It would be a vast understatement to say that the first season of the AZL Indians 2 (originally known as Indians White) has been a success. This ragtag bunch of the extremely young (they had the youngest pitching staff in the AZL and second youngest offense), extremely late round draft picks and players who just weren’t needed elsewhere came together as a dominant force almost immediately, finishing second in the Arizona League Central to the Indians 1 team in the first half by going 15-13, then went 16-11 in the second half to come in second again and earn a play-off spot. They won their first play-off game on the road against the Diamondbacks, but were bested in the second round by a single run as the second seeded Dodgers continued on to face the Cubs in the championship.
They not only won games, but did so with the most dynamic offense in the league, finishing the season first in runs scored, home runs, average, OBP and slugging percent and coming in third in steals. While they didn’t have the pitching or defense that team 1 had (in fact, they had to give their top starter, Ignacio Feliz, and reliever, Aaron Pinto, to team mid-season), they had a much more aggressive and powerful offense that kept them in any game.
MVP
While he didn’t have the flash of Yainer Diaz‘s batting average or the power/speed combo of Billy Wilson, Raynel Delgado was consistently the most dependable hitter and fielder for the 2018 AZL Indians 2. Delgado played some second and third, but was predominantly used at short stop where he proved himself a mature defender capable of making both routine and exceptional plays. In a league where any throw from short or third can be dangerous, Delgado had an arm to be confident in and a glove that was among the best on the team.
Offensively, Delgado’s plate discipline was particularly noteworthy as he lead the team by a mile in walks, leading to a team high OBP (.409) that was also good for 5th in the Arizona League. This selectivity at the plate allowed Delgado to really drive the ball when he did make contact, which helped him lead the team in doubles (10) as well. While the AZL Indians 2 did a lot of mixing with their infielders this year, Delgado seems the most likely to stick at short stop and his offensive profile should be a huge boost there.
It has to be stated that had starting pitcher Ignacio Feliz spent the entire season with Indians 2, he would have likely been the team’s most valuable player, but he was moved to Indians 1 early enough in the season that he was be considered with that team.
Future Stars
So much is made of the round a player is drafted in that we often look past late round picks, but this year two of the top offensive performers were the first round pick, Bo Naylor and the 28th round pick Billy Wilson.
Both players have tremendous power, although Wilson’s ability to pull the ball lead to ten home runs compared to Naylor’s two thanks to the dimensions of Goodyear Ballpark. Eventually, Naylor’s gap power will likely suit him more favorably than Wilson’s quick bat. Playing alongside mostly younger players (Naylor himself is only 18, but had already proven himself a bit as a high school home run champion and first round pick), this pair really stuck out as men among boys.
Defensively, Wilson is a showstopper and he may have made the play of the year on August 21st against Cincinnati when he saved a game (and potentially the team’s play-off hopes) with an all out diving play in left field. His 14 steals were a good indication of his base running prowess as well.
Naylor is not quite as polished, but that is to be expected as he is four years younger. He is an excellent defensive fielder and was calling his own games just a few days into his minor league career. In particular, he excels at blocking pitches in the dirt, but is not quite up to expectations considering his throwing arm. He is a good base runner, but not particularly fleet of foot and I wouldn’t be surprised if both his aggressiveness and the experiment of him playing third base diminish in the coming seasons.
One of the reasons Naylor was pushed to third this year was the outstanding season of pure catcher Yainer Diaz. Diaz is a 19 year old from the Dominican Republic and has become an extremely high quality batter. His arm is better than Naylor’s, although his other catching skills are not quite as good. Offensively, he has a similar approach to Francisco Mejia in that he swings early in the count with a hard line drive, high contact rate swing that keeps him from striking out or walking often. After years of subpar catchers, Naylor, Diaz, Bryan Lavastida (Indians 1) and Cesar Idrogo (DSL) should give the Indians a lot of high quality depth in the future.
While this is still leaving out plenty of impressive players, the last hitter that needs to be mentioned here is Brayan Rocchio. Rocchio was the top defender on the team with great glove work on both sides of second base and an accurate arm. In the AZL, every throw to first seems to be an adventure, but Rocchio never had a problem with something that should be a simple part of any baseball game. He provides the best combination of high flying defense with the ability to make all the routine plays as well that you could expect from a 17 year old. Oh yeah, he finished the regular season hitting .343 with a team high 10 doubles despite starting the year in the DSL.
Lenny Torres was a late starter and is still only 17 years old, but he was extremely impressive this year in his six regular season games. In addition, it was his brilliant start in the Indians’ first play-off game that allowed them to reach the second round. He finished the season with a 1.76 ERA and 22 strike outs in 15.1 innings. Fellow 2018 draft pick Ethan Hankins also looked good although his appearances were even more limited as he struck out six in three innings of work.
The last pitcher who needs to be mentioned here is Mike Garcia. Garcia was largely used in an extended relief role, following pitchers who were making rehab assignments or were young starters not ready for a full work load, so he averaged more than three innings per appearance. In his 26 appearances, he walked just nine and struck out 41, giving him the best K/9 (14.2) of pitchers who threw at least 10 innings and a solid 3.1 BB/9.
Under Appreciated
Jose Oca and Sergio Morillo didn’t have quite the inning load of the regulars on Indians 2, but that’s because both pitchers started their years in the Dominican Summer League. Morillo made two starts with the DSL Indians/Brewers before a sideways promotion put him with the DSL Indians for six more appearances. He looked good enough there for a real promotion to the AZL where he started for Indians 2 and posted a 0.84 ERA in 21.1 innings giving him a 1.66 ERA overall in 43.1 innings between the three teams. His strike out numbers were better in the Dominican, but his walk numbers improved upon reaching Arizona.
Oca was more of a long reliever and had better strike out numbers with a 10.5 K/9 after promotion. Between the DSL Indians and AZL Indians 2 he held a 3.02 ERA through 50.2 innings while striking out 50 and walking just nine.
As mentioned with Wilson, late 20 round picks rarely get attention and Gionti Turner didn’t have the added bonus of going double digits in home runs. He did, however, hit near .300 with 10 doubles and steal nine bases while playing fine defensively at his normal position of second base as well as center field. He’s probably not a superstar of the future, but he’s certainly a very interesting player.
Getting completely away from stats and into pure observation based speculation, Pablo Jimenez has some real raw talent that could be something really special. He’s fast, although he wasn’t aggressive on the bases this year so it didn’t show. He has a good eye for someone with such an extreme launch angle. Jimenez hit five home runs this year for the Indians in his first season in the US, but his swing looks capable of so much more. At 19, he could be back in Arizona next year (at least to start the season) and hopefully he’ll have a similar breakthrough to Miguel Jerez who is almost about a year older and further in his development than Jimenez.
Cause for Concern
If you had told me that a member of the 2018 AZL Indians 2 team would break the franchise record for home runs in a single season, I would have guessed Henderson De Oleo, who I had previously seen absolutely crush the ball in extended spring training, or Cristopher Cespedes (Indians 1) who was coming into the season a couple years older than his teammates with a power pedigree that had yet to be realized.
Instead, both players had incredibly disappointing seasons. Both are terrible defenders, although Cespedes was aided by being able to hide in the corners of the outfield. De Oleo committed five errors as a first baseman and another three in extremely limited time at third. Both players were exclusively signed for their bats.
Unfortunately, neither had a bat that made it worth putting up with the poor glove work. Each slugged worse than .370 with De Oleo sporting a truly embarrassing line of .220/.308/.329. Both “sluggers” are 20 years old and have spent three seasons in the Dominican Summer League already, leaving them no excuses for their poor performances. While a few other players had poor seasons, they were generally 18 or under and still have plenty of time to improve either in the AZL or short season.
Most Power: Billy Wilson
Best Bat: Raynel Delgado
Best Wheels: Gionti Turner
Best Glove: Brayan Rocchio (2B/SS)
Best Arm: Raynel Delgado (3B/SS)
Worst Glove: Henderson De Oleo (1B/3B)
Best Control: Luis D. Garcia
Best Stuff: Lenny Torres
Most Likely to be an MLB Pitcher: Lenny Torres
Most Likely to be an MLB Hitter: Raynel Delgado
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