BA notes for our Top 30 prospects on Wednesday:

CLE AA Zimmer, Bradley CF 5 1 4 2 .249
CLE AAA Diaz, Yandy RF 4 1 1 0 .324
CLE LoA Castro, Willi SS 5 1 1 0 .254
CLE MAJ Naquin, Tyler CF 4 2 3 6 .324 2B (9), 2 HR (12), BB (17) [where'd all this power come from??]
CLE AAA Plutko, Adam 5.2 8 6 6 0 4 5.10 L (2-3) [Plutko has established himself as a very good AA starter; beyond that, we'll see]

1. Francisco Mejia – Age: 20
2012 International Free Agent
Current Level & Highest Level: A+ Lynchburg

By Justin Lada

The switch hitting 20 year old backstop is sitting on a 35 game hitting streak, but hasn’t played since July 17. Mejia has a tremendous arm behind the plate (threw out 43% of would be base stealers at Lake County) and a sub-2.00 pop time. It was long thought that the defensive skills were way ahead of the bat but at age 20, the bat has blossomed. He had a .915 OPS at Lake County before his promotion to High-A Lychburg. He also doesn’t have any extreme platoon splits from either side of the plate (1.054 OPS vs. LHP, .842 vs.RHP). He has all the on fields skills you would want from an elite catching prospect. If his maturity level ever catches up to the other skills and proves he can hit more advanced pitching as he moves up the ladder, he could be a top 20 prospect in all of baseball.

what's the category he's rated No. 1 in?

That was a list of prospects in my heart. Frankie is #1 in my heart.

No, it was the list of best catchers in the Indians organization. Not a surprise he was 1 so I didn't make mention of it. I just found some of the comments made about him very interesting.

One rumor I read this morning had him going to the Yankees in a trade for lefty. I don't like that at all. Another article about Indians trades I read this morning said he should be untouchable. I agree with that.

The Yankees have a top prospect at catcher already plus MCann, I don't see them wanting Mejia.

Mejia is 20 years old and in A ball. McCann won't be stopping them from wanting him. But glad to hear they have a catching prospect. Make it easier to get them off him.

Tribe, for years, over-valued their prospects. Many a deal has gone down the drain because they wouldn't deal somebody they loved. How many times has the one they loved, fizzled and turned into JAG?

Tribe has the best record in the AL. They have pitching and prospects they can use to add key players.

Don't let a shrinking sphincter kill a deal when somebody asks for some of your prospects.

Some good team and individual performances tonight, including 2 walk off wins. Civ will post the BA run down. But one that might not make it there that is worth mentioning is Ben Krauth.

He is a lefty pitcher that was 16th round draft pick this year out of Kansas. He has yet to give up a run, and has been down right dominating.

3 IP, 1 H, 4 K tonight. No runs or walks.

On the year he now sits at ...

1-0 ... 0.00 ERA ... 15.2 IP ... 8 hits ... 0 walks ... 22 K

22 year old in Arizona rookie league so who knows, but might be a young man to keep an eye on.

noticed that line Hillbilly, I'd like to see him up here in the Mahoning Valley or Lake County. He's currently pitching against 18 year olds.

speaking of 18 year olds, Nolan Jones singled and walked to keep his avg at 333, OBP 486. Still no xb hits.
Will Benson singled. Oscar Gonzalez who's the slugger in Arizona with his 2nd triple to fit along his 6 doubles and 6 homers, producing a 671 Sluggin Avg.
19 year old 5th rounder Conner Capel with a couple hits.
19 year old Juan Hillman with his first career lousy start in Mah Valley: 3-6-6-4-2-1
1st baseman Emmanuel Tapia's 3 errors make his total 10 on the short season -- his short career won't last much longer.

21 year old Santander keeps slugging: HR15, 2B 26, BB Will not make the BA report until next summer.
They will list the 27th double by Chang, age 20.
22 year old lefty Thomas Pannone's first Lynchburg start is their 3rd straight shutout: 7-1-0-0-1-3 Nice debut!

Hitting leadoff this week has been good for Zimmer, yesterday two singles, two walks. Caught Stealing for the 13th time. Frazier's first hit in while was his 12th homer.
2nd straight fine start by Kaminsky 6-6-1-1-2-6. He's in AA and is only 21.

BA:

CLE AA Frazier, Clint RF 5 1 1 1 .273 HR (12)
CLE AA Zimmer, Bradley CF 3 2 2 0 .253 2 BB (55), CS (13)
CLE AAA Diaz, Yandy 3B 4 1 2 1 .328 2 BB (31) [Note: new position for Yandy]
CLE HiA Chang, Yu-Cheng SS 4 0 1 1 .275 2B (27)
CLE HiA Mathias, Mark 3B 4 1 1 0 .274
CLE AA Kaminsky, Rob 6 6 1 1 2 6 3.70 W (5-6)
CLE AAA Armstrong, Shawn 1 0 0 0 0 2 2.39
CLE AAA Morimando, Shawn 5.1 9 3 2 1 5 3.93 [I think he's still traumatized by the Indians breaking into his apt and stealing his passport]
CLE SS Hillman, Juan 3 6 6 4 2 1 1.89 L (2-1)

Here's a video interview with the Tribe's redhead prospect. Not sure if you can view it without a subscription. Good luck.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/prospect ... 4gEKmit.97

Hot Prospect List:

Lugo is not on Columbus, he's on Lynchburg


6. Luis Lugo, lhp, Indians

Team: Triple-A Columbus (International)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 10 SO, 0 BB

The Scoop: Despite his size, the 6-foot-5 Venezuelan is not overpowering, but he has great feel for the strike zone. Lugo, who was not drafted in the Rule 5 Draft last December, has a fastball around 90 mph and mixes it with a solid changeup and improving curve. (VLC)

8. Yandy Diaz, 3b, Indians

Team: Triple-A Columbus (International)
Age: 24
Why He’s Here: .433/.486/.633 (13-for-30), 5 R, 6 2B, 4 RBIs, 4 BB, 4 SO, 0-for-1 SB

The Scoop: Diaz is one of the better hitters in the upper minors and he’s an adept defender at third base. What’s encouraging about his first week back from the Futures Game is that he hit for some power as well with six doubles. Diaz has only 22 extra-base hits all season and has yet to show he has the kind of power that teams look for in an everyday third baseman.

Yeah, just terrible to have a Wade Boggs on base machine at 3rd base.

How many real good power hitting 3rd basemen are there?

Not a lot. 10 or 12 at most? And some of the guys with good power numbers have an OBP of like .310. Sure everyone would love to have a Donaldson or Aranedo but there isn't a lot.

Whoever wrote that is a moron. Diaz would at least be top half in league offensively given his BA and OBP.