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Last year's Indians list
The Top Ten
- SS Francisco Lindor
- C Francisco Mejia
- OF Clint Frazier
- OF Bradley Zimmer
- CF Tyler Naquin
- LHP Justus Sheffield
- OF/1B Mike Papi
- 3B Giovanny Urshela
- 1B Bobby Bradley
- RHP Mitch Brown
1. Francisco Lindor
Position: SS
DOB: 11/14/1993
Height/Weight: 5’11” 175 lbs
Bats/Throws: S/R
Drafted/Acquired: 1st round, 2011 draft, Montverde HS (Montverde, FL)
Previous Ranking: #1 (Org), #6 (Top 101)
2014 Stats: .273/.307/.388 at Triple-A Columbus (38 games), .278/.352/.389 at Double-A Akron (88 games)
The Tools: 7 glove; 6 arm; 6+ potential hit
What Happened in 2014: The slick fielding shortstop spent his age-20 season in the upper levels of the system, where he continued to play up to the level of competition despite consistently being one of the youngest in his league.
Strengths: Outstanding baseball instincts; extremely natural player; silky smooth actions; lightning-quick hands; soft glove; well above-average range; arm to make all of the throws; impact defender; easy stroke from both sides of the plate; stays back well; efficient swing path; controls barrel well; advanced approach; picks up spin; heady and smart on the bases; makeup is plus.
Weaknesses: Bat is likely to be a bit on the empty side; contact can be soft; tends to slap when going the other way; will need to learn to do some occasional damage to keep arms honest; over-swings at times; can lunge against stuff with break on outer third; well below-average power; speed isn’t of the impact variety.
Overall Future Potential: 7; all-star player
Realistic Role: 6; first-division player
Risk Factor/Injury History: Low; near major-league ready; consistency of creating hard contact.
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: The heights of Lindor’s glove both push his fantasy value up (for those just watching standard prospect lists) and down (for those who think he’s all leather), so it’s important to make sure he’s properly valued in your league. This is not an Austin Hedges situation, as Lindor is a top-25 fantasy prospect handily, as he is nearly ready and could hit .290 with 20-25 steals while scraping double-digit homers. His value also ticks up in points leagues.
The Year Ahead: When it comes to sure bets, Lindor’s defense at shortstop easily falls into this category, with the glove pretty much being plug and play in terms of inserting it into a major-league lineup in the near future. There’s going to be no assembly or waiting period required here. The 21-year-old is one of the more natural players you will see in the field, where he consistently flashes all the attributes to hold status as one of the premier defenders at the position for an extended portion of his career. It’s a true impact glove. All of the near-term focus will continue to reside with polishing the bat, with the signs pointing to a likely return assignment in Triple-A to start 2015 for further offensive seasoning and simmering before getting a first taste of The Show. Lindor is far from a slouch with the stick, but the switch-hitter should not be mistaken for a potential impact bat in the making. The offensive game is going to need to heavily lean on high contact rates, utilizing the whole field from both sides of the plate, and finding the necessary balance to keep high-end arms from unmercifully attacking him within the zone. The maturity level and innate feel for the game speaks volumes that the player can more than rise to the challenge and begin putting a foothold on owning the franchise’s shortstop position for the foreseeable future as soon as this season.
Major league ETA: 2015
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