not sure he wasted his time with this one.

JB (NY): Carlos Moncrief still considered a prospect given his advanced age and rough 2015?

Teddy Cahill: Moncrief is no longer in the Indians organization. The Giants signed him as a free agent in November. But even if he had stayed with the Tribe, I doubt he would have made the top 30.

this guy asked about one of the kids I'm interested in:

Jon (Westlake, OH): Willi Castro seemed to more than hold his own as an 18-year old shortstop in the New York-Penn League. While the starting shortstop job in Cleveland will be in Lindor's hands for quite some time, does Castro have starting SS upside generally?

Teddy Cahill: Yes. The Indians have several interesting shortstop candidates in the low minors - Castro, Wakamatsu, Alexis Pantoja to name a few. Castro has always been young for his league but has kept his head above water and impressed some people. He's still learning, of course, but his confidence and baseball IQ are very good for his age.

so I wanted a Clevinger answer; I guess I had to ask the question myself

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Clevinger had a quite a full-season Indians’ debut. Can he keep moving up and reach Cleveland in 2016? How does he compare with Cody Anderson as potential back of the rotation arms?

Teddy Cahill: Clevinger definitely was impressive in 2015. When the Indians got him for Vinnie Pestano it seemed like he was little more than a lottery ticket. But they were able to help him make some mechanical adjustments that got him back to pitching like he did before he had Tommy John surgery. If he does that again, he will be in Cleveland this summer. The Indians have several very talented pitchers in the big leagues already, so it won't be easy for anyone to break in and it may be that he gets his first shot in the bullpen. But I expect you'll see Clevinger at some point this summer.

ah, here's one of my guys:

Dan (Mid-Atlantic): Has Dorssys Paulino regained some prospect shine with his time in High-A? Seemed to do better (in 43 games, admittedly) once he got out of Lake County

Teddy Cahill: Yes. Paulino had stagnated in Lake County, but the results were much better once he got to Lynchburg. Maybe he can build off that and carry some positive momentum into 2016. One thing that's important to remember with Paulino is that he'll play all of this season as a 21-year old. So he's got time to figure this out.

now we need to hear about a Mejia or two

good question:

Mike (Ohio): What's your perspective on the swing and miss in Frazier's game? Contact - primarily stemming from breaking pitches - seems to remain a significant problem to overcome, but he also seemed to improve over the course of the year, and he's still young for the level. Overall seems like a higher-risk profile that could bust out, or find a way to make loud power play in game - is that a fair way to look at it?

Teddy Cahill: Frazier did a great job to cut down on his strikeouts this season, going from a 30 percent strikeout rate to 21 percent this year. There were some adjustments he made to quiet his swing and help him make more consistent contact. As he did that, his overall numbers improved and he did a good job of getting to his power. It's rather unlikely that he cuts his strikeouts down that much again, but as long as he continues to make some progress in that department, he'll be fine. He should start the season in Double-A and will be 21 all season.

Doug (MA): Who makes it to the bigs first: Bradley or Kyle Zimmer? Seems like Bradley is really closing in on his older brother Kyle, who was drafted several year earlier.

Teddy Cahill: This has become a much tighter race than originally anticipated. Bradley has a chance to beat his big brother to the big leagues, but I think Kyle remains the favorite, even with his track record of injuries.

Aiken is probably best known nationally of our prospects, so he get questions from all over. Then again Zimmer and Frazier have solid reputations behind them, too.

Kyle (Florida): Just making sure you get at least one Brady Aiken question, what kind of pitcher can fans expect this year? And going forward? Is he still an elite pitching prospect?

Teddy Cahill: I don't think we have to worry about not getting enough questions about Brady Aiken anytime soon. But, this year, I think you'll see him get back on the mound and probably pitch pretty effectively while going through some of the growing pains all pitchers do as they recover from surgery. Longterm, he has ace upside. I remain a big believer in Aiken. There's risk there, but everyone has praise for his work ethic, makeup and baseball IQ. If he can just get his stuff back, he should be fine.

That's a lot of kids with Baseball IQ. Which is all we used to hear about some of our minor leaguers who had the IQ but not the tools. They've been drafting for much more upside and more athletic players these last few years. Lindor is the first to arrive; let's hope his success sets a trend.

Not sure why I bothered asking about Mitch, but the answer is somewhat rewarding

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Mitch Brown seems to bounce from bad year to good year to bad year. 2015 was pretty bad: 5.15 ERA 1.42 WHIP. What’s the current prognosis?

Teddy Cahill: Brown definitely took a step back in 2015. But it's premature to give up on him. His stuff is good, he just has to figure out a way to repeat his delivery so he can throw more strikes. It's more likely he is a reliever long term, but he'll pitch this season as a 22-year old and has some time to figure it out.

sounds like he's getting ready to wrap up with no Mejias yet

Jonny (Canada): Who are some sleepers from the lower levels?

Teddy Cahill: I really struggle to ID sleepers because I feel like if I know their name they aren't sleepers. But I think you're looking at guys like Anthony Santander, Jonas Wyatt, Sam Hentges, Micah Miniard, Grant Hockin, Justin Garza and Todd Isaacs. A few of those feel more famous though.

[Santander, Hentges are pretty famous. Glad to see Anthony included. Wyatt might not even be 18 yet, and throws hard. Miniard is a 6-7 pitcher. Hockin was No. 2 draft choice in2014 but missed last summer. The last two I don't know more than barely their names. Better look them up.]

Here's more on Wyatt:

Cid (Columbus-Ohio): So. Cal. prep Jonas Wyatt has yet to give up an extra base hit in his 17 innings. Small sample size or did the Indians get a steal in the draft?

Teddy Cahill: Both? Wyatt is still fairly new to pitching, but he's got some good arm strength and athleticism. His work ethic and determination to get better is really impressive. He definitely has upside and is one to watch.

[By the time this chat ends, we can all be so confident we can go ahead an order our playoff tickets for 2018-21]

Dave (Eugene Oregon): What are your thoughts on Nelson Rodriguez?

Teddy Cahill: Lots of questions about Nellie Rodriguez today. He's hit his way up the list and led the Carolina League with 17 home runs this season. But he's limited to first base and right-right first basemen are tough to profile. If he keeps hitting, he'll get a chance, but he's got to keep hitting.

Joe the plumber (Toledo, Ohio): Who would you pick from the this list to have a big impact for Cleveland in 2016?


Teddy Cahill: The two most likely to make a significant impact in Cleveland this year are Naquin and Clevinger. I wouldn't be stunned if Zimmer got to Cleveland this year, but the guys to watch coming up will be Naquin and Clevinger. And Shawn Armstrong will get an opportunity out of the bullpen.

[I forgot that Armstrong still qualifies as a rookie, not too much time in the majors in 2015, and he looked good.]

TJ (Tacoma): How much has Adam Plutko's stuff improved since he left UCLA? Can he crack the big-league rotation this season?

Teddy Cahill: Plutko's stuff is largely the same. He showed more velocity late this season, getting up to 94 mph, but it remains to be seen if he'll be able to hold that over the course of the season. But he knows how to get outs with what he has. The Indians are a tough place to breakthrough into the rotation with so many talented young starters, but he certainly has a chance. I think he makes his debut sometime this summer.

[Indians are just too darn deep in talent]