Wahoo's on First » bryce stowell

Cleveland Indians 2012 Top Prospects: The Honorable Mentions

Geordy Boveroux — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:38:55 +0000

Over the next month or so I will be releasing my top prospects list for the Cleveland Indians in the 2012 season. Rather than releasing the entire list all at once, the picks for my Top 15 will be announced one at a time here on Wahoo’s on First with a full profile for each player.

I don’t consider myself a scout. In the interest of full disclosure, I have never seen any of these players play with my own eyes. I simply judge each prospect based on my own interpretation of their statistics and various other scouting reports from official services.

Today, we kick off the series with the honorable mentions. Narrowing the list down to 15 names wasn’t easy. These five players just missed the cut.

Ronny Rodriguez, SS

Such low placement for Rodriguez might come as a shock. He was ranked as high as the third-best prospect in Cleveland’s farm system by Kevin Goldstein, yet I left him off my Top 15 completely. (more…)

How Good is the Cleveland Indians’ Farm System? The Pitching Perspective

Geordy Boveroux — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:25:49 +0000

We’ve already analyzed the top prospects and the noteworthy position players, so in our final look at the Cleveland Indians’ minor league depth, we now turn our attention to the premier arms in the system.

Pitching depth is something many Indians fans boast about. Losing Alex White, Drew Pomeranz, and Joe Gardner in the July Ubaldo Jimenez deal took a toll on the Tribe’s stock of young arms, but there still are some solid prospects waiting in the wings.

We’ve already discussed Dillon Howard, who is the best of the bunch. The next-best starter is Scott Barnes. As a 6’4″ southpaw, he fits just what the Tribe currently lacks in their Major League rotation and projects as a third or fourth starter. For now, though, Zach McAllister, Jeanmar Gomez and David Huff are probably in front of him on the organizational depth chart. (more…)

Who Could the Cleveland Indians Use as Trade Bait?

Geordy Boveroux — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:27:17 +0000

The Derek Lowe deal showed that the Cleveland Indians are not planning to be passive this offseason. As the team eyes a serious run at the playoffs in 2012, the Tribe will likely make more deals before the start of spring training.

We can only speculate about who the Indians will target, but we have a good idea of who they’ll be willing to offer in a deal. Here are a few players who will likely come up in trade talks this winter.

Cord Phelps: This name shouldn’t come as much surprise to Tribe fans. Ever since Jason Kipnis was called up and immediately started producing, everyone could see that Phelps had become trade bait.

Despite a pitiful showing in his 35 games in Cleveland—he hit .155/.241/.255—Phelps, 24, still has plenty of value; at worst, he’s an above-average utility man. The Indians can point to Phelps’ .189 BABIP to explain his poor showing in the majors, and his quality minor league track record suggests he’ll rebound given the chance.

That tiny 35-game sample shouldn’t scare teams away, and there are a fair amount of contenders in need of middle infield help (the San Francisco Giants, for example) where the versatile Phelps would be a perfect fit. (more…)