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5 Cleveland Indians prospects who deserve a promotion

By Eric Pitcher

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 11: General stadium shot of Progressive field during the Cleveland Indians home opening game against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field on April 11, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the White Sox 2-1 in the 10th inning. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 11: General stadium shot of Progressive field during the Cleveland Indians home opening game against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field on April 11, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the White Sox 2-1 in the 10th inning. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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MIAMI, FL – APRIL 01: Members of the grounds crew clean the pitcher’s rubber before a game between the Miami Marlins and the New York Yankees at Marlins Park on April 1, 2012 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – APRIL 01: Members of the grounds crew clean the pitcher’s rubber before a game between the Miami Marlins and the New York Yankees at Marlins Park on April 1, 2012 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

1. Triston Mckenzie, Lynchburg Hillcats

Triston Mckenzie is the second best prospect the Indians have in their organization.

He is also the prospect who is the most deserving of a promotion.

Mckenzie leads all of minor league baseball in strikeouts with 140. That is 26 more than the next closest in Single-A.  43 more than the double- leader and 8 more than the leader of triple-A.

Mckenzie is also second in single-A in wins with 9. He is third in WHIP, and 6th in ERA.

Does the front office need anymore convincing? Mckenzie is running right through batters in Single-A.

Along with Francisco Mejia, Mckenzie was also selected to participate in the Sirius XM All-Star Futures game. Mckenzie only faced one batter but was able to get him to pop up to center. He was also selected to be a Carolina League All-Star and has been named pitcher of the week twice.

Mckenzie could be a huge addition to the Akron Rubberducks pitching staff who is second to last when it comes to ERA, strikeouts and last in innings pitched.

The only concern (which isn’t a concern) for Mckenzie is his velocity. Mckenzie is averaging 94 MPH on that fastball and can follow that up with a devastating curveball. 94 MPH is a good fastball, but there is not telling where Mckenzie’s fastball could end up.

Next: A Defense of Bryan Shaw

He is 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, in case it wasn’t mentioned. Mckenzie is also only 19 years old. Since he is so tall he is throwing everything on a downhill plane. With excellent control for a teenager, we should see Mckenzie in Akron anytime now.

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