Cleveland Indians: Top 5 Cleveland draft classes of the last 25 years

No. 3. 2014 – Bradley Zimmer (1st), Justus Sheffield (1st), Bobby Bradley (3rd), Sam Hentges (4th), Greg Allen (6th), Cam Hill (17th)

The first two drafts on this list had one player that was really the solidifier of the group. In the case of the 2014 class, there isn’t one player that is paired with the class, at least not yet. Instead, it’s a group of six players that have all contributed in the majors, making for a rather successful class.

Two of the players listed aren’t in Cleveland anymore, in fact Justus Sheffield was never in Cleveland. Sheffield was dealt to the Yankees for Andrew Miller, a deal that still seems worth it given what Miller was able to provide the Tribe. As for Greg Allen, he was a solid outfield depth player to have in Columbus and Cleveland when needed. He was part of the Clevinger deal last season that brought in four players who have played for the Tribe this season and two top prospects.

As for the four that are still in the Cleveland Indians organization, the best of the bunch so far has been Bobby Bradley. It took him a bit to get his chance, but he’s taking advantage of it. Over 159 career plate appearances he has a slash line of .218/.302/.493 with 10 home runs, nine doubles, 22 RBI and 16 walks.

Bradley Zimmer has had flashes and is still starting in Cleveland and the same could be said for Sam Hentges. Cam Hill should be back from the injured list soon as well and performed decently well in 2020.

This is more of a quantity over quality case, but finding six major league players in any draft class is impressive. The hope is that Bradley and another player can carve out a career in Cleveland, but this is already one of the club’s more successful drafts of the last 25 years.