Cleveland Sports Forum

Oh, I thought maybe you had looked last an earlier list. I see where someone else on Twitter told him that was wrong too. He must have misspoke and said BA when it was another site. He hasn’t answered back yet so I dunno.

I think you saw the end of 2019 list. They just posted their 2020 list earlier this week. Doesn't matter; as we know if McKenzie can pitch all year he'll be back in the top 100. Valera dropping off surprised me; they don't rate him above 60 on any tool and only 50 and 55 for defensive and arm strength so I guess that's why.

We get Palacios back this year too. Would not surprise me to see him move up the lists.

The interesting invitees are some of the young relievers, especially
Delbart Siri: 259 K in 201 IP but walks far too many.
Jared Robinson he's really increased Argenis Angulo 299 K in 232 minor league innings last year 88K but 38 BB in 63 IP.
Henry Martinez returns after a pretty bad 2019.
Cam Hill hurt part of last season in 33 AAA innings he fanned 48 and walked an acceptable 13
Surprisingly LH Kyle Nelson is not on the invitee list. Nelson fanned 69 walked 14 in 47 IP last summer.

Now that they've posted their 2020 list, BA lists "prospects we believe may make the 2021 top 100" they list 25 in alphabetical nor ranked order, including:

Brayan Rocchio, SS, Indians: Nicknamed "The Professor," Rocchio combines a high baseball IQ with high bat-to-ball skills in the middle of the diamond. He ranked No. 5 among on BA’s annual list of the Top 20 Prospects in the New York-Penn League and showed a blend of excellent defense and a swing that is geared for contact now but could provide more power as he matures.

George Valera, OF, Indians: Valera boasts a potentially plus hit tool and above-average power, an excellent starting point for a corner-outfield prospect. He showed hints of his gifts in the New York-Penn League and earned a late-season bump to low Class A. Injuries have held him back over his first two seasons, but Valera’s hit tool should continue to trend positively after showing power and the ability to get on-base in the NYPL as an 18-year-old.

What I have never understand is if you run a cheap outfit like Dolan does. Dont you want to put a high percentage of your money into the minor leagues where you can significantly more value added than at the major league level. Since they got rid of steroids I would never pay for a third contract for a player and I would be ok if they never paid for a second contract if their minor league spending was at the top of baseball which it should be.

The Indians put a ton into player development. Here’s one example I just saw early this morning.

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Jordan Stephens @J_Stephens27
Im realizing more and more every day how lucky i am to be with the Indians. I was on a 4+me conference call for 40min the other day talking about just one pitch and i just got a great breakdown on things after they went all the way back to college video. #unrealsupport

And they get results. That's why they are a model organization and our front office guys are swept up by our rivals.

So looking at Clippers stats for 2019, they used 52 pitchers [including a few position players who threw a couple innings, rehab assignments, spot promotions] 22 I counted of them also pitched for Cleveland; something like 22 also pitched for Akron. The only two of the four+ dozen who spent the entire season with Columbus were starters Michael Peoples and Shao-Ching Chiang. Chiang is now in the Tigers organization; they're one of a few teams that could actually use him in the majors; Peoples still listed with the Clippers, but not sure that is because no one has signed him for 2020 yet.

Naylor rated No. 15 on the 20 top catching prospects by BA

on a list of 10 Prospects We Hope are Healthy in 2020, included is

Triston McKenzie, RHP, Indians

When healthy, McKenzie has been excellent. He surrendered just 68 hits in 90.2 innings at Double-A Akron in 2018 and for his career strikes out nearly 11 hitters per nine innings. Problem is, those 90.2 innings at Akron are all he’s pitched in the last two seasons.

McKenzie missed the first half of the 2018 season with forearm soreness and then was sidelined for all of 2019 with an upper-back injury. Even with the limited innings, McKenzie ranks behind only righthander Daniel Espino among the organization’s pitching depth chart.

Evaluators have long worried that McKenzie would have trouble holding up for a starter’s workload because of a skinny frame. Even so, his stuff has never been in doubt. He shows a potentially plus fastball-curveball combination when healthy and backs up those two pitches with a changeup that flashes above-average. The 2020 season will be huge toward determining McKenzie’s future.

When you say they put a ton into player development where is the data to support such a statement?

Just in the last couple weeks I have posted an interview with young prospect Ethan Hankins talking about the work the organization has done with him on all that Trevor Bauer type spin rate stuff and all that stuff I don't understand. And posted comments from a hitting prospect, Stephens, who talked about how the organization went back as far as college to get tape and work with him on his swing.

Oh, and also, the Indians spent a ton of money building a new state of the art baseball facility in the Dominican, complete with giving young international signees tutors to help them get their high school diplomas.

That's just recently, ample evidence they put a ton of work into giving young players what they need for development.

Where is your one shred of evidence they don't?

Cleveland Indians open new baseball academy in Dominican Republic

Published: 2:52 PM EDT April 30, 2019

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians and officials in the Dominican Republic celebrated the franchise’s renewed commitment to developing talent in the island nation with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art baseball academy on Tuesday.

The Cleveland Indians Baseball Academy in San Antonio de Guerra, near the capital of Santo Domingo, is a 22-acre campus that will accommodate 120 players, coaches and staff members. Athletes will have access to fully furnished dorm rooms, which will provide them access to “world-class nutrition, high performance and mental skills training, strength and conditioning, medical services and safety.”

“We are truly honored by the opportunity to further enhance our relationships with the people and rich culture of the Dominican Republic,” Indians Owner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paul Dolan said in a press release announcing the opening.

“From Bartolo Colon and Manny Ramírez to Jose Ramírez and Carlos Santana, this proud country is responsible for some of the most iconic and memorable players in Cleveland Indians history and we look forward to providing more young athletes with the resources and tools necessary to succeed both in baseball and in life.”

The new academy, which further fosters a relationship with the Dominican Republic that started with the Indians’ first Dominican Summer League team in the 1980s, was a capital investment of more than $10 million into the nation’s economy.

Construction on the facility began in September of 2016 and created roughly 200 jobs during the entirety of the project.

Education was a key tenant of the project for the Indians in line with their organizational goals of encouraging athletes to pursue secondary and higher-level education and an increase in communication between native and non-native English-speaking players.

The Cleveland Indians Baseball Academy features five classrooms, high-speed Wi-Fi, a 35-computer lab and smart projectors to give athletes a modern-day educational experience. The Indians anticipate graduating their first senior class in the winter of 2019-2020.

The facility houses two full-size baseball diamonds, including one built to the exact dimensions of Progressive Field, one small instructional field, the first synthetic turf agility field ever built at an MLB facility in the Dominican Republic and four oversized batting cages that can be elevated to make the largest covered multi-purpose space at any complex in the country.

Where is your one shred of evidence they don't?

KenM has been on my blocked message list for years. I recommend that to you, too. Who needs the irritation?

Also one correction: Stephens is a pitcher, too.