Cleveland Indians: 3 shortstops to know for the MLB Draft

This California prep shortstop has four above average tools. The only one he’s missing is power, which is normal for most shortstops. Lindor is just an exception to the rule. But Turang has everything else you could want. He’s got great hitting ability, great speed, a strong arm, and a good glove.

MLB Pipeline ranks Turang as the 22nd overall prospect in this class. Given the margin of error on how teams rank prospects and the experts at MLB Pipeline do, this puts Turang squarely in the mix for the Indians at 29. As a highly touted high school shortstop with a commitment to LSU, he could be tough to sign.

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Signability is a major concern for most high school prospects, but teams have ways of figuring out how likely prospects are to sign with them and try to get a feeling for whether or not they want to go to school and how much money it would take to convince them not to.

If the Indians feel they can sign him, but some other teams don’t, he could fall into their laps. Most high school players taken in the first round will sign.

Turang is a left handed hitter and there are some who believe he can stay at shortstop long term. He has the arm strength and the speed, but other scouts believe he’s destined for a different position. That different position is most likely second base given his general lack of power doesn’t fit the profile of a corner infielder. Another position for him could be center field in the long run, because he does have great speed and a good arm.

But that all depends on who picks him and how he does at shortstop. If he comes to the Indians, and Francisco Lindor is around for awhile, a new position may be necessary for Turang.

There’s another shortstop that could interest the Indians, this time, from the college ranks.