Cleveland Sports Forum

I was interested to see Merryweather listed with the best fastball. Hillbilly were you the Merryweather booster last summer?

Here he is, at last:

Brian Hemminger (fremont, ohio): I'm really happy to see Greg Allen make the leap compared to other prospect rankings, but what do you think about Yandy Diaz? He's made incredible strides the past two seasons and seems like he could be a serious MLB contributor to the Indians in 2017

Teddy Cahill: Yandy Diaz is probably No. 11 on this list. I wouldn't say "serious MLB contributor" next year, but your definition of that may be differently than mine. I do expect him to debut next year. The Indians have worked to give him lots of defensive versatility, but it still may be tough for him to crack the lineup considering what the Tribe returns. It may be that he has to compete with Erik Gonzalez for a super-utility spot, though he has a chance to be a big league regular eventually.

And my guy follows:

Ryan (Detroit): With Lindor locked in at SS, and Kipnis at 2nd, do you see a position change in Chang's future? and If so, how far does he fall down this list?

Teddy Cahill: Eventually, the Indians will start moving him around to give him positional versatility. With Lindor entrenched in Cleveland, they have to do that for every shortstop in their system. Chang did get some time at third during his debut in the Arizona League and that could be revisited. Teams generally wait as long as possible before outright changing a player's position because they want to maintain trade value - and we've already seen that other teams value Chang.

and I forgot about Castro among the middle IF depth

Peyton (Cleveland): The Indians have enviable prospect depth in the middle infield. After Chang and Gonzalez, how would you evaluate Mark Mathias, Tyler Krieger and Willi Castro? Do any of them have the potential to become at least league-average starters?

Teddy Cahill: Those three players are all in a similar range. The full 30 hasn't been finalized yet, but you'll probably see all three of them in the 11-20 range in the handbook. Mathias is at the front of that group right now thanks to his hitting ability. His bat-to-ball skills are really good. He's also already shown impressive versatility, playing second, third and short this year. Castro might have the most upside, but he's also the furthest away.

[sounds like a lot of these guys will be starting for someone in the majors after we trade them off in our annual World Series deadline deals over the next several years]

Good word for the Perci Garner fans

Elliot (Youngstown OH): With Heller and Feyereisan dealt to the Yankees, are there any other bullpen power arms to look forward to?

Teddy Cahill: You've already seen Shawn Armstrong and Perci Garner in Cleveland. Cameron Hill had a strong year, finishing at Akron. Mitch Brown has struggled with his control as a starter, but he has a big arm that could play up in the pen. And Leandro Linares really took to relieving this year.

Jared (Ohio): Do you think Allen has a shot at the big league club sometime in 2017?

Teddy Cahill: Yes. If Greg Allen has another strong year next season, I expect he will make his big league debut. I wouldn't expect him to be a regular quite that fast, but I think he plays for the Indians at some point next season.

and for all the Greg Allen fans out there, he was in the projected 2020 lineup between Naquin and Zimmer. Lots of speed out there.

It appears that 23 [or so] players have been named so far, although some only in lists of talent, but all considered potential contributors. That's not bad.

Surprisingly nothing's really been asked or answered about Brad Aiken and Bobby Bradley.
Now that I think of it, Zimmer and Aiken and Bobby make 3 Bradleys among our top 6 prospects. Might be the first time that's happened. Need to check with Elias Sports Bureau.

More!

Johnny (Cleveland): Kind of a tough year for Luke Wakamatsu but he's been in the Handbook before. Can we expect to see him in the top 31 again? How does he profile? Also, I know he was a 16th rounder, but does Mitch Longo project to develop into anything?

Teddy Cahill: Have to answer the #maction question. Mitch Longo is kind of interesting. He's going to have to hit because he's a corner outfielder without big-time power. But he had a nice debut in Mahoning Valley. I'll be interested to see what he does in full-season ball. As for Wakamatsu, he's on the edge of the 31 right now. I'm honestly not sure which way that's going to fall, so you'll have to get a handbook to find out. He was banged up a bit this year, but his tools are intriguing and he gets a lot of praise for his makeup and baseball IQ.

Ken (New Jersey): Hi Teddy, the chats are fabulous ! from what I recall in June, Benson was a reach at #14 overall. (didn't you think he might fall to the Braves at #40? ) despite his athleticism, isn't his app 40% K rate very worrisome ? thanks

Teddy Cahill: I would not describe Will Benson as a reach at 14. He (like all Atlanta-area players) was linked to the Braves, but they ultimately went heavy on prep pitching at the top of the draft. He was divisive as a prospect, but for those that believe in his hitting ability - as the Indians do - he's a solid value at 14. He's going to strike out. That's probably always going to be there. So I wouldn't be overly worried about that K rate yet. It is his professional debut, after all. He'll need to improve it, but that's just part of making the transition from high school to pro ball

Michael Stern (Rochester NY): What can you tell me about Andrew Calica? The switch hitting OF put up some very good numbers in his first season and looks like he can really hit. Is he a legit prospect? Thanks for the chat!

Teddy Cahill: Andrew Calica, the Indians' 11th rounder, is a legit prospect and there's a pretty decent chance you see him in the 30. He's a little tough to figure out because he never hit for much power at UC Santa Barbara, but adjusted his approach in pro ball and slugged .556 between Mahoning Valley and Lake County. Calica has a mature approach at the plate and has some bat speed. So when he started pulling the ball more as a pro, you saw more power. I think his game is still going to be more about getting on base and using his speed, but he's not just slapping the ball the other way. I'm very interested to see what he does in his first full pro season.

Andy (Lancaster): Hi, cant help but notice Collins (Monday) and Mejia (yesterday) as catchers at the top of systems. How do these guys compare, how do you rank them vs. other catching prospects

Teddy Cahill: That is an interesting comparison, and one that I haven't given a ton of thought to. But Zack Collins, the top prospect in the White Sox system, is a bat-first catcher, like Mejia. Collins is a lot bigger than Mejia and hits for more power and less average. Collins is about a year older than Mejia and lacks Mejia's arm strength. I'd take Mejia over Collins. But those are two pretty good catchers coming through the minors in the AL Central.

Another Civ favorite:

Elliot (Youngstown OH): Quite a bounce-back season for Anthony Santander. He seems to have quite solid offensive tools, but I'm sorry to see he's now limited to LF. How close did he come?

Teddy Cahill: Santander is in the 11-20 range. It was a really nice year for him in Lynchburg, starting with the fact he was able to stay on the field. He has some of the best hittability in the system and combines it with some real power. He profiles well in left, but obviously that puts more pressure on his bat. Will be interesting to see how he handles Double-A next year.

Finally,

Dan: Was Bobby Bradley's 2016 better, worse or about what was expected? What do you think his ceiling is at this point?

Teddy Cahill: About what was expected, I guess. He had a strong year in Lynchburg and was named the Carolina League MVP. I know his raw strikeout numbers are jarring, but was 20 for most of the season, walked a bunch and still got to his power in a big way. His ceiling remains as an everyday first baseman in the big leagues and, as always, he's going to have to hit his way there.

We enter our 3rd hour of chatting:

Rob (Toronto, ON): Aaron Civale seemed to have a strong debut. Was he able to improve on his pitch repertoire this year to help stick as a stater long-term, or does it look like he will be able to?

Teddy Cahill: Civale locates his fastball well and has a few different breaking balls. He's working on his changeup, which he didn't really throw much before pro ball. Developing that will be a key for him going forward to give him a weapon against lefthanded hitters. If he can do that, he'll have the tools to advance as a starter.