Written by Al Ciammiachella

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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.