Indians: 4 minor league players who could be future All-Stars
By Chad Porto
SS Tyler Freeman (AA) – 22 years old
2021 stats: 36 G, 147 AB, 2 HR, 19 RBI, .327/.367/.469
Depending on who you ask Tyler Freeman is either the second or third best prospect in the Indians minor leagues. MLB.com has him at number two, just ahead of George Valera and Bo Naylor, while Prospects1500.com has him at number three, just behind Valera. Now, Valera and Naylor are good talents to watch, but neither is blowing people away offensively at the moment, hence why neither made the list. They could be special, or they could fail to get to the Majors. There are no promises in baseball.
Freeman is a great hitter and is showing that in the 2021 season. He should be moved up before too long to Triple-A, and then we’ll see what he can really do. His career numbers in the minors are fantastic, with his batting average, on-base, and slugging being right where you’d want it to be for a middle-infielder; .320/.378/.445.
Plus, he’s starting to hit more for power over the last year.
What he needs to work on: While just slightly, improving his defense would be great. He may or may not be a 20-home run guy at the majors and there’s little you can do to make that happen. Yet, defensively, he tends to throw a few too many errors. Again, to reiterate, he’s a good defensively infielder. He could be great though with some more work.
He had 15 errors in 57 games in Lake County and 19 errors and he has four at shortstop in just 22 games with the Akron Rubber Ducks. Those are relatively high for a guy who has the potential to be a Gold Glover. Again, not high for an average defensive player but Freeman could be one of the best all-around great players on the Indians.