My Cleveland Sportsman of 2013: Mickey Callaway
January 8, 2014Should Anthony Bennett be in the D-League?
January 8, 2014Baseball America’s top organizational prospects were published for the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday. It comes as no surprise that shortstop Francisco Lindor tops the list for a second straight year.
Here is the entire top ten according to Baseball America:
1. Francisco Lindor, ss
2. Clint Frazier, of
3. Trevor Bauer, rhp
4. Tyler Naquin, of
5. Cody Anderson, rhp
6. Dorssys Paulino, ss
7. Ronny Rodriguez ss/2b
8. C.C. Lee, rhp
9. Jose Ramirez 2b/ss
10. Austin Adams, rhp
From Jim Shonerd, it appears that while the names on this list offer a lot of potential, Tribe fans will be waiting a while before they don big league uniforms:
Other than an imminent changing of the guard at shortstop from Cabrera to top prospect Francisco Lindor, the Indians will have to lean heavily on their current core in the immediate future. The system has few true impact players outside of Lindor and 2013 first-rounder Clint Frazier, the reigning BA High School Player of the Year. Whatever contributions the team gets from young players in 2014 will probably be from relievers such as righthanders Austin Adams and C.C. Lee, along with a hoped-for rebound from Bauer.
In addition to ranking the players one through ten, Baseball America also rates the best players in the system according to individual abilities:
Best Hitter for Average: Francisco Lindor
Best Power Hitter: Clint Frazier
Best Strike-Zone Discipline: Francisco Lindor
Fastest Baserunner: Jose Ramirez
Best Athlete: D’vone McClure
Best Fastball: Trey Haley
Best Curveball: Trevor Bauer
Best Slider: C.C. Lee
Best Changeup: Trevor Bauer
Best Control: Kyle Crockett
Best Defensive Catcher: Roberto Perez
Best Defensive Infielder: Francisco Lindor
Best Infield Arm: Erik Gonzalez
Best Defensive Outfielder: Tyler Naquin
Best Outfield Arm: Tyler Naquin
WFNY’s Jacob Rosen published his list of top organizational prospects in the middle of August.
[Related: My Sportsman of the Year- Mickey Callaway]
8 Comments
Looks right I heard somewhere that Bauer was throwing the ball well I hope that’s true and continues.
If Bauer really impresses and has a decent (like #3 or #4 starter) season, it will be a big positive impact for the team. Last year he was doing some spot starts as well as improving mechanics (which got messy), but he flashed some of that ace potential as well.
Hate to say it as a Tribe fan, but it’s some pretty slim pickings after the Big 3 and that Big 3 includes the enigma that is Trevor Bauer. Also of note is the almost complete lack of SP options after Bauer.
Is it time to move on from Brad Grant? With Kipnis and Chiz getting off to hot starts after his first 2 drafts, I thought he was a breath of fresh air, especially compared to the train wreck that was John Mirabelli and the Amateur Draft. But 4 drafts later, the farm system is still pretty barren, even if you include Alex White and Drew Pomeranz.
People WAY underrate Jose Ramirez (who should be the #3 prospect), who will be a starting 2B in the majors (better defensively than Kip who can DH or play OF eventually)… he’ll hit for the best AVG not Lindor. People also overrate Ronny Rod, Bauer, and Naquin… Bauer is the only potential impact player of the 3, and he’s nowhere close with his horrendous control. Mejia, Santander, Wendle, Aguilar, Jordan Smith, Lugo, Brady, Baker, and Moncrief are all better prospects than Naquin, Ronny Rod, and 2 relievers (as much as I like Lee and Adams.. relievers shouldn’t be rated as high).
problem is, Bauer is an all or nothing prospect… he’s either going to be an ace or (more likely) he’s going to flop completely… he has elite stuff but if he can’t control it it won’t matter
Nice pic of Fryman and Lindor. Who took it?
I don’t see that as being true with him. I actually have him much more pegged as a SP3 type guy. He’ll likely figure things out to get SOs, but he’s going to walk a ton of guys too and have a poor WHIP. It’s just the type of pitcher he seems to be. He’s willing to gamble on the edges and with different pitches/deliveries to try to fool batters. Sometimes they won’t be fooled.
Now, if he puts it all together, then maybe he could be an ace, but I don’t think he’s going to flop completely (unless he gets an arm injury – just like any pitcher).
I’ll leave that for others for now. It’s so hard to project these things without going draft by draft and doing a full analysis of everyone.
For instance, this time last year, Danny Salazar was a missed 2006 Indians draft pick that was toiling around with only 6 games at even AA. His WHIP was high, he struck out less than 1 per inning in the low-level minors. Then, 2013 hit, he figured out how to SO batters better and he became a phenom.
A potential upcoming example: Is LeVon Washington a miss? He’s been toiling around in the low minors so far in his career, but he’s only 22yo and should open in Akron this year (I hope). He’s had some injuries, but he’s also shown a +bat and +speed. It’s hard to gauge where he will be in 2-3 years.
Grant went with way more high upside HS kids than the previous draft regime did. I don’t know if these guys are going to pan out, but if the FO bought off on him doing it, then it gave him a long leash to prove himself with these kids. Having Kipnis and Lindor pan out definitely helps (it’d help more if Chisenhall stakes his claim to the 3B job). But, these young kids are going to have to start developing. We shall see.