Cleveland Indians: Three surprising prospects who could debut in 2021

Tyler Freeman

The Cleveland Indians have spent the last year or so piling up middle infield prospects to prepare for the departure of Francisco Lindor, but the best of the bunch has been in-house for much longer than a year. Tyler Freeman, currently the No. 2 prospect in the organization, might be the long-term answer for the Indians at either short or second.

Freeman was the second round pick for the Indians during the 2017 MLB Draft and thanks to no minors in 2020 has only played 231 professional games. Despite that, Freeman might have just enough experience to pop up on the Cleveland roster at some point during the 2021 season.

The Indians thought enough of Freeman to bring him into the summer camp leading into the restart of the 2020 season and those same thoughts could give him a boost. He probably isn’t “supposed” to debut until 2022, but that might change as the year goes on.

Over his 231 games in the minors, Freeman has been able to slash .319/.379/.441 along with 70 doubles, nine triples and seven home runs. He’s also been able to swipe 38 bases while driving in 96 runs.

If he can sustain those numbers beyond High-A in 2021, then he could really progress quickly towards the majors and a potential debut during the upcoming season.

Ethan Hankins

After trading away Carlos Carrasco as part of the Francisco Lindor deal, the Cleveland Indians now are one starter shy of an elite rotation. Perhaps there will be a name emerge, that’s how Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac arrived, but for now that fifth spot in the rotation is just a big question mark.

While he most likely won’t be ready at the beginning of the season, one name to watch for the opening could be Ethan Hankins, the No. 10 prospect in the Cleveland organization. The 35th pick of the 2018 draft, Hankins is only 20-years old and has little experience. However, the potential and intrigue is definitely there.

Calling up Hankins most likely wouldn’t happen until later in the season, similar to what we saw with Triston McKenzie, but he could still make that debut during the 2021 season. He’s only appeared in 16 games since being drafted, but a strong showing in the minors could turn the tides.

In his small sample size, Hankins was able to record 11 strikeouts per nine innings, recording 77 over the course of 63 innings pitched. Over that same span he only walked 30 batters. If he can continue those numbers while improving his record he could debut. Despite his success, he’s still yet to register a win as a professional, being 0-3. Once he tallies that first win it’ll be interesting to see if he gets a confidence boost and improved numbers with it.

Daniel Espino

While Ethan Hankins has more experience to this point, there will be another prospect breathing down his neck for that fifth spot in the rotation, and that’s fellow 20-year old Daniel Espino. Depending on how they both play, it could be a sprint to the majors between Hankins and Espino.

The 24th pick of the 2019 MLB Draft, Espino has barely been able to taste professional baseball, but the potential is obviously there. Despite that, his current estimated debut is expected to be in the 2023 season. With that being said, it would be a bit of shock to see him in the majors this season, but it isn’t impossible.

Of these three, Espino has the longest road to the majors, but being the No. 7 prospect in the organization, he still has the opportunity to raise eyebrows during the season and at least create buzz. If he would end up making his debut for the Cleveland Indians in 2021, it wouldn’t come until the very tail end of the year and would probably only be a spot start at best.

If he wants to debut before that it would most likely take an extreme circumstance of a trade, injury, etc. However, it shouldn’t be pushed out of the club’s mind as a possibility given the hype that has surrounded him since being drafted.