Cleveland Sports Forum

Jones is big fella too. 6'3" 195

3rd baseman, bats left throws right.

Tribe Insider
Lottery Rd B selection (#72)

C Logan Ice out of Oregon State.

+Hit .310 (54/174) w/7HR,39 RBI
+Bench Award finalist
+Pac-12 Defensive POY

Coming into tonight's MLB Draft, the Cleveland Indians had one obvious flaw in their farm system -- catcher. They addressed it with their third pick of the night in the Lottery B round with a switch-hitting all-around catcher by the name of Logan Ice from Oregan State.

Ice played in at least 50 games in each of his three seasons with Oregan State, and in his final season, he walked 37 times compared to just 25 strikeouts. Ice also set career-highs in doubles (13), triples (5), home runs (7), and hits (54) in 2016, which is one big reason his stock seemingly came out of nowhere over the past few months.

He does not have one particular tool that sticks out, but he is known as a good fielding catcher. Scout.com's Jeff Ellis notes that his ceiling may not be terribly high, but there is a very good chance he could become a major leaguer at some point.

This may have been the Indians being safe with a pick, instead of going purely for the best player available. Their farm system has a serious void of catchers with Francisco Mejia being the only legitimate catching prospect in the organization. Ice immediately fills that hole and could eventually make an impact on the Indians.

The Cleveland Indians have selected third baseman/shortstop Nolan Jones out of Holy Ghost Prep School in Bensalem, Pennsylvania with the 55th overall pick of the 2016 MLB Draft. He is currently committed to Virginia, and he may be difficult for the Tribe to sign at this slot.

On MLB's Top 200 Prospect Watch, Jones came in at number 20, so he's one of the top talents in the draft this year. Listed at 6'3" 195 lbs, Jones is a big, left-handed hitting shortstop who has good bat speed and great power at the plate. On the defensive side, scouts think he may move to third base in the future, but he may have the athleticism to remain at shortstop.

Jones has shown some talent on the mound as well, sitting in the low 90s with his pitches. However, because of his offensive prowess, many believe that he will be in the field in order to keep his bat in the lineup. Scouts project that he could have 20 home run power, which would be a welcome addition to the Tribe.

With third base being somewhat of an organizational weakness for the Tribe, Nolan Jones could end up being the answer if he stays at the position and Yandy Diaz doesn't stick when he gets to the majors.

This fluff means absolutely nothing but I'll post it anyway cause Cleveland fans always need something to make us feel optimistic.

Adam McInturff covers the MLB draft for Baseball Prospectus. Here's a few recent Tweets...

Adam McInturff
Best Pick after 30 in AL Central was Nolan Jones. Went to CLE w/ pick 55.

Adam McInturff
High ceilings and big talent added to AL Central on day 1 of #MLBDraft. Benson, Nolan Jones, Z. Collins, Burdi, M. Manning, Hansen, Kiriloff

Adam McInturff
AL Central #MLBDraft Day 1:

Best...
HS Bat: Benson CLE
College Bat: Z. Collins CWS
HS Arm: M. Manning DET
College Arm: Burdi
Overall: CLE

All the above projections of course turned out to be irrelevant. Tribe goes for big high school bats in the first two rounds and a good defensive college catcher in the competitive balance round.

Will Benson, 6-5 5-tool OF taken in the first round "has arguably the best bat speed in the class" says BA he "showed plus plus power" Problems with his batting approach and use of his "lower half" make them conclude he is a "boom or bust type of prospect." But Benson tells us that reports that he's similar to Justin Heyward are spot on, except that Benson says he's a better hitter than Heyward.

Second round pick 3b Nolan Jones, was actually higher rated by BA as No. 19 best player in the draft. He played SS in high school but after adding 30 pounds he's not considered a SS any more. He also "showed plus raw power"

3rd round, our first pitcher: Aaron Civale, RHP, Northeastern U.

Civale put himself on the radar with a strong showing in an exhibition game against the Red Sox during a spring training trip in his sophomore year. Civale followed up a strong sophomore spring with an otherwordly season out of the bullpen for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks in the Cape Cod League last summer. Civale transitioned to the rotation as a junior, and the results have been exceptional. Through 114.1 innings, he had struck out 121 and walked just 15, pitching to a 1.73 ERA. He's a well-built starting pitching prospect at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds. Civale has a clean, compact delivery that he repeats well. Civale pitches with control of an average fastball, and his hard, tight breaking ball enables him to get swings and misses

Great coverage, thanks guys.

I was watching the Benson pick, and in his interview he alluded to the fact that he knew he was a toolsy raw kid, and then said he was VERY willing to learn.

Look, in any field, that's a huge key. If you learn from your mistakes, and are willing to take instruction and implement it, it's KEY!

Jordan Bastian
Aaron Civale's head coach at Northeastern is Mike Glavine, brother of Tom, and also a former Indians draft pick (1995).

#Indians take Aaron Civale. Pitches 90-92 w/ sink. Can hit 94. Throw upper 80s cutter w/ SL action. Big CB, flashes plus

Civale faced the Red Sox in 2015 Spring Training. He struck out Ortiz, Hanley, Bogaerts and... Napoli -- boston.redsox.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/in…

With their 3rd round pick (#92 overall) in the 2016 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale out of the Northeastern University (CT).

Born: 6/12/1995 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 210 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Ranks:

Baseball America: #204
Perfect Game: #126
MLB.com: #136

Tony’s take: The Indians take their first pitcher of the draft and nab the junior Civale out of the smaller program at Northeastern University. He's a guy who was the closer for his team last year before moving into a starting role this season and saw his value jump with a strong showing in the pen at the Cape last summer and then a good showing as a starter this season in college. The Indians will probably develop him as a starter initially to see how he takes to it, but at the moment he best projects as a good pen arm who sits in the low 90s and occasionally gets it into the mid-90s. His best pitch is his slider (or cutter as some have called it) and is a legit weapon to build his arsenal around as a professional as he works to improve his curveball and changeup. He has a lot of the intangibles the Indians like in a pitcher with a good makeup, pitchability and a clean, simple delivery. This is a very signable player and should be someone they should be able to sign at or below slot.

Jeff Ellis: I was not on Aaron Civale throughout the process. In general, I don’t spend a ton of time on the northeast, as there are typically just a handful of prospects from the area. He put up big numbers in a smaller conference. He rarely walked anyone while manning to strike out nearly ten per nine innings. He worked as a reliever in the Cape and many think this is his future. He has four pitches, the best is his cutter which is a true plus pitch. He is under-sized and his velocity is average, so in many respects the Indians are drafting a player on his command, control, and cutter. The three C’s as it were. I think this might be an underslot deal as well to save some money for the first two selections. One cannot help but look at the numbers and not think about Josh Tomlin another 6’1” right-hander whose calling card is excellent command. Civale might not be who I would have taken, but I get this is to save money and still get an interesting arm.

With their 4th round pick (#122 overall) in the 2016 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected right-handed pitcher Shane Bieber out of the UC Santa Barbara (CA).

Born: 5/31/1995 – Height: 6’3” – Weight: 195 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

Ranks:

Baseball America: #184
Perfect Game: #179
MLB.com: #151

Tony’s take: The Indians continue to add more pitching grabbing Bieber in the 4th round. He has average stuff across the board but he is another guy the Indians are banking on because of his clean delivery, command and intangibles. Those three things have been a focus in recent drafts and continue to be so far in this draft. He is an advanced arm who throws tons of strikes and has exceptional command of his entire arsenal. He is another guy with a fastball that scrapes the low 90s and a solid changeup and slider, but has a lot of success because of his ability to manipulate the baseball and command it at will. He reminds me some of Adam Plutko with his projection and many would be just fine if he turns out as good as Plutko. He's another signable pick who should go for underslot.

Jeff Ellis: Shane Bieber was a player who benefited from the emergence of Dillon Tate a year ago and all the eyes he brought to the Gauchos. Bieber was the third starter for USCB as both Tate and lefty Justin Jacome got drafted last year. He stepped in the Friday night role and excelled all year. He walked just 15 guys in 119 innings. He is not a big strikeout guy, which will limit him as he works through the minors. He should move quickly as a polished pitcher, but I don’t see an out pitch and so he is going to struggle a bit to be a big league starter. The Indians are clearly targeting pitchers with excellent command right now. The ceiling here is a fifth starter and the floor is a quad-A guy who offers excellent depth. I think this could be another underslot deal to play for Jones and Benson. This would make three such players in a row. I will say people I know in the area are big fans of Bieber. He is a solid, safe pick - about as safe as it gets.

With their 5th round pick (#152 overall) in the 2016 Draft the Cleveland Indians have selected center fielder Conner Capel out of Seven Lakes High School (TX).

Born: 5/19/1997 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 185 – Bats: Left – Throws: Left

Ranks:


Scout.com: #76
Baseball America: #62
Perfect Game: #96
MLB.com: #73

Tony’s take: This is an exciting pick to get in the fifth round as Capel has top three round talent and will clearly take an overslot bonus to sign and pull him away from his committment to Texas. He can hit and has some very advanced hand-eye coordination for his age and has a knack for making consistent, hard contact and hits to all fields. He can also run and plays very good defense in center field with a well above average arm. He is also a plus makeup guy - a trait the Indians look for in so many of their draft picks now. His profile with the advanced hit tool and big arm has led to a lot of Tyler Naquin comps, and if anyone in Cleveland has watched Naquin play this season, that's exciting to hear.

Jeff Ellis: Conner Capel is a player I thought could go in the second round. He looks like a future centerfielder thanks to his good instincts and plus plus speed. I saw some people put a 70 grade on his speed. He has a mature approach that one would expect from the son of a big leaguer, Mike Capel. He uses all fields and has shown gap power. He has a chance to have 55 power and hit tools but I think will more likely be 50 at both. He throws 90 MPH off the mound, so the arm will allow him to play all three spots in the outfield. I talked with a scout in April who raved about Capel. He would be in the running for the grittiest players in this draft. Capel has two plus tools with his speed and arm. Yet it is the intangibles were he really excels. This is not a kid you have to spend any time worrying about. The Naquin comps seems pretty fair, but I think he has a better approach then Naquin who never walked much.

Ken will love the Capel pick.

I talked with a scout in April who raved about Capel. He would be in the running for the grittiest players in this draft.