Cleveland Indians: Top 30 Prospects Countdown, 26-30

No. 27: Sam Hentges

Another left-handed pitcher on this list and another player invited to Spring Training, Sam Hentges was a fourth round pick by the Cleveland Indians during the 2014 Draft. This is the third season that Hentges has been at Spring Training, but he still hasn’t pitched beyond Double-A since being drafted by the Tribe.

So far this spring, Hentges has appeared in two games, logging the save in one of them. In total, he has three innings of work, allowing three runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Those numbers aren’t great, but they aren’t horrible either. The lone walk is a good sign and a strikeout an inning is solid as well. What might be next for Hentges is just experience.

Jumping from Double-A in 2019 to not playing in 2020 and then the majors in 2021 seems like a stretch, so another year in the minors could be the perfect call for the 24-year old lefty. However, he is only a couple years away from being in a similar position as Scott Moss. With a career ERA well over 4.00 in the minors, Hentges still has work to do, but there’s some flashes of potential that get him on this list.