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2017 Minor League Thread

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http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-18-prospects-cleveland-indians/

1. Francisco Mejia
2. Brad Zimmer
3. Triston McKenzie
4. Greg Allen
5. Bobby Bradley
6. Will Benson
7. Nolan Jones
8. Erik Gonzalez
9. Yu Chang
10. Brady Aiken
11. Juan Hillman
12. Yandy Diaz
13. Anthony Santander
14. Rob Kaminsky
15. Gabriel Mejia
16. Shawn Armstrong
17. Willi Castro
18. Mark Mathias
 
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Kind of shocked to see such a consensus on Mejia as the #1 guy in the system.

Not saying he isn't. Just I feel him, Zimmer, and McKenzie are so close that a few places were bound to have one of the other 2 as their top guy.

But we lost 2 of our best top end prospects and by far our 2 best reliever prospects last year, and I still feel confident that this is easily a top 10 farm in baseball. And that will only get better, depending on how Benson and Jones progress.
 
BimboColesHair said:
Kind of shocked to see such a consensus on Mejia as the #1 guy in the system.

Not saying he isn't. Just I feel him, Zimmer, and McKenzie are so close that a few places were bound to have one of the other 2 as their top guy.

But we lost 2 of our best top end prospects and by far our 2 best reliever prospects last year, and I still feel confident that this is easily a top 10 farm in baseball. And that will only get better, depending on how Benson and Jones progress.
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Zimmer's lack of contact are rightfully leaving the prospect guys concerned.

He's got to be better in that regard.
 
AZ_ said:
Zimmer's lack of contact are rightfully leaving the prospect guys concerned.

He's got to be better in that regard.
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Not disagreeing with that at all. All 3 have ? marks still. Mejia's really only looked like a top prospect for one full year, can he continue that? Zimmer has contact/K issues and has had some health problems the last few years. McKenzie is still in the low levels and has a lot of projection still playing a role in his ranking.

But I don't think you can go wrong with having either of them as your #1 right now, really all I was trying to get at.
 
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BimboColesHair said:
Not disagreeing with that at all. All 3 have ? marks still. Mejia's really only looked like a top prospect for one full year, can he continue that? Zimmer has contact/K issues and has had some health problems the last few years. McKenzie is still in the low levels and has a lot of projection still playing a role in his ranking.

But I don't think you can go wrong with having either of them as your #1 right now, really all I was trying to get at.
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McKenzie, IMO, is like 20 pounds and an improved changeup away from being one of the best overall right-handers in the minor leagues.
 
AZ_ said:
McKenzie, IMO, is like 20 pounds and an improved changeup away from being one of the best overall right-handers in the minor leagues.
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As long as the 20 pound weight gain brings with it ~3-5 mph added to his fastball.

I'm still convinced he has a top 5 prospect in baseball ceiling, and nothing he has done to this point is making me change my mind on that. He is weirdly advanced for his age in the mental part of pitching...pretty easy to see why he was going to go to Vandy of all places.
 
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Worst case scenario for Meija is Carlos Santana type, with a bit less power, to be honest. He is a sure bet major league guy as long as nothing like a major injury bars his path to the bigs. His bat is well advanced for his age, but he still working as a catcher defensively. With the fact we do not have to rush him up here, that should allow him to become a legit MLB player.

Zimmer I don't think we shall see this season, since in all honesty he isn't ready yet. He hasn't shown me with his bat that he could hit major league hitting well yet. I think we have to make sure we don't rush him. Next season he will put on the 40 man roster, but I know we won't see him this season unless we are out of contention and I don't see that one. I think he should end up in LF as Brantley's replacement in a couple seasons. CF Allen is also a season/two away but I think he will be our future CF in the long run and could be a leadoff guy. I think he is slightly underrated in our system.

One guys I feel is really under rated is Yandy Diaz. His bat is major league ready I feel and he better get a chance to make the ball club out of spring training since I think he deserves it. Now he has to be protected next season with guys like Kaminsky who should be at AAA if not on the major league doors by the end of next season.

Does anyone know why we have kept Dylan Baker on the 40 man roster? He really hasn't played a whole lot the last few seasons and could anyone actually tell me why the Indians have kept him? In a way I would rather have that spot for Yandy Diaz, but I guess that is just me.
 
Also...I was scouring the depths of baseball youtube last night. Came across some videos of some Benson and Jones ABs if people want to see 2 of our higher ceiling guys.


The swing at 0:19 in this video is why people drooled over this kid and his potential. Ball lands in healthy Hafner territory in our spring training complex. Not a fan of his leg kick and bat load though. Those 2 need to get quieted a bit or he'll continue to be inconsistent getting the bat to the ball or adjusting to pitches.




Jones' swing mechanics are much cleaner, and you can see why he tracked the ball fairly well in his first taste of pro ball. He gets weak on his front side though (doesn't shift his weight fully through his swing), so he pulls off (watch his head on some swings and misses) and rolls over a bit too much. That will go away as he gets stronger and sees more pro pitching. He is a lanky kid right now though. Can't wait to see how his frame fills out.

 
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Benson is just makes me want to put my head down and cry, maybe I just have been watching too much big league video lately.

Jones could be so much smoother through the hitting zone if he'd stop pulling the bat head toward the pitcher as his last movement before he brings his hands through.

That's likely a point of emphasis for him. He's got to be late on everything.
 
AZ_ said:
Benson is just makes me want to put my head down and cry, maybe I just have been watching too much big league video lately.

Jones could be so much smoother through the hitting zone if he'd stop pulling the bat head toward the pitcher as his last movement before he brings his hands through.

That's likely a point of emphasis for him. He's got to be late on everything.
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Yeah, I have no idea what Benson's hitting coaches/coaches in general were attempting to do with his swing. Both the bat tip and leg kick are so large that his margin for error on each swing is so small. When it all goes right, he destroys the ball...unfortunately it goes more wrong than right and you see more swings like the weak roll overs/oppo popups in some of those videos.

And I'm convinced the bat tip you see with most young fresh out of HS hitters is because they think it adds power to their swing. They don't fully understand how to use their entire body yet, or haven't developed the strength to do so, so they overcompensate. That's usually a problem that goes away though.
 
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