26-year old righty reliever Vinnie Pestano sounds more like a mafia hit man than a pitcher. He’s been lights out this season for the Tribe so far in 2011. Pestano has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Indians this year and he is 0-0 with a 1.00 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. He only has given up 4 hits in his first 9 innings this season while whiffing 12 batters. He has now pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in parts of two years with the Indians and he is 0-0 with 1 save, a 1.93 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Pestano is making pitching in the majors look easy so far in his career and the Tribe hopes he can keep up the good work.

The Pirates have returned Rule 5 Draft Pick Josh Rodriguez to the Indians. 26-year old righty swinging infielder Josh Rodriguez played in 7 games for the Pirates this year and he was 1 for 12 (.083 avg, .298 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Rodriguez looked a little overmatched in the show as he whiffed 8 times while only walking 1 time for the Pirates. Rodriguez played in 455 games in his first five years in the minors for the Indians and he was 443 of 1,667 (.266 avg, .782 OPS) with 263 runs scored, 44 homers, 224 RBIs and 43 stolen bases. The Indians are probably glad to have Rodriguez back.

The Cleveland Indians have placed 24-year old righty starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco on the 15-day disabled list due to a case of right elbow inflammation. Carrasco has started 5 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Indians have recalled 26-year old righty reliever Frank Herrmann to replace Carrasco on the pitching staff. Herrmann pitched in 4 games (0 starts) earlier this year for the Tribe and he was 0-0 with a 8.31 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Herrmann did whiff 7 batters in his first 4 1/3 innings with the Indians, so he might be o.k. this time around. His stay might be a short one as the Indians will have to call up a starter to replace Carrasco for Saturday. The Indians might call up 22-year old righty starting pitcher Alex White who came into this season as the Indians’ #2 rated prospect according to Baseball America. White has pitched in 4 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.90 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He has whiffed 28 batters while only walking 5 in his first 23 2/3 innings in the minors this year which shows just how good he’s been. White has pitched in 30 games (29 starts) in his first two years in the minors for the Indians and he is 11-10 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. The Indians could also call up 26-year old lefty David Huff instead of White. Huff has started 4 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Huff has pitched in 38 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Indians and he is 13-19 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. I’m hoping that White gets the call for the Indians as he appears to have a bright future with them as a top of the rotation type of starter.

The Cleveland Indians were pretty awful from 1986-1991, but righty knuckleballer Tom Candiotti was pretty solid for them. He busted onto the scene for the Indians in 1986, when he pitched in 36 games (34 starts) for the Tribe and he was 16-12 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Candiotti had 17 complete games and 3 shutouts in 1986 as he was a workhorse for the Indians. In his 7 years with the Indians, Candiotti pitched in 183 games (174 starts) in which he was 73-66 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. I remember really feeling like the Indians, no matter how bad they were, had a chance to win whenever Candiotti was on the pitcher’s mound.

26-year old righty swinging 1B Matt LaPorta and 24-year old lefty swinging LF/CF Michael Brantley are off to good starts for the Cleveland Indians in 2011. LaPorta has played in 17 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 15 for 58 (.259 avg, .811 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He is showing pretty good plate discipline this year too as he has walked 9 times while whiffing 11 times. Michael Brantley has played in 18 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 21 of 67 (.313 avg, .778 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Brantley is also showing outstanding plate discipline for the Indians as he has walked 11 times while only whiffing 9 time so far this year. It’s nice to see Brantley and LaPorta playing well as they were the keys of the C.C. Sabathia deal with the Brewers a couple of years ago.