Cleveland Indians: Prospects Making Most of Spring Training

Some of the best Cleveland Indians prospects are making noise in Spring Training!

There isn’t a Cleveland Indians fan that isn’t aware of Bradley Zimmer or Francisco Meija as top prospects attending big league camp for the first time. But other than the big name prospects and talented newcomers like Edwin Encarnacion, there are others that have been making a strong statement in Goodyear, Arizona.

Erik Gonzalez is one of the top infield prospects for the Indians this year and along with Yandy Diaz is competing for a role as a utility player. While he is unlikely to make the big league club in order to play everyday, no one has told him that, apparently.

According to baseball-reference.com, through six games and 14 at bats, Gonzalez has six hits for a .429 average. Even better are the six RBI’s, a triple, and a home run to earn a 1.214 OPS.

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Eric Stamets is another infielder of note in camp. While slated to break in at AAA Columbus, he is a good infielder that has risen a bit in the last couple of years.

According to baseball-reference.com, Stamets has three hits in 11 at bats to go along with three doubles and three RBI. He doesn’t have a ton of home run potential, but depth along the infield is never a bad thing.

The player the two aforementioned prospects are trying to replace, Michael Martinez, has been tearing it up for Terry Francona. According to player-reference.com, he has six hits in 15 at bats with four RBI and a home run.

The light hitting utility man has been a source of frustration for most Tribe fans. Yet, he’s doing everything he can to avoid getting pushed off the 25 man roster.

And then there’s Giovanny Urshela. Talk about frustration. Urshela’s glove has never been in question as the pairing of him and Francisco Lindor on the left side of the infield led to one of the greatest defensive turnarounds in club history back in 2015.

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Injuries have limited Urshela’s bat and his appearances in all of 2016, but Urshela has been solid all camp. According to player-reference.com, he’s got four hits in 10 at bats, four RBI, and a home run thus far in Goodyear.

It’s no secret that the doomsday scenario for the Indians is losing Jose Ramirez, so Urshela’s positive performance in spring training is a cause of optimism.

Even though Zimmer was specifically called out as someone we wouldn’t discuss, we really do have to. According to player-reference.com, Zimmer has five hits in 16 at bats and his production has been off the charts.

He leads the team with seven RBI, including a five RBI performance in the very first game of the season. His two home runs also leads the club.

With Clint Frazier traded as part of the package to acquire Andrew Miller, Zimmer is the highest ceiling prospect in the organization. His all around performance in camp is proving that opinion out.

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Zimmer won’t see Cleveland if everything goes according to plan. That said, it’s crucial for Zimmer to produce without the high strikeout rate. So far, Zimmer has been making quite the impression.

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