Cleveland Indians: 3 prospects that should have fans excited for the future

Gabriel Arias, 2B/SS, Cleveland Indians

After top prospect Tyler Freeman went down for the year with an injury, No. 4 prospect Gabriel Arias quickly became one of the most intriguing youngsters in the organization’s short-term outlook. Despite being just 21-years old, Arias has been absolutely tearing it up in Triple-A Columbus this season.

Over the last three months (90 days), Arias has played in 67 games for the Clippers and has posted a slash line of .292/.351/.459 with 15 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 25 RBI. He’s cooled off a bit recently, which could be the reason we haven’t watched him in Cleveland yet, but he’s definitely positioning himself to make a run at a starting spot in 2022. The question is just where.

Arias has shown that the bat is there, but his glove is a bit behind. He has nine errors at shortstop this season for a fielding percentage of .961. While he only has one error at second base, he still has a .971 fielding percentage there due to lack of innings at the position.

If Arias can clean up his fielding a bit in the offseason, he should be able to find a spot in Cleveland very quickly. The team needs middle infield help after trading Cesar Hernandez and while Amed Rosario has been steady at the plate, he has seven errors at short himself.

In short, Arias has the opportunity to make a splash in the near future and being just 22 when the next season starts, he should be viewed as a potential cornerstone for the club if he can progress as anticipated.

Daniel Espino, SP, Cleveland Indians

One player in the organization that we really have talked about a whole lot here is Daniel Espino. Now, the No. 5 prospect for the organization, Espino was a first round pick by the Tribe in the 2019 MLB Draft. At just 20-years old, he’s already looking impressive for High-A Lake County.

Being so young, it will probably be a couple more seasons before Espino makes it to the big league level, but he’ll turn 21 in January so that’s not much of an issue. The good news is that by the time he’s ready, Cleveland will likely need him.

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If this season has taught us anything it’s that a team can never have too many starting pitchers ready for the big leagues. Getting Espino to that point will be key over the next couple seasons. While the starting rotation might be locked up for now, injuries and struggles can derail those plans at any time.

The 2024 season is the last time that Shane Bieber will be under cheap team control with Plesac, Civale and Quantrill all following the next season. If Espino can be ready by the time that all happens, that would be a huge advantage for the club given their recent rate of moving expiring contracts.

It might seem a long time off that Espino could be replacing Bieber in the rotation, and hopefully not missing a beat, but the time between now and Opening Day 2025, about three and a half years, is the same amount of time that Bieber has been up in Cleveland.