Cleveland Indians: Four prospects who could be the next player called up

Oscar Mercado

After a breakout season in 2019 that consisted of a slash line of .269/.318/.443, Oscar Mercado completely fell off during the shortened 2020 season and has yet to have an opportunity to regain his footing. Last year he slashed just .128/.174/.174 with just one double and one home run over 86 at-bats. So why is he on this list?

Well for starters, most of these players on this list have little to no experience since 2019 anyway, so a struggled through 2020 season still might be better than the players who didn’t get to play in a contest that counted. Even if Mercado didn’t perform well in 2020, he at least had major league at-bats that could help his readjustment to the major league level in 2021.

Mercado also showed a lot of potential in 2019 by having success in Cleveland. In addition to his aforementioned slash line, Mercado also had 15 home runs, 15 stolen bases and 25 doubles. Those stats would be a huge upgrade. He even was perfect in the field during the 2020 season, which would be another upgrade at the position.

The one thing that could result in a different player getting the call is Jordan Luplow. Luplow has played well, so having someone to platoon there would mean a batter that hits right-handed pitching would be needed. While Mercado did hit better against right-handed pitching than left-handed, there might be better options than a .250/.298/.385 career slash line against right-handed pitching.

Daniel Johnson

In terms of finding someone to platoon with Jordan Luplow in the outfield, there might not be a better option than Daniel Johnson. He only has 12 major league at-bats, logging a single hit in those chances, but his minor league sample size shows a strong showing against right-handed pitching, fitting the position of platoon with Luplow in center field.

During the 2019 season, Johnson logged 338 at-bats against right-handed pitching in the minor leagues. In those 338 opportunities, he slashed .311/.368/.538 with 26 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs and 55 RBI.

Now, you could argue he already was given that chance. During his brief stint last year all 12 of his at-bats were against right-handed pitching. The keyword there is brief. Just 12 at-bats isn’t enough to see if he could do it for a season, especially when those at-bats are full of major league jitters and in the midst of a season without minor leagues.

If the Cleveland Indians are using the beginning of the season as a time to experiment, which is the way it seems with Amed Rosario in center, then give Johnson another chance. I can understand if the team wants to wait to give him some Triple-A at-bats or even if it has to do with service time, but one way or another we should get to see Johnson in Cleveland this season. He’s proved all he can in Columbus.

Bradley Zimmer

The windows of opportunity for Bradley Zimmer in Cleveland are becoming few and far between. His struggles to stay healthy haven’t helped his cause, but even when he’s been healthy he still hasn’t been able to find a role that fits him well. However, seeing that the Tribe are seemingly giving Jake Bauers one last shot, maybe Zimmer gets similar treatment.

The issue for Zimmer is that he doesn’t work well in platoons. Despite having nearly three times as many at-bats against right-handed pitching as left-handed, his slash lines still aren’t all that different. Assuming that Luplow stays in his role, against right-handed pitching at the major league level Zimmer is slashing .224/.306/.354 with 16 doubles, two triples and eight home runs is 339 at-bats.

Of the three outfielders on this list, Zimmer has been given the most chances and probably has the smallest odds of settling in this season. Mercado and Johnson are both younger and seem to have a higher potential. The one thing that could benefit Zimmer is service time. Perhaps they want to keep Mercado and Johnson down longer for the purpose of saving a season in terms of arbitration and free agency. If that’s the case, then Zimmer might get first crack if calling up an outfielder is needed.

Bobby Bradley

It seems like we’ve been screaming for Bobby Bradley to get an extended stay in Cleveland since the middle of the 2019 season, yet here we are with Jake Bauers and Josh Naylor playing first base for the Cleveland Indians. At the beginning of the season I understand the defensive argument, but after seeing Naylor at first, even if it was because of the National League matchup, it made giving Bradley a shot seem even more necessary.

While Bradley arguably won the first base battle during Spring Training, the roster spot went to the option-less Bauers. However, the start that Bauers has had this year might result in him being sent through waivers anyway and possibly to Columbus if he clears through. Four hits in 24 at-bats to slash .167/.231/.208 isn’t going to get the job done.

As for Bradley, his Spring Training numbers of .303/.314/.636 with five doubles and two home runs in 33 at-bats seems like a pretty nice upgrade to the offense. Like Johnson, he doesn’t have anything left to prove in Columbus which means him staying in the minors is probably for two reasons at this point.

The first is the options issue with Bauers. The other is once again service time. The Cleveland Indians can ride out Bauers for a bit longer to keep Bradley on a cheap contract for a season longer. In the eyes of the front office it could be a win-win. Bauers hurts his waivers value and the team keeps him plus Bradley stays cheap longer.