Indians Top 100 Prospects: #21 Trevor Crowe

21. Trevor Crowe - Outfielder
Born: 11/17/1983 - Height: 6'0" - Weight: 190 - Bats: Switch - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	12	51	9	13	2	1	1	6	6	8	4	.255	.345	.392	.737
	21	Lake County	A	44	178	18	46	8	2	0	23	18	25	7	.258	.327	.326	.653
	21	Akron	AA	3	10	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	.100	.100	.100	.200
2006	22	Lake County	A	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
	22	Kinston	A+	60	219	51	72	15	2	4	31	48	46	29	.329	.449	.470	.919
	22	Akron	AA	39	154	20	36	7	2	1	13	20	24	16	.234	.318	.325	.643
2007	23	Akron	AA	133	518	87	134	26	4	5	50	62	71	28	.259	.341	.353	.694
2008	24	Akron	AA	49	198	45	64	16	2	4	28	27	29	13	.323	.404	.485	.889
		Buffalo	AAA	35	146	25	40	12	2	5	13	15	43	5	.274	.350	.486	.836
		Career		377	1479	256	406	86	15	20	164	196	250	102	.275	.361	.394	.755

History:  The Indians selected Crowe in the 1st round of the 2005 draft out of the University of Arizona.  His junior year in college, Crowe hit .403 with 83 runs scored, 25 doubles, 15 triples, 9 home runs, 27 stolen bases, 54 RBI, and a 1.192 OPS.  He was named the 2005 Pac-10 Conference Baseball Co-Player of the Year and was a Golden Spikes Award Finalist representing the best player in college baseball.  He hit .350 with a .992 OPS as a sophomore, and .316 with a .789 OPS as a freshman. 

Strengths & Opportunities:  Crowe has the ability to hit for average with some pop, but his biggest strength is his very good plate discipline and pitch recognition skills.  He has a very good approach at the plate, and is a student of the game that understands his skill set as a player.  He has a very advanced bat, which allowed him to be moved quickly through the lower levels of the farm system.  He has a contagious swagger, and is a very high energy and explosive player who has an engine that never stops.  The Indians feel he will hit for more power in the future, and prior to nixing the second-base move in 2006 felt his best comp as a major leaguer was Brian Roberts of the Orioles.  Even as an outfielder, Roberts is exactly the offensive player the Indians envision Crowe being if he reaches his ceiling.  His approach makes him a potential leadoff or two-hole hitter for the Indians down the road. 

Crowe has been a hot and cold player during his time with the Indians.  In 2006, after a sensational Kinston campaign the first half of the season where he hit .330 with a .924 OPS in 60 games, he only hit .234 with a .643 in 39 games with Akron the second half of the season.  In 2007 he hit .212 with a .566 OPS up until the start of July, and then from July 1st on hit .310 with an .838 OPS.  In 2008 he hit .400 (42-for-105) with 10 doubles, 4 home runs and 24 RBI in 25 June games, but the rest of the time hit .259 with a mid-.700 OPS.  Crowe has yet to put it together for a full season, although injuries have been most to blame.  In 2005, he was hampered with a few nagging injuries, in 2006 he missed parts of the season on the disabled list for a strained oblique and ankle sprain, and in 2008 he missed 35 games the first two months of the season with a herniated disc in his back that had been bothering him since spring training and missed about two weeks in July again with an injury to a muscle in his rib cage area. 

Defensively, Crowe grades out as an average center fielder with a fringe above average arm.  While Crowe has good speed, he really does not have the quickness or range to play center field in the big leagues which will push him to left field.  The Indians have moved him around the last two years among all three spots in the outfield in order to get him ready for a major league opportunity where he likely breaks in as a fourth outfielder.  He is such a good athlete and hard worker, and has shown he can play all three outfield positions very well.  Going forward, the focus will be on him becoming more defensively sound at the corner outfield positions, improve his base-running, and keep putting up quality at bats.  The Indians still want to see him continue to shore up his approach from the right side of the plate, and he needs to show more consistency by not being such a streaky hitter. 

Outlook: With the Indians trade of outfielder Franklin Gutierrez to the Mariners in the offseason, the door has been opened for Crowe to be a part of the big league team sometime during the 2009 season.   Since he is already on the 40-man roster, Crowe will be the first outfielder the Indians call upon if a need arises, even before Michael Brantley or Matt LaPorta.  He will open the season in the outfield at Triple-A Columbus, but an injury to any of the outfielders in Cleveland this spring could see him break camp with Cleveland. 

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr 

Trevor Crowe MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page 

Trevor Crowe Baseball-Reference page 

Trevor Crowe MinorLeagueSplits.com page 

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