Cleveland Sports Forum

2014 Indians 13th round pick: SS Austin Fisher

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 13th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected shortstop Austin Fisher out of Kansas State University.

Born: 1/8/1993 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 195 – Bats: Left – Throws: Right

Jeff Ellis: Austin Fisher is a guy I am sure the Indians saw often last year when they scouted Ross Kivett. Fisher was the shortstop in that double play grouping in 2013. Fisher had a stronger year in 2013; his average dropped over 60 points this year, which was caused by a BABIP of .422 last year. The bigger concern is his doubles went from 20 to 7. He had some back trouble in the fall and I wonder if it did have an effect on his production this year. In the end you can never have enough shortstops and if Fisher can regain his double stroke he is an interesting pick this late.

2014 Indians 14th round pick: RHP Grayson Jones

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 14th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected right-handed pitcher Grayson Jones out of Shelton State Community College (AL).

Born: 8/22/1994 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 205 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Ranks:

Baseball America: 209

Jeff Ellis: Grayson Jones from Shelton State might be the first unsignable pick by the Indians. He is widely considered one of the top 300 guys in the draft. He is only 6’2”, but he sits in the low 90’s and was hitting 96 this year with nice movement and a hard sink. His secondary breaking ball flashed plus but was incredibly inconsistent, and his third pitch was almost nonexistent. He didn’t last long in games averaging under five innings a start. In 12 starts he went just 52 innings but still had an ERA of 3.96. Even more impressively he struck out 67 in those 52 innings. Jones is very raw, he was just a freshman, he needs a lot of work and growth, but there is little doubt that he has a ton of talent. If he was a little bigger he would have gone higher, but the lack of size and the length of development is what caused him to still be on the board here. I mentioned he might be unsignable but I do hope I am wrong.

HB has been posting a lot about the baseball draft in the Browns forum. I asked him to post here, but I guess he doesn't like us any more?

See his comments here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22

2014 Indians 15th round pick: RHP Luke Eubank

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 15th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected right-handed pitcher Luke Eubank out of Oxnard College (CA).

Born: 2/24/1994 – Height: 6’0” – Weight: 180 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Ranks:

Baseball America: 234

Jeff Ellis: Luke Eubank might make it back to back unsignable players for the Indians. Eubank is a smaller right hander at 6’1” from Oxnard College. He was unhittable in high school but was undrafted because of lack of size and velocity. He is now up to the high 80’s to low 90’s which is why he jumped on the draft radar. He is a sinkerball guy who is best off throwing it as much of the time as he can. Like most guys who have a really good sinker, his other pitches are more show me pitches though his slider can occasionally flash plus. Eubank is an interesting guy who has some nice upside because his sinkerball looks to be a plus pitch. He would be another great add to the system if he can be signed.

2014 Indians 16th round pick: RHP J.P. Feyereisen
By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 16th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected right-handed pitcher J.P. Feyereisen out of University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

Born: 2/7/1993 – Height: 6’2” – Weight: 215 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Jeff Ellis: JP Feyereisen is a 6’2” right handed pitcher for Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which has one of my favorite mascots: the Pointers. Feyereisen worked both out of the pen and as a starter, but was at his best out of the pen and I think the Indians might have been targeting Feyereisen as a pen arm. He was a strikeout machine this year that really did not walk anyone. He has two average to above average pitches which he commands very well. He is maxed out physically as a strongly built kid, but there is potential here for a solid pen arm.

2014 Indians 17th round pick: RHP Cameron Hill

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 17th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected right-handed pitcher Cameron Hill out of Redlands Community College (OK).

Born: 5/24/1994 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 185 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Jeff Ellis: Cameron Hill is a 6’1” right handed pitcher from Redlands Community College. He is the Indians seventeenth round selection and marks the sixth time they have taken a right handed pitcher who was 6’2” or smaller, which is often viewed as small for right-handed pitchers. The Indians though appear to think they have found an inefficiency here. Hill was a starter for Redlands and struckout 62 over 57.1 innings with a 4.37 ERA. He is a younger arm as he is only a sophomore, and should be an interesting addition to the Indians minors.

2014 Indians 18th round pick: OF Taylor Murphy

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 18th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected outfielder Taylor Murphy out of University of the Pacific (CA).

Born: 11/3/1992 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 185 – Bats: Left – Throws: Right

Jeff Ellis: Taylor Murphy is a big left-handed outfielder from Pacific University. He is a 6’3” corner outfielder and on a bloodlines note his cousin is Geoff Blum. He was drafted as a 40th round selection out of high school, but instead went to college where he struggled incredibly his first two years. He was a low 200’s hitter who didn’t look like a future draft pick. His average jumped 100 points this year to .315 and he led the Tigers in home runs with five. Anytime a player makes a leap this large it raises his profile and causes teams to reevaluate. Murphy was a guy teams scouted in high school, and after this season teams were able to see a lot of skills which made him intriguing three years ago.

2014 Indians 19th round pick: RHP Argenis Angulo

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 19th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected right-handed pitcher Argenis Angulo out of Ranger College (TX).

Born: 2/26/1994 – Height: 6’3” – Weight: 220 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Ranks:

Baseball America: 435

Jeff Ellis: Argenis Angulo is a 6’3” right-handed pitcher from Ranger College. Angulo had a rough freshman year but really rebounded this year when he became a starter. He appeared in 11 games and struck out 83 in 63 innings. He did walk 42 as well, but the ability to rack of strikeouts is there. He is from Venezuela originally and is thought of rather highly in some places. He made the Baseball America top 500 players, yet in general I could not find a lot on him. His player page on the Ranger website only had his picture no bio. Here is another right handed arm who was able to rack up strikeouts in college which seems to be what the Indians are targeting.

2014 Indians 20th round pick: CA Gian Paul Gonzalez

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 20th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected catcher Gian Paul Gonzalez out of Discipulos De Cristo High School (Puerto Rico).

Born: 1/11/1996 – Height: 6’0” – Weight: 185 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Jeff Ellis: Gonzalez is a catcher from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, and their second such selection from there. It also marks their second straight year taking a catcher from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. Gonzalez is 5’11” and is a natural catcher who seems likely to stick there with a strong arm. Last year he was listed as having an 80 MPH fastball and a pop time under two. He is a natural athlete with an easy natural looking speed. His bat speed is very good and this allows for some power projection as well. Gonzalez could be a sleeper this late, as he has more than a few tools which could end up being plus. He is a long way away, but seems a good bet to have a floor as a good defensive catcher which teams can never have enough of in their minors.

2014 Indians 21st round pick: OF Bobby Ison

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 21st round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected outfielder Bobby Ison out of Charleston Southern (SC).

Born: 7/5/1993 – Height: 5’8” – Weight: 170 – Bats: Left – Throws: Left

Jeff Ellis: Bobby Ison will have the most interesting story of any draft pick taken this year that is a guarantee. When he was in high school, he noticed something wrong with the feeling in his feet. He went to the doctors and it turned out he had Guillain-Barre syndrome which is where the immune system attacks your nerves. For a short time he lost the ability to walk, but through hard work he recovered and made it back that year to surprise everyone and play baseball. Ison reminds me a bit of last year’s pick Mark Payton, both where smaller at 5’9” but both can hit. Ison hit .396 this season and in 230 at bats he only struck out six times. He also managed 17 doubles showing some gap power. Here is a kid who is hard to not root for and I will be curious to watch and see how Ison does when he hopefully signs this year.

2014 Indians 22nd round pick: RHP Jordan Carter

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 22nd round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected right-handed pitcher Jordan Carter out of Saint Joseph’s (PA).

Born: 9/29/1991 – Height: 6’4” – Weight: 195 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Jeff Ellis: Jordan Carter is a 6’4” right-handed pitcher from St. Joseph. He had a solid year for St. Joseph posting a 2.45 ERA over 95.2 innings. He struck out 81 and only walked 14, though he did surrender 78 hits as well. The numbers seem to show that he is more of a command control right-handed pitcher. His bio lists him at only 185 pounds so he could get bigger and add some more velocity. He was listed at only six feet out of high school so here is a kid who still hasn’t grown all the way into his body. He is a senior sign, but could be an interesting senior sign with a little more upside.

2014 Indians 23rd round pick: OF David Armendariz

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 23rd round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected outfielder David Armendariz out of Cal Poly Pomona (CA).

Born: 8/22/1991 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 215 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Jeff Ellis: David Armendariz is a 6’3” switch hitter from Cal Poly Pomona, which is a division II school. He was surprisingly undrafted last year and went back to school on a mission. The numbers this year speak for themselves as he has a slash line of .332/.381/.606. He hit 10 home runs and 19 doubles, which are excellent power numbers for a college kid. This was only his third season as a full time hitter as he had been primarily a pitcher in high school. He has a cannon in the outfield; as a pitcher he used to bring it at upwards of 94. The draft tool that got him noticed is his power. There is still growth and upside in this switch hitter and is an interesting addition this late.

2014 Indians 24th round pick: CF Jodd Carter

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 24th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected centerfielder Jodd Carter out of Hilo High School (HI).

Born: 7/20/1996 – Height: 5’10” – Weight: 170 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Ranks:

Baseball America: 473

Jeff Ellis: Jodd Carter is a high school outfielder from Hawaii who is committed to the University of Hawaii so I am not sure if he is even signable. He is another smaller player at 5’9”, but he does have some interesting tools. When he was announced the Indians announced his position as a centerfielder which is rare as they often just say outfield. Todd has plus speed and covers some ground out there. His arm would be plus for centerfield and had been recorded in the low 80’s there. He has a nice swing, hits it to all fields and shows some gap power. Todd is a good athlete who could be a nice speed addition to the Indians lower levels.

2014 Indians 25th round pick: CA Kainoa Harrison

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 25th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected catcher Kainoa Harrison out of Punahou High School (HI).

Born: 8/11/1996 – Height: 5’11” – Weight: 180 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Ranks:

Baseball America: 149

Jeff Ellis: Kaino “KJ” Harrison is the player the Indians have drafted who is the least likely to sign. He has a strong commit to Oregon State, where I am sure he will stick at catcher. He has a sub two pop time at catcher with a strong arm back there. He has above average to maybe even plus power behind the plate, his hit tool does have some questions especially when he faced better competition. Still it’s all nitpicking as Harrison is a top 200 talent who is a lock to stay behind the plate at catcher who has a real chance to go in the top three rounds in three more years.

2014 Indians 26th round pick: OF Reese Cooley

By Staff Report
June 7, 2014
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With their 26th round pick in the 2014 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected outfielder Reese Cooley out of Fleming Island High School (FL).

Born: 12/8/1995 – Height: 6’2” – Weight: 197 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Ranks:

Baseball America: 406

Jeff Ellis: Reese Cooley is a 6’2” right-handed high school outfielder who just oozes athleticism. He might not be unsignable as he is only committed to a junior college, but would be very hard to do this late. I think if he was willing to sign for 100K he would have been drafted much earlier. The Indians draft a kid like Cooley here because they can talk to and get to know him. The thought is if he improves they already know him and remember being a JUCO player he will be draft eligible in a year. Cooley has plus speed and plus power from the right side, but has not been able to put it all together yet. The reason he slid was his cost to sign was more than likely too high for what he has been able to show on the diamond this year. Cooley is purely an upside bet, but if it all comes together he could be a special player.