Cleveland Indians: Two young stars playing in MLB All-Star Futures Game

The Cleveland Indians have two young stars representing the organization in today’s MLB All-Star Futures Game down in Miami.

Before the Cleveland Indians send five players to Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game, two young stars in the organization will take part in today’s MLB All-Star Futures Game.

Francisco Mejia and Triston McKenzie are in Miami to take part in the event, which begins today at 4pm ET on MLB Network.

Mejia ranked fourth in our 2017 Indians prospect countdown, and has emerged as the catcher of the future for the Indians. It is very possible we see him up in Cleveland when the rosters expand in September. But changing up the catchers in the middle of a division race is risky, so we will have to see how that plays out.

Mejia is lighting it up this year in Double-A Akron, slashing .339/.382/.546 in 59 games. He also has nine home runs and 34 RBI.

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Mejia took part in the game last year and has been heralded as a future Indians star for years, which is why some fans may have been terrified when he was nearly traded for Jonathan Lucroy a season ago. Boo Lucroy all you want, but his veto kept Mejia in the Indians organization, and for that we should be grateful.

McKenzie is a level below Mejia in Advanced-A Lynchburg, and is another name to keep an eye on. He finished third in our 2017 prospect countdown.

The lanky right-hander has started 16 games this season, compiling a 2.91 ERA and striking out 115 batters in 89.2 innings of work. He is also sporting a 1.03 WHIP in what has been his first season above short-season ball.

Both of these players have the potential to be future stars with the Indians, but fans know that no prospect is untouchable when it comes to improving the major league squad’s chances of winning the World Series. Clint Frazier being shipped to New York for Andrew Miller proved that, as did the attempted trade for Lucroy.

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

It is hard to argue with the concept of trading for proven talent when the team is contending for a World Series title, so all we can do as fans is wait for August to arrive and see who survived the trade deadline. And today, we can see some of the rising stars in the organization show off their skills on the national stage.