Cleveland Indians 2017 Top Prospects: No. 30, Logan Ice

Kicking off our 2017 Cleveland Indians top prospect countdown, we look at newly drafted catcher Logan Ice who comes in at number 30 this year.

Kicking off our countdown of the Cleveland Indians’ top 30 prospects this season is a player who was in college at this time last year. Coming in at No. 30 on our list this season is catcher, Logan Ice.

Who is Logan Ice?

Ice was drafted this past summer by the Cleveland Indians out of Oregon State University. The 21-year-old switch-hitting catcher was taken with the 72nd pick, a pick the club received as part of the Competitive Balance lottery. The Puyallup, Washington native signed for $850,000, just under slot. He was named a Jonny Bench Award finalist, an award given annually to the nation’s top collegiate catcher.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Ice spent three seasons with the Oregon State Beavers as their starting catcher and was a standout in the Pac-12. He truly shined this past year as a Junior when he hit .310/.432/.563. His most impressive stat may have been his 94 walks to just 73 strikeouts in his collegiate career.

He showed very little power, though, hitting just ten home runs in his three collegiate seasons. He did, however, hit seven his final year to go along with 13 doubles and five triples. His .253 isolated power was also very impressive.

He made a decent transition to the big leagues though he did only hit .198 for the short-season Mahoning Valley Scrappers. However, he did post a respectable .329 OBP thanks to a stellar 14.9-percent walk rate. That walk rate was right in line with his 15.5 percent mark at Oregon State.

The power disappeared though as he hit just two home runs and seven doubles, giving him a mere .103 ISO. Scouts have worried about his power potential at the next level so it’ll be something to monitor as he moves up the ladder.

Defensively he came out of school very well-regarded behind the plate as he won the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2016. He threw out 44 percent of would-be base stealers with the Beavers last year before throwing out an impressive 36 percent with the Scrappers. He’s very good at blocking balls in the dirt and is improving his receiving skills.

Where does he go from here?

Ice figures to open at Class-A Lake County this season as their starting catcher, though the Indians could get aggressive and push him to Advanced-A Lynchburg. He’s a true catcher who doesn’t figure to move off the position, and playing in the tough Pac-12 should help him handle a pitching staff.

The Tribe’s lack of depth at the catching position (he’s the second-ranked catching prospect in the Tribe system) could also help him move quickly through the system, which is why I’d expect him to end up in Lynchburg at some point in 2017, barring a complete meltdown at the plate.

Next: Indians 2017 Top 30 Prospects: Just Missed List

The big question with Ice going forward is just how good is the bat? Most feel he profiles as strictly a backup catcher, possibly in the Lou Marson mold. However, if he can show some of the power he showed his last year of college perhaps he could be more of a Roberto Perez and play a larger role for a big league club.