Cleveland Indians 2015 Rule 5 Draft and Roster Decisions

Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Good Bets

Jeff Johnson – RHRP (1-2, 51 games, 27 saves, 51.1 IP, 1.05 ERA, 2.20 FIP at AA)

After missing the entire 2014 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Johnson returned to Double-A Akron where he finished his 2013 season. Prior to the injury he showed the ability to rack up the strikeouts with 130 in 120.2 IP (9.7 strikeouts per nine innings).  The question was how he would do after missing a year…

The answer was: strikeout out a ton while limiting contact. He struck out nearly ten per nine innings (9.82) while holding opponents to a mere .154 batting average (third lowest in Eastern League). His 0.90 WHIP was also top ten in the Eastern League (min 20 IP). Johnson may not be on the radar of a lot of Tribe fans but he should open in Triple-A Columbus in 2016 with a realistic shot of making his big league debut. Definitely the type of reliever that would get picked if not protected in the draft (like Austin Adams and Shawn Armstrong before him).

Prediction: Rostered

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Josh Martin – RHRP (8-1, 44 games, 2 saves, 67.1 IP, 2.27 ERA, 2.51 FIP at AA)

Another Akron reliever who had a phenomenal year was Josh Martin. Unlike Johnson, who was the team’s closer and more of a one inning guy, Martin threw 67.1 innings while pitching in just 44 games. He was a true workhorse for the Rubberducks out of the pen and garnered eight wins in relief. His strikeout rate was even better than Johnson’s at 10.69 per nine innings and posting an even lower walk rate (2.54). Like Johnson he did a great job keeping the opposition off base posting a .188 batting average against and 0.98 WHIP.  Given the demand for relievers and his ability to both rack up the strikeouts and go multiple innings, Martin is a prime candidate to be grabbed and stashed as a seventh or eighth reliever by some team. He showed enough that a call up to Cleveland at some point in 2016 should also not be ruled out.

Prediction: Rostered

Next: On the Fence