Keith Law Ranks Tribe’s Farm System 17th in Majors

Jun 18, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; Carolina Mudcats short stop Francisco Lindor (12) during the fourth inning of the California League vs Carolina League All Star Game at San Jose Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Indians Up Two Spots in Keith Law’s Rankings

ESPN’s Keith Law released his annual ranking of the top 30 farm systems in baseball this morning, ranking Cleveland as the 17th best, up two spots from last year.

Law ranks the systems based on both ceiling (which the Indians have) and depth (which the Indians don’t).

For those that want to read the full rankings, you will need an ESPN Insider account, but we’ll focus on Law’s quick observations on the state of the Indians’ minor leaguers.

Law notes Salazar’s promotion this season takes him out of consideration for this years rankings. Its not out of the realm of possibility that if Salazar were still rookie eligible, it could potentially push the Indians into the top-15 of Law’s rankings.

The other prospects who receive shout outs are the disappointments, Trevor Bauer, Dorssys Paulino and Jose Ramirez (though to a lesser extent).

Both Paulino and Ramirez didn’t post numbers near their previous levels, but its due to aggressive promotions from the front office to test them. Law isn’t concerned over the future of either prospect just yet. Bauer is the prospect that draws the concern, as he was suddenly unable to throw strikes which is something most pitching coaches like their guys to do on a semi-regular basis.

But there are still plenty of bright spots waiting in the wings, none more so than Francisco Lindor and Clint Frazier, neither of which need an introduction.

Expect Lindor and Frazier to both be in the top-25 of Law’s top-100 prospects rankings due to be released tomorrow. Paulino, whom Law named the 56th best prospect last year, could still remain on the list, but he’s no lock. Ramirez has a shot, as he still put up a solid .272/.325/.349 line in Double-A as a 20-year-old, skipping High-A in the process. Ramirez was also listed on Law’s “prospects who just missed” list in 2013.

A dark horse to get some consideration is Cody Anderson. Anderson has the results, but not the pedigree as a 23-year-old with only 12 innings in Double-A. If at all, Anderson will see the just missed list like Ramirez last year.