Minor Matters: A Look At Tribe Farm Teams

Rodney Choy Foo is off to a great start in his first season with the Akron Aeros. The Eastern League announced Monday that Choy Foo had been named the Player of the Week for the week ending April 15th. The 25-year old infielder and native of Hawaii had a tremendous first week for Akron, batting .524 (11-for-21) with one double, one triple and two home runs including a grand slam.

Choy Foo scored six runs, drove in nine and walked three times during a week in which Akron went 3-3, but also had five games postponed.

Choy Foo leads the Eastern League in batting average, RBI, on-base percentage (.583) and slugging percentage (.952). His batting average also ranks as the second-best in all levels of the minor leagues.

During the off-season, Choy Foo played for the North Shore Honu in the Hawaiian Winter Baseball League and was selected as the second baseman on the All-Star Team after hitting .286 with eight doubles, four homers, 18 RBI and 17 runs scored in 34 games. The Waimanalo, Hawaii native was selected by the Indians in the 26th round of the 2000 draft.

The Aeros' season-opening, four-game series with Binghamton was postponed due to snow and cold. Because the Northern Division Mets are not scheduled to return to Akron this season, the games will be made up as parts of doubleheaders during the Aeros' two trips to Binghamton later this season.

Outfielders Trevor Crowe and Jon Van Every were as cold as the weather. Crowe went 4-for-25 (.160) with eight strikeouts and Van Every was 2-for-11 (.182) with five strikeouts.

Third baseman Pat Osborn hit .375 and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera batted .318 in the first week. Right-hander J.D. Martin allowed two hits over five innings to win his first start.

CLASS AAA BUFFALO BISONS
The Bisons got tremendous starting pitching to win six of their first seven games and claim first place in the North Division of the International League.

Right-handers Adam Miller and Jeff Harris and lefties Rafael Perez and Jason Stanford went a combined 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA. Miller was 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA, Stanford allowed three hits over six scoreless innings, Perez is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA after two starts and Harris allowed one run over five innings in his start.

Offensively, outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and infielder Luis Rivas led the way.

Choo hit .400 (8-for-20) with two doubles, five RBI and two stolen bases. Rivas hit .320 with one homer, six runs, four RBI and two steals.

Catchers David Wallace (.167) and Mike Rose (.091) are off to slow starts, as is infielder Hector Luna, who is hitting .211 and has made four errors.

The Bisons' season-opening four games against Richmond were postponed by snow and cold. Since Richmond doesn't return to Buffalo this season, the games will be made up during the Bisons' only trip to Richmond on June 9-12.

CLASS A KINSTON INDIANS
Good pitching was offset by poor offense as the defending Carolina League champions got off to a .500 start. The staff ERA was 2.40 and the team batting average .226 through eight games.

Right-hander Jeff Stevens (1-0), acquired last season from Cincinnati in the deal that sent infielder Brandon Phillips to the Reds, did not allow a run and gave up only one hit over eight innings in three relief appearances. He walked only one walk, fanned nine, and held hitters to a paltry .071 batting average.

Right-hander Scott Roehl was nearly as good, not allowing a hit or run over five innings across three relief outings.

Closer T.J. Burton earned victories in his first two outings, a pair of one-inning stints.

Shortstop Chris De La Cruz went 6-for-14 (.429) and catcher Max Ramirez batted .296 (8-for-27) to lead the offense.

Outfielder Jose Constanza hit two homers Thursday night. He had only four homers in his previous 1,280 at-bats as a professional. Constanza finished the night 4-for-5 with three runs.

CLASS A LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS
The Captains opened 3-6 under new manager Chris Tremie, good for sixth place in the North Division of the South Atlantic League.

Outfielder Lucas Montero batted .405 average (15-for-37), catcher Matt McBride was 11-for-31 (.355) with 10 RBI, and first baseman Matt Whitney hit .323 (10-for-31). Third baseman Jared Goedart is tied for the league lead in home runs with four, but is hitting just .214.