The Indians and Brewers shared a team in the Dominican Summer League for the second straight season and, as both teams continued to put their top prospects on their primary team, the results were very similar. Last year, the DSL Indians/Brewers finished 26-44, last in the DSL North and fifth from the bottom overall in the 40 team league. Now the league has grown to 44 teams and the Indians/Brewers still finished last (21-49) in the 8 team North division and ahead of just two of the other 43 teams overall.
With a full DSL club, two AZL teams and a short season team in Mahoning Valley, the existence of this club doesn’t make sense at all unless the goal is to teach the few prospects on this team that actually have a chance to be something how to deal with adversity. All we can do here is acknowledge that the team exists and look at what went right (very little) and wrong this year for the co-op squad.
MVP
Just like last year when Makesiondon Kelkboom was one of the only stars of the Indians/Brewers team, it appears that the entire existence of the club this year was to get at bats for one player. In this case, it was Jesus Maestre, who was blocked on the DSL Indians by Jose Tena and Brayan Rocchio initially, then Gaspar Palacio after Rocchio’s promotion.
Among all Indians/Brewers hitters, Maestre ranked first in OBP and average and second in slugging (first among players controlled by Cleveland) all while playing acceptable defense at second base. Maestre had a rough season last year playing with both DSL teams, but has really turned things up in his age 18 season. He did miss the majority of August, but still hit .329/.469/.474 with 15 walks to just 19 strike outs. His patience was one of the only positive points from his 2017 season and he has maintained his walk rate while decreasing his strike outs. I will be greatly surprised if he doesn’t start in Arizona as early as instructional league in the fall. Where he goes from there, who knows?
Future Stars
There have been a few talented players to grace the DSL Indians/Brewers this year, but most have been promoted and spent more time elsewhere and they will be discussed with those teams. This includes Wilfri Peralta, Sergio Morillo and Jahir Varela. This leaves this section exclusively to catcher Victor Planchart.
Planchart was the primary catcher for the Indians/Brewers, playing 35 games behind the plate eight as DH, although his eight errors at the position make him seem more fit for the latter than the former. He didn’t hit a home run this year (his first in the DSL at 17 years old), but he had 13 doubles and a solid .301/.410/.406 batting line. Like Maestre, his patience at the plate is to be commended as he was the only player on the team to walk more than he struck out (26 to 25).
Under Appreciated
I really commend Jhon Vergara for going out there every start and just wearing it. He doesn’t have numbers that jump off the page, but he’s only 18 and was one of the team’s most reliable pitchers. The Colombian righty went out and made every start he was scheduled for, going at least five innings in 8 of 12 and allowing more than three earned runs just twice. While his 4.09 ERA doesn’t look too bad (especially compared to his teammates, one of whom allowed 44 runs [39 earned] in 43 innings), but he only struck out 26 while walking 17 (plus six hit batters) in 55 innings. Of Indians/Brewers starters, only Moises Ruiz (MIL) had a considerably better ERA.
Cause for Concern
I tend to joke around a bit when things aren’t going well, but I truly believe that this team should be liquidated. Of the entire roster, only Maestre, Planchart and the Brewers Bryan Connell showed anything even remotely decent offensively while no pitchers had good enough numbers to believe they need to remain in either system any longer (the obvious exception being Morillo, who was promoted to Arizona early in August). There are enough at bats for the good hitters on other teams (it’s not like the DSL and AZL Indians have no bad players) and most of the players on this team don’t deserve their professional status.
As far as specific players are concerned many were signed in 2018 or late 2017 and it’s far too early to judge them. Three, however, were 2016 signings, Nehemias Celeston, Jeikol Contreras and Maestre. Of course, we’ve already talked about Maestre and how much he has improved. The other two, however, have went the other way.
Starting with Celeston, the 1B/3B had a decent, but far from great season last year with the primary Indians DSL team. His biggest issue was defense, but he showed some power and could be moved to 1B full time if necessary. This year, he played just 13 games before going down with an injury that cost him most of the season. During those games, he was useless at the plate, although he appears to have improved defensively. He’ll only be 19 when next season starts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were cut before then.
Unlike Celeston, Contreras was simply awful for the DSL Indians last year and started off 2018 even worse before being demoted to the co-op team. There, his offense improved enough that he might get another chance next year, although he defense may be bad enough to remove any gains. While I haven’t seen him play live, 10 errors in 30 games at first base is terrifying and his numbers aren’t particularly better at second or third. He’s played mostly first after being primarily a third baseman last year, but he simply doesn’t hit well enough to justify taking up either corner infield spot.
Most Power: Victor Planchart
Best Bat: Jesus Maestre
Best Wheels: Jesus Maestre
Best Glove: Jesus Maestre (2B)
Best Arm: Derian Perez (LF)
Worst Glove: Joseph Paulino (1B/3B/SS)
Best Control: Jhon Vergara
Best Stuff: Sergio Morillo
Most Likely to be an MLB Pitcher: Sergio Morillo
Most Likely to be an MLB Hitter: Jesus Maestre
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
