It’s day three of our Cleveland Indians minor league rankings as we continue what we started on December 1st. You can go back to see who ranked from 41-50 and from 31-40, but today we bring you the very middle of the rankings with numbers 21-30. Ranking the prospects this year were Joseph Coblitz, Justin Lada, Kevin Gall, Gavin Potter, Caitlin Boron and John Hutchison. Prospects must not have played a single inning at the Major League level to be included.
30. Eric Hasse – C – Age: 23
Level: AA – 2011 Draft, Rnd 7 – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Gavin Potter
The third-highest catcher in our rankings, Haase is athletic for a catcher, and his hard work has allowed him to become a potential depth option at catcher for Cleveland. He has always shown good power, with a career .458 slugging percentage, but has had issues with plate discipline and contact. He regularly posts strikeout rates north of 25%, but only has a career 8.4% walk rate.
Haase had a good year at High-A in 2015, putting up a .798 OPS, but injuries and a promotion resulted in a rough year at Akron in 2016, only producing a .703 OPS. Still, Haase still threw out 43% of runners in 2016, and is generally regarded as strong receiver. Though he likely will never be a MLB regular, his power paired with defensive strength may give him an eventual shot at backup catching role.
29. Luis Lugo – LHP – Age: 22
Level: A+ – 2011 International Free Agent – 2015 Rank: #26
By Caitlin Boron
Lugo is a very solid and sturdy pitcher, someone who might not be too flashy on the mound but will get the job done. At 6’5” and 200 lbs, he has the build to put a lot of power into his pitches, but is still finding his way around his full potential. His progression through the Indians farm system has been slower than a lot have expected, only reaching high-A Lynchburgh in his six minor league seasons. I would expect him to start there when camp breaks in 2017, but to end up in Columbus at some point that year.
If there was one thing that could hold Lugo back from making that jump it might be the home run ball, giving up 39 homers since 2014. Luckily, his knack for getting strikeouts could off-set those numbers, with an 8.9 K/9 over those same three seasons. The kid has some things to work on, and some things to keep up, but either way he has promise.
28. Ben Krauth – LHP – Age: 22
Level: A – 2016 Draft, 16th Rnd – 2015 Rank: Not in System
By Joseph Coblitz
Right now, Krauth appears to be the kind of reliever you can steal late in the draft if you look beyond speed. While he doesn’t throw hard, plenty of pitchers in baseball have shown that velocity isn’t everything. What is more important, control, Krauth has in abundance.
With an easily repeatable, compact delivery, Krauth struck out 46 to seven walks in his first pro season including 20 to none in Arizona. In the whirlwind that was his first season, he climbed the ladder quickly from the AZL to Mahoning Valley, then to Lake County. Like Kyle Crockett before him, Krauth could quickly burn through the minors and be seen in the Majors before most on this list due to the simplicity of his game. While he was used over multiple innings in many of his appearances this year, his change in velocity between his change and fastball could make him a short work Major Leaguer within the next two years.
27. Dorssys Paulino – OF – Age: 22
Level: A+ – 2013 International Free Agent – 2015 Rank: #20
By Gavin Potter
Years ago, Paulino was one of the highest-regarded prospects in Cleveland’s system, appearing on several notable Top-100 prospect lists as a young shortstop following a 1.015 OPS as a 17 year-old in rookie league. However, Paulino’s poor defense resulted in a move to left field and he posted poor offensive seasons in 2013 (.646 OPS) and 2014 (.665 OPS) at Lake County. As a result, he quickly became an afterthought in the Indians system.
However, Paulino caught the eye of scouts again when he put up an .897 OPS in 43 games at High-A in 2015 as a 20 year-old. He repeated the level in 2016, and put up a solid, but slightly disappointing .799 OPS. Paulino is still a good athlete with a solid approach, an above-average hit tool and good gap-power, but at this point, likely projects as a bench MLB player at best.
26. Mike Papi – OF – Age: 24
Level: AA – 2014 Draft, Rnd 1 – 2015 Rank: #15
By Gavin Potter
Coming out Virginia in 2014, Papi was regarded as one of the most advanced bats available in the draft, but to date he has failed to live up to his billing, posting decent, but unspectacular offensive numbers while providing mediocre at best defense in the outfield corners.
Papi’s offensive production has been tied almost exclusively to his ability to walk, carrying a .348 OBP in his minors career despite just a .225 average and a so-so .368 slugging percentage. Certainly, his patience and approach at the plate is a skill that can translate to the MLB, but he will need to demonstrate a better ability to put the ball in play with authority in order to have any hope of seeing time in the big leagues. Papi flashed some power in 2016 between High-A and AA, clubbing 15 home runs in 118 games, but still only finished the year with a .767 OPS. As an older, bat-first player, Papi needs to tap into his full offensive potential soon to keep his status as prospect.
25. Julian Merryweather – RHP – Age: 25
Level: AA – 2014 Draft, Rnd 5 – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Caitlin Boron
Merryweather has quietly made a name for himself this season after having a very good time in Lynchburg. He bounced between the Hillcats and the Rubber Ducks in 2016, but excelled in the lower of the two going 8-2 with an impressive 1.02 ERA in 11 starts. That first half of his season impressed enough to get an invite to the Carolina-California All Star Game, followed up by his promotion to AA. He’s a passionate pitcher with stellar fastball-slider combo and something to offer a franchise who lives on the belief that you can never have too much pitching. If he can come out of the Winter strong and injury free, 2017 should be just as great a year for him as this season was.
24. Logan Ice – C – Age: 21
Level: SS – 2016 Draft, Rnd 2 – 2015 Rank: Not in System
By Caitlin Boron
Ice is brand new to the Indians farm system after being the third pick for the Tribe in the 2016 draft. In his first career season, Ice struggled at the plate, batting below the Mendoza line for the season at .195 and he struck out 38 times in 39 games. There is hope for him, however, as he does have some big positives to build on.
The kid can get on base (23 BB and .329 OBP) and can get guys in scoring position home (7 of his 8 RBIs were with guys in scoring). He does have some work to do defensively, and with a shortage of solid backstops in the farm system, it’s crucial that he hones in on his ability to frame pitches and pick guys off as soon as possible
23. Willi Castro – SS – Age: 19
Low-A – 2014 International Free Agent – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Justin Lada
A few things stand out about Castro. He’s 19 (about four years younger than the average age of a Midwest Leaguer in 2016), is a Puerto Rican who speaks English very well and has very good makeup. The Indians continue to be aggressive with their international middle-infielders in terms of age/assignment. Going back to Ronny Rodriguez, he, Francisco Lindor, Erik Gonzalez and Dorssys Paulino and Castro have all been very young for the MWL and were all highly touted shortstops. The best of the group, Lindor is the Indians franchise shortstop and the others have moved off of shortstop because of that or by lack of ability to stay there.
Castro made 25 errors in 2016 at the position, but he has the range, athleticism, hands and arm to possibly stay there. He could outgrow the position, however. Castro reminds me a bit of Giovanny Urshela and Ronny Rodriguez offensively. Like Urshela, he’s not a very patient, selective hitter, but has a good idea of the strike zone and manages to make a lot of contact, sometimes to a detriment. He has more pop than Urshela, more like Rodriguez with a decent amount of speed on the bases as well.
Castro’s future offensively may depend on his contact rate, but he’s going to be 20 to start the minor league season in 2017. He might open the year at Lake County again and I could see him having the kind of breakout offensive year Francisco Mejia did in 2016 after a less than stellar offensive performance in 2015 despite being very young for the league. I don’t think Castro will have a 50 game hit streak (though who expected Mejia to?) or have quite the same outburst, but enough of a performance that he’ll make this ranking look low.
22. Luke Wakamatsu – SS – Age: 20
Level: SS – 2015 Draft, 20th Rnd – 2015 Rank: 16
By Joseph Coblitz
At 6’3″ Wakamatsu is a giant of a short stop and with his large build, lack or range and strong arm, he could be destined for the hot corner. He has extremely quick reflexes and a strong arm that would make him a good fit there even though he has never played anywhere besides short professionally.
While he isn’t great in a short burst, his long stride makes him a fast runner over distance and a great base runner when it comes to taking an extra base, although a poor base stealer. He has been aggressive going first to third or second to home when I have seen him live and has been aggressive in the field as well, possibly too aggressive, throwing home for a tag when the easy play was to first or to first too late and forcing a bad play.
With the bad comes the good and Wakamatsu has a Major League pedigree with his father being a former catcher for the White Sox and current MLB coach. It’s possibly because of this that he seems very mature for his age with great instincts. He also has a strong line drive stroke that will likely turn into a lot of doubles as he continues to get stronger. He missed much of the season in Mahoning Valley this year with an injured shoulder, but with his make-up, should be able to move straight to Lake County in 2017.
21. Andrew Calica – OF – Age: 22
Level: A – 2016 Draft, Rnd 11 – 2015 Rank: Not in System
By Caitlin Boron
Calica was drafted twice by the Indians, first in 2012 and again in 2016, declining to sign with them the first time around out of high school. This time, he was ready to get to work and dominate. In his first season with the Tribe, he took off, batting .389 on the season between Mahoning Valley and Lake County. Defensively, he still has yet to commit a single error (and this can go back through his college days).
Offensively, he will do whatever it takes to get on base and get home, and even at the low-A levels, it’s exciting to see someone do this and succeed at it. When on base, he can steal with the best of them, taking 15 bases only to be caught 4 times in 50 games. The kid is good and fun to watch. This spring training could be big for him, setting the tone for where he could spend most of his 2017, but I see him playing his way to Lynchburgh to end the year if not sooner.
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