Cleveland Indians: Five players to watch in Double-A or below

5 members of the Cleveland Indians organization to watch in Double-A or below

Like the Columbus Clippers, the rest of the Cleveland Indians minor league squads will look to suit up for the first time since September of 2019 on May 4. While the Clippers house the players that are most likely to contribute within the next season or two, the other minor league teams play an even more pivotal role in the development of the club’s stars of tomorrow.

We already went through and highlighted the five players to watch in Columbus, but what about the other teams? Who should fans pay attention to in Akron, Lake County and even Lynchburg? A good start is to simply take a look at the top prospects list. These players are the ones that are considered the best prospects in the organization and the future of Cleveland baseball.

For the Cleveland Indians, the top 30 prospects consist of 13 infielders, 11 pitchers, four outfielders and two catchers. Obviously, the front office has assembled players to take over for the vacancy left behind by the Francisco Lindor trade and a plethora of pitchers is to be assumed for a team that seems to turn out another stud starter about every other year at least. Outfield on the other hand is a bit slim, especially for a position that is considered to be a weakness on of the current major league club.

As for Double-A and below, these five players should be watched closely to see how they progress and how quickly they can rise the ranks to Cleveland. It might require a stop in Columbus first, or they could skip right up to the majors, but these five are the future of Cleveland baseball and should be on the radar of fans for the next wave of youth once they are ready to make the jump to Progressive Field.

Gabriel Arias

Coming to Cleveland as part of the Mike Clevinger trade, Gabriel Arias is one player that has the potential to either start in Columbus or arrive there after a short stint at a lower level. He’s currently at the alternate site, but having yet to play a game above High-A could push the club to give him more experience at Double-A before a higher promotion.

We got to see a little glimpse of Arias during Spring Training this season and he looked the way a team’s No. 5 prospect should. He only played in eight games with 13 at-bats, but with those limited opportunities he was still able to log eight hits, including one double and five RBI, to finish with a slash line of .615/.615/.692.

With Andres Gimenez having a bit of an unsteady start to the season, the door could be cracked open for Arias to make his major league debut at some point in 2021. Since he is already on the 40-man roster, it wouldn’t take an additional move to get Arias to Cleveland like it might for other players.

Like I said, Arias has yet to play beyond High-A, but if he can impress early on in the minor league season he could be a candidate to take over at shortstop if Gimenez continues to struggle.

Josh Wolf

Coming to Cleveland as part of the Lindor trade, Josh Wolf will have a chance to show fans of the Cleveland Indians what he can do. A second round pick during the 2019 MLB Draft by the New York Mets out of St. Thomas High School in Houston, Wolf is a 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher who enters the season at just 20-years old.

Since being drafted, Wolf has made just five appearances as a member of a major league club, all being during rookie ball in 2019. Despite the limited exposure beyond high school, the Tribe made sure to get Wolf in the Lindor deal and he now enters his first minor league season as the No. 10 prospect in the organization.

While Wolf won’t be in the majors this year, or really anywhere close, seeing how he pans out will be an interesting story for Tribe fans. The other players that we’ve witnessed from the Lindor trade have been a bit underwhelming. If Wolf can start performing well, the sting from the Lindor deal will lessen just a bit. Even if Lindor isn’t playing well in New York, it still hurts to see him in a different uniform while the return from the trade struggles.

George Valera

The outfield for the Cleveland Indians has been up in the air for the last few seasons and while the top candidates to fill those spots are either in Cleveland or Columbus at the moment, there are still eyes on the future for a more long-term solution with better production. With less than a handful of outfielders on the top 30 prospect list, those that are will be under the microscope.

The top ranked outfielder on the list is George Valera, coming in at No. 4. Valera is yet another player that hasn’t played above Single-A, but did get a Spring Training invite. In 10 games at Goodyear, Valera was just 1-for-9, but he drew two walks and scored each time he reached the base paths. That’s been the story for Valera so far. In the minors, he has a career slash line of .227/.343/.424 over 58 games.

Given the small sample size, there’s still a lot left unknown about Valera to this point. Between his prospect ranking and getting an invite to Goodyear, there’s some clear excitement about his game. He will be a name to watch this season to see if he can live up to his ranking and how high he can climb in the minor leagues this year.

Tyler Freeman

It’s hard to talk about prospects to watch without mentioning the No. 2 prospect in the entire organization. While Nolan Jones gets most of the publicity from the prospect list and being close to making his debut, Tyler Freeman isn’t too far off from taking over that role once Jones gets his shot.

A second round pick from the 2017 MLB Draft, Freeman is another player that could eventually take over one of the middle infield slots in Cleveland. Bringing Cesar Hernandez back on a one-year deal bought more time for Freeman to develop, but depending on how he plays this year he could be starting in Cleveland as early as next season.

Of the players on this list, Freeman saw the most action during Spring Training, which could be telling. He saw action in 22 games, going 11-for 26 at the dish to slash .423/.516/.577 along with four RBI thanks to a double and a home run.

If Freeman can continue to stay hot at the plate the way he did in Spring Training we might not have to wait until next season to see him in Cleveland. His glove has been rather strong as well, so he could be a quick mover up through the ranks this year.