Continuing on with our rankings from yesterday, here are players 31 through 40 currently in the Indians minor league system. 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.
40. Luigi Rodriguez – OF – Age: 24
Level: AA – 2009 International Free Agent – 2015 Rank: 29
By Joseph Coblitz
There is a question as to how an outfielder who slugged .500 in Lynchburg this year and .489 last year fell in the rankings and the answer is the same as why Barry Bonds isn’t in the Hall of Fame yet, steroids. Rodriguez was suspended at the end of the 2015 for testing positive for Stanozolol, one of the more popular PED’s in the game currently (the same one that Abraham Almonte was suspended for).
Now, Rodriguez has nearly a year of missed time when he was already a little old for his level and will likely begin 2017 in Akron, where he should have started in 2016 had he not been suspended. He is fast, has good range in the outfield (he played all three positions when I watched him in Extended Spring this year) and has power, but his extremely poor performance when he finally made it to Akron, his age and his tainted image all make it hard to believe that Rodriguez will ever be a part of the Cleveland Indians on the Major League stage.
39. Cameron Hill – RHP – Age: 22
Level: AA – 2014 Draft, Rnd 7 – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Gavin Potter
After the Yankees took two of the Indians prime relief pitching prospects in Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen in the Andrew Miller trade, Hill became one of the best bullpen arms in Cleveland’s farm system. At 6’1, 185 pounds, he is considered small for a right-handed pitcher, but his fastball sits between 90-94 mph and uses both a curveball and change-up to keep hitters off balance.
Generally, the most impressive parts of his profile are his strikeout rates – 10.68 in Low-A in 2015, and 9.16 in High-A in 2016, while being young for each level. He also demonstrated great control in 2016, posting a 1.97 BB/9 between High-A, AA, and AAA. His strikeout numbers did drop during his brief promotions to Akron and Columbus, but with his track record, age, and pitch repertoire, there is no reason to believe Hill couldn’t continue to produce out of the bullpen in the upper-levels of the Indians’ system, and potentially get a shot in the big leagues.
38. Sam Hentges – LHP – Age: 20
Level: SS – Drafted 2014, Rnd 4 – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Justin Lada
37. Louis Head – RHP – Age: 26
Level: AA – 2012 Draft, Rnd 18 – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Caitlin Boron
Head is a prospect who should have made his AAA debut by now, but continues to kill it in a Rubber Ducks uniform down in Akron. He took over the main closing role for the AA club when former Tribe prospect Ben Heller was traded to the Yankees in the Andrew Miller deal. Head didn’t miss a step, putting together a very impressive 2016 season. In 67 innings he struck out 61, but struggled the most with runners on base. With Heller no longer in front of him, the 6’1” righty has a clear path to the AAA roster, even more so if he can continue his consistency into 2017. I expect him to start his season in with the Clippers, but with Miller and Cody Allen closing at the major league level, I would advise him to get comfortable in Columbus for a while.
36. Jeff Johnson – RHP – Age: 26
Level: AAA – 2011 Draft, Rnd 10 – 2015 Rank: 21
By Kevin Gall
Jeff Johnson has steadily been one of the organization’s best relief pitchers since being drafted in 2011. He’s the prototypical two pitch reliever, but he gets the job done and has always done a great job at missing bats and limiting the long-ball. Over four professional seasons, he has averaged 10.1 strikeouts per 9 innings and given up just 0.3 home runs per 9.
Johnson’s downfall is his command, which took a hit this past season in Columbus. Over his career he has averaged 3.5 walks per 9, however, this season that number ticked up to 4.0. This postseason saw just how important relief pitching can be, Johnson provides good depth to the bullpen and may get a chance in Cleveland in 2017.
35. David Speer – LHP – Age: 24
Level: AAA – Drafted 2014, Rnd 27 – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Justin Lada
34. Conner Capel – CF – Age: 19
Level: AZL – Drafted 2016, Rnd 5 – 2015 Rank: Not in System
By Joseph Coblitz
This is a case where hype and performance didn’t quite add up, leading to a player who was ranked extremely high by some writers and not at all by others. After being drafted earlier this year, Capel became the AZL Indians starting centerfielder and lead-off man and, as such, I was able to watch him nearly every day. While he made some truly incredible plays, he also committed four errors in 63 total chances, an extremely poor rate for an outfielder, especially a defense first centerfielder.
With the bat, he hit poorly (.210) and a considerable part of that was due to his speed. A significant amount of his hits were infield singles (of course, he was also good at forcing infield errors, but those don’t count as hits) and when he did hit a gap, he hit five doubles and three triples. He was also active on the bases, stealing 10 of 13 attempts. In all, it’s much too early to judge Capel, but he has promise and a ton of work. He will likely begin 2017 in Extended Spring Training and then could go to Mahoning Valley or back to the AZL depending on how he fares.
T32. Todd Isaacs – OF – Age: 20
Level: SS – Drafted 2015, Rnd 19 – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Joseph Coblitz
Don’t blink. That is the motto of the Bahaman native and if he were ever the fastest player on his own team, it would make a lot more sense. Instead, he first came up with the speedy 2015 AZL Indians where he was shadowed out by Gabriel Mejia and in the system ranks behind Greg Allen as well as a menace on the bases.
That being said, he’s an extremely talented defender who didn’t commit an error in Mahoning Valley this year and had seven assists. He is also coming off a strong season offensively where he batted .333/.384/.518 while stealing 14 of 16 attempts. He showed a little power for the first time with six home runs and six doubles and should start next year in Lake County. As said, he’s the third best pure speed outfielder in the system and ranked eighth among full time outfielders in this particular rankings, so he’s definitely a fringe candidate for the Majors, but still has a chance. With just two years of pro experience (each in a short season although he also played instructional and extended Spring ball), it’s way to early to judge Isaacs, but he’s done everything right so far.
T32. Leandro Linares – RHP – Age: 22
Level: A+ – 2013 International Free Agent – 2015 Rank: Unranked
By Gavin Potter
A rare high-profile international signing for Cleveland, Linares was once considered one of the best international starting pitching prospects on the market. With a fastball that sits between 90-94 with movement, a strong curveball and a solid change up and slider, Linares has always been able to miss bats, striking out 124 hitters in 127.2 professional innings. However, control was an issue: after walks were a problem in 2014 (6.69 BB/9 in Rookie League) and 2015 (9.0 BB/9 in Short-Season), the Indians moved Linares was moved to the bullpen in 2016 and the results were impressive.
In 42.2 innings of bullpen work between Short-Season, Low-A, and High-A, Linares struck out 45 batters and walking just 12, all without allowing a home run. It remains to be seen if Linares will ever return to starting pitching, but regardless of where the young Cuban sticks in the bullpen, he remains one of the higher-upside pitchers in the Indians’ lower levels. Should he get a firm grasp on his control, his size (6’3, 205 lbs) and stuff project well to the major-league level.
31. Ulysses Cantu – 1B – Age: 18
Level: AZL – Drafted 2016, Rnd 6 – 2015 Rank: Not in System
By Joseph Coblitz
Cantu doesn’t have good numbers coming out of his first pro season in Arizona, but I saw him in person as much as any other player this year and believe there are a lot of positives to look at to counteract those numbers.
Initially drafted as a third baseman, the high school draft pick come out looking confident, but as the season went on, his swing expanded and he began striking out more. In addition, playing almost exclusively at first base, Cantu fielded balls hit at him fine, but had problems with throws in the dirt. This made him a poor target for the good gloveman, but erratic armed Elvis Perez and the extremely strong arm (that should probably stay at third) of Nolan Jones. That pair, along with filler minor leaguers like Miguel Eladio, generally manned short for the AZL team in 2016 and made Cantu’s transition to a new position extremely difficult.
Luckily, he’s only 18. Cantu was supposed to have power, but showed none in his first season and had a terrible 12 walks to 42 strike outs. Based on his early season approach and the fact that he still has a ton of time to figure things out, there is little reason to worry about his first season. He will likely have to return to Arizona in 2017, however.
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