Cleveland Indians: 5 internal options to replace Cesar Hernandez at second

Gabriel Arias, 2B/SS, Cleveland Indians

With Tyler Freeman down with an injury, Gabriel Arias is the top ranked middle infielder prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization, coming in as the No. 5 prospect overall. The only barrier with Arias is one that is becoming increasingly familiar. He’s barely played second base.

This year, Arias has suited up for 72 games with the Columbus Clippers. He’s played second base in just nine of them. In fact, Arias has played second base just 11 times in his entire professional baseball career. The good news is he has just one error. The bad news is that the sample size is ridiculously small.

In the field, in general, Arias has some improving to do. He has six errors at shortstop this season and nine total across all positions played. The upside is his bat, especially recently.

Over the last 28 days, Arias is slashing a solid .301/.363/.494 with five doubles, a triple, three home runs and five RBI. That’s the type of bat that can be really intriguing. He has good average numbers with a hint of power.

The question for Arias will be if the team wants to start up his service time. Being a top prospect, the front office could opt to keep him in the minors through the season and call him up early next year. While his bat makes him a candidate, his glove might be what keeps him in Columbus, at least for now.