Following a season wherein the Cleveland Indians farm system was fairly barren, it should be refreshing for Tribe fans to see that shortstop Francisco Lindor and starting pitcher Trevor Bauer are named among the top-20 prospects in all of baseball per MLB.com.
Lindor, 14th overall, slots in right behind the games’ top prospect, Texas’ Jurickson Profar, at the shortstop position. Still multiple years from seeing the big leagues, the 19-year-old Lindor is coming off of a season with the Lake County Captains that featured 24 doubles, 27 stolen bases and 83 runs scored — exceeding expectations at the plate – to go with superb glove work that continues to make the team’s front office salivate.
“His ability speaks for itself,” Atkins told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. “I think the fact that he dealt with some of the ebb and flow of a natural season the first time [was good]. The most games he’d ever played before last year was in the 40s, and last year he played close to 200 if you count the two instructional leagues. It’s really unbelievable.”
Bauer, listed 17th, is likely to crack the big league lineup from Day One, the target of the big offseason trade that involved long-time right fielder Shin-Soo Choo. He went 12-2 with a 2.42 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2012, but had subpar results though his four outings with the Diamondbacks. Earlier this month, Bauer told WFNY that he does not expect to be handed anything in terms of a spot in the starting rotation and that he hopes to capitalize on the opportunity provided.
[Related: Trevor Bauer: Eccentric or just smarter than the rest of us?]
