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

Best Akron Position Player: Francisco Mejia

Key April Stats:  .327 AVG, .500 SLG, .852 OPS, 2 HR, 3 2B

Honorable Mention

Yu-Cheng Chang: .229 AVG, .458 SLG, .774 OPS, 4 HR, 5 2B, 1 3B
Mike Papi: .282 AVG, .349 OBP, .772 OPS, 2 HR, 5 2B, 3 SB

Like last month, this was a tough call though for very different reasons. Francisco Mejia put up the best numbers but he only played in 13 games in May due to a stint on the disabled list. However, no one was even close to the offensive output he put up so despite the lack of playing time he repeats as our top hitter at Double-A Akron.

One of the top prospects in the Tribe system, Mejia continues to rack when he’s on the field. He hit .327 in May after hitting .333 in April and posted his second straight month with an OPS north of .850. He still isn’t walking much (just two in May) but also doesn’t strike out a ton and continues to show some solid power (.173 ISO).

After a slow start to the year, the Tribe’s number 8 prospect, shortstop Yu-Cheng Chang, had himself a very good month of May and nearly took the top spot for the RubberDucks. He hit for a low average but lots of walks gave him an on-base percentage nearly 100 points higher at .316. Where Chang really shines though is his power, as he hit four home runs in May while posting a very stout .229 ISO.

Mike Papi took a step back in May but still hit very well. In fact, Papi was promoted to Triple-A on May 28. The left-handed hitting outfielder continued to hit for a decent average with some solid power. His walk-rate took a hit in May though as he walked just seven times with the RubberDucks after 16 in April. He still managed to put up a .349 on-base percentage though.

Best Akron Pitcher: Julian Merryweather

Key April Stats (with Akron): 4 starts, 3.75 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, .205 BAA, 9.4 K/9

Honorable Mention

Thomas Pannone: 4 starts, 2.31 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, .188 BAA, 7.0 K/9

This month in Double-A saw a battle between our top April pitcher from Lynchburg facing off against the reigning top pitcher from Akron. For the second straight month, Julian Merryweather snagged the title of top pitcher with the RubberDucks, just barely besting Thomas Pannone.

Merryweather continued his hot start at Akron posting a sub 1.00 WHIP for the second straight month and striking out 25 in 24 innings of work. Most impressive was his 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio he posted this month, which again marks the second straight month he’s accomplished the feat. Merryweather pitched so well that the 21st ranked Tribe prospect was recently promoted to Triple-A Columbus.

Pannone began the season at Advanced-A Lynchburg but after not allowing an earned run for the entire month of April was promoted to Double-A Akron. While he hasn’t been able to be as great as before, he still posted a mere 2.31 ERA in May with the RubberDucks and held Eastern League hitters to just a .188 batting average. With Merryweather in Columbus, this award could be Pannone’s to lose in June.