Cleveland Indians: Non-roster invitees with the most to gain

Which players invited to spring training by the Cleveland Indians must make the most of their opportunities?

The Cleveland Indians announced a handful of their top prospects were extended an invitation to spring training on Thursday. Among the bigger names like Bobby Bradley, there are others coming to camp that will look to make an impression.

There are three in particular from Thursday’s announcement that will come to camp with plenty to prove.

Bobby Bradley, 1B

Might as well start at the top. Bradley is MLB.com’s third-ranked prospect in the entire Indians’ system and the fourth-ranked first base prospect in baseball.

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Bradley hit .251 with 25 doubles, 23 home runs, 89 RBIs and a .796 OPS at Double-A Akron last season, showing off the power potential that made him a third-round pick. Bradley will arrive at camp as the first baseman of the future.

While Yonder Alonso and Edwin Encarnacion are cemented there for the next two years, it’s Bradley’s job to lose starting around 2020. For Bradley, this will be his first chance to go up against major league level pitching.

Needless to say, the jump in arm talent from Akron to the big leagues is a substantial one. If Bradley looks competent against this level of pitching, his stock will surely rise and the Indians will have a clearer picture of the future at the position.

If Bradley struggles, there could be more hypotheticals about Michael Brantley manning the position if he stays in Cleveland or the need to keep grabbing players like Alonso in free agency.

Nellie Rodriguez, 1B

Yes, another first baseman. Rodriguez can hit for some power. Over the last four seasons, he has hit 86 home runs in the minor league system.

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The issue for Rodriguez is that contact is hard to come by as he hit only .170 in Columbus in 2017. At a position where offense is highly valued, that isn’t going to cut it. That said, he was also tied for the team lead in errors with 10 and second in strikeouts with 181, almost twice as many as the third most on the team.

This could be the last shot for Rodriguez to hang onto his role in the organization. He doesn’t register in the top 30 of the organization’s prospects and is poised to have his job taken by the aforementioned Bradley.

There just isn’t enough power to justify the low average and high strikeouts, even in this era of baseball. There are too many options at first base and it would not surprise anyone that without a huge camp, Rodriguez is no longer in the organization.

Richie Shaffer, IF/OF

The former first rounder played all over the field in Columbus last season. He saw action at both corner infield and corner outfield spots.

Shaffer showed plenty of pop at the plate, hitting a team-high 30 home runs and 89 RBI. But, Shaffer batted only .227 with a team-high 188 strikeouts and also committed a team-high 10 errors in the field.

Terry Francona loves versatility in his players. That’s the only explanation for yet another tour of duty for Michael Martinez.

Instead of a veteran like Martinez occupying a spot in the organization, it would be preferable if the Indians could continue to develop a younger player like Shaffer as a do-it-all utility man, especially if he can continue to show some power potential.

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A good 2018 showing in spring training could help Shaffer keep other prospects like Ronny Rodriguez, Eric Stamets, and Yu-Cheng Chang at bay.

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