Cleveland Sports Forum

Yep, the rosters are there. Immediately notable:

Only a small number of the Arizona League stars are on the full season LC roster as BA had predicted. Just 1st round pick catcher Bo Naylor and older OF Ruben Cardenas. Brady Aiken is supposedly pitching for the Captains, we'll see. Scrapper stars SS Tyler Freeman and RHP Luis Oviedo also join Lake County. Also 2b Jose Fermin. I was hoping McCarthy would be pitching for Lynchburg, but not yet.

On Lynchburg, Juan Hillman finally graduates from the Captains; in the rotation with him will be Eli Morgan, Juan Carlos Mejia, Justin Garza. Nolan Jones returns to Lynchburg, I suppose until the all star break; joined by 2108 draftee Steven Kwan in the OF, Oscar Gonzalez and my failed breakout guy from last year Austen Wade, also in the OF. Waskamatsu the SS

Akron rotation will feature possible prospects Zach Plesac and returnee Sean Brady; real prospect Sam Hentges. Aaron Civale must be hurt, he's not on anyone's roster. Darned. End of the line apparently for Sicnarf, he's not showing anywhere either. Ernie Clement in the Ducks IF along with returnee Krieger. No Nellie Rodriguez anywhere, he's played himself to oblivion [or the Independent leagues]. Yep, there's in the OF with returnees Calica, Tom and Marabell and newly acquired prospect Johnson.

Columbus rotation will include J.Rodriguez, Anderson, Chiang I guess. Otherwise looks like a lot of relievers. Bradley Chang and Mathias in the infield. OF includes Mercado, Carlos Gonzalez whenever he's ready to go and some other uninteresting talent.

Hard to be especially impressed with any of these rosters. Perhaps a majority of our top prospects aren't leaving Arizona as the seasons open. Not yet in action include: Hankins and Torres as well as Civale; Valera and Rocchio.
Captains with 3 of our top 10: Tyler Freeman, Bo Naylor and Luis Oviedo
Hillcats have only Jones
RubberDucks: Hentges alone with McKenzie recovers
Clippers Chang and Bradley.

Civ, you may have to try to go to a few games this year. Looks like a fun team.

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Seven top prospects, three first-rounders highlight Captains Opening Day Roster

Freeman and Naylor headline youth-driven Lake County club

By Lake County Captains | March 30, 2019 9:03 AM

(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains, Class-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, have announced their expected 2019 Opening Day roster. The Captains will open the season with seven players who rank among the top 30 Indians prospects, according to MLB.com, five of whom are still teenagers. Lake County will also include three first round picks.

Top Prospects
Seven top prospects are expected to headline the Captains' roster on Opening Day: SS/2B Tyler Freeman (#3), C Bo Naylor (#4), RHP Luis Oviedo (#8), 2B/SS Jose Fermin (#23), OF Will Benson (#25), OF Quentin Holmes (#27) and SS Marcos Gonzalez (#28). Freeman, Naylor, Oviedo, Holmes and Gonzalez are all still 19 years old. Fermin and Benson are still 20 years old.

Freeman: The 19-year old middle infielder was the 71st overall selection in the 2017 draft, selected by Cleveland in the Competitive Balance Round B that year. Freeman was an All-Star with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers last year and won the New York-Penn League batting title with a .352 average. Defensively, he played 52 games at shortstop and 10 games at second base last season.

Naylor: The Indians made Naylor, a catcher from Mississauga, ON, their first round pick last year (29th overall). Recognized as "one of the best pure hitters among high schoolers in the 2018 Draft" by MLB.com, the left-handed hitting Naylor made his pro debut in the Arizona League last year and.274/.381/.402 as an 18-year old. His older brother, Josh, was also selected in the first round back in 2015 by the Marlins.

Oviedo: Oviedo returns to Lake County after a brief, two-game cameo at the end of last season. Prior to that, the Venezuelan right-hander tore up the New York-Penn League with a 1.88 ERA and 61 strikeouts against just 10 walks. Oviedo also set a new Scrappers single-game strikeout record with 12 punch-outs against the West Virginia Black bears on June 28.

Fermin: Another youthful middle infielder, the 20-year old Fermin ranked among the league leaders in several offensive categories last year. He posted the league's lowest strikeout rate (8%), finished second in walks (39) and owned the fourth-best on base percentage (.391). Fermin played 37 games at second base last year, 22 at shortstop and four at third base.

Benson: Cleveland's first round pick in 2016 (14th overall) returns to Lake County for the second season after leading the Midwest League with 22 homers last year. The 2018 Midseason All-Star also finished second in the league's home run derby and ended the year with the third-most walks in the circuit (82).

Holmes: The Indians made Holmes, a known speedster, their first selection in the 2017 MLB Draft (2nd round, 64th overall). The right-handed hitting outfielder has been awarded "80-grade" speed, the highest grade possible on the 20-80 scouting scale, and he was regarded as the fastest player available in his draft class. Holmes missed most of last season due to injury, but has played in 48 games in the Arizona League across 2017-18, his first two pro seasons.

Gonzalez: Gonzalez may be just 19, but already has two professional seasons under his belt. After signing with the Indians in 2016, the shortstop made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2017 and made the jump to the Arizona League last year. Last season, the youngster hit .305/.397/.458, all of which were improvements from his 2017 numbers.

First Round Picks
Lake County's Opening Day roster features three of the Indians' recent first-round selections. In addition to Benson (2016) and Naylor (2018), LHP Brady Aiken (2015) will return to the Captains after pitching for Lake County in 2017. The 22-year old southpaw is not only a former first-round pick, but a former first overall selection. Aiken was originally drafted with the #1 pick by the Houston Astros in 2014, but did not sign. The Indians then selected Aiken in the first round the following year (17th overall). Aiken pitched in 2017 for the Captains, but did not play for a minor league club last year. He went 5-13 with a 4.89 ERA for Lake County two years ago.

Pitching Staff
The Captains' pitching staff features 13 arms, including seven who will be returning to Lake County: Aiken, Oviedo, RHP Manuel Alvarez , LHP Skylar Arias , RHP Dakody Clemmer , LHP Zack Draper , and RHP Thomas Ponticelli . The remaining six pitchers will be newcomers to the Captains: LHP Raymond Burgos , LHP Eli Lingos , RHP Shane McCarthy , RHP Juan Mota , RHP Aaron Pinto and RHP Alex Royalty .

Catchers
As the Indians' first-round selection last year and Cleveland's #4 prospect, the 19-year old Naylor headlines the Captains' trio of catchers. He'll be joined by one backstops who returns to Lake County and one newcomer. Josh Rolette played in 56 games for the Captains last yea and hit .253/.360/.388. Angel Lopez played most of last year with Mahoning Valley and had a six-game cameo with High-A Lynchburg.

Infielders
Lake County's infield features three top 30 prospects in Fermin, Freeman and Gonzalez, all of whom are under 21 years old. The Captains will also welcome back two members of last year's team in Jesse Berardi and Ulysses Cantu . Berardi played in 69 games for Lake County in 2018 and hit .234/.290/.333, while playing second base and shortstop. Cantu began last season as the Captains' starting first baseman. The now-20-year old held that role until early July, when an injury caused him to miss the rest of the season.

Outfielders
Hosea Nelson , Mitch Reeves and Ruben Cardenas round out the Captains' outfield core with top prospects Benson and Holmes. Nelson delivered a breakout 2018 season with Mahoning Valley, earning New York-Penn League All-Star honors and winning the league's July Player of the Month Award. Reeves returns to Lake County after finishing 2018 with the Captains. Prior to his 12-game stint in the Midwest League, Reeves hit .274/.349/.384 with Mahoning Valley, playing both outfield and first base. Cardenas began his pro career last year after the Indians drafted him out of Cal State Fullerton in the 16th round. He played 37 games in the Arizona League and five with Mahoning Valley, hitting a combined .308/.414/.455 with 15 doubles.

The Captains open their 2019 season at home on Thursday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. against the Great Lakes Loons, Class-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Individual game tickets, affordable ticket packages and group outings are available for purchase now. More information may be found at www.Captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467).

Roster Breakdown
Top 30 Prospects: 7
1st-Round Picks: 3
Competitive Balance Round & 2nd-Round Picks: 2
19-year olds: 5
20-year olds: 4
Returning: 12
Newcomers: 14
Right-handed pitchers: 8
Left-handed pitchers: 5
Catchers: 3
Infielders: 5
Outfielders: 5

Pivotal year probably for Benson who's returning to the Captains and needs to get his average up to something reasonable.
Surprised that Quentin Holmes is going to be joining him. He's hardly played at all since he was drafted and could be a worse hitter than Benson.
Oviedo and Naylor and Freeman all had very good 2018s. And interested to see Marcos Gonzalez here too, expected him in short season.

Yes, that's a very interesting group of prospects to follow.

Bad news to report:

Sicnarf is on no roster. Back to Aruba or perhaps to the Indy Leagues. His name could sell a few tickets I guess.

BA has begun its' daily prospect reports. Since none of our top 30 are in the majors we're not yet included. Although it is hard to imagine that a potential rookie of the year like Eric Stamets doesn't rate attention. OPs 100, K's less than half his at bats. Could be ready for a breakout any day now.

Looking at rosters at speculating on lineups, I'll start with Lake County as suggested.

They could be starting 4 teenagers if Marcos Gonzalez shifts to 3rd [no other 3B listed] and Holmes gets the start in CF. th only above 21 year olds among IF and OF are Berardi who'll play utility IF, Hosea Nelson who hit well for MHV and old man Mitch Reeves at 24 who'll backup at 1b and dh.
Not sure which pitchers are the starters, other than Oviedo. Will Aiken be back in the rotation? Last year's draftee Alex Royalty who started a few games at MV before an injury. Zach Draper, Shane McCarthy and Raymond Burgos [a 6-5 lefty] are candidates, too.

How about this possible lineup:
Fermin 2b
Freeman ss
Cardenas lf
Benson rf
Nelson dh
Naylor c
Cantu 1b
Gonzalez 3b
Holmes cf
Oviedo P

Not nearly such an interesting collection in Lynchburg. Nolan Jones the youngest at 20; Oscar Gonzalez 21. Wakamatsu now 22 has been slowed by injuries. 2018 draftee Steven Kwan Jodd Carter and one of my former breakout guys Austen Wade in the OF are 22. Gavin Collins is back catching at age 23. No 1B on the roster, I guess some of the OF or extra C will fit in the there.

Rotation? Morgan, Mejia, Hillman, Garza. Kirk McCarty is not here or anywhere, must be injuired, I liked him.

Lineup??

Kwan CF
Wade RF
Jones 3B
Carter DH
Gonzalez LF
Collins C
Brooks 1b?
Wakamatsu SS
Persinger 2b
Eli Morgan P

Not an all a young group in Akron. Of position players Ernie Clement, A. Pantoja and Daniel Johnson are the only 23 year olds. No one is 21 or 22. A lot of pretty decent but probably not major league OFs in Longo, Marabell, Tom and Calica.
Logan Ice and Daniel Salters and Chu are back behind the plate, ages 24-26

youngest guy on the team is Sam Hentges, 22 year old LHP. Other starters are retunees Sean Brady and 27 year old Paulson, 24 year old Zach Plesac and perhaps Tanner Tully who did not have a good 2018.

Not much reason to drive to Akron unless Hentges is pitching.


Opening day could be??
ss Clement
rf Johnson
cf Tom
lf Marabell
1b Garcia
dh Longo
c Ice
3b Krieger
2b Pantoja
P Hentges

Indians Prospective
Some injury updates:

Plutko - Forearm
Sandlin - Forearm
Perez - Elbow
Vasquez - Shoulder

I had read about Plutko. I was hoping Sandlin was on the fast track to Cleveland. Which Perez is this?

What about Aaron Civale? He's not listed anywhere. Seen anything about his condition?

BA prepares for the season with a list of 24 potential breakout minor leaguers who could vault onto the overall top 100 and the first man child on the list is:''

Brayan Rocchio, SS, Indians: "The Professor" has a short, fluid swing from both sides of the plate with excellent bat control and a strong sense of the strike zone. He has a knack for being in the right place at the right time in the field, giving him a chance to be a high OBP middle infielder.

and 4th is:
George Valera, OF, Indians: Valera's swing looks like Robinson Cano's swing and Carlos Gonzalez's swing had a baby. Injuries basically wiped out Valera's 2018 debut, but he could show why he was one of the top pure hitters on the international market two years ago.

Francisco is the Perez currently injured.

I have not heard a word on Civale. I just went and did a search for news on him and couldn't find a word. I'm sure @indiansPro will have some info soon.

thanks for the efforts!

have you read any comments on how Aiken may have looked in spring games? Not sure why I care but he certainly was a great prospect several years ago

for those of us who still play that game, we should have our "breakout" guys chosen before the first pitches are thrown tomorrow. I haven't given it much thought bu maybe I'll try a do-over on Austen Wade? Thinking about Burgos as my pitcher, but need to read up some more.