BA Projection on Tribe Top 10 Prospects

[WiscTribeFan]

From Jim Callis' Ask BA Segment. Note, they don't bother to include Knapp on the list.

Not only are the first four players on last year's Indians Top 10 either traded (Pomeranz, White) or in the majors, presumably to stay (Chisenhall, Kipnis), the next two guys (outfielder Nick Weglarz, righthander Jason Knapp) have had their 2011 seasons ruined by injuries. Here's how I envision our 2012 Top 10, assuming the Indians reach deals with Lindor and Howard. Many of Cleveland's best-performing prospects are relievers, but I only included two on the list and opted for prospects with higher ceilings.

1. Francisco Lindor, ss
Eighth overall pick was the best pure shortstop in 2011 draft.

2. Dillon Howard, rhp
First-round talent has heavy low-90s sinker, good athleticism.

3. Tony Wolters, ss
Has advanced line-drive bat; Lindor likely would push him to second base.

4. Nick Hagadone, lhp
Fastball and slider give reliever two strikeout pitches; command is much improved.

5. Felix Sterling, rhp
Holding his own at 18 in low Class A with nifty fastball-slider combination.

6. Ronnie Rodriguez, ss
Another teenager in low A, his multi-tool potential is more impressive than his numbers.

7. Luigi Rodriguez, of
Hit .379 with speed and some pop in Rookie ball to earn promotion to low A at age 18.

8. Chen Lee, rhp
Taiwanese Olympian runs fastball up to 96, has 87 K in 61 IP in upper minors.

9. Levon Washington, of
Fourth low Class A teenager on list has Carl Crawford toolset but struggling in pro debut.

10. Chun Chen, c
Has hit his way to Double-A but still must prove he can stay behind the plate.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/pr ... 12199.html

[skatingtripods]

Very, very young. No real impact on most of them until at least late 2013, more likely '14 or '15.

The window is now. We've got 3 years to get it done before we go for the rebuild again.

[WiscTribeFan]

Very, very young. No real impact on most of them until at least late 2013, more likely '14 or '15.

The window is now. We've got 3 years to get it done before we go for the rebuild again.

Indeed.

Here's another good article from Jordan Bastian discussing the Tribe's pitching depth in the minors.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... Id=rss_cle

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Hopefully they pan out, but I say we build for 2064.

[gotribe31]

I don't love that list, and I think by Feb/March it will look awfully different. I think CC Lee is a better RP prospect at this point than Hagadone. Scott Barnes should be on that list. I know he's hurt, but it wasn't an arm injury so I'm not going to knock his prospect standing because of it. 1-10 isn't as impressive as 11-20, if that makes any sense. Weglarz, Knapp, Barnes, Austin Adams, Gio Soto, Rob Bryson, Bryce Stowell, TJ McFarland...all these guys have an opportunity to make an impact at the next level. The elite talent isn't there, but the cupboard is hardly bare. Lindor panning out and guys like Jake Lowrey, Jordan Smith etc from the 2011 draft will be huge.

[WiscTribeFan]

I wondered why Barnes wasn't on the list.

As he said, he skipped most prospects that were relievers and went with higher ceiling guys on this list. Maybe he's figuring Barnes projects out as a lefty reliever rather than a starter, either that or he doesn't feel that he's got a ton of upside potential. Hard to say.

[Mr. X]

gotribe what about Jesus Aguilar? You think he's top 10 material?

[gotribe31]

gotribe what about Jesus Aguilar? You think he's top 10 material?

He's young, big, strong, and has a ton of raw power. I saw him hit a couple of balls in spring training against the Reds that probably still haven't landed yet. That being said, he's not a great athlete and struggles even at 1B. I like him, but I won't have him in my top 10 until he shows me that he can hit for power in Kinston. Definitely a guy to keep an eye on though, and a guy who came a long way this season after not even being in my top-50 this spring.

[skatingtripods]

gotribe what about Jesus Aguilar? You think he's top 10 material?

He's young, big, strong, and has a ton of raw power. I saw him hit a couple of balls in spring training against the Reds that probably still haven't landed yet. That being said, he's not a great athlete and struggles even at 1B. I like him, but I won't have him in my top 10 until he shows me that he can hit for power in Kinston. Definitely a guy to keep an eye on though, and a guy who came a long way this season after not even being in my top-50 this spring.

So, what you're saying is that he has a glow about him, but we shouldn't expect miracles?

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Nobody fucks with de Jesus.

[pup]

Are you saying Jesus cannot hit a curveball?

[gotribe31]

Are you saying Jesus cannot hit a curveball?

Alright pup, let's not start a holy war here.

[danwismar]

Conspicuous lack of corner outfielders and corner infielders in the top 20. Where in the world are those players going to come from in the next five years?

[peeker643]

Conspicuous lack of corner outfielders and corner infielders in the top 20. Where in the world are those players going to come from in the next five years?

If you draft and develop (and publicize/hype) good minor league pitching you'll find those position pieces you're missing are suddenly being thrown at you.

[gotribe31]

Conspicuous lack of corner outfielders and corner infielders in the top 20. Where in the world are those players going to come from in the next five years?

If you draft and develop (and publicize/hype) good minor league pitching you'll find those position pieces you're missing are suddenly being thrown at you.

Our best corner OF prospect is Weglarz, and he can't seem to stay healthy. Tim Fedroff has had a good year, but he's a tweener in the sense that he doesn't have the pop for a corner OF spot and probably isn't a CF defensively at the major league level. Bo Greenwell is still an interesting guy who was showing some power earlier this year, but has been on the DL for a while himself and still hasn't played above high A.

As far as the corner IF, Mills has at least re-established himself as someone to keep an eye on, but certainly hasn't worked his way back into top 10 consideration. Kyle Bellows is the Jack Hannahan of the system, an outstanding defensive 3B but can't hit his way out of a paper bag. As I said earlier, Jesus Aguilar is an intriguing bat at 1B, and his teammate Gio Urshela is another outstanding defender who's holding his own at full season low-A despite being just 19. There are a few CI guys in Arizona right now, but it's still pretty early to try and project much for them.

The cupboard isn't entirely bare, but Dan's right, it definitely isn't a strength of the system. Peek is also right in that drafting/developing quality arms will generally give you chips to deal for bats.

[Symbolic47]

For you guys who have the opportunity to see the young guys play.....hows Washington looking? I know hes a very toolsy player, Im hoping he can be an impact guy. He's got alot of potential, but haven't heard much about him this year. His stats in Lake County are rather miserable. But he seems to walk alot, and has decent speed. What are the chances he gets it together? Obviously living in this hellhole I don't get many chances to see the young guys, except for my yearly trek home to Akron every summer.

[gotribe31]

For you guys who have the opportunity to see the young guys play.....hows Washington looking? I know hes a very toolsy player, Im hoping he can be an impact guy. He's got alot of potential, but haven't heard much about him this year. His stats in Lake County are rather miserable. But he seems to walk alot, and has decent speed. What are the chances he gets it together? Obviously living in this hellhole I don't get many chances to see the young guys, except for my yearly trek home to Akron every summer.

I haven't seen him since spring training, but the kid is an elite athlete. Doesn't have a great (or even good) arm, but he tracks balls in the OF with his plus speed. Solid approach at the plate, and he projects to have an above average hit tool with slightly below average power. He's still young for the level, as he turned 20 just a couple of weeks ago (7/26). The tools are ahead of the production at this point, but that's not unusual for a player in his first taste of pro ball. He had some minor, nagging injuries that haven't helped as well. I like him a lot going forward, not ready to write him off after one poor season.