Indians: 3 players who could be called up and break out in 2021
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Indians are going to need to rely on their minor leagues more than ever in 2021 to produce a winning team and these three players could help.
Baseball isn’t like other sports with regards to talent development. In the NFL and NBA, you’re expected to contribute right away, and after only a year or two, you know what you have as a talent. In the NHL, there’s often a several years stint in the minors (AHL) before a player is called up, mostly due to age, but oftentimes a top prospect will go straight to the main club.
Yet in baseball, you could be the best prospect in the world and not see the major leagues for four or five years. It’s a daffy game like that but there’s a reason why it’s like this. Maybe unlike any other sport there is, baseball is a game where the slightest misstep on a throw or flinch of the muscle on a swing could alter the trajectory of the moment. The game is so much more sensitive with respect to mechanics.
As muscle memory is such a difficult thing to embrace and if needed, change, a player with all the talent in the world could take years of development and fine-tuning until he’s ready to be called up. So it’s never easy to predict what a player can do when they’re just a pup. That’s why these three names could be poised to fill holes and step up.
Honorable Mention
C – Bo Naylor
Bo Naylor is the younger brother of Josh Naylor, whom the Indians acquired in the trade for Mike Clevinger. Josh is 23, Bo is only 20 yet is considered a can’t-miss prospect. The issue for why it’s unclear if Bo Naylor will be on the main roster in 2020 is due to his age, and the fact the Indians have Roberto Perez in front of him. Plus, he’s not done developing yet.
The reason why he makes sense is that he’s a great catching prospect with good skills, a solid swing, and some power behind it. Plus, ONLY Perez is ahead of him. The Indians have no backup catcher worth their salt and when the Indians were without Perez for a chunk of 2020, relied on several players who had no business being in the major leagues. Unless someone else in Double-A or Triple-A steps up and warrants a call-up, Bo Naylor could be on the big league roster by summer.