Cleveland Indians Minor Leagues Review: May’s best hitters and pitchers

Today we take a look at the best players at each level of the Cleveland Indians minor league system in the month of May.

As we did after the month of April, today we’ll take a look at the minor leaguers who had the best months of May in the Cleveland Indians system. As with April, some top prospects will appear on this list along with a few surprises.

Left-handed starter Thomas Pannone and infielder Sam Haggerty took the crowns as the top pitcher and position player in April, but who will take the crowns this month?  We first start with a look at the Tribe’s Triple-A club, the Columbus Clippers.

Best Columbus Position Player: Eric Stamets

Key April Stats (with Columbus):  .396 AVG, .473 OBP, .917 SLG, 1.389 OPS, 6 HR, 7 2B,16 RBI

Honorable Mention

Richie Shaffer: .250 AVG, .430 SLG, .766 OPS, 4 HR, 4 2B, 19 RBI
Bradley Zimmer: .326 AVG, .558 SLG, 1.000 OPS, 2 HR, 4 2B, 4 SB

Eric Stamets takes the top spot with the Clippers despite spending over a third of the month with Double-A Akron. Stamets began the season with at Triple-A Columbus but was sent down on April 22 before returning to the Clippers on May 14.

Despite only playing in 14 games for the Clippers in May, Stamets easily was the top hitter for the club. The Dublin, Ohio native smashed six home runs in just 48 at-bats to go along with seven doubles, giving him an insane .917 slugging percentage.

Last month’s top hitter, Richie Shaffer, had another good month, even topping Stamets with 19 runs batted in. He added another four home runs as well and a reasonable .766 OPS. Top prospect Bradley Zimmer started off the month on fire, hitting a stout .326 with a 1.000 OPS; however, he was called up to the big leagues on May 16, resulting in just 11 games played for the Clippers in May.

Best Columbus Pitcher: Ryan Merritt

Key April Stats: 5 starts, 3.23 ERA, 1.37 WHIP,  2.3 BB/9,1 CG

Honorable Mention

Kyle Crockett: 10 apps, 1.46 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 10.2 K/9

Unlike April when Mike Clevinger flat-out dominated, Ryan Merritt takes the top spot for the Clippers this month mostly on just a solid/steady performance. He did post a solid 3.23 ERA and threw a complete game but for the most part, his numbers weren’t anything overly special. Still, the left-hander limited walks as he tends to do and averaged over six innings a start, proving he’s a guy that’s capable of filling in at the big league level should the need arise this summer.

Once again coming in as an honorable mention is reliever Kyle Crockett. The left-hander continues to rack up the strikeouts in relief with 14 in just 12 1/3 innings of work. He’s has been a steady force in the Columbus bullpen all year and after his second consecutive solid month was recently rewarded with a big league call-up as well.

Best Lynchburg Position Player: Sicnarf Loopstok

Key April Stats:  .293 AVG, .385 OBP, .511 SLG, .896 OPS, 3 HR, 9 2B, 20 RBI

Honorable Mention

Willi Castro: .319 AVG, .366 OBP, .795 OPS, 1 HR, 7 2B
Connor Marabell: .268 AVG, .437 SLG, .782 OPS, 2 HR, 6 2B, 3 SB

Taking the crown as Lynchburg’s top position player this month is Sicnarf Loopstok (yes, that’s his real name). A catcher by trade, Loopstok has seen time at first base as well and his bat has been such a force there’s good reason for playing him more. He posted a near .900 OPS this past month while hitting close to .300. He smacked three home runs and put up 20 RBI for the Hillcats.

Willi Castro took a step forward this month as well, as the Tribe’s number 26 prospect, hit over .300 with a near .800 OPS. The young shortstop still isn’t walking a ton (just five in May) but remains a bright spot in the organization.

Outfielder Connor Marabell also had a very good May for the Hillcats, posting a .782 OPS and hitting a pair of home runs. He even got a brief taste of Triple-A this past month as he was an emergency call-up to the Clippers for a week, which saw him hit over .400.

Best Lynchburg Pitcher: Triston McKenzie

Key April Stats: 5 starts, 2.59 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, .117 BAA, 12.4 K/9

Honorable Mention

Shao-Ching Chiang: 5 starts, 3.48 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9
Shane Bieber: 5 starts, 3.38 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 0.6 BB/9

Last month Thomas Pannone was the easy pick here after not allowing a single earned run in four starts. However, he’s now in Double-A Akron so taking the top spot in May is young phenom, Triston McKenzie.

The 19-year-old right-hander didn’t post a 0.00 ERA like Pannone did in April but the rest of his numbers weren’t far off. He posted a 2.59 ERA and 0.83 WHIP while holding Carolina League hitters to a .117 batting average. He also struck out over 12 batters per nine innings and averaged just over six innings a start.

Shao-Ching Chiang didn’t have quite the month he had in April but still was quite impressive, though well off the McKenzie pace in May. He continued to show good control, walking just 1.6 per nine innings and averaged 6 2/3 innings a start.

Shane Bieber also had some good showings in May. After starting the season at Class-A Lake County, Bieber continued to show pinpoint control with the Hillcats. He walked just two batters in 32 innings of work in May, one of which was intentional. Combined with his 20 strikeouts that gave him an amazing 10-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Best Captains Position Player: Luke Wakamatsu

Key April Stats:  .288 AVG, .352 OBP, .827 OPS, 3 HR, 6 2B, 3 SB

Honorable Mention

Conner Capel: .202 AVG, .300 OBP, .500 SLG, .800 OPS, 7 HR, 5 2B, 14 BB

Breaking out in May for the Lake County Captains was shortstop Luke Wakamatsu. Our number 22 prospect heading into the season, Wakamatsu hit .288 in May with a very solid .352 on-base percentage.

He added three home runs and six doubles along with a trio of steals. He entered the season with high hopes and it appeared he was finally living up to it but sadly June did not get off to the best start as he hit the disabled list on the first day of the month.

Just behind Wakamatsu this month was our number 29 prospect, outfielder Conner Capel. Posting one of the most bizarre slash lines you’ll see, Capel hit a rather pathetic .202 in May but thanks to 14 walks and seven home runs posted an impressive .800 OPS. In fact, Capel had more home runs in May than singles (7 HR, 6 1B) and hit 13 extra base hits in May overall.

https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/869694995523018753

Best Captains Pitcher: Ryder Ryan

Key April Stats: 9 apps, 2 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, .143 BAA, 11.4 K/9

Honorable Mention

Tanner Tully: 6 apps, 2 starts, 4.32 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .263 BAA, 9.7 K/9, 1.4 BB/9

After just missing in April, right-handed reliever Ryder Ryan takes the top honors with the Lake County Captains for the month of May. In nine appearances, Ryan allowed no earned runs in 10 1/3 innings while striking out 13.

He posted a sub-1.00 WHIP for the second straight month and held opponents to a .143 batting average. He was also recently rewarded for his hot start with an All-Star nod in the Midwest League.

After taking top honors in April, left-hander Tanner Tully drops a spot in May though still pitched decently well. Still being used mostly as a “piggyback”, Tully has continued to put up some of the best strikeout-to-walk numbers in the organization, posting a 27-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in May. He even got a pair of starts this month as the former Ohio State Buckeye continues to impress.

For the second straight month, the pick for the top overall pitcher in the Cleveland Indians farm system was pretty easy. Taking the honors for the month of May is Triston McKenzie of the Lynchburg Hillcats. The young right-hander continues to impress and with Bradley Zimmer in Cleveland and Brady Aiken off to a slow start has a legit claim as the best prospect in the Tribe’s system right now after opening the season as our number 3 prospect.

The pick for the top hitter this month was even easier with Eric Stamets taking the crown for the month of May. Not only was he the best hitter on the Columbus Clippers this month, but he put up great numbers in his short stint with the Akron RubberDucks.

Overall in May, Stamets posted an insane slash line of .414/.474/.843. That’s a 1.317 OPS in 21 games between Columbus and Akron. He hit six home runs, 10 doubles, and even added a triple. The top 50 prospect in the Tribe system, likely won’t continue to see that kind of power output (he had a .429 ISO in May), but he may be putting himself in a spot for a potential call-up at some point as a utility infielder.

Next: 5 best first-round picks in club history

So what do you guys think, agree or disagree with our picks for this month? Let us know in the comments section below.