Cleveland Indians top 4 needs in the 2021 MLB Draft

Cleveland Indians 2021 MLB Draft Need #4: Outfield

While the outfield in Cleveland has found some answers of late, the front office will want to be better prepared for the next wave than they were for this one. From 2012 to 2014 the club used four of their five first round selections on outfielders. The only problem was that they didn’t live up to expectations.

The first taken was Tyler Naquin in 2012 and of the group he probably played the best for the Tribe. Then came Clint Frazier in 2013, who would be traded for Andrew Miller. Cleveland then took two outfielders in the first round in 2014, being Bradley Zimmer, who is still trying to catch on, and Mike Papi who is playing in the Independent League.

Outfielders take a while to develop, or at least the ones that the Tribe have taken in the past have. If the front office wants to get ahead, they need to start taking outfielders now to allow ample time for them to get progress. Having a pair of 19-year old prospects in Isaiah Greene and Petey Halpin have already started the process, but this class could be deep at the position.

On the Top 200 list, there are seven outfielders in the top 30 alone, meaning if the Cleveland Indians want to continue building up their outfield of the future, the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft might be the perfect place to do it.