Cleveland Indians: 3 prospects it’s too early to give up on

Daniel Johnson, OF, Cleveland Indians

First up among this aforementioned trio is outfielder Daniel Johnson, acquired in November 2018 as the primary return piece from the Washington Nationals for Yan Gomes.

At the age of 25, Johnson, nicknamed “Jet”, has played seven games at the major league level for Cleveland, hitting  2-for-21 in those games, drawing just one walk and striking out 10 times. Those numbers definitely aren’t lighting the world ablaze, but the sample size is small and the playing time inconsistent.

Johnson owns a career slash line of .279/.341/.459 across five seasons in the minors, showcasing the ability to hit for average and solid contact. In 38 games with Columbus this season, Johnson is hitting .227 with 10 doubles and seven home runs.

Having played every station in the outfield during his time in the minors, Johnson presents himself as a flexible corner outfielder that can be moved around based on matchup and need. However, there has been a log jam in Cleveland’s outfield with Jordan Luplow, Josh Naylor, Bradley Zimmer and the February acquisition of Harold Ramirez, who has slashed .273/.312/.485 in 42 games this season with the Indians. Look familiar?

As a left-handed batter, Johnson has shown the ability to hit both right and left-handed pitching during his time in the minors, presenting an advantage over a player like Jordan Luplow who owns a career batting average of .251 against lefties, but hits just .195 off righties over the course of his five year career. In 2019, Johnson’s last full uninterrupted season in the minors, he slashed .255/.386/.532 in 47 at-bats against southpaws and .253/.312/.535 in 99 at-bats versus right-handed pitching.

Considering Johnson will be turning 26 in July, he’s still at a prime age for a prospect to fine-tune and develop his skills. The entirety of Cleveland’s outfield is currently arbitration eligible and under team control for low cost for several more seasons, with the exception of left fielder Eddie Rosario’s one year deal, making it difficult for Johnson to break through. But should the Indians suffer another injury this season, Johnson deserves an extended look into what he’s capable of.

During spring training this season, Johnson showed out, hitting .368 in nine games with a double and two home runs. At the very least he will get another spring invite in 2022 and may very well earn himself a spot on next year’s Opening Day roster.

Oscar Mercado, OF, Cleveland Indians

It should come as no surprise that the first two prospects highlighted here are outfielders, a position of constant flux for the Indians since the departure of Michael Brantley.

Cleveland has attempted to plug-and-play with older or aging veterans over the past few seasons to the tune of Carlos Gonzalez, Domingo Santana and Ben Gamel, to very little success. Oscar Mercado was the most stabilizing presence in the outfield for the Tribe in 2019, after being acquired from the Cardinals at the 2018 trade deadline for Connor Capel and Jhon Torres.

After being called up on May 14th, 2019 at the age of 24, Mercado was an instant impact for Cleveland, playing 115 games that season and slashing .269/.318/.443 while hitting 25 doubles, 15 home runs and collecting 15 stolen bases.

In that season, Mercado was one of just 20 major leaguers who put up at least 25 doubles and 15 home runs while swiping 15 bags, joining a list of names that includes Christian Yelich, Bryce Harper, Ozzie Albies, Whit Merrifield and teammates Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor. That campaign landed Mercado eighth in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting and the future seemed incredibly bright.

However, Mercado fell off a cliff in 2020, a pandemic shortened season that was complete chaos for much of the league. Mercado played in 36 games for Cleveland in 2020, slashing an abysmal .128/.174/.174 before being optioned to the team’s alternate training site in August. He was invited to 2021 spring training where he hit just .214 over 10 games, failing to make the Opening Day roster.

Mercado has yet to return to the majors during his age 26 season, but he’s currently slashing .225/.324/.413 through 41 games with Triple-A Columbus and showing some signs of life with 13 doubles, five home runs and nine stolen bases for the Clippers.

The type of potential that Mercado flashed in 2019 definitely didn’t feel like a fluke, being a significant contributor on a 93-win Cleveland team that included Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana. He likely holds a very high trade value, but given his All-Star potential, Mercado can not be ruled out of the Tribe’s future plans and will hopefully return to the big league roster in the near future.

Logan Allen, SP, Cleveland Indians

Logan Allen came to Cleveland in 2019 as part of a three-team trade involving the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds before the July 31st trade deadline.

Allen joined the Indians from San Diego with teammate Franmil Reyes, appearing in one game for Cleveland in his age 22 season, covering 2.1 scoreless innings in a relief appearance. He appeared in three more relief appearances in 2020, logging 10.2 innings pitched and a 3.38 ERA, surrendering one home run, walking seven and striking out seven.

With Cleveland trading away Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger and Carlos Carrasco all within the span of two seasons, Allen entered Spring Training in 2021 with a chance to compete for the team’s fourth and fifth rotation spots with prospect Triston McKenzie and new acquisition and former teammate Cal Quantrill. McKenzie and Allen would earn those rotation spots, with Quantrill moving to the bullpen, earning them extended time as starters to begin the 2021 campaign.

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Allen made five starts for the Indians in April, lasting just 15.2 innings with an ERA of 9.19 and a WHIP of 1.72. Allen, as it turns out, did not have a manufacturer’s warranty to Cleveland’s Cuyahoga pitching factory and was optioned to Columbus immediately after his April 28th start against the Twins where he lasted just an inning and a third. He has not fared much better in the minors, lasting just 17.2 innings in five starts in Columbus with an ERA of 11.72 and a WHIP of 2.15.

Allen represents something the Indians need which is left handed pitching, especially a starter, with the only lefties on the roster being Sam Hentges and reliever Kyle Nelson. At the young age of 24, Allen has plenty of promise despite his inflated stats this season, but it all comes down to his 4-Seam Fastball command, a pitch opposing hitters hold a .389 batting average against compared to just .190 against his Slider. With proper development of his command and the potential to generate more swings-and-misses, Allen represents an excellent four or five starter in a right-handed dominated rotation.