While LaPorta was not overly impressive in his first taste of Cleveland, his bat showed signs of as the season wore down with four homers in September. Though listed as an outfielder on the Indians' depth chart, LaPorta is considered the favorite to land the starting first-base job after delivering a monster campaign at Triple Columbus. He'll likely compete for playing time with Andy Marte, who also shined at Columbus.

Four to six months of recovery could leave LaPorta sidelined for much of Spring Training and possibly the start of the 2010 season. When healthy, the young slugger is slated to be a regular in the Indians' lineup at first base and/or the corner outfield positions.

Crowe broke free from a .150 (3-for-20) drought over his prior six ballgames. He played nearly every day down the stretch in center and left field, but the club's circumstances could change next year when they welcome back Grady Sizemore from his elbow and abdomen injuries. The team's need to give Matt LaPorta more stability in the lineup and on the field could result in diminishing opportunities Crowe, as well.

That LaPorta was able to participate in pregame work is encouraging. The rookie slugger, who is batting .266 with six homers and 18 RBIs in 43 games, said he is dealing with "just a little bit" of inflammation. The Indians want to see how LaPorta's hip responded to the pregame work before making a further determination on how long to keep him out of action. Andy Marte replaced him at first base for Wednesday's game.

The young and talented LaPorta has been showing promise at the plate as of late, homering in consecutive games while hitting safely in six of his last eight contests. He has the pedigree and ability to bust loose, so make sure to keep tabs on the powerful 24-year-old down the stretch.

A big night for LaPorta, whose dinger was impressive given that it came in the ninth inning off Twins closer Joe Nathan. Overall, the top-rated prospect has predictably struggled to find himself in his first big league season, batting .246 with 14 RBIs and a .285 on-base percentage.

Next year, first base could be LaPorta's domain. The emergence of Michael Brantley this September has the potential to crowd the corner outfield picture. With a healthy Grady Sizemore back in the lineup next season, the Indians might have Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo on the corners and LaPorta at first. The Indians know LaPorta can hit, and would love to see him improve enough defensively to step in at first in 2010. This appears to be bad news for Andy Marte -- who had received an audition at first -- both this year and possibly next, unless the Indians believe Marte could slot in at third.

LaPorta isn't squandering his opportunity at an everyday role, as he's hit safely in 10 straight games since getting recalled from the Minors. Saturday's four-hit game was the first of his career, and with the way he's swinging the bat, it wouldn't be surprising if LaPorta duplicated that achievement in the near future.

LaPorta has a hit in each of the nine games he's played since rejoining the Indians on Aug. 20. He has five doubles and a pair of homers over that time frame, so the 24-year-old's power would help fortify many mixed-league lineups the rest of the way.

A big day for LaPorta, who connected on his first long ball since being recalled on Aug. 20. The highly-touted left fielder has hit safely in all seven games he’s played since his promotion, going 9-for-26 (.346 AVG) with five extra-base hits, six runs and five RBIs. On the season, he’s batting .250 with 16 runs in 20 contests.

The 24-year-old masher was hitting .299 with 17 home runs and 60 RBIs in 93 games at Triple-A Columbus before being summoned for his second go-round with the Tribe this year. His latest tour of duty is starting out quite a bit better than his first, as LaPorta has hit safely and scored a run in each of his first four contests and has cranked out three two-baggers for good measure. Owners in all formats should be keeping close tabs on the young slugger.

Wasting little time in making his presence felt in the lineup, LaPorta showed why scouts regard him as one of the game's top hitting prospects. Although he was in left field for the start of Thursday's game, manager Eric Wedge said LaPorta will also get some playing time at first. The 24-year-old LaPorta was hitting .299 with 17 home runs and 60 RBIs in 93 games at Columbus after hitting just .190 in 13 games with the Tribe earlier this season.

Crowe landed on the DL with a right internal oblique strain that has been bothering him for about a week. He took four rounds of batting practice from the left-hand side Tuesday and reportedly tolerated it well, but Wednesday's move makes it clear that the pain had not gone away. And so a roster move fans have been clamoring for is finally taking place, with LaPorta, the key acquisition in last year's CC Sabathia trade with the Brewers, getting his second opportunity at this level. In 93 games with the Clippers, LaPorta was batting .299 with 17 homers, 23 doubles, two triples and 60 RBIs. He had a .917 OPS.

A fallen prospect, Marte has enjoyed quite the turnaround at Columbus this year, leading the International League in OPS (.963) and slugging percentage (.593), placing second in RBIs, tied for second in homers (18) and extra base hits (43) and third in batting average (.327). With Garko out of the mix and the Indians out of contention, Marte could be a sleeper if he can take advantage of his newfound opportunity. He figures to share playing time at first base with Victor Martinez and Chris Gimenez, and cut into a few of Jhonny Peralta's starts at third. Time is ticking for Marte to prove himself before the Indians call upon top prospect Matt LaPorta.

The Giants are getting one very hot slugger in Garko, who is batting .349 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in his past 20 games. Garko is well worth adding in all formats, as he'll likely take over at first on a full-time basis, slotting into the heart of the Giants lineup. The acquisition all but crushes the value of Travis Ishikawa and John Bowker, who were taking turns at first for San Francisco. If Victor Martinez winds up manning first base on a semi-regular basis in Cleveland, this move would hand more at-bats -- and fantasy value -- to Kelly Shoppach. Cleveland could also opt to recall top slugging prospect Matt LaPorta, who has been playing first base at Triple-A Columbus. The Indians acquired a solid prospect in the 21-year-old Barnes, who is 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 18 starts for Class A San Jose, though he won't reach Cleveland this year.