Cleveland Indians Minor League Review: Best of the first half of 2017

Taking a look at the best players at each level of the Cleveland Indians minor league system from the first half of the 2017 season.

July has come and gone, with it plenty of All-Star games, both big leagues and minor leagues. With the unofficial first half of the season over, we take a look at the best players at each level of the Cleveland Indians minor league season.

For the sake of keeping things even, I chose July 11th as the cutoff date for all stats. This not only was the day of the major league All-Star Game, but also was a day that none of the Tribe’s top four affiliates played.

Both Akron and Columbus had their All-Star games the next day while Lynchburg and Lake County had theirs in late June. However, I felt it better to use one date for all players, since many were promoted over levels making it hard to compare. I also did not include short-season Mahoning Valley, as they played less than a month before the cutoff date.

So without further ado, here’s your top position players and pitchers in the Tribe’s minor league season over the first half of the 2017 season.

Best Columbus Position Player: Richie Shaffer

Key 1st Half Stats:  .258 AVG, .495 SLG, .853 OPS, 18 HR, 13 2B, 62 RBI

Honorable Mention
Eric Stamets: .272 AVG, .533 SLG, .863 OPS, 11 HR, 14 2B, 30 RBI
Yandy Diaz: .326 AVG, .429 OBP, .883 OPS, 4 HR, 8 2B, 17 RBI

Richie Shaffer takes the top spot with the Columbus Clippers thanks to some big time power. He led the club with 18 home runs in the first half and totaled 31 extra-base hits. He also led the club with 62 runs batted in before the All-Star break.

In fact, his 62 runs batted in ranked second in the entire International League while his 18 home runs were tied for third-most. While several other players have gotten promotions (or demotions), Shaffer has been a stabilizing force in the middle of the Clippers’ lineup all year.

Despite spending about three weeks at Double-A Akron earlier in the season, Eric Stamets still managed to sneak onto our honorable mention list for the first half of the season. He has had a breakout season in the power department, hitting 11 home runs with the Clippers before the All-Star break. Add in the one he hit with Akron and he had 12 home runs before the break, which nearly doubled his previous career high over an entire season (he hit seven in 2016).

Yandy Diaz is a guy that put up numbers that could have won him top honors; however, he spent time with the big league club early on and spent some time on the disabled list so he only played in 47 games with the Clippers in the first half. He still put up the best OPS in the first half at .833 thanks to a .429 on-base percentage. He also walked almost as much as he struck out (31 walks, 33 strikeouts).

Top prospect Bradley Zimmer also had some great numbers to start the year but didn’t get enough playing time before being promoted to the big league club.

Best Columbus Pitcher: Shawn Morimando

Key 1st Half Stats: 17 starts, 3.29 ERA, 1.33 WHIP,  3 SHO

Honorable Mention

Ryan Merritt: 14 starts, 3.36 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 1 CG
Tyler Olson: 31 apps, 3.52 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 12.0 K/9

It wasn’t easy picking the top pitcher at Columbus in the first half of the season, and sadly it’s not because there were too many good arms to choose from. Mike Clevinger dominated in April but only started seven games with the Clippers before making his way to Cleveland where he pitched well. Of the remaining starters, Shawn Morimando was the one that did stand out at times and takes the top spot.

Morimando struggled early but posted three complete game shutouts over a four start stretch in late June/early July. It was mostly on this that he took the top spot though he did have other solid starts. He still isn’t striking out a ton but overall had a very solid first half with the Clippers, including a 3.29 earned run average.

Coming in just behind him was fellow left-handed starter, Ryan Merritt. Like Morimando, Merritt hasn’t shown much in the way of strikeouts but has pitched solid enough, posting a 3.35 ERA. He even got a couple stints in with the big league club including one start and a longer look in the bullpen.

Tyler Olson had a strong first half out of the Columbus bullpen, striking out 51 in just 38.1 innings of work. He also led the club with a 0.99 WHIP in the first half and was recently rewarded with his second call-up to the big leagues this season with the Tribe.

Best Akron Position Player: Eric Haase

Key 1st Half Stats:  .275 AVG, .621 SLG, .967 OPS, 17 HR, 12 2B, 37 RBI

Honorable Mention
Francisco Mejia: .336 AVG, .378 OBP, .541 SLG, .920 OPS, 9 HR, 16 2B, 34 RBI

In perhaps the biggest upset on this list, catcher Eric Haase takes the top spot among position players at Double-A Akron, topping super-prospect Francisco Mejia. After the first two months of the year, this award seemed like a lock for Mejia, but Eric Haase finished the first half ahead of Mejia in most offensive categories, including OPS, home runs, extra-base hits, runs batted in and slugging percentage.

That’s not to say Mejia hasn’t been great as well. He’s one of the top prospects in all of baseball for a reason and when healthy, he did nothing but hit in the first half, posting a stout .336 average. However, he was banged up a bit and he did not show the kind of power that Haase did. At any other level, he’d have taken top honors.

Best Akron Pitcher: Julian Merryweather

Key 1st Half Stats: 9 starts, 3.38 ERA, 0.93 WHIP,  .196 BAA, 2.84 FIP

Honorable Mention

Thomas Pannone: 12 starts, 2.54 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, .221 BAA, 2.87 FIP

Like with the best hitter, choosing the top pitcher at Akron over the first half of the season was a very difficult task. I ultimately went with right-hander Julian Merryweather despite his earned run average being nearly a run higher than left-hander Thomas Pannone.

Despite the higher ERA, though, Merryweather bested Pannone in strikeout rate, walk rate, WHIP, batting average against and even FIP (though it was nearly identical).

Merryweather posted an amazing 0.93 WHIP in his nine starts with the RubberDucks before being promoted to Triple-A Columbus in late May. He also held Eastern League hitters to a sub-.200 batting average while striking out a batter an inning (9.2 K/9).

In all, he struck out over a quarter of the batters he faced (25.4 percent) while walking less than five percent (4.9 percent). Things haven’t fared quite as well for him in Triple-A, however, that does not take away from his extremely hot start with the ‘Ducks.

Pannone didn’t begin the 2017 season at Akron, rather starting at Advanced-A Lynchburg where he did not allow a single run in five starts. He wasn’t that perfect in Akron; however, in 12 starts he’s posted a 2.54 earned run average while also posting a very good 2.87 FIP in the first half.

His strikeout rate was not far off of Merryweather’s at 23.3 percent, though he did walk seven percent, which while still very good was not as stellar, which is one reason he finished as just the runner-up.

Best Lynchburg Position Player: Sicnarf Loopstok

Key 1st Half Stats:  .260 AVG, .356 OBP, .480 SLG, .835 OPS, 12 HR, 17 2B, 41 RBI

Honorable Mention
Sam Haggerty: .257 AVG, .349 OBP, .788 OPS, 2 HR, 18 2B, 11 3B, 27 SB

Sicnarf Loopstok takes the top position player honor at Advanced-A Lynchburg for the first half of 2017. Not only did he post the top OPS at the level, he did so while playing four different positions for the Hillcats: catcher, left field, first base and third base. He showed solid power as well, hitting 12 home runs along with 31 extra-base hits.

Infielder Sam Haggerty had a very good first half as well. He fell just one extra-base hit short of Loopstok, thanks in large part to his 11 triples. He showed off his speed on the bases as well, swiping 27 bases. While primarily a second baseman, Haggerty has seen some time in left field and at shortstop for the Hillcats.

Best Hillcats Pitcher: Triston McKenzie

Key 1st Half Stats: 16 starts, 2.91 ERA, 1.03 WHIP,  .186 BAA, 3.40 FIP, 11.5 K/9

Honorable Mention

Shane Bieber: 12 starts, 3.16 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, .271 BAA, 2.68 FIP, 0.5 BB/9

In another extremely tight race between two outstanding players, Triston McKenzie narrowly takes the honor here for top pitcher at Lynchburg in the first half of the season. McKenzie has been the Tribe’s top pitching prospect virtually all year and despite being just 19, posted a sub-3.00 earned run average along with a sub-.200 batting average against.

He also has struck out nearly one-third of the hitters he faced in the Carolina League (32.4 percent in the first half). His outstanding first half was rewarded with a trip to the Major League Baseball Futures Game this summer in Miami, where he was joined fellow top prospect Francisco Mejia.

For as great as McKenzie was in the first half, fellow right-hander Shane Bieber was arguably better. He posted a much lower FIP at 2.68 thanks to a minuscule walk rate of just 1.3 percent. He also posted an absolutely insane 17.8 strikeout-walk ratio in the first half for the Hillcats.

If he hadn’t started the year at Lake County he very well would have taken the top honor but he made four fewer starts than McKenzie and also has been much more hittable with a batting average against nearly 100 points higher.

However, despite not winning this honor, Bieber was rewarded for his efforts with a promotion to Double-A Akron earlier this month, his second promotion this year.

The choice for top pitcher over the first half of the season was probably the easiest choice I’ve made all year. Left-hander Thomas Pannone posted a 1.82 ERA in 17 starts between Lynchburg and Akron.

He went 7-1 in those starts and struck out 106 batters in 98 2/3 innings (9.7 K/9). Unfortunately for Pannone, he will not likely be able to win the overall season award as he was part of the trade that netted the Indians reliever Joe Smith.

The choice for best hitter wasn’t quite as easy as pitcher though Eric Haase rose to the top and claimed the honor. A bit of a stunner after the first two months that Francisco Mejia had, but when you look at the two on paper Haase did outhit Mejia, even if by only a slight amount.

They were the two best hitters all year and both did a great job throwing out runners. However, Haase’s 17 home runs and higher OPS earned him the award.

Next: Indians draft recap

So what do you guys think of our choices? Do you agree or disagree? Did I miss someone? Who are you most excited to see in the second half?