Cleveland Indians: A Look at Baseball America's 2010 Top Prospect List

The other day, Baseball America released their Top 10 Indians Prospects for 2010. This announcement is always fun, because not only does it list the best up-and-comers in the organization, but it also looks at the best tools and tries to predict a future lineup. In this case, BA looks ahead to the year 2013.

The Prospects List

Carlos Santana is once again atop the list, and he is surely the centerpiece of the Tribe's next title run. After leading the Aeros to a AA title in 2009, it may only be a matter of time before Santana makes his MLB debut.

Hot on Santana's heels is Lonnie Chisenhall. The Indians were panned for going off-the-board and taking Chisenhall in the supplemental first round two years ago. But since then, he's done nothing but hit. Chisenhall was never expected to stick at shortstop, and in fact he has already made the move to third. Barely 21, and in the pros for barely over a year, Chis has already made it to AA. At this pace, he's en route to a long, successful Major League career.

In both the Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee trades, the Indians acquired a very young potential ace. Those aces are Nick Hagadone and Jason Knapp, and their potential put them in the top four on BA's list. Cleveland fans will have to wait a while for the payoff, but it should be sweet.

Michael Brantley held his own in the Majors last year, and in doing so may have won the starting left field job in 2010. Had it not been for injuries, we may have been talking about Canadian hero Nick Weglarz in that spot. The two are a contrast in styles: Brantley is a speedy contact hitter, and Weglarz is pure power.

Hector Rondon joins Weglarz as the only players in the Indians organization prior to 2008 who made this list. Rondon has slowly and surely worked his way up the prospect list, and that patience should pay off sooner rather than later.

Carlos Carrasco is raw with ace potential. Unfortunately, he may be more raw than potential. However, a good spring training could land him in the starting rotation this year.

The list is rounded out by a pair of 2009 draft picks. Alex White was drafted as a reliever, and Baseball America seems to think he'll stick there as the Tribe's future closer.

This Year's List vs. Last Year's

Matt LaPorta and David Huff graduated, although I'm sure both wished for better rookie seasons. Also gone are Adam Miller, Beau Mills, Kelvin de la Cruz, and Carlos Rivero, all hampered by injuries, poor seasons, and the new infusion of talent in the system. That's not to say these guys won't be back on the list, or even in the Majors, next year.

Chisenhall was the noted big riser, but Brantley impressed as well by letting his playing do the talking. Weglarz dropped a bit, mostly due to poor performance that was the result of a broken foot.

Best Tools

There weren't many surprises here, and not many changes here. Guys like Brantley, Santana, and Hagadone earned their spot in the top 10 with multiple appearances on this list. Also of note is that Jason Donald was named Best Defensive Infielder. Part of the Lee trade, Donald may stick with the parent club this year as a utility infielder.

Cleveland Indians Projected 2013 Lineup

Holy turnover! Of the top 10, all but Kipnis are expected to be regulars by 2013. But that's not surprising for a rebuilding team, and it also shows that the Indians are rebuilding with a purpose.

There's no big surprises among the position players. Luis Valbuena, Asdrubal Cabrera, Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, and Brantley are all young players already expected to start in 2010. Santana and LaPorta are known to be the heirs apparent at their respective situations. And the phasing out of Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner should come as no surprise to Indians fans.

The turnover in the pitching rotation is radical, however. Only Carrasco and Justin Masterson survive from last year. What of Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, and Aaron Laffey?

Westbrook's contract is up after this year, and resigning the veteran will probably not be in this rebuilding club's plans, for better or worse. The Indians have club options on Carmona from 2012 through 2014, and at his current rate of performance he may not survive that first round. Laffey may simply be an oversight on BA's part based on injuries and inconsistency this past year.

An Exciting Day for Baseball Fans

What a day, especially if you're a prospect nerd. On the same day the Indians held their first intrasquad game, the final World Baseball Classic rosters were announced, AND Baseball America released their top 100 prospects for 2009.

The Indians were represented well on both lists. The WBC will feature

• Grady Sizemore and Mark DeRosa on Team USA
• Shin-Soo Choo playing for Korea
• Rafael Perez pitching for the Dominican Republic
• prospects Damaso and Paolo Espino on the Panamanian team
• Chen Lee and Sung-Wei Tseng wearing the uniforms of Chinese Taipei
• and up-and-comer Nick Weglarz once again representing Team Canada

The US is only carrying four true outfielders, so I wouldn't be surprised if DeRosa saw some time in the outfield as well.

On Baseball America's list, Carlos Santana and Matt LaPorta checked in consecutively at 26th and 27th. The aforementioned Nick Weglarz is 58th. And Adam Miller was 82nd. BA expects LaPorta and Miller to make their MLB debuts this year, with Santana and Weglarz hitting The Show in 2010.

Cleveland Indians: A Look at Baseball America's 2009 Top Prospect List

Baseball America recently released their Top 10 Cleveland Indians prospects for 2009. Along with the top 10 list is a list of the Indians best tools, and an always-fun look at what the Cleveland lineup may look like a few years in the future.

This year BA projected what the Indians may look like in 2012, and like their current prospect list their were some surprises.

The Prospects List

The biggest surprise to most, I'm sure, is that catcher Carlos Santana tops outfielder Matt LaPorta, who many thought to be one of the top prospects in any organization. LaPorta struggled with the Mendoza line in double A, the Olympics, and the Arizona Fall League, no doubt feeling the pressure of being "that guy from the CC Sabathia trade."

Meanwhile, Carlos Santana broke out at all levels this year. Indians fans lamented the journey of catcher Max Ramirez, who went from Atlanta to Cleveland for half a year of Bob Wickman in 2006, then to Texas for half a year of Kenny Lofton in 2007, then blossomed into a Major League-ready talent in 2008. Well, the Tribe got their payback when they traded half a year of Casey Blake for Santana, who now ranks just ahead of Ramirez in Project Prospect's latest Top 10 Catchers Under 25 ratings. Oh, and Santana is a full year and a half younger than Ramirez.

The article that accompanies Baseball America's Top 10 list correctly assesses Mark Shapiro when it comes to evaluating young talent. While Shapiro has come up short in the draft - often with questionable picks - he excels at acquiring minor league talent from other organizations, and complements that with free agent signings from Latin America. The list reflects that assessment, as Santana, LaPorta, and Michael Brantley find themselves among the Indians best prospects after starting this year in another organization. (Brantley was the player to be named later in the Sabathia trade.)

However, Shapiro is starting to show a knack for finding diamonds in the rough during the draft as well, as Cleveland's top three picks over the last three years - David Huff, Beau Mills, and Lonnie Chisenhall - find themselves at eigth, fifth, and sixth on the list. Mills, from a northwestern junior college, and Chisenhall, who until that point was most famous for getting kicked off of the University of South Carolina's squad for theft, were both considered overdrafts, but have flourished so far in the minors. Adam Miller and Canadian hero Nick Weglarz are also Shapiro draft picks.

This Year's List vs. Last Year's

Of the players who made both lists, Nick Weglarz was the biggest gainer, going from sixth in 2008 to third in 2009. Adam Miller and Beau Mills both fell, from first to fourth and third to fifth respectively. Miller's injuries notwithstanding, the two's new status is less a reflection of their own regression and more a reflection of the increased talent at the top of Cleveland's pool.

Chuck Lofgren and Jordan Brown fell off the list entirely from last year, and perhaps not surprisingly were left exposed in the upcoming Rule V draft. Lofgren especially deserves a second chance, as his poor 2008 was a result of injuries and his mother's battle with cancer.

Wes Hodges also fell from the list from his number four spot, but he continues to be Cleveland's projected third baseman, for at least 2010 and 2011. (For more on the 2012 lineup, keep reading.) David Huff stays the same at number eight. Aaron Laffey, Ben Francisco, and Jenson Lewis, meanwhile, all "graduated" from their prospect status in 2008.

Best Tools

I didn't get to see any of these prospects in action in 2008, so I'm not in a position to agree or disagree with anything BA said. However, there are some promising signs to point out.

Michael Brantley has immediately become the team's best hitter for average and best athlete. That's great for someone who's expected to be the team's leadoff hitter of the future. That's especially great on a team that's been starved for athleticism as of late. Matt LaPorta, predictably, is the team's best power hitting prospect. Finally, it's nice to see that despite all his struggles, Adam Miller is still considered to have the best fastball and slider in the organization.

Cleveland Indians Projected 2012 Lineup

Indians fans will notice quite a few exceptions from 2008 on this list: Victor Martinez, Kelly Shoppach, Ryan Garko, Asdrubal Cabrera, Franklin Gutierrez, Ben Francisco, and Aaron Laffey stood out for me.

Garko, Gutierrez, Francisco, and Laffey, while decent, are also easily replaceable. Victor Martinez's current contract is up before 2012, and Baseball America surely took that (and Victor's age) into account.

But what about Shoppach and Cabrera? The Indians recently added Carlos Santana and Chris Gimenez to their 40-man roster, who along with Martinez, Shoppach, and Wyatt Toregas give the club five catchers. Some say that is a clear sign the Indians will use Shoppach as trade bait to fill in a key need this offseason.

Cabrera is the mystery, though. For the past several months, I've campaigned to move Jhonny Peralta to second base, both because his defense isn't good enough for short and his offense isn't good enough for third. I was just about to give up (hey, we can move him to third and sign a good offensive second baseman to make up for it) when Baseball America sparked the debate again. That leaves the shortstop position open to Cabrera and Carlos Rivero. I don't know much about Rivero, but I'll take the experts' word on him for now. After all, it is just harmless speculation.

Notre Dame Alumni in Professional Baseball

Copying a page from my book (and using the same picture of Aaron Heilman no less), UND.com published an up-to-date list of Notre Dame baseball alumni in affiliated ball.

I like to follow the Irish alums - along with some other local area kids - on FirstInning.com. If you sign up for a free account, you can "track" any player in affiliated baseball, and FirstInning.com will present the previous night's stats for all of your tracked players on one page. Click on a player, and you'll get everything from basic stats to batted ball charts. A very useful site.

Baseball News: Golden Spikes, Team USA, Samardzija, Manship, Ty Cobb

• From a list of five finalists, all first round draft picks, Florida State catcher Buster Posey won the 2008 Golden Spikes Award as the country's top amateur player. Baseball America, The College Baseball Blog, and MLB.com have more coverage.


• USA Baseball announced the Olympic team roster on Wednesday. Again, Baseball America, The College Baseball Blog, and MLB.com have coverage.


• Thanks to an injury on the parent club, Jeff Samardzija has moved up to AAA, and he's arguably pitching better than he did at AA. Samardzija has struggled to get strike outs as a pro, but he had nine K's in his last outing. Here's a trio of local articles on The Shark.
  
• Coincidentally, for the past few weeks Jeff Manship has been pitching on the same day as Samardzija. Manship was moved up to AA and appears to be struggling. However, on closer look, Manship has given up 11 runs in two starts against Portland, and only seven runs in his four other starts.


• Finally, July 17 is the anniversary of Ty Cobb's death. The Biz of Baseball has a nice writeup on those trying to reform the public's view of the Georgia Peach.

Futures Game Sunday at 12:30 on ESPN2

This year's Futures Game, a showcase of the top minor league talent, can be seen live Sunday at 12:37 PM Eastern on ESPN2. Baseball America has writeups on the US and World rosters, and an interesting column on how this year's Olympics are impacting the rosters.



Matt LaPorta is expected to play in the game for the US team. Indians fans should be sure to set their DVRs so they can catch their first glimpse of this young talent. In addition, Indians prospects RHP Hector Rondon will be on the World squad. Rondon currently plays for Class A Kinston.



Speaking of prospects and the Olympics, Canada just announced their baseball roster. It features two future Indians, RHP Tim Burton and OF Nick Weglarz.

Welcome to the International Signing Period

July 2 marks the start of Major League Baseball's International Signing Period, a time when clubs can sign eligible foreign players age 16 and up as free agents. The Period has already started with a bang, as Oakland has reportedly worked out a deal with Dominican pitcher Michael Inoa. Inoa's deal is said to be worth $4.25 million, smashing the record set by the Yankees signing of Wily Mo Pena.

For more coverage, be sure to check out

• ESPN's blurbs on the top International prospects


• Baseball America's International page


• and Saber Scouting's International page.


• Saber Scouting also has a good background on the International Signing Period, a detailed scouting report of Inoa, and shorter scouting reports on the other top International prospects.