The Indianapolis Indians announced on Thursday afternoon that right-handed pitcher Blake Cederlind has joined their bullpen from Altoona. They also activated infielder Kevin Kramer from the injured list.
Cederlind began the season with Bradenton, where he had a 1.17 ERA in 7.2 innings over seven appearances. He was promoted to Altoona on May 4th and put together a strong run through Double-A, while showing improved control. In 45.2 innings over 31 appearances, he posted a 1.77 ERA, with 42 strikeouts, a .191 BAA and a 1.03 WHIP.
The 23-year-old Cederlind was touching 97 MPH when he was drafted in the fifth round in 2016, but he started hitting 100 MPH last year and has topped out at 102 MPH this season. The added velocity has helped his slider, curve and changeup be more effective pitches, as batters gear up for triple digits, only to be way out in front of off-speed pitches.
It’s obviously late in the season with only 12 days left on the minor league side, but Cederlind will get some Triple-A experience ahead of what could be a big winter for him if he’s added to the 40-man roster.
Kramer has been out since August 13th with a knee contusion. He has a .255/.329/.418 slash line in 104 games, which has him well below league average in this big year for offense in the International League. Last year Kramer had an .856 OPS, which was well above league average. So this has been a very disappointing year for him. We should still see him in September with the Pirates, as they don’t have many other position players available on the 40-man roster.
If any other moves happen on the minor league side, we will add them here.
