5 Cleveland Indians whose stocks are up during Summer Camp
It’s not the exhibition season we were expecting from the Cleveland Indians, but it’s the one we’ve got, as Summer Camp is a love at well at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.
Not much is normal in these uncertain times, but having the Boys of Summer playing some kind of baseball has been a welcome reprieve from the realities of COVID-19 pandemic. Whether the season actually gets played and a champ is crowned remains unknown, but baseball is better than no baseball, so we’re rolling with it.
When the first pitched is thrown on July 24, the Tribe will have started its 72nd season since last winning the World Series championship in 1948. With the season being so short, anything can happen in 2020, so perhaps the Tribe catches a few breaks.
On paper, the offense and starting pitching should be good enough, but questions loom over the bullpen, particularly in the back end.
And while we’re anxious to see the big names this season, there’s some younger players to make their mark, while others are trying to re-establish their big-league careers.
Here’s a look at five Indians stocks that have gone up during Summer Camp.
Yu Chang
The sun will rise in the east and Yu Chang will hit a home run. That’s been true during Summer Camp, as Chang blasted his sixth bomb of the preseason off Mike Clevinger July 15.
Chang was sitting 3-0, and Clevinger knew what was coming, via Cleveland.com.
"“Is Yu Chang Babe Ruth?” Clevinger asked reporters on a Zoom call after the game. “When he got to 3-0 he was smiling. I knew he was going to swing.”"
Before Clevinger, Chang took the following hurlers yard: Carlos Carrasco (twice), Zach Plesac, Shane Bieber and Scott Moss.
Chang was a part of the proposed 2016 trade, which would’ve made Jonathan Lucroy an Indian. Thankfully it didn’t work out.
If Chang’s going to have a role on the 2020 roster, it will be that of a utility man, and that’s OK. There’s no minor league to go to, so why not keep him around. The Indians have used him at third, shortstop and second base.
He’ll turn 25 in August and even if there were minor league baseball, he’d have nothing let to prove. Even if he doesn’t turn into a regular this season, it’d be a good bet to see him start at short or second, depending on what the Tribe does with Francisco Lindor this offseason.
While we’re all eagerly anticipating the debut of top prospect , Chang is probably a safety bet to start the 2021 season at shortstop if the Tribe trades Francisco Lindor this winter.
As for the homers, opower is typically an an attribute that comes with age for young ballplayers. That was especially true for for Lindor and Jose Ramirez.
Lindor hit 31 career minor-league homers between 2009-2015. in hist last three big-league seasons, he’s hit 33, 38 and 32, respectively. Ramirez hit 14 minor-league bombs between 2011-2014. He’s gone on to hit 29, 39, 23 in a Indians’ uniform.
Bradley Zimmer
There’s never been any denying Zimmer’s talent. You don’t get to be an organization’s top prospect by being mediocre. It just seems like we’ve been waiting three years for Zimmer to get it at the big-league level.
Now, that many overlooking for the former first-round pick, the outfielder might just come out of nowhere to surprise us all.
Remember, when the Indians trade for Andrew Miller? It’s been reported that the Yankees wanted either Zimmer or Clint Frazier in the trade. Well, the Indians retained Zimmer, so it shows what they thought of the 2014 first rounder.
Injuries have just brutalized Zimmer when it looked like he was on the cusp of breaking out. He’s played just 43 big-league games the past two seasons because of injuries. He got demoted last season, when he was sent to Class AAA Columbus, basically to relearn his swing. It was there that he severely injured his shoulder, costing him a good chunk of the season.
If healthy, he’s the type of center fielder you’d dream up in a lab. He can run like a gazelle and he’ll lay himself out for the touch catch.
But can he hit? It’s only Summer Camp, but he’s looking good and for someone’s whose stock really need a boost, Zimmer is supplying the power.
Cam Hill, RP
The bullpen is the biggest weakness on the team, and the suspension of Emmanuel Clase (PEDs) has only made matters murkier.
That’s why Cam Hill could win himself a role in a position group that sure to grab plenty of attention.
Hill, a 17th-round pick in 2014, looked like he’d be in the big leagues by 2018. However, arm problems and Tommy John surgery intervened.
Hill returned last season, pitching in 28 games across the minors. He went to Spring Training this past spring and earned rave reviews before the pandemic shut everything down. He’s healthy and the Indians say “He’s throwing well,” according to Cleveland.com’s Terry. Pluto.
In his latest outing, Hill pitched the sixth, surrounding a walk but then working out of trouble.
He may not make the roster for Opening Day, but he should appear in a major league at some point in 2020. With a shortened campaign ahead, the Tribe can’t afford to give guys who are struggling time to work things out.
Hill is ready and the Indians have been impressed by him. That pretty much sums it up.
Tyler Naquin, OF
Naquin hasn’t had as much as a layoff as Bradley Zimmer, but like his teammate, he needs to remind the organization as to why he’s a former first-round pick.
Naquin tore his ACL playing the outfield last August, and the injury kept him out as the Indians unsuccessfully tried to hunt down the Twins.
Because of the nature of the injury (nine to 12 months recovery time), Naquin wasn’t ready to participate in Spring Training before baseball shut down.
Now, with life working out the way it has, Naquin is poised to be on the roster from day one, and he certainly doing his best to remind Terry Francona of why he deserving.
He doubled twice July 14, and is now hitting .400 (6-for-15) with one home run. It’s only five intrasquad games, but it beats an alternative of slashing .000 with 10 strikeouts.
Naquin can hit, posting a .288 lifetime mark (.788 OPS) and he’s great shot to make the roster because he can platoon with Jordan Luplow. Against right-handers, Francona may send Naquin into left, Oscar Mercado to center and Franmil Reyes to right.