Cleveland Indians: Catching Up with 2016’s Top Draft Picks

As the season winds down for the Cleveland Indians’ minor league teams, let’s take a look at how the newest members of the Tribe are faring in their young pro careers.

Francisco Lindor, Tyler Naquin, and Lonnie Chisenhall are all former first round selections of the Cleveland Indians in the MLB draft that are contributing at the big league level. Bradley Zimmer, another former top pick, has progressed to Triple-A and gets closer to the majors by the day. And Clint Frazier, yet another selection in the first round, just helped the Tribe secure Andrew Miller in a trade with the New York Yankees.

Drafting well in recent years has been critical to Cleveland’s success this season. Beyond the first round, Jason Kipnis, Cody Allen, Josh Tomlin, and Kyle Crockett are all homegrown players that have made contributions, both large and small, to the Indians current location atop the standings in the American League Central.

In mid June, 25 new players were drafted and signed by the organization (16 went unsigned), and have been hard at work embarking on their pro careers in the minor leagues. Among them could be the next Tribe cleanup hitter, closer, or fan favorite.

While the odds in baseball are stacked against even the most talented, each draft class brings with it the optimism of the entire club that the future will be bright. So let’s check in on the progress being made by the young men who heard their names called at the top of Cleveland’s draft just two months ago.

Next: Five-Tool First Rounder