Clevelinks, January 30: Radio Rights and Top Prospects

Welcome to Clevelinks, a new feature recapping the previous day or weekend’s Indians news and Wahoo’s on First commentary, as well as the best Tribe analysis from other sites.

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Indians News

• The Indians and WTAM agreed to a five-year deal renewing the latter’s rights to broadcast Tribe games. So Tom Hamilton‘s voice is here to stay.
• Two Tribe farmhands cracked MLB.com’s 2013 Top 100 Prospects list: Francisco Lindor (#14) and Trevor Bauer (#17).
• Former Cleveland catcher Kelly Shoppach agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Seattle Mariners. Shoppach, 32, came to the Indians from Boston along with Andy Marte and Guillermo Mota in the 2006 Coco Crisp; he was traded to the Rays for Mitch Talbot in 2009.

Wahoo’s on First Highlights

• Lewie explained why minor-league signings are worth getting excited about.
• Brian broke down the implications of the Dodgers’ new TV deal for the Indians.
• Evan began his preview of the Tribe’s AL Central rivals with the Kansas City Royals.

Tribe Analysis

• Jake Dungan from Indians Baseball Insider breaks down the Tribe’s projected lineup.
• Vince Guerrieri at Did the Tribe Win Last Night? continued his countdown of the best moments in Progressive/Jacobs Field history with Game 3 of the 1995 World Series.

Shameless Self-Promotion

• Voting began for the 2013 SABR Analytics Research awards yesterday at The Hardball Times and Baseball Prospectus, and will go live on FanGraphs and SABR.org today. I am among the nominees in the “Contemporary Baseball Commentary” category for an article I wrote entitled “Did Hall of Fame’s Founders Want Voters to Judge With Their Eyes?”. If you like my work I would appreciate your support!