2020 Minor League Thread

[sportscoach]

The best comp for Eli Morgan was, is and will remain Marco Estrada

Either way, could be way worse! He was a solid pitcher when healthy.

I am excited to see McKenzie this weekend. I wasnt sure if we were going to see him this season because of the shortened season. The injury luckily didn't hurt his MLB timetable

 

[LL3]

Either way, could be way worse! He was a solid pitcher when healthy.

I am excited to see McKenzie this weekend. I wasnt sure if we were going to see him this season because of the shortened season. The injury luckily didn't hurt his MLB timetable

I'm honestly a bit shocked at the McKenzie start...I follow this stuff and was completely unaware of his apparent progress he has made. Excellent!

 

[Kiddo]

Am i wrong in thinking we're stacked in the minors, at least when it comes to pitching? Obviously guys need to pan out but we seem to have 2-3 #1 starter prospects and numerous middle of the rotation guys. Given our ability to turn out great pitchers I'm super stoked. Espino, Clase and Vargas all have fastballs that can reach 100. Also, our top position players like Jones, Valera, Naylor, Freeman all have really good offensive upside. It's just such a bummer there's no minor league season this year.

 

[sportscoach]

Am i wrong in thinking we're stacked in the minors, at least when it comes to pitching? Obviously guys need to pan out but we seem to have 2-3 #1 starter prospects and numerous middle of the rotation guys. Given our ability to turn out great pitchers I'm super stoked. Espino, Clase and Vargas all have fastballs that can reach 100. Also, our top position players like Jones, Valera, Naylor, Freeman all have really good offensive upside. It's just such a bummer there's no minor league season this year.

Pitching i feel we are good with the depth, hitting to me is so-so overall. We have a ton of high potential lower floor guys in my mind overall. Personally I am not overally fond of the position depth in the upper minors. Hence why i wish we could find a college bat that was more MLB ready in the draft, but it didn't seem like it was there this year.

 

[TFIR]

From fantasy site Fantrax:

Tyler Freeman, SS, Cleveland Indians (Eric's Ranking: 117)
Tyler Freeman is an interesting player for prospectors to try and rank. Depending on the list, you can find Freeman ranked inside the top 50 or outside the top 100. While he has an above-average hit tool and speed, Freeman's power is slim to none. Last season, in 547 plate appearances between two single-A levels, Freeman hit .306 with three home runs and 20 stolen bases.

Freeman owns an impressive strikeout rate that in under nine percent for his career. On the flip side, his walk rate comes in as one of the worst in MILB right around four percent. Freeman did show stretches last season where he was walking over ten percent of the time, but his valleys were also barely above two percent. If Freeman can grow into more power, he can be a solid Fantasy contributor, given his hit tool and speed. Unfortunately, in OBP leagues, his low walk rate hurts his value.

 

[TFIR]

Another from Gammons:

One American League scouting guru comps Owen Miller to Mark Loretta.

Cantillo was a skinny kid in Hawaii throwing 87 mph, but the Padres scouts worked him out and saw an uptick in velocity and had the acumen to project him to be 93-94 mph in time with a sound delivery and command; he’s almost there.

Quantrill was a first-round pick, with the genes of his father Paul, one of the most dogged pitchers I’ve ever known.

 

[sportscoach]

Another from Gammons:

One American League scouting guru comps Owen Miller to Mark Loretta.

Cantillo was a skinny kid in Hawaii throwing 87 mph, but the Padres scouts worked him out and saw an uptick in velocity and had the acumen to project him to be 93-94 mph in time with a sound delivery and command; he’s almost there.

Quantrill was a first-round pick, with the genes of his father Paul, one of the most dogged pitchers I’ve ever known.

I was actually thinking Neil Walker as a comparison for Owen Miller, but Loretta makes sense too. A guy that just knows how to hit, but may not ever have a ton of HRs/a lower slg%

 

[MadThinker88]

A few places have started to update their farm system rankings (post draft & trade deadline)

According to MLB Pipeline, the Tribe is now 14th, down from 12th (when ranked in March 2020)
https://www.mlb.com/news/2020-midseason-farm-systems-rankings

Bleacher Report has the Tribe in 10th, up from 20th when ranked in February 2020)

As I locate more updates, I will share them..

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

According to MLB Pipeline, the Tribe is now 14th, down from 12th (when ranked in March 2020)
https://www.mlb.com/news/2020-midseason-farm-systems-rankings

Bleacher Report has the Tribe in 10th, up from 20th when ranked in February 2020)

So it seems we're viewed as average to above average. I think that should be combined with the youth on the major league team to get an overall picture of the young talent.

We have five starters on the Indians, all of whom are 25 years old: Bieber, Plesac, Civale, Quantrill and McKenzie (24). Quantrill is someone the Indians will try as a starter.

They also have two relievers who are under 25: Karinchak and Clase. So that's seven pitchers on the major league team who are 25 or under and one more, Cam Hill, who is 26, although Hill is probably still considered a prospect. Clase is also considered a prospect even though he has some major league experience like Hill.

They also have two outfielders age 25 or under: Mercado and Naylor. Also a DH/outfielder - Reyes.

My point is that even though their farm system may fall in the 10-14 range they have nine players on the big team who are 25 or under.

They do have three infielders who are either on the final year of their contracts (Santana, Hernandez) or who need to be traded after this season (Lindor). Fortunately, they have a lot of highly ranked middle infield prospects. In one ranking three of their top seven are shortstops. First base may be a problem although Naylor has played first base in the minors and could go back there.

So between the nine young players in the bigs already and the above average farm system the Indians seem to be in pretty good shape for the long term. Next year they could take a step back assuming they lose Lindor, Santana, Hand, and possibly Ollie Perez and Hernandez.

 

[CDAV45]

I think most of us agree that a Lindor trade in the offseason is inevitable. Assuming that it will happen, I think the haul will be better than the ones we got for Bauer and Clevinger. Here's what I hope they get in return/target:
1. Big bat that can play OF or 1B. Naylor's versatility allows them some flexibility in this regard.
2. A C prospect. I don't care if it's a prospect in A ball as long as he has tremendous upside. If a C is acquired and near ready/ready then Bo Naylor's athleticism will play in the OF allowing his big bro to take over 1B.
3. Another SP prospect with upside because you can never have too much SP and we've seen what a surplus can do for an organization like CLE.

A couple of teams off the top of my head that could be a good match are Atlanta, Cinncy, LAD, and one of my favorites...... St. Louis.

 

[sportscoach]

I think most of us agree that a Lindor trade in the offseason is inevitable. Assuming that it will happen, I think the haul will be better than the ones we got for Bauer and Clevinger. Here's what I hope they get in return/target:
1. Big bat that can play OF or 1B. Naylor's versatility allows them some flexibility in this regard.
2. A C prospect. I don't care if it's a prospect in A ball as long as he has tremendous upside. If a C is acquired and near ready/ready then Bo Naylor's athleticism will play in the OF allowing his big bro to take over 1B.
3. Another SP prospect with upside because you can never have too much SP and we've seen what a surplus can do for an organization like CLE.

A couple of teams off the top of my head that could be a good match are Atlanta, Cinncy, LAD, and one of my favorites...... St. Louis.

I have a hunch the team that would give us the most would be the ones who have a high probability of resigning him. Not sure who that is at the moment though

 

[CDAV45]

I have a hunch the team that would give us the most would be the ones who have a high probability of resigning him. Not sure who that is at the moment though

I considered this in my choices and I think that St. Louis is definitely capable of doing so.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Thank goodness Lindor is finally starting to hit. He's still below his career averages, though. I don't like that he has only 17 RBI's in 39 games from the #3 spot in the order. His problems hitting in the clutch continue as he's hitting .140 with RISP against .294 with nobody on base. Put a runner on second or third base and he turns into Sandy Leon at the dish, just like last year.

 

[DJJOE]

Thank goodness Lindor is finally starting to hit. He's still below his career averages, though. I don't like that he has only 17 RBI's in 39 games from the #3 spot in the order. His problems hitting in the clutch continue as he's hitting .140 with RISP against .294 with nobody on base. Put a runner on second or third base and he turns into Sandy Leon at the dish, just like last year.

Hitting in front of a .193 bat has to be part of his difficulty, I think. Moving Reyes into the 4th spot seems a no-brainer to me.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Hitting in front of a .193 bat has to be part of his difficulty, I think. Moving Reyes into the 4th spot seems a no-brainer to me.

I agree, but if Santana is dropped to 5th then they would pitch around Reyes every time.

Reyes 4th, Naquin 5th, Santana 6th, Naylor 7th. That way an opponent can't bring in a lefty reliever to face Naquin and Naylor back-to-back. Santana hits OK right-handed.