Cleveland Sports Forum

For comparison purposes, last year our prospects who made league Top 20 lists were:

Arizona League:
No. 1 Clint Frazier
No. 7 F Mejia

NYPL
None

Midwest
None

Carolina
No. 1 Lindor
No. 20 Cody Anderson

Eastern League
No. 17 Jose Ramirez

International League
No. 6 Danny Salazar
No. 16 Trevor Bauer

Civ,

Thanks for all the posts -- enjoy keeping up with the future

There once was a player named Shuck

Who we got thinking he would not suck

His bat was not lively

More like poison ivy

Making most Tribe fans say "What the F....!"

Oh My!

Well done Lou!

[although we actually did expect him to suck, but poetic license forgives errors of truth]

Shawn Morimando did better than expected. (Overall improvement with his control paid off in his record and ERA)

Erik Gonzalez did not do as well as expected - slipped at the end. (One big improvement was the the walks to strikeouts ratio - batting average slipped at the end).

I was quite satisfied with Gonzalez' performance. Morimando still has some command issues and I'm not convinced he's a serious major league starter prospect. We have very few of those. But he made a step upward.

NYPL Top 20 list and chat today. Zimmer and Mejia, as anticipated made the Top 10, which is pretty good success for a league of something like 15 teams. I'll post their write-ups, but first here's a question of mine that made it through. I know someone among the Foumites is a Greg Allen fan so consider this my question for him:

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Does Greg Allen have enough defensive skills along with his speed and ability to draw walks make him a prospect?

Aaron Fitt: I’m a huge Greg Allen fan — he’s just an electric player, a lot of fun to watch. He is an elite defender in center field; in fact, I would say his defense is his best tool, even ahead of his speed. He has superb instincts out there and makes highlight-reel plays routinely. He’s a scrappy hitter who is tough to strike out, a switch-hitter who is better from the left side. A table-setter profile, and he has fantastic makeup too. Definitely a prospect.

Civ: Wow that's a lot more than I would have guessed!

Brian (Ohio): With the exception of maybe Lopez, I don't see how anyone in this league could rank over Zimmer and Conforto. They both have plenty of upside, and their proximity to the majors makes them a much more sure thing to make the show. Can you explain why they were not at the top of this list?

Aaron Fitt: I shuffled the order around quite a bit while I was putting this list together, and I think I would have been comfortable with Zimmer and Conforto as high as No. 3/4, but the top two pitchers stood out more than anyone else for their combination of upside and polish relative to their age.

Jimmy (San Fran): If you had one pick, would you take Zimmer or Conforto?

Aaron Fitt: Boy, I’ve gone back and forth on that question since about February. I think Conforto is safer — that dude just hits, and I’ll be really surprised if he isn’t a productive corner outfielder in the big leagues. I love his makeup, I love his approach at the plate, I love how hard he has worked to improve his defense. But Zimmer has more upside, which is why I ranked him ahead of Conforto on this list. Zimmer has a chance to be a legit five-tool center fielder… I’m just not as sold on his bat. Not all scouts are thrilled with his setup and swing path, and it’s uncertain how much power he’ll grow into. Still, you can really dream on his ceiling, so I’ll go with Zimmer by a hair. Ask me tomorrow, I may feel differently.

Frank (New Mexico): What did evaluators think of Sean Brady?

Aaron Fitt: Brady showed a very mature approach for his age, pounding the strike zone with an 87-91 fastball. His stuff isn’t loud and his ceiling isn’t real high, but the Indians like him — he really knows how to pitch.

FWIW: We also had the No. 5 prospect in the NYPL ratings 5 years ago: OF Jason Kipnis

5. Bradley Zimmer, of, Mahoning Valley (Indians)

Age: 21. B-T: L-R. Ht: 6-4. Wt: 185. Drafted: San Francisco, 2014 (1).

After earning first-team All-America honors as a junior at San Francisco, Zimmer followed in the footsteps of older brother Kyle by becoming a first-round pick. He missed a week and a half in early August with a concussion, then caught fire upon his return, hitting .346/.477/.538 in his last 15 NYPL games to earn a late promotion.

Long and lean, Zimmer is a long strider with above-average speed underway, and he covers enough ground defensively to give him a shot to stay in center field. Some scouts think he’ll wind up in right field as he fills out, and his plus arm will play in either spot.

Zimmer flashes plus raw power in batting practice, though he still is learning to harness it in game action. His lefthanded swing is a bit unorthodox, but he has a knack for making contact and uses the whole field effectively. Zimmer has five-tool potential if he can unlock his power potential.

No other Scrappers made the 2009 Top 20. This year we score two in the Top Ten:

9. Francisco Mejia, c, Mahoning Valley (Indians)
[aka Civ's favorite]

Age: 18. B-T: B-R. Ht: 5-10. Wt: 175. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2012.

Mejia signed for $350,000 in 2012 then jumped right to the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2013, where he had a strong debut. He continued to perform well as one of the youngest players in the NYPL this summer, and he handled an increased workload behind the plate, catching 52 games.

Mejia’s calling card is his arm, which frequently draws plus-plus grades from evaluators, though he is still working on his accuracy and footwork. His receiving and blocking remain works in progress, but he took a step forward this year, and he has a chance to become a solid defensive catcher as he matures.

Mejia is undersized but generates surprising bat speed from both sides of the plate, giving him gap power with a shot to grow into some home run pop in time. He has an innate feel for his barrel, though he hit better from the left side (.789 OPS) than the right side (.590) this summer. His ability to square up balls in or out of the zone sometimes causes him to chase, but he has the hands and savvy to become an impact hitter.

Civ ... put me down as a Greg Allen fan too.

We seem to have a pretty diverse group of CF candidates in the system, mostly lower levels. From Gabriel Mejia, the minors' stolen base king who played in the Dominican, to Sayles who's refining his game in Arizona, to Allen just out of college; on to Clint Frazier who has a broader set of offensive skills and may wind up in a corner position; and Tyler Naquin who's a AA graduate.