Akron once again the place to be for top Tribe prospects

In 2016, the Akron RubberDucks were undoubtedly the most interesting Indians’ affiliate to follow. Not only did the team boast the organization’s top two prospects in Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier (among many other notable names), but the team also had a roller coaster season: after starting the 2016 season red-hot, they lost 12 of 15 games in the middle of the season, putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy. However, Akron would rally to make the Eastern League playoffs, and eventually won the league championship.

The good news? It looks like the 2017 RubberDucks could be just as exciting, from the prospect perspective, at the very least. Akron will be filled with some of Cleveland’s top prospects, both pitchers and position players, for the second year in a row – perhaps an indication of the overall strength of the Tribe’s farm system. All in all, Akron looks to begin 2017 with no less than six players who are generally considered in Cleveland’s top 20 prospects.

Greg Allen

Of the prospects returning returning to Akron in 2017, none are better than Greg Allen. Akron may be seen as a very conservative assignment for the speedy center fielder, who has put up impressive numbers recently, to say the least. In his age-23 season in 2016, Allen destroyed High-A pitching at Lynchburg, posting a 139 wRC+ in 92 games, while walking (58 BB) more than he struck out (51 K). Allen also impressively stole 38 bases, while only being caught 7 times.

His impressive play earned him a mid-season promotion to Akron, where he played 37 games and kept hitting, putting up a 138 wRC+, and maintaining excellent walk and strikeout rates at 10.9% and 15.5%, respectively. Clearly, other teams were impressed with Allen as well, as he was part of the nixed Jonathan Lucroy trade with Milwaukee at the trade deadline. With Lucroy blocking the trade, Allen figures to be a big piece of the Indians’ future if he continues to perform like he did in 2016.

Rob Kaminsky

Another intriguing name to return to Akron is Rob Kaminsky. Arguably Cleveland’s best pitching prospect in the upper minor leagues, Kaminsky is a finesse southpaw pitcher. At just 5-11, and with a fastball that sits 88-91, Kaminsky won’t overpower many hitters. However, he relies on his best pitch, a curveball, to make opposing hitters whiff or induce weak contact.

While the former first round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals struggled in the first half of 2016 (4.66 ERA) he had an excellent second half (2.33 ERA), and will surely look to build on that success going forward.

Francisco Mejia

There are plenty of quality prospects who will be making their Akron debut in 2017, led by one of the best catching prospects in baseball, Francisco Mejia. Mejia was always well-regarded by scouts, but his prospect pedigree got a major boost when he put up a historic 50-game hitting streak between Low-A and High-A as a 20-year-old. All in all, Mejia put up a monstrous .896 OPS between Low-A and High-A, which led to him being named to several Top-100 MLB prospect lists, and put him as the centerpiece of the aforementioned blocked Lucroy trade. As strong as hit bat is, scouts also agree that Mejia’s arm is just as impressive. At this point, he needs to fine tune his receiving, framing, and game calling before he is MLB-ready.

 Yu-Cheng Chang

Another of Akron’s impressive newcomers, Yu-Cheng Chang, was also a piece of the proposed Lucroy trade. A 21-year-old SS/3B. Chang began 2016 on a tear, posting an .837 OPS in his first 95 games, before injuries contributed to a .606 OPS in his final 25 games. Scouts are unsure where Chang will end up playing on the infield, but most believe he will eventually move from SS despite being solid there so far in his career. Chang projects as roughly average across the board, tools-wise, which makes him a valuable player. But, with the amount of infield depth the Indians currently have, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Chang was used in another trade.

Bobby Bradley

Another prospect making their Akron debut is Bobby Bradley. While Akron’s Canal Park is known as a pitcher’s stadium, Bradley will no doubt push that tendency, as he has arguably the most power in the minor leagues. So far in his minor league career, Bradley has 64 home runs in 280 games. However, he has also struggled mightily with making contact, having struck out 356 times in those 280 games. If Bradley can improve his contact ability, he can be a cleanup-type hitter in Cleveland in the near future.

Other Notable Names: 

There are still several lesser-known prospects in Akron for fans to keep an eye an: Luis Lugo is a 23-year-old projectable lefty with a track record of generating whiffs. Tyler Kreiger is a sound-hitting second baseman, who lacks eye-popping tools but will get the most out of what he has. Michael Peoples lacks top-prospect pedigree, but was given the Bob Feller award last season, as the Indians’ top minor league pitcher. And Dorssys Paulino is a former Top-100 prospect, whose defense has slipped, but still remains an intriguing hitter as an outfielder.

All in all, Akron’s roster in 2017 is full of numerous future big leaguers. With a quality venue like Canal Park to boot, Indians fans shouldn’t hesitate to catch some games this season.

2017 Akron Rubberducks Roster