Akron RHP Adam Plutko, Lake County INF Claudio Bautista earn Minor League Players of the Month
CLEVELAND, OH-The Cleveland Indians today announced Akron RHP ADAM PLUTKO has been named the Indians Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May, while Lake County INF CLAUDIO BAUTISTA has been named the Indians Minor League Player of the Month. The Indians Player of the Month award recognizes individual performances from within the Indians Player Development System and is announced at the conclusion of each month through the end of the Minor League season.
Plutko, 23, went 3-1 with a 1.24 ERA (4ER/29.0IP), registering 30 strikeouts against just 2 walks and holding opponents to a .192 clip (20-for-104) over 5 May starts. The right-hander went 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA (4ER/26.0IP) over 4 starts with the Lake County Captains before being called up to AA Akron on May 27. The former UCLA Bruin ranked among Carolina League-leaders in the month of May in ERA (3rd), wins (T2nd, 3), strikeouts (T7th, 28) and average against (4th, .196). On the season, Plutko is 4-2 with a 1.20 ERA over 9 games/starts (52.2IP, 8R/7ER, 3HR, 5BB, 49SO, .173 AVG). He leads the Indians Player Development System in ERA and is T2nd in strikeouts.
Plutko was the Indians 11th round selection in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of UCLA. He combined to go 7-10 with a 4.03 ERA (67ER/149.2IP) and a 4.80 strikeout/walk ratio in 2014, registering the organization's 2nd-most strikeouts (144) between Single-A Lake County and Single-A Advanced Lynchburg. The California native was named the 24th-best prospect and Best Changeup in the Indians farm system by Baseball America.
Bautista, 21, hit at a .364 clip (40-for-110) in May with 9 doubles, 3 home runs, 10 walks, 21 RBI and 19 runs scored. The Dominican Republic native recorded 12 multi-hit games, hitting safely in 21 of his 27 games played. The 5-11, 170-pounder tallied a 10-game hit streak from May 16-26, batting .435 (20-for-46) during that stretch. Bautista ranked among organizational leaders during May in average (1st, .364), hits (1st, 40), on-base percentage (2nd, .417), doubles (3rd, 9), RBI (T4th, 21) and runs scored (6th, 19).
Bautista signed with the Indians as a non-drafted free agent on May 18, 2011 and played for the DSL Indians that season. The infielder spent 2012 with the AZL Indians and played for Mahoning Valley for the majority of the 2013 season, also appearing in 16 games at Lake County. In 2014, Bautista hit .249 (115-for-461) with the Captains.