Cleveland Indians: Top 30 Prospects Countdown, 6-10

No. 7 Daniel Espino

A first round pick by the Cleveland Indians during the 2019 MLB Draft, going 24th overall, Daniel Espino has only a little bit of experience in the minors with the loss of the 2020 season. Another player that just turned 20 in January, Espino was drafted out of high school by Cleveland before making nine appearances in the minors.

Those nine appearances were a bit of a mixed bag of results. He pitched at both the Rookie level and Low-A. Over six appearances in Arizona he pitched well, logging a 1.98 ERA with a 0.88 WHIP and 10.5 strikeouts per nine. However, when he made the move up to Single-A, his stats shifted. In just 3.2 fewer innings, his ERA jumped to 6.30, his WHIP to 1.40, but his strikeouts per nine improved to 16.2.

Getting a full season of Espino will be very telling of where he projects. The lack of success from moving up to Single-A is a bit discouraging, but he’s had a long time to work on his craft, so we should see a better version of him this season. The Indians’ rotation is rather set for the time being, so there’s no rush to get him to the majors at this point.