bradley zimmer | Bottlegate

(Bradley Zimmer actually DHed. Semantics.)

Here's Game 2's lineup!

And here's how a healthy @Yan_AGomes can be an X factor: https://t.co/pYrp87zr5Z pic.twitter.com/TVtI8S5rO4

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) March 29, 2016

Wow, @Bzimmer5 @ClintFrazierr & Yu Cheng Chang starting tonight at Goodyear. Great news for those who are interested in the future of CLE.

— Joe (@GBI_Joe) March 29, 2016

The numbers on the back of their jerseys may have added up to 249, but those weren’t just any minor leaguers running around with Chief Wahoo on their sleeve last night. An outfield of Clint Frazier, Tyler Naquin and Bradley Zimmer (first-round picks in 2012/13/14) is something we’re very likely to see over the next year or two, and will certainly be met with a spike in the number tents erected inside and in surrounding areas of Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. Naquin has obviously already made the big league club this season, Zimmer seems to be a lock for Opening Day 2017 before even playing in a single game this year, and Frazier isn’t all that far behind him. The “Indians can’t draft” crowd (first cousins to the Dolans R Cheap clan) may not like to admit it, but when your outfield of the future includes three consecutive first round picks (and the two top prospects in your entire system) with that much upside, you’re doing something right.

That being said, last night wasn’t a particularly explosive showing. Against Mariners fourth starter Taijuan Walker, Frazier singled in the first and Zimmer doubled in the third. For the spring, they’ve both had 8 at-bats at the big league level. Frazier (21 years old) has 1 hit and a 5/1 K/BB, while two of Zimmer’s (23 years old) three hits have been doubles and he’s also driven in a run. Naquin (24 years old) really isn’t doing much of anything other than leading the regulars in hitting (.415 in 53 ABs) and triples (3), second in bombs (4), driving in 7, doubling three times and posting an OBP of .456 in his first extended action against big league pitching.

But what about Michael Brantley? Who? Who’s on first. Who, meet Michael Brantley. He’ll be taking your job in the near future. While he’s never played first base in a big league game, he did dabble in the minors and the idea was tossed around in the spring of 2011. Defensive metrics have never loved him as a left fielder, and a move to the infield would certainly help to keep him healthy and his legs fresh as he enters his 30’s. He would also provide a well above average bridge until Bobby Bradley (who DHed in the first game yesterday) is ready for the big show. Bradley hits baseballs hard and he hits baseballs far, but he also fails to connect on quite a few attemps at hitting baseballs and is only 19 years old. He’s a ways away from The Corner.

Yu-Cheng Chang is a guy the Tribe signed from Taiwan a few years back for $500,000. He’s risen to #13 on MLB.com’s list of our top 30 prospects despite being only 19 and having played just over 100 games at Lake County. He’s 1-3 with a triple this spring.

https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/700446032040038400

https://twitter.com/tpaquette_IID/status/714880704761311232

KEEP THE CHIEF

I like to poke around these prospect lists every once in a while but apparently I missed this little development (h/t to Reddit user chuckyjc05). With Mets outfielder Michael Conforto graduating from rookie status (more than 130 ABs / exceed 45 days on the active 25-man roster), your Cleveland Indians now have two of the top 10 outfield prospects in all of baseball according to MLB.com.

You’ve definitely heard of these two kids before if you’re anything more than a casual Tribe fan. Zimmer got up to AA Akron towards the end of this year, amassing just over 200 plate appearances for the RubberDucks. While his triple slash left a lot to be desired (.219/.313/.374), he’s still just 22 years old and his BABIP of .273 was way below where it’s been at other levels where he’s gotten significant ABs, so that should stabilize in 2016. Before the call-up, he was raking in High-A Lynchburg alongside Frazier. In 78 games he hit .308 with 10 bombs, 39 RBI and 32 swipes. He also scored a whopping 60 runs. He was third in the Carolina League in stolen bases and eighth in both runs and home runs despite not playing the entire year there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxeX8EPwtGQ

Even though he was drafted a year earlier, it was out of high school so Frazier is still a little behind Zimmer developmentally, hence his lack of a call up to Akron. It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of production. Here are his totals and ranks in the Carolina League this year:

Runs – 88 (2nd)
Hits – 143 (1st)
Doubles – 36 (1st)
Home Runs – 16 (2nd)
RBI – 72 (3rd)
Walks – 68 (3rd)
OBP – .377 (4th)
SLG – .465 (4th)
AVG – .285 (4th)
OPS – .842 (3rd)

Oh he just turned 21 like two weeks ago.

Here’s a good story on him from earlier this year courtesy of Justin Lada (@JL_Baseball). He’s still learning how to adjust both mentally and mechanically, things he never had to worry about in high school, but my goodness that swing is something pretty.

The Tribe also had two other guys show up on MLB.com’s top 10 prospect list at their respective positions. First baseman Bobby Bradley, who led the Midwest League with 27 bombs (11 more than the #2 guy) and 92 RBI.

And LHP Rob Kaminsky, who we got in what was widely recognized as one of the best trade deadline deals this season when we sent Brandon Moss to St. Louis.

Notice how that snippet says Kaminsky has better pure stuff and a higher ceiling than Cardinals starter Marco Gonzales, who won two NLDS games as a rookie last season. So that’s pretty cool I guess.

It might not seem like it right now after the boys droped the first two games in Minnesota with the season on the line, but there’s a lot to be excited about down on the farm.

KEEP THE CHIEF

Cleveland