Cleveland Indians Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects for 2009
by John Sickels on Sep 11, 2009 8:00 AM EDT
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PrintCleveland Indians Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review
This list was originally published December 29, 2008. This is a review of the PRE-SEASON list for 2009, not a revision of that list. This is a REVIEW of the old list. I'm not doing new grades or lists until I start working on the 2010 book.
1) Carlos Santana, C, Grade B+: .287/.413/.515 for Double-A Akron, 90 walks, 83 strikeouts in 421 at-bats. Looks great to me.
2) Matt LaPorta, 1B-OF, Grade B+: .299/.388/.530 for Triple-A Columbus, .268/.311/.443 in 97 at-bats for Cleveland. Just needs to play.
3) Adam Miller, RHP, Grade B: We could reduce the cost of health care by 39.78% nationwide if we could just keep this guy away from the doctors.
4) Beau Mills, 1B, Grade B: .266/.306/.412 for Akron, quite disappointing power production.
5) Hector Rondon, RHP, Grade B: 2.75 ERA with 73/16 K/BB in 72 innings for Akron, 60 hits. 4.05 ERA with 59/13 K/BB in 67 innings for Columbus, 75 hits. Good K/BB ratios, will probably need more Triple-A time.
6) Lonnie Chisenhall, SS, Grade B-: .276/.346/.492 in 99 games for Class A Kinston, .182/.240/.398 in 23 games for Akron. Rushed to Double-A and it shows.
7) Nick Weglarz, OF, Grade B-: .227/.377/.431 for Akron. Draws walks, has some power, but will need more time.
8) David Huff, LHP, Grade B-: 6.57 ERA with 49/32 K/BB in 101 innings for the Indians, 138 hits. Um, that's not very good. He throws strikes at least, but stuff is short.
9) Carlos Rivero, SS, Grade B-: .244/.312/.346 for Akron. He got off to a slow start but hit somewhat better in the second half, .288/.351/472 after the All-Star break.
10) Scott Lewis, LHP, Grade C+: Pitched 23 innings at five levels on rehab.
11) Michael Brantley, OF, Grade C+: .267/.350/.361 with 46 steals in 51 attempts for Columbus. I like the speed, walk rate, and low strikeout rate. Lack of pop a problem.
12) Kelvin De La Cruz, LHP, Grade C+: On rehab in the Arizona Rookie League.
13) Wes Hodges, 3B, Grade C+: .270/.312/.394 for Columbus. Bat is short for a corner.
14) Matt McBride, OF, Grade C+: Hit .405/.453/.667 in 31 games for Kinston, but just .244/.300/.427 in 95 games after moving up to Akron. Still somewhat intriguing.
15) Luis Valbuena, 2B, Grade C+: .239/.295/.412 in 79 games in the majors. Not exactly stunning, but will get more chances.
16) Jon Meloan, RHP, Grade C+: 66 innings at four Triple-A stops, playing the bouncing waiver game. 60/29 K/BB, 4.50 ERA combined. Command his main issue, we'll see if Oakland can improve it.
17) Zach Putnam, RHP, Grade C+: 4.18 ERA with 77/23 K/BB in 80 innings between Kinston and Akron, 79 hits. I think there is development potential here.
18) Trevor Crowe, OF, Grade C+: .297/.401/.400 for Columbus, .208/.271/.283 in the majors. Expect him to bounce around as a reserve/Triple-A guy for the next ten years.
19) Rob Bryson, RHP, Grade C+: Rehabbing in the Arizona Rookie League.
20) Chen-Chang Lee, RHP, Grade C+: 3.28 ERA with 96/28 K/BB in 82 innings, 66 hits for Kinston. Very good numbers.
21) Cord Phelps, 2B, Grade C+: .258/.385/.354 for Kinston, 92 walks. Gets on base, but lack of power will be an issue.
22) Bryce Stowell, RHP, Grade C+: 5.31 ERA with 54/31 K/BB in 58 innings for Kinston, 62 hits. Pre-season sleeper pick that hasn't panned out yet.
Not a terrific year for a lot of guys on the list. Santana looks great to me, and LaPorta can hit once he gets a job. Rondon and Chisenhall will also rank highly on the 2010 list, as well as prospects brought in through recent trades. The system was stagnating so the new blood should help.
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Alexander Perez
I am interested in where we all think he will place. I was seeing top 5 or so before the deals..now he should be low teens up to as high as 8? any opinions?
Can we just talk about Shin-soo Choo some more?
He’s the greatest.
Rondon
Has Rondon shown enough to be given a B+ rating heading into 2010? Curious to know what people think his ceiling may be, solid to good #3 starter?
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I think he has...
top end potential. Really good stuff. I tyhink he should get AT LEAST a B+, and has an outside chance at an A-.
Definitely at least B+ for me
He was a B last year, and his stock has done nothing but go up and up since then.
Probably doesnt quite have the stuff or performance for an A-, but one of the better B+’s.
Cord Phelps
Don’t sell his defense short – a terrific defender. Indians should be happy with a plus-defender that has great plate discipline at 22.
by Wooden_U_Lykteneau on Sep 11, 2009 10:13 AM EDT reply actions
I've been beating this drum for awhile...
But a preseason B+ for Revere, followed by comments like, "Overall it’s hard to complain here, " and a preseason C+ for Brantley, followed by, “Lack of pop a problem,” is hard for me to comprehend.
Revere – .369 SLG%, 2HR, .058 IsoP
Brantley – 361 SLG%, 6HR, .094 IsoP
ProspectTube.com
You Video. You Scout.
by ProspectTube.com on Sep 11, 2009 10:47 AM EDT reply actions
...
Revere is the most overrated prospect in the minors slighting Tim Alderson, I’d imagine.
Alderson...
isn’t as highly rated anymore. He is probably not going to be ranked any higher than 60 on any list.
You should stop
I think you guys take the BABIP- Batting average doesn’t mean anything- etc., stuff WAY too far sometimes. You want me to give you a list of players who have the same ISOP power as Ichiro Suzuki and tell you those guys are equal too?
Yes, If Revere hits 40 points lower in a given year he will be the same as Micheal Brantley but, if Ichiro hits 40 points lower he’s the same as Jaun Pierre (as a hitter). It happens but, Ichiro’s 40 more points is an ABILITY and Revere’s may be too.
Chisenhall
I saw Chisenhall play a few games this year and I was very impressed. I know he’s had problems in the past, but he seems mature in his approach to the game. Worked hard in BP, seemed very focused in pre-game warm-ups. He played well too. I was impressed with his bat (this was in Hi A). He had good, patient at bats. Also looked very good in the field – good range. He’s one to keep an eye on.
You missed too many top prospects last year John
As I said last year, your list is very flawed. I don’t think you saw Indians prospects very much or you would have included Sipp, Abreu, House, Tomlin, Gomez, Perez and Berger like the people who actually watch the prospects play art Indians Prospect Insider. You made a real nice call on Rondon at #5 but even your comments show you are phoning in on the Tribe. Sorry, big guy, hate to go negative on my favorite writer/scout but that is the way I see it. Not nearly as bad as BA, the Walter Mitty manual, and the rest of the crap out there but I just don’t see you putting in the time on the Tribe the way you used to.
Or maybe
your Indians bias prevents you from objectively evaluating John’s grades?
Who knows..
Who loves orange soda?
by Kenan and Kel on Sep 11, 2009 6:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I sure your post makes sense on some level
but not to me. Of course I am an Indians fan! How would that effect my objectivity with regard to his ranking. I am not questioning his grading. I am saying he missed better prospects by failing to research the system properly. Simply put, if you want to evaluate the system from the perspective of its best prospects, you have to use the best prospects. If you feel John would disagree with that statement, fine.
....
John, this a much better list than last year.
You really did your homework and I have comments rather than criticisms.
I think your biggest undergrade is De La Cruz. His birthdate is listed incorrectly and is 8/1/88 actually. Petty good year for an 18-19 YO. Might want to reconsider. He grades out in top 10 in the Indians followers.
Mills is considered a minor undergrade andis considered B+ material. Weglarz is graded higher and considered a B. Hard to take this seriously after the B+ and high ranking you gave Montero.
Miller is still given a B but ranked lower. Chisenhall is rated correctly IMO but is a bit lower.
Huff is not considered a finesse lefty but is ranked about right. Lewis is ranked lower until he can get his curve back on track.
The biggest overlook from our list is TJ House. Although he has not pitched professionally, those of us who saw him pitch in HS believe he warrants a B- from the getgo. Ranked ahead of Putnam. As noted by other posters, Bryson is injured. We also gave Sipp, who may be injured again, a higher rating before this injury. We also had Stevens much higher. Goedert, Wagner and Wright have not mention in our top 40. Rodriguez is on the 40 cusp and likely to fall out.
BTW, Stowell is our most difficult player to rate since I saw him in college and not summer leage. Clearly he is not the sme pitcher.
by sdtribefan on Dec 29, 2008 8:25 PM EST actions 0 recs
RIP Nick Adenhart
by gatling on Sep 11, 2009 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Wow
And I thought I was a homer. How do you know he didn’t spend as much if not more time on their system this year? I also love you go on to slam BA and “the rest of the crap out there”. Thus implying that your opinion is the only the matters for not only the Indians but also every other team. Vanity is definitely my favorite sin. Where is your top 10 list? Top 20 list? I’d love to look at it and laugh.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
by WayneCampbell08 on Sep 11, 2009 9:20 PM EDT up reply actions
-1
I pretty much disagree there
Tony Sipp? what he is a seventh inning pitcher.
Deolis Guerra = Daniel Cabrera ?
I tend to think so
by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Sep 11, 2009 5:57 PM EDT reply actions
Clearly not someone who follows the Indians
or just want to be acknowledged as uninformed.
Scott Barnes
Where would Scott Barnes rank in the list next year? Top 10/15?
Awaiting his arrival in SF: Jesse English
Jeanmar Gomez?
Where does he fall now?
100 years would have been nice, but 101 years still has a nice ring to it.
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