Cleveland Indians: 3 players to follow as Arizona League begins play

3 players in Cleveland Indians organization to follow as Arizona League begins

The minor leagues will see another league get underway on June 28 as the Arizona League will start up competition. While most years the Arizona League doesn’t draw much attention, this year it will consist of countless players taking the field for the first time after no minors in 2020. For the Cleveland Indians, that means seeing a lot of players acquired through trade for the first time.

Since the Tribe made a few significant deals in the last year, a good chunk of the players received have yet to take the field while being affiliated with a major league club. Now, those players will be able to take the field.

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To the same remark, players that were taken during the 2020 MLB Draft will also be taking the field for the first time. Typically, those selections have a few months to play after getting drafted, but due to last year it’s been a full year for some of these players since being taken.

While oftentimes early projections are far from accurate it’s still exciting to see some of the new talent that will be coming up through the minor league ranks for the club and eventually be the future of the team.

From the Cleveland Indians top 30 prospects, five will suit up in rookie ball, but there are three that are rather intriguing. Of the players on the roster, these three should warrant fans attention over the coming months of the season.

Carson Tucker, SS

The player with the most recognizable name on the roster is most likely Carson Tucker. The first round pick from the 2020 MLB Draft for the Tribe, Tucker has yet to take the field in a professional uniform. Only 19-years old, the 23rd overall pick was taken directly out of high school.

The brother of Pittsburgh Pirate Cole Tucker, who was also a first round pick, Carson is expected to be a big part of the Tribe’s future, as any first round pick typically is. He enters the season as Cleveland’s No. 12 prospect, so hopefully he can live up to the hype.

Isaiah Greene, OF

Next up on the prospect list is outfielder Isaiah Greene. Like Tucker, Greene was taken during the 2020 MLB Draft so there’s been no sample size to go off of yet. However, it wasn’t the Tribe that picked him.

Greene was selected in the second round by the New York Mets out of high school and will enter the season at 19-years old, turning 20 in August. He came to Cleveland as part of the Francisco Lindor trade this past offseason.

Being part of that trade will put a bit of extra pressure on Greene. He’s the club’s No. 19 prospect, so he isn’t the highest ranked from the trade, but there will still be a lot of expectations for him just from being part of the trade at all.

Junior Sanquintin, INF

One player that has had some sort of professional sample is Junior Sanquintin. He’s been with the organization in the Dominican Summer League and enters the year as the club’s No. 26 prospect with the middle infield as his position of choice.

Now 19-years old, Sanquintin first appeared with the Cleveland Indians organization in 2019 at the age of 17. He split time between the Brewers and Tribe, but his time with Cleveland was a bit better.

Playing in 16 games, he was able to slash .297/.357/.442 over 64 at-bats. Sanquintin was also able to tally five doubles and a home run with 11 RBI with the club.

This will be the next step up and his next test so it will be interesting to see how he does. There’s a lot of time for him to improve, but he’s impressed enough to make the organization’s top 30 prospects.

All-in-all, these players have a lot of time to make a name for themselves. There’s practically as much a chance that none of these three make it to the majors as there is that all three become Hall of Famers. There’s so little known at this point. What’s exciting is that the next wave of Cleveland Indians baseball is taking the field, beginning their careers after not seeing the field last year and looking to make it to the next level.