Cleveland Indians Draft Review
by John Sickels on Jun 11, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
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PrintMoving forward with the AL Central, here is a look at the Cleveland Indians draft class.
Cleveland Indians Draft Review
1) Drew Pomeranz, LHP, University of Mississippi: Power lefty arm with occasional command problems and a bad hairdo, but I really like him. He might need a couple of years in the minors to polish his mechanics and get the changeup as sharp as his fastball and breaking ball, but he's a good risk.
2) LeVon Washington, OF, Chipola Junior College: Still has the great tools (except for a weak arm), but an erratic spring college spring hurt his stock by a round compared to last year. High-risk, high-reward type.
3) Tony Wolters, SS, California HS: Very polished high school hitter, likely to send up at second base. He had some late first-round buzz at one point, so getting him in the third round could be a real coup.
4) Kyle Blair, RHP, University of San Diego: I like his hard 90-94 MPH sinker, and he's improved his curveball, slider, and changeup. I thought he could go in the second round, so this is another pick that could end up working out quite nicely.
5) Cole Cook, RHP, Pepperdine: Somewhat raw for a college pitcher, but works in the low 90s and has a changeup and breaking ball with potential. Won't advance as quickly as Blair, but could have more upside.
6) Nick Bartolone, SS, Chabot Junior College: Smallish player with average tools but excellent work ethic and feel for the game, a "baseball rat" type. Probably a future utility player, but might surprise.
7) Robbie Aviles, RHP, New York HS: Had a chance to go in the first round until a late-season elbow injury. Could be a real bargain if he 1) signs and 2) rehabs the elbow successfully. Big "ifs", but I think it was a gamble worth taking.
8) Alex Lavisky, C, Ohio HS: They didn't draft Stetson Allie, but they did draft his high school catcher, and Lavisky is a good prospect in his own right, showing power, athleticism, and decent defensive ability. They will need to go over slot to sign him away from Georgia Tech.
9) Jordan Cooper, RHP, Wichita State: Draft-eligible sophomore with average stuff but excellent pitching instincts, dominated for the Shockers this year. Projects as a number four starter if he signs.
10) Tyler Holt, OF, Florida State University: Good speed, gets on base, has some pop, very successful in college. Could have gone several rounds higher, and a nice pick in the 10th round.
FOUR OTHERS OF NOTE: 11-Hunter Jones, OF, California HS; 14-Diego Seastrunk, C, Rice; 20-Burch Smith, RHP, Howard JC; 24-Andrew Triggs, RHP, USC.
COMMENT: Solid mix of talent at the top: a power college lefty, a toolsy JC guy, a polished high school hitter, a polished college arm, and an upside college arm. I like the diversity. Aviles, Lavisky, and Cooper all have signability issues that will have to be addressed, but if they get them under contract, I think this is a strong balance of talent from a variety of sources and backgrounds.
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Luke Jackson
has a bad haircut. Pommy’s is just disturbingly sleek, as if one of his parents was an otter. And I agree on Kyle Blair. I think he’s going to surprise a bit.
Diego Seastrunk
I follow Rice and was a little surprised to see Seastrunk last until the 14th round. He hit .369/.470/.626 (against a tough schedule in a slight pitcher’s park), has a great arm (throws in the low 90’s off the mound), is a switch hitter, has a good eye (15.8% BB), and good contact skills (8.8% K).
John, any further thoughts on him? I imagine his defense is a little rough, but he has only been catching for 2 years.
This is probably the Indians' most aggressive draft since 2001!
Hello everyone,
I agree with those who think that this Indians’ draft was more aggressive and has the potential to be a very good draft, due to its balance and potential for high reward (of course, there is that high risk factor too).
Arguably, this is probably the most aggressive draft for the Indians since that disastrous 2001 Draft when the Indians selected 5 HSers with their first 5 picks, none of which developed (Denham, Dittler, Martin, Foley, Conroy), though J.D. Martin is scheduled to face Fausto Carmona and the Indians on Saturday for Washington.
As an Indians’ fan, I hope this 2010 Draft brings much more fruit for the Indians than that 2001 Draft did. I think the disastrous results from that Draft (and granted, the Indians’ drafts throughout most of the 2000s has produced very little in terms of impactful or even useful ML talent, the last few drafts having the potential to be better, though it’s still too soon to say for sure) had caused the Indians to be a little more conservative and go for more of the “safe, sure” picks.
It’s refreshing, in my opinion, to see them be more aggressive and to take more risks in order to obtain better-quality talent. We know that most of the Drafts in the 2000s didn’t lead to much, which is part of the reason why the Indians find themselves in the position they are now, as better Drafts may have been able to keep that window of contention open past 2007, possibly even to today.
Hopefully, as an Indians’ fan, this new drafting philosophy will help the Indians to have more windows of opportunity and to have them last longer than 1-2 years.
Of course, for this to happen, the Indians have to sign many of these picks (like I said elsewhere, if they only sign 1-2 of the tough signs, I’ll be a bit disappointed; if they can sign 5-7, or more, I’ll be pleased. Please note – I don’t mean 1-2 picks total or 5-7 picks total – I mean the projected high reward/high risk picks). And then, of course, they have to develop, which has been problematic of late in the Indians’ system, but the fact that they’re picking projectable better talent to begin with than past picks, perhaps these players will turn out better than those, even if they don’t fully realize their potential (although, hopefully they will), but perhaps these players will have more “margin for error” in becoming effective ML players, and with more projectable talent, perhaps be more likely to reach their potential than those past picks.
Only time will tell! :-)
Take care and have a great day!
The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.
Outstanding Draft
I’m not a huge Pomeranz fan but he’ll probably be a #3 for the Indians if everything works out.
Kyle Blair is a steal in the 4th. Great pick. I think Tony Wolters will be a good prospect. I’m not a huge Washington fan but I recognize the tools and potential.
If you sign Jordan Cooper, one of the better arms for 2011, Alex Lavisky and Robbie Aviles then this is an outstanding draft.
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