Cleveland Indians: 3 Columbus Clippers who could be called up this season

Cleveland Indians: 3 Columbus Clippers who could make their major league debut

The Cleveland Indians made a statement at the 2021 MLB trade deadline. It was a pretty weak statement in all honesty, met with confusion and frustration by much of the fanbase as the Tribe salary-dumped Eddie Rosario and sent Cesar Hernandez to the White Sox in a one-for-one swap. Cleveland appears to be content with the talent in-house looking ahead to 2022, namely the return of a fully healthy Big Three and the stable of infielders in the high-minors.

The concept of spending money seems foreign right now given the team’s behavior this past offseason, guiding payroll to bottom-three in all of baseball, but Cleveland will be poised to spend (reasonably) this coming winter. The Tribe definitely have a type when in comes to free agents, but they could absolutely bolster the outfield while reinforcing the infield and pitching from within, all while maintaining an objectively affordable payroll.

However, this is all speculation best saved for the slow, dry baseball-devoid winter months after the World Series. The Indians have something more productive on the horizon in just a few weeks, and the team has a plethora of options for September call-ups when the roster expands to 28 players for the remainder of the season.

Cleveland has rotated their fair share of high-minors pitching in 2021 to compensate for all the injuries, so September roster expansion figures to be exclusively position players, likely multiple infielders. The Indians have a surplus specifically of middle-infielders, so whether call-ups are used to showcase some trade bait for this coming winter or to prepare guys for big league roles in 2022 is yet to be determined, but here are several that could get the call on September 1st.

Oscar Gonzalez, OF, Cleveland Indians

The Indians are not nearly as deep in the minors with outfield talent as they are infielders, and the prospects the team does have high hopes for are mostly Double-A and lower. Recent promotion Richard Palacios is the only other top 30 outfield prospect according to MLB.com currently in Triple-A with Daniel Johnson, so it’s somewhat surprising the first choice for the outfield is outside the top 30 list. Cleveland fans, meet Oscar Gonzalez.

Gonzalez signed with the Indians as a member of the 2014 international class, and has worked his way to Triple-A Columbus at just 23-years-old. The best news about him? Gonzalez has been a hitting machine at almost every level of the minors in his six-year pro career.

He has a career slash line of .282/.311/.435 across all levels of the Tribe organization, and a .311/.347/.544 slash line in 2021 split between Akron and Columbus.

The other good news about Gonzalez? Unlike some other outfielders in recent memory in The Land, Gonzalez has mashed both right and left-handed pitching in his time in the minors. He has an excellent track record his entire pro career, but so far has hit .314 against righties and .293 against Southpaws in 2021. Coming in at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, there’s plenty of power to be packed into a frame that’s already hit 110 doubles and 53 home runs in the minors.

To further build on his hitting prowess, Gonzalez currently leads the entire farm system in hits, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage. If there’s an area to watch with Gonzalez, it’s a 23.3% strikeout rate paired with just a 3.7% walk rate, pointing to a player that makes a ton of contact, but needs some patience at the plate.

He’s played just 22 games with the Clippers this season, so it may be premature to throw him to the wolves this September, but we’ve seen the alternatives outside of Harold Ramirez this year. He couldn’t possibly be any worse.

Nolan Jones, 3B/OF, Cleveland Indians

I mean, who else did you think I was going to put here? Nolan Jones is Cleveland’s top prospect, a second round pick in the vaunted 2016 draft class that has already produced Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac.

Like Arias, Jones has climbed the ranks of the Indians’ farm system quickly, jumping to Triple-A in 2021 after not playing at all in 2020 and having just 49 games at the Double-A level in 2019. His bat has yet to flash it’s full potential with Columbus, but at just 23-years old there’s plenty to be excited about.

Jones displays a level of patience at the plate that can’t be taught, registering an impressive 14.6% walk rate in Triple-A this season. He’s drawn 44 walks this season, helping balloon his slash line to .219/.346/.419, but his eye needs to improve alongside his incredible patience since he has a 37.5% strikeout rate this season.

Despite the low batting average in 2021, Jones still boasts an impeccable .419 SLG with 31 of his 55 hits on the season going for extra bases (21 doubles and nine home runs).

The issue the Indians have run into with Jones is what do you do with him at the big league level? Jose Ramirez has been the de facto third baseman for quite some time now, and the team has experimented with Jones in the outfield in the minors playing 22 games in right field for the Clippers this season.

There are several options for Jones should he get the call in September, but the leader in the clubhouse is probably playing the majority of his time at a corner outfield spot to learn the quirks of Progressive Field as best he can.

Jose Ramirez can more than likely step in at second base and play borderline Gold Glove defense, but the sheer amount of second baseman knocking on the door in the minors, plus the two already splitting time there now point to Jones being the right fielder of the future.

His arm strength from third base should translate nicely as long as he learns to track fly balls quickly, but regardless of what position he plays it’s long overdue for Jones to get a chance this season.