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Cleveland
Indians Prospects
11-17-2007
This year the Indians have
a lot of tweener prospects in the sense that some of the players that made an
impact with the big league club could start 2008 back in the minors. Some of the
prospects that spent most of 2007 in the minors have some limited major league
experience. Both of these types of prospects will be considered for this list.
Hitters
1)
Andy Marte 3B - 24 years old. I'm not going to get into the
politics of why Marte spent most of the 2007 season in AAA.
Nothing has changed. He is still one of the best hitting
prospects in the game and can still be above average defensively
at the hot corner. He has shown at the highest levels (AAA) that
he can hit for + power with + plate discipline. The only
question on his hitting ability is if he makes the adjustments
to hit higher than .260 -.270. Even if he doesn't, a good OBP
along with elite power equals a full time ML third baseman in
the big leagues. The team willing to stick him there and let him
go will be greatly rewarded. Unless the Indians are going to go
out and get someone like Miguel Cabrera, I hope it is them.
2)
Asdrubal Cabrera SS - 22 years old. Indians fans got a good
look at this young SS, although at 2B in 2007. The defense top
of the line and is ready now at any middle infield position. The
bat maybe could use some more seasoning in AAA but Cabrera
showed some excellent plate discipline at AA Akron in 2007 which
might not make him such a risk to be handed a big league job in
2008. He looks like a potential cross between Robert Alomar/Carlos
Guillen offensively. I think he might be able to hit for more
power than Alomar. This is already looking like one of Shapiro's
better deals and gives the Indians great flexibility to deal
with the problems at 2B in 2008 or even move Jhonny Peralta from
SS.
3) Nick
Weglarz 1B/OF - 20 years old in December. The 6'3"/215 lb
Canadian prospect put up a great year in low A Lake County in
2007 to the tune of:
.395 OBP, 497 SLG, 82/120 BB/K, 51 XB hits
You will
not often see this combination of power and OBP. It is even
rarer for such a young player, especially one that could not
play full time since he was from a cold weather region. Weglarz
looks like a young Adam Dunn or maybe Justin Morneau right now.
4) Matt
Whitney 1B - 23 years old. This is the name from the past.
Whitney was a high end prospect drafted by the Indians out of
high school in 2002. He got off to a great start in with their
rookie league team and then had a freak accident which resulted
in a leg injury that cost him the better part of two full years
of development. He showed in 2007 that he is back completely.
And while he no longer players 3B, his hitting was everything
that the Indians hoped for when they acquired. He split 2007 in
low a Lake County and high A Kinston:
low A: .377 OBP, .542 SLG, 31/62
BB/K
high A: .347 OBP, .549 SLG, 22/59
BB/K
Given his age and how much time
he has missed, he is right on schedule with the progression of
any other top prospect.
Honorable mention prospect
hitters:
Jordan Brown 1B - 24 years old in
December. In a regular farm system, Brown might be considered a
lot of teams top hitting prospect. But in Cleveland he makes the
honorable mention list because his power is borderline at this
point. Three of the guys ahead of him on this list have elite
level power, a rare thing in supposedly steroid free baseball
now.
There are a lot of similarities
between Brown and Brian Giles about 15 years ago, who was also
developed in the Indian's system. Brown has both great plate
discipline and contact ability with some question marks about
his power. Giles actually showed less power potential at a
similar age and level but went on to hit for excellent power at
the big league level. Brown does hit a ton of doubles so he is
not without it.
Shin Shoo Choo (25). Choo missed
most of 2007 and will not even start playing again until
sometime in 2008. He is a similar type of hitting prospect to
Franklin Gutierrez with better plate discipline & contact skills
but less power.
Pitchers
1) Adam
Miller RH SP - 23 years old. Started out great in AAA
Buffalo in 2007 and then ran into a variety of injuries. When he
came back, the Indians tried him in the bullpen where he
struggled and he is playing in the Arizona Fall League this year
to get some innings under his belt. Nothing has changed with his
potential. The only thing that can stop Miller is injuries and
the hope is that he is getting to the age where these can be put
behind him. The worst case scenario is that his injuries are the
result of the same problem and he ends up needing surgery. He
stays at #1 because of his immense talent until somebody better
and healthier comes along and proves they are better.
2)
Chuck Lofgren LH SP - 21 years old. After getting off
to a good start, Lofgren's performance fell off some the rest of
2007 in AA Akron. He still finished with these peripherals:
146 IP, 123 K, 68 BB, 153 hits.
It appears Lofgren's problems
relate to his control, which is not unusual for young pitchers,
but especially for a lefty. This is also Lofgren's second
full year of concentrating entire on pitching.
The K
numbers are still excellent and with even a small increase in
control and command could go through the roof yet.
3)
Rafael Perez LH RP/SP - 25 years old. The lefty proved to be
invaluable to the Indians second half of 2007 in the bullpen.
But his most potential might be as a starter. He's done both in
the minors but could be a middle type in the rotation. The
question is, if he is just used as a lefty specialist, might not
his value be more as a starter?
4)
Aaron Laffey LH SP- 22 years old. Laffey blew through
two levels and into the Indians starting rotatin in 2007. He may
need some more seasoning, but the talent is there to be a middle
rotation starter. He could also be used as trade bait this off
season. Laffey does not have the high K/IP numbers, which may
preclude him from having front of the rotation potential, but
his hits/IP and BB/IP in AA & AAA 2007 were excellent:
Honorab
mentions:
Edward Mujica RH RP, Scott Lewis LH SP
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