Written by Al Ciammiachella

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The last day in may was a rough one at the upper levels of the system. Columbus managed just two hits in a 4-1 loss while Akron could scratch across just 2 runs in a 4-2 loss. The lower levels performed much better though, as Kinston came out victorious in a 1-0 nailbiter and Lake County powered their way to a 9-4 win by smashing 4 HR.

Alex Lavisky, C-LCC: 2-4, 2 HR (6), 5 RBI, 2 R, K

Huge night for Lavisky, who has been struggling overall for the Captains. His season line is still just .210/.257/.392, but a game like that has to feel good for the young catcher out of St. Eds. Things are picking up for him a little, as he's now hit in 7 of his last 10 games and has a .250/.270/.528 line over that span with 3 HR and 7 RBI. But the patience and plate discipline is still sorely lacking. He has an ugly 50/8 K/BB rate this season, and has just one walk in his last 10. Lavisky needs to improve his pitch recognition/selection if he wants to move up the organizational ladder. I fully expected him to spend all of 2011 in Lake County, as a full season assignment for a catcher right out of high school is aggressive. So the poor peformance hasn't really dampened his prospect standing for me.

Gio Soto, SP-KIN: W (4-3), 6 IP, 2 H, 10 K, 2 BB

Dominant outing for Soto, who's 2.44 ERA is good for 5th in the Carolina League. He's also tied with teammate Drew Pomeranz for 6th in the league in strikeouts with 54, although Soto has done that in 51 2/3 IP to Pomz' 38 2/3. Regardless, Soto is a guy who was seen as a big of a sleeper prospect going into this season, and he's taken a big step forward. He's a projectable lefty that sits mostly between 88-90 MPH with his fastball, but commands it well to both sides of the plate. He's polished for a kid his age (turned 20 on 5/18) and for his level. It remains to be seen if his stuff can generate swings and misses at the upper levels of the minors, but there's a good chance that he will still fill out and pick up a couple MPH on his fastball.

• Zach McAllister, SP-COL: L (7-1), 8 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 6 H, 3 K, 3 BB. McAllister suffered his first loss of the season, but didn't pitch badly. He did give up 2 HR which proved to be his undoing.
• T.J. McFarland, SP-AKR: L (1-4), 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 K. Like McAllister, McFarland took the loss last night despite pitching fairly well. Also like McAllister, he gave up 2 longballs that cost him in the end.
• C.C. Lee, RP-AKR: 2 IP, R (0 ER), H, 3 K, BB. Lee has been dominant in May, throwing 17 1/3 innings and striking out 29 while walking just 2.
• Jordan Henry, CF-AKR: 3-5, 3 1B, SB, CS. This is Henry's game. He doesn't have any power to speak of, but will get on base and steal bases once he gets there. Old school leadoff hitter and plus defender in CF.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-AKR: 1-5, R, K. Fedroff has hits in all three of his games since his hit streak ended.
• Beau Mills, 1B-AKR: 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, R. Blast from the past. Mills with his 1st HR, and he's hitting .240/.286/.400 since arriving in Akron.
• Preston Guilmet, RP-KIN: S (12), 1 1/3 IP, 2 K. Guilmet's ERA is back under 1 at 0.90 on the season. He's still a perfect 12-12 in save opportunities in the back end of the Kinston bullpen.
• Adam Abraham, 3B-KIN: 1-3, 2B, RBI, K. Abraham had Kinston's lone XBH and RBI last night in the 1-0 victory.
• Cole Cook, SP-LCC: W (2-5), 7 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, 4 K, 2 BB. Cook picked up his first W since May 1 with the strong outing last night. He lowered his ERA on the season to 4.76.
• Jordan Cooper, RP-LCC: S (1), 2 IP, H, ER, 4 K, BB. A solo HR was the lone blemish for Coop. Now has a 2.79 ERA to go with 17 K and 6 BB in 19 1/3 IP.
• Carlos Moncrief, RF-LCC: 2-4, HR (6), 2 RBI, R, 2 K. Carlos snapped out of a 0-11 funk in a big way with his 6th HR of the year. The man with the strongest OF arm in the Indians minor league system has already walked more this season than all of last season.  
• Ronny Rodriguez, SS-LCC: 2-4, HR (2), RBI, R, 2 K. Rodriguez is the Indians highest profile international signing, and won't turn 20 until next April.
• Jesus Aguilar, 1B-LCC: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, K. The power has dissapeared from BBJA's game, as last night was just his 3rd XBH (all doubles) in his last 10 games.
• Alex Monsalve, DH-LCC: 3-4, 2B, 2 R, K. Monsalve has cooled off in May, posting an OPS more than 100 points lower than in April (.628-.765)
• LeVon Washington, CF-LCC: 1-4, BB, SB, R. Dipping peach and stealing bases...that's what Washington does. He's 5-5 in SB attempts since arriving in Lake County from extended spring training.