2009 Indians Top 100 Prospects Intro

It is a new year, and with that hope springs eternal for Cleveland Indians fans that maybe this will be the year they can finally go all the way and win a World Series.

While things on the big league side for the Indians are starting to take shape and it looks like they will be a strong contender in the division and possible World Series contender, the farm system looks to be as strong as ever. In fact, the Indians minor league system is as strong as it has been since 2003 when the likes of Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Jeremy Guthrie, and Victor Martinez were all Top 10 prospects going into the season.

After a 2008 season where the makeup of the farm system was in a transitional phase with many young players set to break out and prove themselves and very little top level talent, over the course of a year with the help of in-house development, trades and a very good 2008 Draft, the Indians farm system now has several impact players in the system and at all levels from Triple-A down to rookie-level Arizona.

Over the course of the next several weeks leading into spring training and most of March, I will be unveiling the Indians Top 100 Prospect list by hosting a daily countdown on this site. Starting tomorrow, I will be posting three prospects a day until we get to #75 at which that time it will drop to two prospect listings a day, and when we get to #50 it will drop to one prospect a day. So, on Monday January 12 #100, #99 and #98 will post, on Tuesday January 13 #97, #96, and #95 will post, etc. For the next few days when the three reports post a day, I will post one early in the morning, one in the afternoon, and the other in the evening. These scouting reports will be kept under the Scouting Reports section of this blog for easy, quick access (the 2008 reports will be removed, but will still be on the site, just not linked on the panel).

This is a comprehensive listing of the Indians best prospects, and to give the potential stars of tomorrow some attention from the fans. These reports are very detailed and lengthy, especially for those in the Top 30 or 50. You won’t find a more in-depth listing anywhere, and best of all, it will all be put on the site for FREE.

The criteria for inclusion in the ranking requires that a player must still be rookie eligible (under 50 IP or less than 130 at bats). Like most other publications, service time is not considered, although this does not really apply to any players on this list anyway. Last year I omitted the 2007 Draft class from the rankings except Beau Mills; however, one big change this year is players from the recent 2008 Draft is considered for the rankings. I was able to see many of these players last year, so feel confident in forming an opinion on them based on what I have seen and been told.

The only players not eligible for these rankings are those who played in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) and have yet to play stateside. Also, recent international signings are not included. The reason for this is pretty simple really, in that I have not seen any of these players play and all the scouts I know have not seen them either. So, the opinions and info is practically non-existent except for what I have learned in limited conversations with the Indians. While no DSL players are in this listing, at this time some players will be in the bonus section only found in the book.

Some may wonder what is the basis behind the rankings. While some people rate prospects purely on results (stats), some on standing (class level/age), and some purely on potential (projection), I try to combine all three to try and strike a balance. Admittedly, I generally favor projection more, especially with the very young kids versus some of the minor league veterans.

Bottom line, it comes down to asking “what kind of player does the player have the potential to be”? The rankings are arbitrary, and they really are just a guideline of the best players to watch out for and most importantly provide scouting information on each player so fans know who they are. Any ranking is subjective, but as of January 2009 this is what I think best represents as a snapshot of the Indians organization of players from #100 to #1.

Almost all of the information in these scouting reports comes from my notes in conversations I have had with various Indians personnel/players, coaches, scouts, and other non-Indians personnel over the course of the last eight months. I have also supplemented where necessary with information I obtained over the year from comments Farm Director Ross Atkins made via radio or print, as well some information from other media outlets.

Also, special thanks to the Cleveland Indians staff, coaches, players and anyone else I have talked to over the past year. It is hard to give the fans a true representation of the Indians organization from the front office all the way down to the coaches and players, but it is first class all the way. Everyone I have ever spoken to has been very helpful and more than gracious. Thanks to affiliate media relations director’s Craig Deas (Lake County), Chris Hemeyer (Kinston), Marc Means (Mahoning Valley), Rob Sinclair (Akron), and Brad Bisbing (Buffalo) for all their help and support last season.

I also want to give a special thanks to Darren Lewis, Chris Mohan, Norman Banks and Art Gold for their help on this endeavor. All are loyal fans of the farm system and follow it with passion and I sought them out for their help with opinions on the rankings. I wanted to work together with a few people to be sure I got most of the varying viewpoints covered and was not just putting out “my” list. We all tend to undervalue or overvalue certain players too much, so the groupthink helped eliminate most of this. I also have to give a big thanks to www.TheClevelandFan.com site owner Rich Swerbinsky for his continued support. Most importantly, a big thank you to my wife and kids for putting up with me during what has been an ongoing project really since last March!

And, a very special thank you to the super duper Ken Carr for providing almost all of the outstanding pictures you will see in the listing. Ken supplied over 80 pictures, and has been a big help all year anytime I needed assistance with a picture. Thanks to Carl Kline for providing some pictures for the listing, particularly for the players in Kinston.

For those interested, my prospect book should be available very soon, likely by the end of the month. While these reports are free, I am doing them all on my own dime and do not get any compensation for it. If anyone wants to give something back, feel free to buy a copy of the book. As a thank you for those you buy the book, they can get a sneak peak at the entire listing several weeks before it posts on this site near the end of March. Also, as a bonus, 25-30 additional scouting reports for some players in the Dominican Summer League, recent draft and international signings, and more will be included only in the book at this time. These are much smaller writeups left on the cutting room floor that I did not want to go to waste! Anyone who has not contacted me who is interested in the book, please e-mail me at tlastoria@indiansprospectinsider.com.

Note: The following players who were in last year’s listing are no longer eligible because of the rookie innings pitched or at bat threshold in the major leagues or as otherwise noted in parentheses: Jensen Lewis, Ben Francisco, Aaron Laffey, Eddie Mujica, Ryan Mulhern (trade), Sean Smith (trade), Luis Perdomo (trade), Jeff Stevens (trade), Brad Snyder (waivers), Reid Santos (waivers), Brian Slocum (waivers), J.D. Martin (free agency), and Matt Whitney (free agency). Michael Aubrey will also fall under this listing (waivers) if he does not clear waivers.

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