2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #7 LeVon Washington

LeVon Washington – Outfielder
Born: 07/26/1991 – Height: 5’11” – Weight: 170 – Bats: Left – Throws: Right

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

History: Washington was selected by the Indians in the 2^nd round of the 2010 Draft out of Chipola Junior College (FL). He was originally drafted in the 1^st round of the 2009 Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, but after a tough negotiating process he did not sign. As a senior in 2009 at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, FL he hit .400 (34-for-85) with 7 HR, 19 RBI and 32 runs scored while also stealing 14 bases. He had signed to attend and play ball at the University of Florida, but his SAT was not high enough, which is why he ended up attending junior college. He is from a military family and was born in Guam.

Strengths: Washington is a tremendously athletic, high upside center fielder that has very good natural bat speed and an advanced, disciplined approach to hitting. He has a good left handed swing with great hands and quick wrists that help generate some good raw power where he can pull the ball out of the ballpark and has good gap type carry. With his strong, compact build he has the potential to be a 10-15 home run hitter in the big leagues. He has a spread out stance at the plate where he leans over the plate, and in Instructional League in the fall made the first of many future adjustments to his swing where he brought his hands up and implemented a leg kick into it. He has good contact skills and hitting mechanics with an innate ability to consistently barrel up the ball. He also has excellent hand-eye coordination and good understanding of the strike zone.

Washington grades out as a 70 runner on the 20-80 scouting scale, which makes him a well above average runner. He has been timed at 4.0 to 4.1 down to first base which is well above major league players. He was a second baseman in high school and transitioned to center field last year at Chipola, and the outfield is where the Indians see him sticking. With his speed and ability to cover gaps, track down balls, and go back and come in very well on balls, the Indians feel he has a chance to be an above average center fielder in the future. Last year he was still recovering from shoulder surgery he had after high school, so his arm last year was well below average as he continued to work his way back to full strength. His arm continues to get stronger, and when his full health returns it is expected to be average. He already showed a lot of progress in center field in his short time with the Indians last fall in Instructional League where he displayed significant improvement with better jumps, more speed, and his arm looked stronger. His athleticism, quickness, hitting skills and poor arm have often had him compared to Johnny Damon.

Opportunities: The main focus for Washington this coming season will be to get his arm back to 100% health and to also continue to work on his development as a center fielder. His arm will always be the weakest part of his game and he was noticeably slowed last year by it, but there are doubts in the scouting community that his arm strength will ever return to where he has more than a below average arm. His health is also a concern as in addition to the concerning shoulder issue he had some hamstring issues and injured his hand last year at Chipola which caused him to miss several games. He has to be able to stay on the field as injuries stunt growth and stall prospects. He developed a reputation last year of being a player who lacks a passion for the game by not always running hard and taking off at bats; however, the Indians got to know him a lot and do not believe this will be a problem in the future.  Most of his poor reputation could be chalked up to his 1^st round selection in 2009, not signing, and then having to play junior college ball as opposed to playing in the minor leagues with a sizable signing bonus. His speed did not show as much last year as it did out of high school, and his routing running and jumps in the outfield need more work.

Outlook: Washington is one of the two or three position players in the Indians system that really stands out as a star caliber player in the making. His power and speed combination is exciting to watch, and his raw skills at the plate, on the bases, and in the field make him one heck of an impressive talent to watch grow and hone his craft these next few seasons in the minor leagues. His physical resemblance, leg kick and bust out of the box from the left side is eerily similar to former fan favorite Kenny Lofton, and if he ever becomes anything remotely close to the player Lofton was it obviously will make a lot of fans happy. He has lots of skills you just can’t teach, and if he can get his arm strength back to acceptable levels and develop in center field, he could be a fixture in the big league lineup soon and for a long time. The Indians should be aggressive with him in the early going and assign him to Low-A Lake County to start the 2011 season, and has an outside shot for a late season promotion to High-A Kinston.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2010	18	Chipola	C	41	147	39	48	11	1	8	25	24	20	9	.327	.429	.578	1.007
2010	18	AZL Indians	R	3	9	0	4	0	0	0	3	3	1	1	.444	.583	.444	1.027
		MiLB Totals		3	9	0	4	0	0	0	3	3	1	1	.444	.583	.444	1.028

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