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

Four prospects who could be the next player the Cleveland Indians call up

The Cleveland Indians made their first roster move of the season this past weekend when they sent down Ben Gamel and called up Sam Hentges, a 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher. While sending down Gamel should come as no surprise following his early season struggles that included being hitless for the first 10-games, the decision to bring up Hentges was one that left more than a few people scratching their heads.

Given the bullpen’s heavy usage in the days prior to the move, covering for the poor and short-lived starts, adding another arm to the pen made sense. Primarily a starting pitcher, Hentges offered the opportunity to eat up a lot of innings should another early exit occur. However, sending down Gamel and not bringing up a position player left a gap in terms of depth.

The Cleveland Indians will be able to manage just fine, especially when you have players like Amed Rosario who play both infield and outfield. But depth and production are two different things and the next call up could be for the latter.

Both the center field position as well as first base have lacked production so far in this young season. Normally there would be some patience to see if anything comes of the players in the roles, but the Tribe are in a situation where patience might not be the priority. Both positions have players in the minor leagues, or alternate site as of now, that could contribute right now. Whether it be impressive Triple-A stints of the past or strong Spring Training showings, in some cases both, these players deserve a chance to show what they can do.

The original hope coming out of Spring Training was that these players would settle in and everything would go smoothly. However, rough starts will force the hand of the team to change their course of action and these five players are the ones that should get the next shot at being the answer.

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.