Cleveland Sports Forum

Papi's Isolated Power was much improved last season, at .185, as he totaled 25 doubles, 2 triples, 15 homers, which isn't bad. In fact his power was much better in Akron than anywhere else he's played professionally, his line in AA in '16: 236/370/450.

2017 IBI Top 75 Prospects: #2 Francisco Mejia

TONY LASTORIA
2. FRANCISCO MEJIA – CATCHER
Born: 10/27/1995 – Height: 5’10” –
Weight: 180 – Bats: Switch – Throws: Right

Facts & Info: Mejia is an undrafted free agent the Indians signed out of the Dominican Republic in July of 2012 for $350,000. He worked out as a shortstop and after just one tryout at the Indians academy in the Dominican Republic, former Indians Latin American Scouting Director Ramon Pena quickly signed him and he made an immediate conversion to catcher. He didn’t factor into a league leaderboard since he wasn’t in the Midwest League or Carolina League long enough, but he did finish 1st in the organization in batting average (.342) and 5th in RBI (80). He was also a part of the Futures Game during the MLB All Star game festivities and player on the World team roster. He put together a 50-game hitting streak last season which is tied for the 4th longest of all time in the minors.

Offense: Mejia is a well-rounded catching prospect who can impact a game with his defense and bat, and has really come a long way at the plate the last few seasons. What separates him from most catching prospects is he has the bat to go with the defense as he has the potential to be a .300 hitter with some power to rack up lots of doubles and a few home runs and the discipline to limit strikeouts and consistently put the ball in play. He is a gifted natural hitter who shows some very good bat-to-ball skills and a natural feel to get the barrel to the ball and make consistent, hard contact. He really shows some good plate coverage as he handles inside pitches well and is one of those good bad ball hitters who makes a lot of contact on balls out of the zone on the outside part of the plate. He is very confident in his abilities, brings a fearless mentality to his at bats and takes a very aggressive swing. Not only does he show good bat to ball ability, but he also shows a good approach where he is relaxed and calm in the box and uses a whole field approach where he sprays line drives from gap to gap. He has an easy load that is smooth where he brings his hands back with ease and then comes forward and unleashes some impressive bat speed where it explodes through the zone and balls jump off his bat. That bat speed along with some sneaky strength, athleticism and strong, quick hands allow him to show good raw power that plays average now but has a chance to be above average as he matures and fills out.

Defense: Mejia’s 50-game hitting streak and his good offensive showing last year overshadowed the great work he did behind the plate and some significant strides he made with his work behind it and the way he controls his staff and the running game. He once again showed off his good blocking skills and his laser-like arm where opposing teams didn’t test him that much because they knew of his lighting quick release and arm strength and precision with which he throws to second and third. His catch-and-throw skills are as good as you will find in the game as he just completely shuts down a running game with the incredible arm strength he displays and the confidence with a touch of cockiness he has with his throwing where he is not afraid to throw behind runners to catch them off guard. He also receives the ball very well, he moves well behind the plate and his leadership skills continue to improve. He is a rare commodity in the game who actually loves to play defense and spends endless hours working to perfect his craft.

Speed & Intangibles: Mejia is a below average runner, but he actually runs the bases well for a catcher thanks to his impressive athleticism and agility. He is a smaller sized player but has a very good body that doesn’t wear down and shows an ability to be durable. He has a good work ethic as he works very hard in all phases of his game and constantly works to improve his skills. The makeup has improved as there were some questions regarding it early in his career but as he has matured he has become more coachable and better in control of his emotions.

Focus: While Mejia had a lot of success last season, he is still learning his swing and still has some maturing to do in all phases of the game from a discipline, approach, swing and defensive standpoint. A lot of his issues in the past offensively were about controlling his aggression, and the reason he showed improvement last season is he was able to control that aggression a little more. He is a high energy player who wants to go up to the plate and swing hard and hit the ball hard, so he has to constantly be reminded to keep himself under control and balanced. When he does that and stays focused on just that, he does some special things that other most hitters are not capable of doing. The Indians also worked on some adjustments in his setup getting him to bend his knees to get into a better posture position before he starts to stride which makes it easier for him to keep himself under control when he does stride. His biggest issue was that his body was flying forward so quickly that at times it was making it hard for him to see the ball. When he controlled that move forward simply by getting down in his legs a little more to where he could balance more, from there it was all just using his athleticism to get the barrel to the ball and the results speak for themselves. The Indians also tweaked some things with his swing where the movements with it are a little more gradual. He now starts his build up and loading process a little earlier and is able to perform his swing with a little more control. His ability to be able to control his naturally given bat speed and prolific bat to ball skills put him in a positon to be able to have the production he had last year. The Indians are also working to get him more consistent from both sides of the plate. When you watch him left-handed he has a nice coiling move that loads up his back side and he does it early versus late, but right-handed it is more a matter of starting in a strong spot with his initial stance and maintaining it throughout his shift and swing. Defensively, the Indians have worked to keep him better focused behind the plate to stay engaged on each and every pitch as he has a tendency to lose his concentration and is prone to some mental errors that lead to physical errors with passed balls and other defensive miscues. They also want to see him take a step forward in his game calling and the way he handles a pitching staff. His makeup has been something that has come under question in the past, but he made some big strides in that department last season and it may have been the key to his offensive profile coming together.

Future: Mejia garnered national attention with his 50-game hitting streak last season which ran from May 27th through August 13th. It was an incredible near three month period where he recorded at least one hit in every game played, and occurred over a long calendar period because of the off days he received as a catcher, the All Star break and a few illnesses which sidelined him for several games at a time. Probably one of the most amazing things from the 50-game hitting streak was that in the middle of the hit streak he received a promotion to High-A for the first time, missed several games here and there because of a root canal, a sore right arm and illness, and dealt with a ton of mounting media pressure – yet continued to perform. That 50-game hit streak put him on the map with the casual followers of the minor leagues, but for those involved in the game or who follow it religiously, he is a talent that has been known for some time. While he was always a decent hitter in the past, last season his power picked up as he set career highs in doubles, homers and slugging percentage and isolated power – and probably most impressive about his added power was that it did not take away from his approach as his strikeout rate (14.2 K%) was very good. He has always been a high level prospect, but it was always more about projection and less about performance. Last season his performance matched the talent and upside to position him as one of the top prospects in the system and one of the best catching prospects in baseball. This is a guy who as he continues to refine his approach, matures and gets stronger is going to really begin to impact the baseball because he just has such a knack for hitting and such quick hands and bat speed at the plate. When you combine that upside at the plate with his ridiculous arm strength and plus skills behind the plate, you have a very exciting catching prospect on your hands. He has a chance to be an elite starting catcher at the big league level and at the very least should be a serviceable backup who specializes in defense. He probably won’t get a chance in Cleveland until sometime in the latter part of the 2018 season at the earliest and in the meantime will work to continue his development as he moves into the upper levels of the minors for the first time this season by opening at Double-A Akron.

Ranking History: #10 (2016), #5 (2015), #5 (2014)

The Tribe didn't lose tonight! Woo hoo!

Clip show got some pitching tonight and won 1-0. .. Gonzalez 1-5. ... Zimmer hitless in one pinch hit appearence. ... Chisenhall 0-4. ... Narveson pitched 6 innings. Allowed 4 hits and had 4 K. ... I saw this lefty pitch a game in spring training and thought, where did he come from? I'm assuming he is a journeyman that has kicked around? Anybody got the scoop on him? I can look it up, but thought one of you may already know off top of head.

Akron was celebrating their 20th year tonight, and wore throwback purple Aeros uniforms. They capped celebration with a 7-3 win. ... Greg Allen 2-4. ... Kipnis 0-3 with 3 K. Obviously intimidated by AA pitching. ... Frankie Mejia was 2-3 with 2 doubles and 2 ribbies. ... Bradley had a solo homer in 4 at bats. ... Chang 1-3 with a double and a walk. He also made a superb running catch while I was listening to a bit of the game. Announcers raved about the play anyway. Said it reminded them of Omar. ... Nice to see my man Krieger back in lineup last couple days. He must have been injured early on. He was 2-4 with a double. ... Papi 2-4 with 2 RBI. ... Lugo pitched 5 innings, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 K.

Lynchburg got bewitched by Salem, 6-0. They had a spell put on them obviously. Bewitched, or bitch smacked. Either way... Killer C's, Calica and Carter were both 0-3. sigh...

Hillman disappointed tonight as Great Lakes beat Lake County 6-2 in the battle of the lake names. ... Juan pitched 3.2 innings, allowed 5 earned on 5 hits, 4 walks, but at least had a nice 6 K. Also had a wild pitch. Kind of a Nuke LaLoosh game. I think he hit the mascot once. ... Gabe Mejia was 1-5 with 2 K. ... Isaacs didn't play so my pick really dominated tonight with 1 more hit than Civ's. ... Logan Ice was 0-3 but of course had a walk.

Tomorrows starters ...

Carrasco for big club

Columbus - Michael Clevinger
Akron - Julian Merryweather
Lynchburg - Matt Esparza
Lake County - Micah Miniard

BA lines for our Top 30 prospects in action Monday:

CLE AA Allen, Greg CF 4 1 2 0 .313 SB (1)
CLE AA Chang, Yu-Cheng SS 3 2 1 0 .400 2B (2), BB (3), SB (1) [some of everything; future Tribe 3B?LF?]
CLE AA Krieger, Tyler DH 4 1 2 1 .667 2B (2)
CLE AAA Gonzalez, Erik RF 5 0 1 0 .182 3B (1)
CLE HiA Castro, Willi SS 2 0 0 0 .083 2 BB (4) [he drew 19 walks all season in 2016, apparently he's been directed to be more selective this year]
CLE LoA Ice, Logan C 3 0 0 0 .167 BB (4) [known for his glove only, could be Mejia's backup for the Tribe through the late 2010's]
CLE LoA Hillman, Juan 3.2 5 5 5 4 6 12.27 L (0-1)

Our teams off to nondescript start, 8-12 total. Lynchburg's woeful lineup is behind its 1-4 start and the only prospects there, Calica, Castrol and Tom aren't hitting so shutouts should be common.

Naverson is like a 36-year-old veteran lefty. Not that anyone would possibly remember it, but I see from his stats that he was a starter for the Brewers in 2010 and 2011 winning 23 games over the 2 years. Had 6 relief appearances for Miami last year, ERA 8.64.
With Toru Murata finally gone we need some old guy to backup the kid pitchers in Columbus.

Here ya go, Civ ...

http://www.news-herald.com/sports/20170 ... y-captains

In return for info on Narveson.

Thanks! In the photo he looks kind of shrimpy but the story claims he's a 6 footer. The dreaded curse of the "5 tool outfielder" means he's set to replace Anthony Santander and follow in the giant footsteps of many of my previous failed breakout stars like Jose Moreno and others whose career paths were so short I can't recall their names.

As for the prior Bahamians cited,

Those former big leaguers are Ed Armbrister, Wil Culmer (Indians, 1983), Tony Curry (Indians, 1966), Wenty Ford, outfielder Antoan Richardson (Isaacs’ cousin) and Andre Rodgers.

I remember Curry since he was around during my teens when I followed every inning of every game. Culmer doesn't ring a bell. Andre Rodgers was a useful infielder on my APBA 1965 Pirates.

2017 IBI Top 75 Prospects: #1 Bradley Zimmer

TONY LASTORIA
1. BRADLEY ZIMMER – OUTFIELDER
Born: 11/27/1992 – Height: 6’5” –
Weight: 220 – Bats: Left – Throws: Right

Facts & Info: Zimmer was selected by the Indians in the 1st round of the 2014 Draft out of the University of San Francisco and signed for $1.9 million. He was a two-time All-West Coast Conference member, was a 2014 preseason All-American selection by Louisville Slugger, Baseball America and Perfect Game USA and was one of 30 finalists for the 2014 Golden Spikes Award. He has bloodlines to professional baseball as his brother Kyle is a pitcher in the Royals system after being taken by them in the 1st round of the 2012 Draft. He also took part in the 2015 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. Last season he finished 2nd in the organization in stolen bases (38) and ranked 4th in the Eastern League even though he spent the last six weeks of the season in Triple-A.

Offense: Zimmer is an exciting and explosive offensive player because of his great power and speed combination and is someone who can do it all with the presence of a deep toolset. He is a very patient hitter with some good bat-to-ball ability and though he is very aggressive with his swing he still projects to have a plus hitting tool thanks to a simple setup and a mechanically sound line drive swing that is smooth from start to finish. He has a slightly open stance in his pre-pitch setup and as the pitcher goes into his motion he has a quick load where he closes his right shoulder and takes a short step forward with his right foot while quickly bringing his hands through the zone. His bat stays in the zone a long time which allows him a better chance for contact and he has loose hands which allow him to stay inside the baseball better and make consistent, hard contact to all fields. He is someone who has moved quickly through the minors because he is very polished and has an advanced, mature approach. He does a good job of sticking to his approach, shows some good pitch recognition skills, displays a willingness to work to the off gap and has the discipline to work counts and wait for a pitch he can drive. He also has some very long arms and some very good bat speed that when he is able to get full extension he shows some very good raw power and can hit the ball as far as anyone. When he barrels them up balls just jump off his bat and he shows some big power pull side but also can drive it out well to the opposite field as well. He uses his size, long arms and legs well to create some natural leverage and has so much whip in his hands and so much fast twitch that the power is well above average. He has the frame with some broad shoulders, long legs and wiry build that should allow him to add another 10-20 pounds of muscle which should benefit him in the power department down the road. The added strength and some refinement to his swing are all he is missing to be a more consistent prolific power hitter and carry over the plus power to the Major League level.

Defense: Defensively, Zimmer is fundamentally sound with above average arm strength and accuracy. His long stride, good instincts and plus speed help him cover a lot of ground in the outfield. He shows some good first step quickness, gets good reads off the bat and takes good routes to balls which all allow him to really cover a lot of ground and range well to balls in the gaps. Going into the draft there were concerns in the scouting community whether he could stay in center field, but the Indians have always been confident since the day they drafted him that he can be a Major League center fielder. While the Indians plan to continue developing him as a center fielder, he also has the arm and athleticism to be a good right fielder and may end up a better fit for him at the Major League level – especially considering some of the center field prospects coming up with him that are very good defensively.

Speed & Intangibles: Zimmer shines on the bases with his long stride and plus speed that gets him from base to base with ease, and he brings a lot of intelligence and aggression as a runner where he always looks to take the extra base. When he gets moving and hits a ball in the gap or he is on first when a player finds the gap, it is a lot of fun watching him go from first to third or home. His mental mindset and makeup are off the charts good as he really shows a lot of confidence and trust in who he is and what he can do, controls his emotions very well and shows an ability to really slow the game down. He has a calmness to him where he is not rattled by anything and has a short memory where he doesn’t allow a poor at bat or defensive miscue to get in his head and impact his play. He’s the consummate worker who has an endless desire to get better and shows a willingness to be coached and is open to all feedback. He is very grounded and is not a flashy player who looks for attention, and is someone who has some quiet leadership qualities and always has a team-first mentality to the game.

Focus: Zimmer’s upside is not just tied to refining his approach but also with the improvements he makes with a body that still has a lot of room for growth the next few years. His power is still developing as he is learning to tap into it more consistently, so right now it is all about continuing to add more strength to his frame and fine tuning his swing so he can get a little more loft and backspin on the ball. One of the main concerns is his plate discipline and is something the Indians have been working with him to stay within himself a little more and to be more patient for a good pitch to hit by staying within the zone. While he drew a career-high 77 free passes during the regular season last year, he also fanned 171 times which was also a high-water mark for him as a professional thus-far. The hope is that the high strikeout totals last season will end up being an outlier as he can figure out how to cut down on them while still keeping up the high walk rate. The Indians also believe that opposing pitchers really pitched him tough all season as they really worked the ball in on his hands and didn’t give him many opportunities to extend his arms and drive balls. As a result, he was tied up a lot and it resulted in some swing and miss and weak contact. Pitchers will probably continue that approach against him this season, so they would like to see him make an adjustment to that by working to be a little more on time with his swing and stay inside the ball and work through it. At times he can get started a little bit late and is late on the fastball, so the belief is that as long as he's ready and on time into his launch position that he will see pitches better and make more consistent, hard contact and cut down on the strikeouts a little. The Indians would also like to see him work a little more to the off gap by working more to the middle of the field and less on pulling balls. By staying on balls longer, not pulling off them and letting pitches get deeper he should be able to drive a lot more balls to the left-center gap. The Indians have challenged him to impact a little more as a baserunner by getting better reads off the bat, and would like to see him read balls off the bat a little better defensively as well.

Future: Zimmer had a solid season overall last season which would have qualified as very good if he were not a top prospect where expectations are often unfair, but because of his inconsistency, low batting average and high strikeout rate the general consensus is that it was a down year for him. However, that’s a bit of an over-generalization as he showed a career best walk rate last season (13.8 BB%) which was up significantly from his first two pro seasons, and though his strikeout rate (30.7 K%) was up from previous years, his isolated power percentage at Akron was very good (.218). He had some initial struggles to the Triple-A level which are concerning as he only put up a .063 ISO and a high 37.3 K%, but the belief is that his late season struggles were more him needing to make an adjustment to the higher level and settling in where he should show his true offensive capabilities this season at Columbus. He also proved to be healthy and managed to play the entire season last year and erased any concerns about the hairline fracture in his foot that impacted his play the last two months of the 2015 season and eventually required offseason surgery. He is on the fast track to the big leagues and is very close to being deemed Major League ready, and is no doubt an option to help solidify either center field or right field in Cleveland this season and beyond for the Indians. With his athleticism, speed, defense and power you have a player who has the potential to impact the game in many different ways and could be a very good player for a long time. He will open the season with a return to Columbus to finish off his development and should be someone that is in the mix to be called to Cleveland any time after the first month of the season.

Ranking History: #1 (2016), #2 (2015)

Clippers won 2-0 on the back of a great outing by Clevinger. 7 IP, 4H, 2BB, 9K. .... Zimmer 0-4 with a K.

Ducks gave up 4 runs in 9th to lose to Trenton 6-4. ... Allen was 2-4 with a walk and 2 stolen bases. ... Krieger 1-3 with a double, a walk and a stolen base. ... Frankie Mejia was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI. ... Bradley 0-3 with 2 K. ... Chang was 0-3, may have finally cooled off. ... Papi 2-4 with a ribbie. Hitting 438 now. ... Merryweather with nice outing that was wasted by Hill imploding in 9th. 5 hits and no earned in 5 innings, 8K.

Salem still has a spell on Lynchburg, layin' the wood to 'em 11-5 tonight. ... Esparza breezed thru the first 4 innings but then got roughed up in 5th, and his relief wasn't much better giving up 7 runs that inning. But he allowed 6 hits and 3 runs in 4 innings, all in 5th, 5 K. ... Marabell 2-4. ... Carter 1-4.

Lake County beat Great Lakes 6-4. ... Gods gift to the baseball diamond and to women, Ben Krauth, got the win in relief, 2 hits, no earned, and 3 K in 2.1 IP. ... Miniard started the game, had a weird line. 4.2 IP, 1H, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 2 K. ... Gabe Mejia 1-3 with a walk. ... Isaacs 1-4 with an RBI and 2 SB. ... Logan Ice finally rewarded me for giving a damn, hitting a 3 run homer.

Milb Wednesday starters

Columbus - Ryan Merritt
Akron - Rob Kaminsky
Lynchburg - Thomas Pannone
Lake County - Aaron Civale

Mejia just keeps on hitting. Since Gomes just keeps on not, Frankie will have a career opportunity perhaps as soon as 2018.

Zimmer . . . His mental mindset and makeup are off the charts good as he really shows a lot of confidence and trust in who he is and what he can do, controls his emotions very well and shows an ability to really slow the game down. He has a calmness to him where he is not rattled by anything and has a short memory where he doesn’t allow a poor at bat or defensive miscue to get in his head and impact his play. He’s the consummate worker who has an endless desire to get better and shows a willingness to be coached and is open to all feedback. He is very grounded and is not a flashy player who looks for attention, and is someone who has some quiet leadership qualities and always has a team-first mentality to the game.

Probably true but when he describes every player in similar language it's easy to doubt

Prospects in action Tuesday:

CLE AA Allen, Greg CF 4 2 2 0 .350 BB (2), 2 SB (3)
CLE AA Chang, Yu-Cheng SS 3 0 0 0 .333 BB (4)
CLE AA Krieger, Tyler 2B 3 1 1 1 .556 2B (3), 2 BB (2), SB (2)
CLE AAA Gonzalez, Erik SS 5 0 1 0 .185
CLE AAA Rodriguez, Nellie 1B 2 0 0 0 .200 2 BB (3)
CLE HiA Castro, Willi SS 4 0 0 0 .063
CLE LoA Ice, Logan C 3 1 1 3 .200 HR (1)
CLE MAJ Diaz, Yandy 3B 4 0 1 0 .222
left out Mejia's 2-hit game with his 5th double
CLE AA Merryweather, Julian 5 5 0 0 0 8 6.43
CLE LoA Miniard, Micah 4.2 1 2 0 5 2 1.17

(I combined this post with next one)