Draft rumor season kicks into high gear with the Browns and Marcus Mariota
February 3, 2015Who are the Cleveland Indians’ three biggest rivals?
February 3, 2015In a piece recently published at FOX Sports’ Just a Bit Outside, Chris Antonetti and the Cleveland Indians were the subjects of considerate praise thanks to the development and downright stardom exhibited by three of 2014’s biggest contributors: left fielder Michael Brantley, Cy Young pitcher Corey Kluber and catcher Yan Gomes. While Kluber has some new hardware for his mantle and Brantley received MVP consideration, it was actually Gomes who took the lede.
From Sahadev Sharma:
On Monday, I read about the Devin Mesoraco extension and my brain immediately went to one name: Yan Gomes. Mesoraco’s new contract was a nice move by the Reds, but the Indians’ decision to give Gomes six years and $23 million prior to the 2014 campaign now looks like an even bigger steal and quite the stroke of genius.
There were some front-office executives who were a bit surprised that the Indians were so aggressive in their efforts with Gomes, extending him after he seemingly came out of nowhere and delivered a strong all-around performance in 2013 while splitting catching duties (before taking over the role full time in August) with Carlos Santana.
In 2014, Gomes rewarded the Indians for their faith in him and showed that he wasn’t just a small sample wonder, delivering a .283 TAv, compiling 3.7 WARP, and once again proving to be a strong defender (and framer) behind the plate. By the end of the season, not many were questioning the decision to extend Gomes — and maybe they shouldn’t have doubted the move from the very start. As an organization, Cleveland has done a good job unearthing and developing hidden gems like Gomes, so perhaps the Indians deserve the benefit of the doubt when they make a move that on the surface appears to not make complete sense.
The entire piece is focused on Cleveland’s “Out of Nowhere” stars. Neither of the three players acquired were thought to be capable of producing at their recent levels, all three players were effectively throw-ins in each of their respective trades. Brantley was a Player to Be Named Later, Kluber had mid-rotation talent, and Gomes was the other guy in the Mike Aviles deal. As the piece explains, none of the three players had been ranked in the top 100 as prospects by any of the three major publications (MLB.com, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus) that Baseball-Reference tracks yet each managed a WARP of 3.5 or greater in 2014. Oh and they are all under the age of 30.
For much of the last decade, the Indians have been blasted for their lack of development and wayward early-round draft selections. Names like Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Beau Mills, Trevor Crowe, Jeremy Sowers, and Michael Aubrey were taken in the first half of their respective drafts, only to flame out in various stages of their careers (with Pomeranz being the only one who still has a modicum of hope). For the Tribe to have hit so solidly on their last few years of trades should provide them with the benefit of the doubt when it comes to dealing, but just imagine if they were able to acquire these talents while having their draft picks actually pan out. One look at their top prospect list and it finally appears like this could finally be coming to fruition.
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I loved that in the article Sharma demonstrates his knowledge of the Indians FO by giving praise to some often unheralded guys that may be as responsible (or more) than Shapiro and Antonetti.
Indians moved Steve Lubratich from pro scouting director to a special assistant role, and with the results the team has seen with its trades, Lubratich certainly deserves a lot of credit for the work he’s done over the last decade-plus.
Paul Gillispie, who spent the past six seasons as the assistant scouting director, will take over.
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As the scouting versus development debate always rages on, one name that kept popping up when I asked around the league about the Indians was Ross Atkins. Atkins has spent the past eight years in charge of player development with Cleveland
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And, then the part at the end becomes extremely interesting as we compare the Indians success in being patient with prospects to the Brown’s constant churn of owners, FO, coaches, and players.
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The Indians benefit from not being under a constant media microscope, allowing them to be patient with a pitcher like Kluber — who struggled as a 26-year-old when given a dozen starts down the stretch in 2012 — and giving him the opportunity to deliver on the talent that those in the organization believed was there. Indeed, as a smaller-market team that won’t be fishing in the top tier of free agency and can’t afford to trade away top prospects for established veteran talent, the Indians almost have no choice but to be patient with these types of talents.
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Of course, part of the being allowed to be patient that Sharma does not mention is having an owner that is willing to allow these guys to do their jobs and develop players that way. Perhaps, we don’t have much choice in our market situation, but it is better than having an impatient owner who is constantly looking for the quick fix.
Awesome to see that the Indians are getting good press though and 16 days until pitchers & catchers report!!!
15!
okay, today is mostly over. I like it. 15 Days!!!
DOLANZ IZ STIL CHEAP.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources–with-mlb-rule-change–cuban-prospect-yoan-moncada-is-now-a-free-agent-205956459.html
Moncada is out of the price range.
Andy Ibanez is a couple years away from MLB. He’d be an interesting signing as a potential Kipnis successor.
Hector Olivera though is the guy who could be a real steal. He could be a 3B, he had power, speed, and patience. Only issue is that blood disorder. I would love for the Indians to give him a look.
Moncada is out of the price range.
WHAT? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? LoL