Cleveland Indians: Analyzing the top five prospects for the Tribe

Top 5 Cleveland Indians prospects in 2021

We come to our final part in breaking down the top 30 prospects for the Cleveland Indians, closing out with the club’s top five prospects. There’s little to no question that these five are the ones to be the most excited about. One of them is already set to be a key part of the Tribe’s 2021 season while the others are on the cusp of making an impact themselves in just the next year or two at the very latest. In reality, four of these five could very well be starting in 2022.

Looking back at what we’ve already covered, most the players were high potential guys who were on the radar for the future, had shown flashes, or in some cases were just high drafts picks with very little experience to go off of in the minor leagues. However, when you dive into this group of five, everything is different. They are all expected to play in Cleveland and soon.

Other parts: 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30

While past groups have consisted of players that are much younger, we get an older group at the top of the rankings. We still have a 20-year old and two at 21, but we get one at 22 and another at 23. On top of that, this is our most diverse group in terms of positions as well. There really aren’t any duplicates with an outfielder, a corner infielder, a middle infielder, a catcher and a right-handed pitcher.

For the Cleveland Indians, having a young group of prospects that touch on basically every position shows a lot of promise for the team moving forward. At each position there’s at least one player that is expected to be ready soon with high potential. Of the Major League Baseball top 100 prospects, three of these players find their names on that list as well.

If these players can turn into what a lot of people expect them to become, then the future of the Cleveland Indians is still very bright.

No. 5 George Valera

The top rated outfield prospect in the Cleveland Indians’ organization, George Valera is the youngest player of this bunch at 20-years old and has a major league “ETA” of 2023 according to the MLB’s prospect list for Cleveland. From what we saw from Valera this spring, 2023 seems about right, giving him a couple years to continue to grow in the majors.

At Spring Training, Valera appeared in eight games for Cleveland and logged eight plate appearances. In those eight times at the plate, Valera walked twice and struck out twice with just one hit. Now, he did score three times, being each time he reached the base paths, but he still only slashed .167/.375/.167.

A sample size that small from Goodyear isn’t going to be enough to project Valera, but it does show that there’s still work to do for him. Unfortunately, his minor league numbers as a whole aren’t all that better in terms of his slash line. In 2019, he played with both Low-A Mahoning Valley and Single-A Lake County where he combined for a .217/.336/.411 line. When he made contact it turned into seven doubles, two triples and eight home runs.

There’s definitely upside to Valera’s game, there’s really no question about that. As of now, he still has a lot of growth to do before making it to the majors, but the flashes are there and should be exciting to see for Indians fans.

No. 4 Bo Naylor

A first round pick by the Cleveland Indians during the 2018 MLB Draft, Bo Naylor has been with the club longer than his brother Josh Naylor who is already in the majors and came to Cleveland via trade. A 21-year old catcher, Naylor bats from the left side of the plate and is the presumed catcher of the future for the Tribe.

Right now, Roberto Perez has an option for 2022 and then his contract ends regardless. As for Austin Hedges, he has an arbitration year for 2022 and then his contract ends as well, leaving the door completely wide open at the catcher position moving forward for Cleveland. That could be the perfect timeframe for Naylor to step in.

Naylor also got a Spring Training invite this season, appearing in eight games as well according to baseball-reference.com. In those eight games he had 10 at-bats, totaling a slash line of .400/.400/.700 thanks to four hits, one of which was a solo home run.

Having offensive production from the catcher position, though, is really just a plus. It’s the defense that matters, especially in the eyes of the Indians front office who have two of the best defensive catchers in the game on the roster. That’s also where Naylor will need to improve.

Over his career in the minors, which consists of 104 games behind the plate, Naylor has 14 errors for a .987 fielding percentage. That number is a big difference from the .998 and 1.000 stats that Perez has put up. If Naylor can clean up his glove, he should be on track to debut either this season or next, depending on the health and contracts of Perez and Hedges.

No. 3 Tyler Freeman

First things first, awesome picture of Tyler Freeman captured by Abbie Parr during Spring Training! Anyway, Freeman actually drops a spot on this list this season, but for good reason once you see who passed him on the next slide. But regardless of where he ranks on this list, Freeman is assumed to be either one of the two middle infielders of the future in Cleveland.

A second round pick in 2017 by the Indians, Freeman quickly grabbed the attention for his all-around game. At 21-years old, he already has been able to climb the minor league ranks to High-A Lynchburg in 2019. Had there been a 2020 minor league season, there’s a chance he would have been the second basemen in Cleveland this season.

Even if Cesar Hernandez and Andres Gimenez have the middle infield spots occupied for now, the future still most likely belongs to Freeman and he showed why in Spring Training. Playing in 17 games with 25 plate appearances and 20 official at-bats, Freeman was impressive. For starters, he slashed .350/.480/.550, drawing three walks and tallying seven hits, including a double and home run, with three RBI.

Time to grow in the minors will play in the favor of Freeman. Missing the 2020 season hurt his progression, but with Hernandez resigning, there’s little pressure to rush him to Cleveland. When he’s ready, he’ll get his opportunity.

No. 2 Triston McKenzie

One of the few players on this list that has major league experience, Triston McKenzie will surely be taken off this list in the near future once he outplays his prospect status, although he will still be a rookie in 2021. Until then, he clocks in as the No. 2 prospect in the Cleveland Indians’ organization. Being one of the top four pitchers in the young starting rotation, McKenzie will have high expectations in 2021.

During the 2020 season, McKenzie started six games for the Tribe while pitching in eight. In total, he tossed 33.1 innings for Cleveland that resulted in a 2-1 record with a 3.24 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 42 strikeouts. He had a rough spring, but it seems like that was the case for nearly everyone this year. If he can bounce back to his 2020 form once the season begins, then the Indians will be happy to have him for the foreseeable future.

McKenzie is still only 23-years old, so it will be interesting to see how his game progresses not only as he gets more experience, but gets older and has more chemistry with the catchers in Cleveland. If Roberto Perez can work his magic with McKenzie, then he should blossom in his first full season in the major leagues.