A 4th round pick out of high school in the 2004 Draft, Chuck Lofgren has generally been regarded as the second best pitching prospect (behind Adam Miller) in the Indians farm system for the last two to three seasons.  Lofgren got off to a very slow start to the 2008 season, but has rebounded big time.  Should he keep this up, Lofgren will soon be in AAA Buffalo, and could be a guy the Indians look to when the rosters exoand in September.  Tony had a chance to speak with Lofgren when he was out to visit AA Akron, and their conversation is detailed in this piece.

As frustrating as the Indians' offense has been and as many teeth have been gnashed and walls damaged watching the Indians' hitters flail away, let's sit back and appreciate what we're watching from the Indians' pitching staff - which, as a baseball fan, is a truly amazing thing to witness from night to night. In his latest, Paulie hits on just how good the Indians pitching has been throughout this tumultous start to the 2008 season.

Paul Byrd's performance against the ... wait, there goes a homer ... Yankees was not particularly sharp ... wait, there goes another homer ... but Buff can still find things in yesterday's loss ... wait, there goes another homer ... to write about, including some nice offense from improbable sources, an update ... wait, there goes another homer ... on the bullpen, and a categorization of Mike Mussina's new pitching arsenal.  The B-List recaps the game ... oops, false alarm ... while wondering if the upcoming 4-game set against Toronto will feature double-digit runs ... by either team ... all together.

You know the drill by now.  Tony Lastoria spends each baseball season visiting all the Indians minor league affiliates, talking to players and coaches and watching ball games.  He then cranks out Minor Happenings for us each week, by far the most comprehensive compilation of information on the Cleveland Indians farm system, and a huge asset to this website.  This week, Tony hits on the great starts to the season for Jeremy Sowers and Chuck Lofgren and talks about the guy he sees as the Indians future third baseman.