Cleveland Indians: 5 minor leaguers who are future All-Stars

5. Brady Aiken (LHP)

Brady Aiken making an appearance on anyone’s list to make a future All-Star Game would sound absurd to every person (including the writer of this piece), yet here he is.

Aiken’s career has been up and then down and maybe, sort of…up again?

As most avid baseball watchers know, the Houston Astros drafted Aiken with the first overall pick in the 2014 draft. They were unable to sign him, and in his first inning of work at IMG Academy after the draft, he was removed and required Tommy John surgery. The Indians eventually drafted him 17th overall in 2015.

His first professional year saw a 5.83 ERA and an astronomically high WHIP but he showed some talent with 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

The 2017 season has not treated Aiken’s record very well, as he sits 1-8 on the season at Lake County, but he is making some strides towards his resurgence. His ERA is a bit better this season at 4.58 and if he can control the ball a little more, that will go down. He is not giving up a lot of hits, but he is still giving up runs.

One huge reason for this is he is walking guys a lot more (.7 walks per inning compared to .46 last season) and his WHIP is still high, but all this struggle is expected as he continues to try to build his MLB career from nothing.

With how much Aiken has been through in the last few years, it is easy to forget he is not even 21 yet.

He has lost some velocity on his fastball, but as he continues to strengthen his arm from the surgery and continues to work with the Indians staff, there is hope he can turn his career back onto the right track.

Corey Kluber was not a stud until he was over 25. With five more years of work, Aiken could be a nice fit in the Indians rotation. They took a gamble on him, but in three to five years, it will show why.