2011 Cleveland Indians Top 20 Prospects
Not much on the horizon for Cleveland fans hoping to see the “next big thing” arrive the major league level any time soon. Recent 2011 Draftee Francisco Lindor is a great prospect both with the glove and the bat, and instantly ranks at the top of a system lacking blue chip talent. Though like many of the better Indians prospects, he’s a good bit away from the majors. A number of the Cleveland farmhands stood out in Arizona League play, both at the plate and on the mound.
The Indians’ front office has to be thankful for the positive developments down there, and the influx of talent from the 2011 Draft. Without them both, this system would be one of the more lackluster when it comes to high ceiling prospects. Even still, there is legitimate depth, enough to bring up a fair amount of role players and decent major leaguers in time.
- Francisco Lindor, SS: His bat really began to turn a corner as the 2011 Draft creeped closer. Lindor’s talents on defense were never in doubt, his prospect status has, and will continue to, revolve around the overall ceiling at the plate.
- Dillion Howard, RHP: As with most high school products, he’s raw. The Indians are hoping that his athleticism and electric fastball will carry him through the lower levels until he finds a more advanced command of his repertoire.
- Jake Sisco, RHP: His polish and above-average potential across the board makes him one of the more higher floor’d prospects in this system. The development of his secondary stuff should dictate his growth, as he already has a quality fastball.
- Tony Wolters, SS: The California native may not have a massive ceiling, but he does a number of things rather well. He can draw a walk, hit a healthy amount of doubles with his line drive stroke, and be a consistently good defender.
- Elvis Araujo, LHP: It remains to be seen whether or not the big (6 foot 6) lefty can be a starter. His velocity is far beyond average for a lefty, and his secondary stuff is developing; it may just depend on how he continues to develop as he is somewhat behind the curve after 2008 TJ surgery.
- Ronny Rodriguez, SS: He has more pop than you might expect. Then again, it might not matter if he can’t tone down his aggressive approach. The tools are definitely there for him to be an interesting name to follow in this system down the road.
- Luigi Rodriguez, OF: He’s really fast. And he can probably be an above-average center fielder in time. If that weren’t enough, he very well also may turn out to be a pretty potent bat, especially for an up-the-middle talent. Might have the most helium of anyone here.
- Nick Hagadone, LHP: The idea here is that he can be a quality set-up guy in the long run, or at least provide some value on the cheap in the middle innings. His improved command should play a large part of that plan.
- Scott Barnes, LHP: As it stands now, he may be one of the next in line for a call-up if all goes right. The St. John’s product has always been able to get the strikeout, though walks have been a concern from time to time.
- Felix Sterling, RHP: One of the more promising young arms in the system. How well he can develop a third offering should really shape his future role. His Midwest League debut at age 18 was fairly impressive.
- LeVon Washington, OF
- Luis Sardinas, SS
- Giovanni Soto, LHP
- Chun-Hsui Chen, C
- Jake Lowery, C
- Chen Lee, RHP
- Matt Packer, RHP
- Paolo Espino, RHP
- Austin Adams, RHP
- Jordan Smith, OF
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