1498
by Hillbilly
SPORTS
Kevin Kleps: Indians' shortstop of the future looking good already
Published: Friday, April 13, 2012
By Kevin Kleps. News-Herald
He's not worried about the fast track to the big leagues, which in the case of the 5-foot-11, 175-pound shortstop for the Lake County Captains, means Progressive Field and the organization that drafted him eighth overall in 2011.
He's not going to talk about the individual steps on the grind that is the path to the majors. (If you're scoring at home, Lindor, assuming he doesn't jump more than one level, will still have three more stops down on the farm before he gets the call to the Indians).
Yes, he received a $2.9 million signing bonus last August, two months after he became the first high school player selected in the first round by the Tribe since 2001.
"It doesn't matter what round, what number I got drafted at," Lindor said Thursday after the Captains' 5-2 loss to Bowling Green in the home opener at Classic Park. "I have to go out there and prove to the organization, first of all, and to the fans that I can play. It doesn't really matter what I am. I could be the No. 1 player in the world. I still gotta go out there and prove to the organization what I'm capable of."
What that is seems to be quite a bit.
In seven games with the Captains, Lindor is batting .353. He has had at least one hit in the last six contests, he's scored at least once in all but one game, and he's had 11 hits in his last five games.
In the latter span, he is hitting .440 with four runs, two RBI and two triples. Thursday, he was 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored, with the lone out coming via a sensational over-the-shoulder catch by Bowling Green center fielder Kes Carter to rob Lindor of an extra-base hit in the sixth.
"Francisco's been great since the day he showed up last year — not just on the field with his work ethic, but the way he handles himself off the field," said Captains manager David Wallace, who managed Lindor during his five-game stint with short-season Class A Mahoning Valley late last summer. "Obviously, he's not going to go 3-for-4 every night, but it shouldn't surprise anybody when he does have good at-bats."
The natural timeline for Lindor's trek to the Tribe would seem to be following the 2014 season — the final year of shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera's recent contract extension. That type of speculation is extremely premature, but the enthusiasm with which the Tribe's selection of Lindor was met seems very real after his red-hot start — seven months and two days before his 19th birthday.
"There's a reason we drafted him where we did," Wallace said. "I got to see him a little bit last year, but that was kinda just an introduction for him into pro ball. To be able to this year see him play on an everyday basis is fun. Francisco's got a lot of work to do, but he's more than willing to put in the time and effort that he needs."
When asked if he expected to spend the season at Lake County — which, based strictly on talent and not age, would seem unlikely — Lindor said, "That depends on them (the Indians). They're the ones who make the decision. It depends on me and how I play, but they're the ones who make the decision."
For an organization devoid of elite position player prospects, Lindor — who was ranked No. 37 in Baseball America's top 100 prior to the season, the only Indians farmhand to make the list — is a breath, and blur, of fresh air.
Repeatedly Thursday, he said any decisions "depend" on the Tribe.
One move, however, seems difficult to doubt, even in baseball, a sport with more first-round failures than maybe any other.
Lindor might not be here long, but as far the Tribe is concerned, he's here to stay.