Cleveland Indians Minor Leagues Review: April’s best hitters and pitchers

Best Captains Position Player: Li-Jen Chu

Key April Stats: .324 AVG, .455 OBP, .948 OPS, 3 HR, 3 2B, 15 BB

Honorable Mention

Logan Ice: .258 AVG, .383 OBP, .746 OPS, 1 HR, 4 2B, 13 BB

Li-Jen Chu came into the season as the backup catcher with the Class-A Lake County Captains and while he remains the backup, he has spent some quality time as the team’s designated hitter as well thanks to his hot start to the season.

He hit .324 and posted a phenomenal .455 on-base percentage thanks to 15 walks. In fact, he nearly walked as much as he struck out in April (15 BB to 17 K). He even added a trio of home runs.

Speaking of the catcher spot, the Captains’ starting catcher, Logan Ice, also had himself a very good April. Like Chu, Ice posted a very good on-base percentage at .383 thanks to a good walk rate. He also nearly walked as many times as he struck out in April (13 BB to 14 K).

The switch-hitting catcher was our 30th ranked prospect heading into the season and has looked great not only at the plate but behind it, throwing out over a third of would-be base stealers in April.

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Best Captains Pitcher: Tanner Tully

Key April Stats: 4 apps, 1 SV, 0.54 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, .210 BAA, 9.2 K/9, 0.5 BB/9

Honorable Mention

Shane Bieber: 5 starts, 3.10 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .291 BAA, 9.6 K/9
Ryder Ryan: 8 apps, 2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, .107 BAA, 9.0 K/9

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Left-hander Tanner Tully takes the top spot at the Tribe’s Class-A affiliate for April. Despite not making a start, he worked as a “piggyback” and still threw 16 2/3 innings in his four appearances. He allowed just one run in April and posted an insane 17:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The former Ohio State star earned himself a May start with the Captains and has had one of the most impressive full-season debuts in the system.

Right-hander Shane Bieber had an impressive start to the season as well, making five starts and striking out 31 in 29 innings of work. Batters did hit close to .300 off him but that didn’t stop him from earning a promotion to Lynchburg last week.

Reliever Ryder Ryan has also been very impressive in the early going. A former position player at the University of North Carolina, Ryder was drafted as a pitcher and while raw has shown some impressive stuff. He struck out eight in eight innings of work so far and held batters to a mere .107 batting average in April.

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Best Captains Position Player: Li-Jen Chu

Best Captains Pitcher: Tanner Tully

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