The Fall Classic returned to Cleveland in 2016 and in 2019 baseball’s Mid-Summer Classic will make it’s way back to the 216 as well. The Indians plan to renovate 23 year old Progressive Field the last several years instead of asking taxpayers for a brand new stadium (coughAtlantacough) worked out like they expected and their recent success hasn’t hurt either.
Cleveland has hosted five other All-Star games with four coming at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. 1997 was formerly Jacobs’ Field first All-Star game and 2019 will be its second.
The renovations from the ‘The Corner’ right field bar,new food options, new statues, new bullpens, new entrances and the upper deck view boxes (that have come with very mixed opinion) along with downtown Cleveland’s restoration projects contributed to the All-Star making its second trip to Cleveland in 22 years.
In case you forgot, the All-Star game is more than just the game itself. It includes the Futures Game, which kicks off the week on Sunday with the game’s top prospects in the World vs. USA format, the Home Run Derby, Celebrity All-Star game and the All-Star game itself.
Futures Game 2019
Last year Clint Frazier, Yandy Diaz and Francisco Mejia made the trip to San Diego for the Futures Game to represent the Indians. Frazier is obviously gone on to New York (I still get the sniffles over this) but thanks to Jonathan Lucroy choosing to head to Texas and an ALDS sweep instead of AL Pennant Cleveland, Mejia remains an Indian. But, by 2019, will he still be Futures Game eligible or on the same career trajectory?
By 2019, Diaz should already be in the big leagues for a few years. Yan Gomes is under team control until 2020 and Roberto Perez still 2021, so one of those two will need to be moved to give Mejia a spot before then. So he could very well be getting his last bit of polish at Triple-A in 2019, so we could see him in the Futures Game in Cleveland.
Bradley Zimmer will almost undoubtedly be a Major Leaguer by then, so he’s out. Brady Aiken was given a 2019 ETA by MLB Pipeline so it’s possible he could be a Futures Game participant. Hopefully his performance merits it.
Bobby Bradley has an MLB Pipeline ETA of 2018 so he might be out. Carlos Santana is a free agent after 2017 and probably won’t be resigned, so Bradley’s 2018 timeline hopefully makes sense and he’ll be out.
Triston McKenzie has an ETA of 2019. He should be ready by then to be a big league starter but if he’s getting his last bit of seasoning in 2019, enjoy watching him pitch for USA in the Futures Game in Cleveland.
Will Benson and Nolan Jones, the Indians top two picks in the 2016 draft, are a ways away. By 2019, hopefully one if not both are establishing themselves as top 50 prospects and are in the game in Cleveland for the first time.
Speedster Gabriel Mejia isn’t on the prospect lists just yet but he could be by 2019 and could steal a spot on the World team.
Without a better crystal ball, those look like the Indians chances to have prospects in the Futures Game.
Home Run Derby
As mentioned, Santana will be a free agent after ‘17, so he likely won’t be representing the Indians in the home run derby. Edwin Encarnacion will be in his third year of his three year deal and will be 37 years old. He’ll have to defy father time to be a participant in the Home Run Derby.
Jason Kipnis socked a career high 23 homers last year but will be 32 in ‘19 (this is getting too real and a little depressing). He hit 14 of those in the first half. If the 2016 power spike carries over the next few years, 14 might not be enough. But, if the Indians get a home sentimental entry into the derby, Kipnis might currently represent their most realistic shot.
Bradley or Nellie Rodriguez would have to claim the first base job in 2018 and establish themselves as sluggers to have a chance to be in the Home Run Derby by then.
Zimmer did make the Double-A Home Run Derby in 2016 in Akron for Team Zimbop, so maybe he’ll hit enough to get to his power by 2019 to get into the Home Run Derby for Cleveland.
Celebrity All-Star Game
I have no idea. Probably Machine Gun Kelly? Drew Carey seems busy with his MLS team and The Price is Right. Maybe Chris Rose shows up? Tom Hanks was pretty excited about the Indians making the World Series in 2016, so maybe he earned himself a spot.
As far as some athletes, maybe Sandy Alomar Jr.’s knees will allow him to play some softball. Albert Belle, even though he looks like Uncle Phil, could probably slug some softball homers if he shows up. Jim Thome does have a statue and was in the Home Run Derby in Cleveland in 1997, and he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame in an Indians cap by then, so he should be showing up for this one. Manny Ramirez will probably still be trying to come back in Korea.
Rick Manning should still be broadcasting by then, so maybe they’ll see if he can patrol centerfield in a softball game. Jensen Lewis will probably get a chance to pitch and tell all the celebrities about how he used to play the game and hope they don’t look at his career stats and just laugh.
All-Star Game
Hopefully Terry Francona is managing the AL team in 2019, again.
Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar and Francisco Lindor represented the Indians in 2016 at the All-Star game. Kluber “won” and gave the Indians homefield advantage in the World Series. Barring a major rollback in rules, that won’t be possible in 2019 but he could still pitch. He’ll be 33 years old, however.
Who knows what to expect from Salazar in 2019 since he wasn’t healthy enough to pitch most of the second half in 2016, let alone the All-Star game itself. Maybe he can make it as a reliever since Cody Allen and Andrew Miller will both likely be gone after 2018 and since Salazar can’t stay healthy as a starting pitcher.
If Francisco Lindor isn’t voted as the AL starter at shortstop in 2019 in Cleveland, then baseball in Cleveland has failed and sports fans here should be embarrassed.
There will be a DH in effect in 2019 so maybe Encarnacion gets a lot of votes and gets in after his 80 homers in his first two seasons in Cleveland lead to back-to-back World Series titles for the club.
Some people thought Jose Ramirez was a borderline All-Star in 2016 so maybe he takes enough of a step forward by then to make it. Adrian Beltre should be retired by then and Kyle Seager might have aged enough to open some room, as well as Josh Donaldson. That’s if Ramirez stays at third base.
Trevor Bauer will be 28 in 2019. He’s currently the second youngest rotation member and the healthier of the two. I’m still convinced there’s a better, more consistent season coming from him. Maybe by 28, it comes out and he’s All-Star worthy.
Of prospects, Zimmer likely represents the only shot to get an All-Star bid by 2019 but the odds of that are slim since 2018 will probably be his first full season and let’s be honest, the AL outfield is pretty good. There’s Mookie Betts and this guy named Mike Trout you may have heard of. The Angels should be competitive enough by 2019 to warrant not dealing Trout. Zimmer might even have to battle Frazier for an All-Star bid in 2019 (OK, now I’m sad again).
It should be a fun week 888 days from now in Cleveland. At the very least, you should be able to order your Lindor 2019 All-Star jersey. Unless he goes Grady Sizemore on us (sorry, this is supposed to be a happy post, I’m done.)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
