Cleveland Indians: The Case for Tyler Naquin

The Cleveland Indians have several more solid prospects in the system, and Tyler Naquin could be the next to make his next call-up a permanent one.

Here are some interesting numbers. Player A split his time in 2014 and 2015 between Akron and Columbus, got 937 minor league plate appearances, posted a combined OPS of .737, stole 39 bases and was caught 27 times, struck out 148 times and walked 82. Player B also split his time between Columbus and Akron, posted a combined OPS of .812 in 729 plate appearances, stole 27 bases and was caught six times, struck out 144 times and walked 69.

Not much to choose from, right? If anything, you would probably choose Player B because of the OPS and the base running. Well, Player A is Francisco Lindor, the crown jewel of the Indians’ farm system until he was promoted in June.  Player B is Tyler Naquin.  Now, there are a few details that maybe I should have included, like Naquin spent a slightly higher proportion of his time in Akron and is two years older than Lindor, but the bottom line is that these guys have posted numbers than are pretty similar over the past two years.  If Lindor’s numbers made him ready to almost win Rookie of the Year, should Naquin’s numbers at least get him a look in 2016?

It’s not as though there’s not a need. With a projected opening day outfield of Rajai Davis, Abraham Almonte, and Lonnie Chisenhall, the situation cries out for some depth and platoon options. Let’s be honest, none of these guys is getting six hundred at-bats this year, and we’ll start talking about Michael Brantley when he begins his rehab assignment. Until that time, it seems inevitable that there will be five or six guys seeing time in the outfield for the Indians.  Can you name five or six guys in the system right now who are better than Tyler Naquin?

I know the counter-argument: the Indians treat each prospect like a fine bottle of wine, not to be opened until all conditions are optimal. This led to Lindor spending an extra two months in the minors last year while everyone who played shortstop in Cleveland looked like the Bad News Bears. It is true that Naquin might not have every single kink worked out in his skill set.  But it is also true that he has more upside than any of the journeymen the Indians are bringing to spring training in hopes of finding another Almonte.  Indeed, Naquin is probably better than any of those guys right now.

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There’s another more hard-hearted reason to give Naquin a shot.   By 2017, at which point Naquin will be 26 years old, the starting outfield for the Indians will probably be Brantley, Zimmer, and Frazier.  Given that, 2016 may be the only chance Naquin gets to make an impact on the major league level.  It may not be the ideal circumstances to have him on the opening day roster, but Naquin is not an elite prospect, so the ideal circumstances may never arise.  He is enough of a prospect, though, that the organization should find out what he can do.  If Naquin comes to spring training and performs well, he should be on the Opening Day roster.