• Minors: Alex White profile, top 11 for '11

  • By Jason Grey | April 28, 2011 8:45:50 AM PDT
With Carlos Carrasco (elbow) having been placed on the disabled list, the Cleveland Indians will need a starter for Saturday. David Huff is the next starter in line at Triple-A, especially since he's already on the 40-man roster. However, he would be working on three days' rest. So the Indians likely will turn to prospect Alex White, the 15th overall pick in the 2009 draft. White is expected to make his big league debut after posting a 28-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a sub-2.00 ERA in his first four starts of the season (at Triple-A).White has been on the fast track since he was drafted out of the University of North Carolina. He debuted (professionally) at the high Class A level last season, then finished the year with 18 appearances at Double-A. He has had success from Day One thanks to the plus sink on his low-90s two-seamer, and he can dial up a fastball to the mid-90s when he needs a little something extra. He pairs that sinker with a late-breaking splitter that is a swing-and-miss pitch, and his two-pitch mix is impressive enough that some teams viewed him more as a power reliever."We feel he's very close," Indians manager Manny Acta told the team website during spring training. "We feel very confident that he's going to contribute to our major league club at some point."Acta followed that up by saying this to the team website earlier this week: "With the reports we've gotten, we wouldn't be afraid to bring this guy up to compete up here. And if he has any developing to do, it could be continued up here. We've gotten some reports that his slider is improving."That slider might determine White's success as a starter. It has shown flashes of being a solid pitch, but too often in the past, it has "slurved" out and broken early as he has struggled with his release point and occasionally tipped it with his arm action. I saw him commanding the pitch a bit better this spring, and the early results from Triple-A have been positive. His sinker/splitter combo and ability to keep the ball on the ground (and in the park) mean that merely an average slider can be enough for him to have consistent success in a big league rotation.White is aggressive, attacks hitters and has learned to pitch to contact better and trust his stuff. I do want to see that slider be more consistent and see him command his fastball on both halves of the plate a little better. He's just missed the cut for the weekly Top 11 each week, and in Tout Wars I took advantage of the rule allowing you to pick up a minor leaguer with your FAAB and put him on reserve after one week by picking up White in the first transaction period of the season, so clearly I think he's a pitcher that can have an impact in AL-only leagues.

Top 11 for '11


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