The Rob Stone Sports Scouting Report
Walters, a six-foot-two-inch, 210-pound switch-hitter was acquired by Cleveland on July 31 in a Major League Baseball trade deadline deal.
Walters had four at-bats on August 13, singling, scoring two runs, and driving in the game-winning run on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Indians rattled the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Two days later Walters was at it again, making four more plate appearances, singling, scoring a run, and driving in a run on a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth as the Indians scalped the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
The home run, which was confirmed by a crew-chief review, snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak for the Indians, whose previous run also came via a shot from Walters.
On August 20, Walters drilled a solo home run in the top of the second, setting the tone for the Indians in a 5-0 win over the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“He’s a strong kid,” said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. “That ball he hit today went a long way. “He’s got a lot of juice in his bat and we’re still getting to know him.”
On August 21, Walters launched a solo homer in the top of the fifth, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Indians suffered a tough 4-1 loss at Target Field in Minnesota.
“He threw a little cut fastball that came back over the plate,” Walters said of the pitch he drilled off of Twins starter Phil Hughes for his seventh home run of the year. “His stuff was on. It seemed like he was throwing an invisible fastball. Nobody could get on top of it and nobody could square up on it. I got lucky on one.”
Rob Stone is a lifelong resident of the Clairemont Mesa/Kearny Mesa area and is also a certified talent scout through Sports Management Worldwide. If you would like a professional scouting report on your budding son or daughter’s sports talent, feel free to contact me directly., rstone@smww.com, Sportsguyrob@att.net, or 1 (619) 241-6516.www.highvoltigesports.blogspot.com & www.smwwscout.com/rob-stone
