Reports citing remarks by Michigan State AD Mark Hollis among others say that home field sites for national playoff semifinal matchups have been eliminated from consideration by college football's decision-makers. This means that either traditional bowl game venues or some other neutral sites are the remaining options for the first round games in what will be a 4-team playoff beginning in the 2014 season. Smart money is on the traditional bowl sites, in some kind of rotating system designed to spread the wealth around.

Ohio State AD Gene Smith said that all 12 of the Big Ten AD's have agreed to the new playoff format, but they are adamant that the format remains at no more than four teams.

The Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team will make their first ever trip to Durham, North Carolina on November 28 to play Duke as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

The two teams will meet just 12 months after Ohio State destroyed the Blue Devils by 22 points in Columbus. Led by strong outings from Jared Sullinger (21 points), William Buford (20 points), Deshaun Thomas (18 points) and Aaron Craft (17 points), the Buckeyes dismantled No. 3 Duke in front of a sold-out Value City Arena.

The Buckeyes will be replacing Sullinger and Buford this season, but talented recruiting classes in the past have landed the Buckeyes a No. 8 ranking in ESPN’s early poll. The Blue Devils will be replacing Austin Rivers and Miles Plumlee but return a solid core that includes Ryan Kelly, Seth Curry and Quinn Cook.

Game time and networks are TBD.

Here’s the complete lineup for this year’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge:

Tuesday, November 27:

North Carolina @ Indiana
North Carolina State @ Michigan
Minnesota @ Florida State
Maryland @ Northwestern
Iowa @ Virginia Tech
Nebraska @ Wake Forest

Wednesday, November 28:

Ohio State @ Duke
Virginia @ Wisconsin
Michigan State @ Miami
Purdue @ Clemson
Georgia Tech @ Illinois
Boston College @ Penn State

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This is the 14th edition of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. After the ACC swept the first ten challenges, the Big Ten has come on strong and won the last three.

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Al Ciammaichella takes a look around the Tribe's minor league system and brings you information on who's making noise, who's moving up, who's moving down and who may be moving out. Today Al looks at Frank Hermann who may be making his way back to Cleveland with the release of Dan Wheeler, and he looks at the ripple-effect that may have on guys back filling Hermann's spot in Columbus.

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T.J. McFarland, SP-AKR: W (6-1), 7 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 4 K, 0 BB.

McFarland is one of my favorite pitchers in the organization. Drafted in the 4th round back in 2007, nothing he does is particuarly overpowering, but he's almost always effective. His fastball sits in the low-90's, but has excellent sink and arm-side run which helps him induce lots of weak contact and ground balls. On the season, he's 6-1 with a 2.18 ERA, 24 K and 11 BB in 41 1/3 innings pitched. Most importantly for McFarland, he's posted a 1.97 GO/AO ratio, which is excellent. He's yet to give up a home run this season, and has yet to give up more than 3 ER in a single start. He's not a big strikeout guy, but does a great job limiting damage and making the right pitch in the right situation.

Corey Kluber, SP-COL: 6 IP, ER, 5 H, 4 K, 3 BB. Kluber has been a different pitcher this year, going 3-2 with a 2.58 ERA in 38 IP for the Clippers. Most impressive has been his 49(!) strikeouts and 19 walks, much improved from his 143/70 in 150 innings last year for AAA Columbus.

Cody Allen, RP-COL: 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 2 BB. Allen matched his season total with 2 earned runs allowed last night. He still has 26 K and 2 BB in just 19 IP between Carolina, Akron and Columbus.

Andy LaRoche, 3B-COL: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 K. Playing 3B while Chisenhall is on the DL, LaRoche has actually been pretty good. He's hitting .324/.378/.500 in his last 10 games, with a HR, 3 2B and 4 RBI.

Jose Lopez, DH-COL: 3-5, 2B, R. Lopez has taken his demotion in stride, and has been on base in all 5 games he's played for the Clippers. He's hitting .579/.600/.789 in AAA, and clearly #wants to be back with the big league club.

Bryan Price, RP-AKR: 2 IP, 2 H, K, BB. Bouncing back from his only bad outing of the year, Price lowered his ERA to 2.84 in 19 innings of work for the Aeros. Interestingly, each of Price's 9 outings this season have been at least two innings...sounds like the Cousineau plan may be taking root!

Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 2-5, HR (2), 2 RBI, 2 R, K. Diaz has hit in 9 of his last 10 games, going for a .317/.364/.537 line with 2 HR, 3 2B and 6 RBI in that timeframe.

Chun Chen, 1B-AKR: 3-4, 2B, 2 R. Chen has been impressive of late, putting up a .333/.389/.515 line with a HR and 3 2B in his last 10 games for the Aeros. Still, if he's going to be a 1B in the show, he's going to need to show a little more pop.

Roberto Perez, C-AKR: 1-3, BB, R. No one from Harrisburg dared test the arm last night, so Perez didn't throw anyone out.

Mike Rayl, SP-CAR: 7 IP, ER, 5 H, 3 K. Rayl has given up just one earned run in his last 13 innings of work for the Mudcats, striking out 7 and walking two. For the season, he's 3-3 with a 2.43 ERA, 9 BB and 29 K in 40 2/3 IP.

Tyler Holt, CF-CAR: 2-6, BB, K. The Mudcats only managed to push across two runs in a doubleheader yesterday, and Holt was the only 'Cat with a hit in each game. He's cooled off considerably after his sizzling start, hitting just .235/.366/.235 in his last 10 games.

Ronny Rodriguez, SS-CAR: 1-6, HR (2), RBI, R. Rodriguez has some impressive tools, but is hitting just .219/.255/.343 with 2 HR and 13 RBI in 30 games for the Mudcats this year. Still, he turned 20 in April, so he's young for the league and the tools should play eventually.

Cody Anderson, SP-LCC: W (3-1), 6 IP, ER, 6 H, 5 K, 2 BB. Over his past four starts, the big righty has thrown 23 innings, allowed 3 earned runs, struck out 16 and walked 8.

Alex Lavisky, C-LCC: 1-3, HR (2), RBI, R. Lavisky's HR was the difference in a 2-1 victory for the Captains yesterday. He's collected a hit in 4 straight, and is now at .232/.284/.364 overall with 2 HR and 14 RBI.

Todd Hankins, LF-LCC: 2-4, 3B, R. The Hammer collected two of the Captains four hits yesterday.

Nick Weglarz, LF-AKR: 2-4, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI, 2 R, K

Big day for Weglarz, who has been having a mostly dissapointing season so far for AA Akron. Repeating a level that he first played at back in 2009, Wegz is hitting just .213/.308/.350 overall for Akron, with the 3 HR and 10 RBI in 23 games. Most alarmingly, the normaly patient and selective Weglarz has just 10 walks and 31 strikeouts this season. Weglarz insists that he's finally healthy after a myriad of ailments over the past few seasons, so I was really expecting big things out of the slugging Canadian this year at AA Akron, but it's just not happening right now. He's a notorious slow starter, so there's still a chance that he'll pick things up as the weather warms up, but as of right now he's dangerously close to becoming a non-prospect. Wegz is one of the few OF drafted by the organization who really looked like he could be a slugging, middle of the order presence, so to see him struggle with injuries and ineffectiveness is really depressing. He'd look awfully good in left at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, but with each passing month his .889 OPS in 50 games for AAA Columbus in 2010 looks more and more like a tantalizing taste of what might have been rather than a sign of things still to come.

Eric Berger, SP-COL: L (0-1), 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 6 K, 3 BB. Berger was good, but opposing starter Dellin Betances was better in a 2-1 Clipper loss. Yesterday was the first AAA start this year for the best mustache in all of minor league baseball.

Cord Phelps, 2B-COL: 2-4, HR (2), RBI, R. The Clippers managed just two hits as a team yesterday, and Phelps came through with both of them including his 2nd HR of the season.

Gio Soto, SP-AKR: L (3-1), 5 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, K, 2 BB. Soto wasn't horrible yesterday, but he wasn't good either in taking his first loss of the season for the Aeros. The single strikeout was by far his lowest of any start this season, but he's still struck out 31 hitters in 32 innings of work overall.

Loek Vam Mil, RP-AKR: IP, 2 K. His full name is Ludovicus Jacobus Maria Van Mil, he's 7'1", 260lbs, born in The Netherlands and yesterday was his Aeros debut. Not a bad little outing for the massive righty.

Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 2-3, 2 1B. Neal is 6 for his last 13, and is hitting .282/.364/.346 overall. He's yet to hit a HR for Akron, but does have 5 2B in 22 games for the Aeros.

Tim Fedroff, CF-AKR: 2-5, 2 1B. Fedroff now has 4 multi-hit games in a row, and is 9-18 in that timeframe. In 28 games for the Aeros this year, he's hitting an outstanding .333/.437/.444 with 7 2B, 2 3B and 4 SB.

Adam Abraham, 1B-AKR: 1-3, HR (2), RBI, 2 BB, 2 R. Abraham is having his best season as a professional, hitting an impressive .294/.430/.515 with 2 HR and 8 RBI. The .515 SLG is 2nd on the team, and Abraham is earning plenty of playing time at 1B, DH and 3B.

Roberto Perez, C-AKR: 0-3, K. Not a great day at the plate, but Perez did gun down two of the three runners who foolishly tested his cannon arm.

Joseph Colon, SP-LCC: W (3-3), 8 IP, ER, 4 H, 3 K, 3 BB. In his last two starts, Colon has gone a combined 15 innings while allowing just one run on 7 hits while walking 3 and striking out 8.

Luigi Rodriguez, CF-LCC: 3-5, R, SB, CS. That's stolen base #9 for Luigi, as the race for the team lead continues. Lindor leads with 10, but Rodriguez and Myles are hot on his tail. Too bad #WASHTIME is on the DL, or he'd no doubt be involved as well.

Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 2-5, K. He's 18 years old and hitting .307/.354/.453 in the Midwest League. He has multipile hits in 6 of his last 10 games. He's leading the team in batting, and is 2nd in OPS, SLG and OBP. He's not just holding his own, he's excelling.

Jordan Smith, DH-LCC: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R. Smith was selected in the 9th round last year, and the 21-year old 3B/OF has been a solid presence in the middle of the order for the Captains all year. He's hiting a steady .278/.326/.506 with 2 HR, 4 2B, 4 3B and 13 RBI

Robel Garcia, 2B, LCC: 1-3, RBI, BB, K.  Garcia is just 19, and after a slow start is now up to .235/.307/.322 overall with 2 HR and 11 RBI. His 10/31 BB/K ratio isn't great, but he's a free swinger with some pop so it's not totally unexpected either.

Around the Farm has been on a bit of a hiatus due to a crazy travel/work schedule, and things aren't getting much better as I go winging off to the horrible city of Miami first thing Sunday. I'll be back in the middle of next week with the standard daily update you all know and love, as well as some longer pieces on some of the players in the system. Until then though, here's a special "late night Al is still on West Coast time" edition of Around the Farm...

Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 1-3, HR (3), 2 RBI, BB, 2 R, SB.

Wow. The 18-year old shortstop, playing in a pitcher-friendly, full-season league in his first real professional experience is hitting .316/.371/.474 (.845 OPS) with 3 HR, 10 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He's walked 10 times while striking out 16, all while providng gold glove quality defense at short. Every time a national writer sees Lindor play, we get a glowing review written up the next day (see Parks, Jason and Goldstein, Kevin as prime examples). It's not so much that Lindor is putting up remarkable numbers (although they are pretty damn good), it's that he's doing it at such a young age in such a difficult environment. For a comparison, Alex Lavisky was 20-years old when he struggled last year in the Midwest League, and ended up finishing out the season in the short-season New York-Penn League. Not at all unusual for a high schooler in his first taste of professional baseball, even a guy who required a cool million to sign. Unless something goes drastically and unexpectedly wrong, Lindor's only potential move out of the Midwest League would actually be UP to the Carolina League, something that's downright remarkable for a guy who won't be able to legally purchase an alcoholic beverage in the United States until November...2014! He's firmly establishing himself as not just the top prospect in the Indians organization, but as a guy who has an outstanding shot to be one of the top 10 prospects in all of major league baseball by the offseason. The 2011 draft class has been heralded as one of the most talented in many, many years, and Lindor is already looking like a steal at #8.

Eric Berger, SP-AKR: 5 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 5 H, 4 K, BB. After giving up 6 earned runs in his first start, Berger hasn't allowed more than two in his next 4 starts. He's back in a starting role for Akron, and has been solid if unspectacular so far this year.

Bryan Price, RP-AKR: L (1-1), 3 ER, 4 H, 3 K, BB. In his first 7 apperances this year, Price allowed a total of 3 earned runs. In appearance number 8, he doubled that total and tool the loss for the Aeros. Still, he has an impressive 23 K in 17 IP this season and is showing flashes of the guy the Indians thought they were getting as part of the Victor Martinez deal.

Chun Chen, DH-AKR: 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, R, K. Chen popped his first HR of the season last night, and is now hitting .301/.369/.409 on the season.

Jared Goedert, 3B-AKR: 2-4, R. What Matt LaPorta is to the Clippers, Goedert is to the Aeros. Hitting an awe-inspiring .395/.490/.556 in 23 games for the Aeros with 2 HR, Goedert is back playing at a level he first appeared in back in 2009.

Juan Diaz, SS-AKR: 2-4, HR (1), RBI, R. Diaz is also repeating AA Akron, but is having a much more dissapointing campaign so far. The tall, rangy shortstop is hitting just .228 with the lone homer.

Will Roberts, SP-CAR: W (1-0), 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K, BB. Roberts didn't miss a ton of bats in his first Carolina League start, but pitched more than well enough to get the win for the Mudcats, allowing just  4 baserunners in 6 innings of work.

Ronny Rodriguez, SS-CAR: 4-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R. Rodriguez came into tonight's game mired in a 3-33 slump, but snapped out in a big way with four knocks including a pair of doubles.

Jesus Aguilar, 1B-CAR: 1-5, 2B, R. Over his last 6 games, Big, Bad Jesus Aguilar has been one of the hottest hitters in the system. He's gone 10-34 with 4 HR, 2 2B, 6 RBI and 10 runs scored over that timeframe, and has an OPS of nearly 1.000 in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League.

Carlos Moncrief, RF-CAR: 2-4, 2B, BB, 3 R. Moncrief has reached base in 5 straight games for the Mudcats, and still has one of the best outfield arms in the league.

Dwight Childs, C-CAR: 1-2, RBI, 2 R, K. Known more for his defense behind the plate, Childs is hitting just .147 on the season for the Mudcats as their backup catcher.

Joseph Colon, SP-LCC: W (2-3), 7 IP, 3 H, 5 K. Dominant start for Colon, who's now 2-3 with a 3.90 ERA with 20 K and 11 BB in 30 IP for the Captains on the season.

Jordan Smith, DH-LCC: 1-4, 3B. Since bouncing back from getting hit in the face with a ball, Smith has hits in 5 of his 7 contests including a HR and tonight's triple.

Luigi Rodriguez, CF-LCC: 1-3, 2 R, BB, SB (8). Rodriguez is trying to keep pace with Lindor for the team stolen base lead, but is trailing him by two. He's hitting an impressive .316/.377/.484, but is still learning to play CF.

Former Zips Defensive Lineman Hasan Hazime was one of three MAC alums drafted by teams in the annual CFL draft.

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Kind of a quick one today, as only Carolina and Lake County were in action yesterday. Most people are going to be, um...discussing the Browns draft picks anyway, so doubt anyone will mind.

Trey Haley, RP-CAR: IP, K, BB.

Just activated off of the DL for high-A Carolina, Haley has a true triple-digit arm, having touched 100 MPH in the past. This spring in Goodyear, I saw him touch 99 and sit consistently between 94-97 with his fastball. That's flat-out impressive, no matter how you look at it. Originally a 2nd round pick out of a Nacogdoches, TX high school in 2008, the 21-year old Haley has struggled with minor injuries for the past couple of years, and has had trouble with command and control when he has been on the mound. But you can't coach 100 MPH, so Haley is clearly going to get every opportuinity to succeed in the organization, whether it be as a starter or reliever. He was excusively a starter until last year when he began working out of the bullpen. Obviously, the Indians would prefer to have him stick in the rotation, but he could be a dominant closer if he does end up in the 'pen. Either way, it's good to have him back on the mound.

• Brett Brach, SP-CAR: 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB. Solid start for Big Red, who has been working both as starter and a swingman out of the bullpen so far this year.
• Giovanny Urshela, 3B-CAR: 2-5, HR (1), 3 RBI, R. Urshela is scorching hot, going 6-9 with a HR, 2B, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored in his last two games.
• Jeremie Tice, DH-CAR: 2-3, 2 2B, RBI. Speaking of scorching, that's three multi-hit games in a row for Tice, who's now 8 for his last 11 with 2 HR and 3 2B.
• Carlos Moncrief, RF-CAR: 2-4, 3B, RBI, R, K.  Very nearly a 20-20 guy last year, Moncrief has struggled a little in the jump to the Carolina League, going for a .220/.344/.440 line with 2 HR and 1 SB.
• Anthony Gallas, LF-CAR: 2-3, BB, R. The local product is hitting a solid .281/.378/.469 in his last 10 games. He's old for the level, so he needs to rake to be considered a prospect in A ball.
• Felix Sterling, SP-LCC: 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, K, 3 BB. Sterling's worst start of the season, and it wasn't really that bad. He's yet to record a decision on the season, and has a 3.60 ERA, 20 K and 12 BB in 25 innings of work for the Captains.
• Kyle Blair, RP-LCC: 3 1/3 IP, 4 K. Since his implosion back on April 15 when he allowed 13(!) runs in 3 1/3 innings, Blair hasn't allowed a hit. He's thrown 5 1/3 innings out of the bullpen in his last three appearances, striking out 6 and allowing just a single baserunner via a walk.
• Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 2-6, RBI, 2 K. The 18-year old (I love saying that) is 5 for his last 9, and has been on base in 9 of the last 10 games for the Captains. Seriously, he's 18. He doesn't turn 19 until November.
• Jerrud Sabourin, 1B-LCC: 2-5, RBI, K. Sabourin had a walk-off SAC fly in the bottom of the 11th to give the Captains a victory.
• Leo Castillo, 3B-LCC: 0-4, RBI, R. Sabourin's walk-off was only possible because of a SAC fly by Castillo in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game.

As mentioned in my main page weekly NHL update, the Eastern Conference playoff pairings had not yet been determined at the time it was published, so here's a quick synopsis of the Eastern Conference matchups.

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Giovanny Urshela, 3B-CAR: 4-4, 2B, R.

Going into yesterday's action, Urshela was hitting just .211/.277/.263 for high-A Carolina. What a difference a day makes, as the 20-year old 3B is now up to .262/.319/.348 overall after his 4-4 outing yesterday evening. Urshela is still young for the league, having been promoted from Lake County despite hitting just .238/.262/.347 with 9 HR and 46 RBI last season. The main reason he's considered a prospect is not his bat, it's his glove. Like Kyle Bellows at AA Akron, Urshela has the potential to win a Gold Glove at 3B someday, and his glove is way ahead of his bat at this stage of his development. There's a lot to like here, as he's been playing in very difficult hitting environments as one of the younger players in his respective league for the past two seasons. He added some muscle in the offseason and should continue to fill out as he matures, but is now a solid 6', 200lbs at the hot corner. If his bat improves, then worst-case he could be a Jack Hannahan type in the show. If his bat ever catches up to his glove, then he could end up being something special.

Jeremie Tice, 1B-CAR: 3-4, 2 HR (4), 4 RBI, 2 R.

@BigOleChunkyBoy has been feasting on opposing pitchers of late, recording at least one hit in 9 of his last 10 games and putting up a blistering .389/.476/.833 line (1.310 OPS!) with 4 HR and 11 RBI in that timeframe. Overall, Tice has worked his season line all the way up to .310/.420/.621 after a slow start, which has him 5th in the Carolina League in OPS. He's a 25-year old who is pretty much limited to DH in the field, so he has to flat-out rake to be considered a prospect, but he's holding up his end of the bargain so far. There's not a lot of room above him in Akron, so he's really going to have to force the issue if he's going to get called up to AA this year. A couple more weeks like this will be awfuly hard to ignore though, so if he can stay hot then the Indians will have to see what he can do against competition more his age and experience level.

• David Huff, SP-COL: L (0-1), 4 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H, 2 K, BB. Huff's 1st AAA start after beginning the year on the DL didn't go so well, but wasn't a total disaster either. He's still a depth option at the major league level, or a throw-in trade chip.
• Nick Hagadone, RP-COL: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K. Hagadne has still not allowed a run in AAA, and has struck out 7, walked one and allowed 4 hits in 7 1/3 IP for the Clippers. Anyone who wached Raffy Perez work last night has to wonder if Hagadone will be back with the Indians sooner rather than later.  
• Matt LaPorta, 1B-COL: 2-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB. LaPorta is hitting .364/.427/.667 (1.093 OPS) with 5 HR and 12 RBI in 17 games for the Clippers. He has also struck out 17 times and walked just 7, showing a little of that major league LaPorta is still there. With Casey Kotchman hovering around .150, it's only a matter of time before someone decides that LaPorta should get another shot to not hit major league pitching.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 2-4, 2B, R. Both of Chisenhall's hits came off a lefty, and he's now hitting .250 (9-36) off of LHP this year. Not spectacular, but not such a horrible platoon split that he can't be left in the lineup against lefthanded pitching. Supermannahan is going to turn back into Clark Kent at some point, and Chiz will be ready to step in when that day comes. 
• Andy LaRoche, SS-COL: 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, R. LaRoche has dealt with some injuries after having a solid spring with the big club, and has only played in 7 games for the Clippers. He's hitting just .150/.320/.300 overall
• Steven Wright, SP-AKR: 7 1/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 8 H, 5 K, BB. The knuckler was dancing again yesterday, as Wright pitched well in an extra-inning victory for the Aeros.
• Cody Allen, RP-AKR: 2/3 IP, 2 K. Following up the soft stuff of Steven Wright with Allen's heat almost isn't fair. He struck out the only two Baysox hitters he faced.
• Rob Bryson, RP-AKR: W (1-0), 2 IP, ER, H, K, 3 BB. Bryson blew a save opportunity, but limited the damage despite three walks and ended up the winning pitcher. Exhibit A as to why pitcher wins are next to meaningless as far as determining performance
• Chun Chen, DH-AKR: 3-6, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 3 K. Chen has been on fire of late, posting a .405/.444/.524 line in his last 10 games. His power generally comes in spurts, so I'm expecting a 2 HR game any day now.
• Adam Abraham, 1B-AKR: 2-2, 4 BB, R. Abraham has hit in 6 of his last 7, and the 25-year old needs to keep hitting if he wants to establish himself as more than an organizational guy.
• Thomas Neal, RF-AKR: 2-5, RBI, 2 K. Back-to-back multi-hit games for Neal, who has gone for a .324/.405/.378 line in his last 10 games. Still waiting for the power to materalize though.
• T.J. House, SP-CAR: W (2-0), 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 K, 3 BB. Remember yesterday when I suggested a #FreetheTJs movement on twitter? House backed me up, following up the strong T.J. McFarland performance with a win of his own. Let's get Mac up to Columbus and The House up to Akron sooner rather than later, please.
• Shawn Armstrong, RP-CAR: 2 IP, H, 4 K. Armstrong's next run allowed in 2012 will be his first, as he's thrown 12 shutout innings between Lake County and Carolina, striking out 16 (and walking 8).
• Jose Flores, RP-CAR: S (4), IP, 2 K, BB. Flores is a perfect 4-4 in save opportunities, and has allowed just one earned run in 9 2/3's innings of work this season, striking out an impressive 12.
• Tyler Holt, CF-CAR: 2-4, 2B, BB. Holt continues to provide a spark at the top of the Carolina lineup, and the leadoff man is hitting .348/.430/.478. He's scored 15 runs in 17 games, which is a good sign for a leadoff hitter.
• Jake Lowery, C-CAR: 2-4, 2B, R. Another day, another Jake Lowery sighting. That makes it 4 games in a row that he has collected two hits, and he's accomplished the feat in 7 of his last 10 now. That's impressive no matter how you look at it. He's another guy who is pretty well blocked at AA by Roberto Perez and Chun Chen, but he's also doing his best to force the issue with the bat.
• Cody Anderson, SP-LCC: W (2-0), 2 R (1 ER), 6 H, 6 K. Anderson is a bit of a sleeper, but he's a big righty with a big arm who could end up being a breakout prospect this year. He's 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA and has struck out 20 hitters in as many innings of work for the Captains.
• Cole Cook, RP-LCC: 2 IP, 3 H, K. Hopefully Cook can build on this outing and put together a few scoreless appearances in a row.
• Mason Radeke, RP-LCC: 2 IP, ER, 4 K. Radeke's only blemish was a solo HR.
• Luigi Rodriguez, CF-LCC: 3-4, 2 R, SB. The race for the stolen base title on the Captains is going to be interesting. Rodriguez now has 6, but both Lindor and Myles are nipping on his heels with 6, and if #WASHTIME can come back healthy, he'll no doubt throw his hat in the ring as well. Folks, this is an exciting team to watch, and if you're in the Cleveland area and not taking advantage of that, I feel for you.
• Francisco Lindor, SS-LCC: 2-3, 2B, BB, R. Lindor has hits in 7 of his last 9, and is 8 for his last 36. I keep having to pinch myself to remind me that he's still just 18.
• Robel Garcia, 2B-LCC: 1-3, HR (1), 3 RBI, R, BB, 2 K. Remember yesterday when I said Garcia's power would come around? He made me look good (not easy to do) with his first bomb of the season yesterday.
• Alex Lavisky, C-LCC: 1-3, RBI, K.  Lavisky has been running hot and cold this year, but looks like he's back to a hot streak as he's now 8 of his last 30. More importantly, he's walked 4 times in his last 5 games, which is an encouraging sign that his approach is improving.