipe for a long term starter. And he's
(37:13):
been off to a really good start so far, an Akron,
and he's not giving up much damage or hits, and
he's above average strikeouts and he's starting to piece some
things together. So there's a lot of excitement around Caiden,
and you know, we expect the development to continue on.
He's a really hard worker and you know, great teammates,
so yeah, this could be a really big year for him.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Well, great stuff from Double a Acron. I know you're
excited about so many players there, and Austin always appreciate
the time.
Speaker 7 (37:40):
Thank you, Thanks Rosie, great to chat.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Good stuff is always from vice president of player Development
Stephen Ostro talking Double A Acron man a ton of
big time prospects playing right now for the Rubber Ducks.
That's going to do it for our show this week.
As always, thanks to Brian Motse for all of his
help and putting the show together each and every week.
We will join you from back home next week when
the Guardians are taking on the Minnesota Twins next weekend.
(38:06):
Until then, this is Jim rosen House. You're finding you
and you've been listening to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland
Clinic for Radio network.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
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