Prospect Report:
Tribal Thumping

David Cameron

Over the past several weeks, the Cleveland Indians have been a one team news-making machine. Beginning with one of the best drafts of any organization in baseball, through the trade of Bartolo Colon (good move), the firing of Charlie Manuel (another good move), and finally team owner Larry Dolan ripping George Steinbrenner in the press (horrible move), Ohio has had the front page of the sports section more than you can shake a stick at. Not that I generally shake a stick at my sports page. Ahem, moving on.

Well, we're jumping on that bandwagon this week, to the chagrin of White Sox fans everywhere. I've had several opportunities to see a good portion of the Indians' best prospects at Burlington and Kinston recently. The lower levels of the Tribe's system have really loaded with some quality talent, and I've been fortunate enough to see most of it in person.

I made a point to see Kinston play on the night Fernando Cabrera took the mound. The 6'4" right-hander is making a name for himself with a mid-90s fastball. For a kid listed at just 20 years of age, that's a pretty rare treat. Seeing as how most media reports will inflate radar speeds 3-5 MPH, I went armed with skepticism.

Cabrera, however, quickly put any doubts about his velocity to rest. He consistently hit 94 on the gun, and I mean consistently. Most pitchers will vary their speeds in a 5 MPH range or so, even with the same pitch. When Cabrera lets loose with a fastball, you're almost assured it's coming in at 94. He'll need to work on taking a little off to throw off the batters' timing, but its easier to take something off than to put a little extra on.

His breaking ball is a big power curve that drops like a hammer. It actually has more slider movement with a hard break down and away from right handers. He doesn't have real good command of it yet, but it can be a real out pitch when he's repeating his delivery well. He also threw a couple of circle changes in the 81 MPH range. It showed some potential, but he still won't throw it unless he's ahead in the count.

He needs to get more aggressive in going after hitters with his fastball. He nibbled a lot, trying to hit the corners. This resulted in him falling behind a lot of hitters and having to come over with a fastball. When he learns to start throwing strikes early in the count, he'll get hitters guessing and can put them away with the slider or change.

The makeup to be a solid pitcher is there, but he's got some work to do. He'd probably do best to spend a full year in both AA and AAA.

The two solid position prospects at Kinston are newly acquired outfielder Grady Sizemore and third baseman Corey Smith. Sizemore came over in the Colon trade, and while Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee have gotten the attention, Sizemore's definitely not just a throw-in.

He's a pretty athletic outfielder, although he doesn't have tremendous range. He's played a lot of centerfield the past two years, but I think his major-league future is in either left or right. There's some question whether he'll hit for enough power to be useful at an offensive position. The important thing to remember with Sizemore is that he doesn't turn 20 until next month.

Right now, he's a solid line-drive hitter with good understanding of the strike zone. He's not lifting the ball much, but that may come later. He's probably not going to be a big-time home-run hitter, but he does enough other things well to be a contributor at the plate. He runs pretty well and could be a stolen base threat in the majors. He reminds me a bit of Darin Erstad, though not quite the defensive player that Darin is.

Smith is also a youngster, having turned 20 in April, and the Indians are moving the former first-round pick up the ladder pretty quickly. Smith has struggled with the strike zone since being drafted, and its easy to see why when you watch him at the plate. He's a real aggressive hitter, swinging at anything he believes he can hit. He's going to have to develop more patience or pitchers are going to continue to get him on breaking balls away as he falls behind in the count. He does sting the ball well though, and its pretty easy to see him hitting for power at the major-league level.

Athletically, he's an obvious talent. He runs well for a kid his size and has a cannon arm from third base. His defense has been questioned in the past, and the 63 errors he's made in the past year-and-a-half haven't helped. He looked shaky in the field the night I saw him, though I've been assured he's been better on other nights. I wasn't overly impressed with his footwork, which cost him when in trying to field balls in the hole. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up as a right fielder at some point, given his speed and strong arm. Sticking with the Angels comparisons, Smith reminded me a bit of Garret Anderson.

Moving down to Burlington, the Indians have put the majority of their newly signed talent in their Appalachian League affiliate. The results, so far, have been mixed.

Matt Whitney, who I interviewed on draft night, is the starting third baseman for Burlington. He's a legit 6'4" and its real easy to see him adding 20-25 pounds as he grows into his body. He's going to be a big guy when he hits his 30's, so he'll have to work hard to stick at the hot corner. He's still a bit raw defensively, but he's got a good arm and some decent hands. Like Smith, his footwork could use some work, but he's just 18, so that's expected.

At the plate, Whitney drives the ball well to all fields with a solid swing. He can really turn on pitches in and punish pitchers when they leave a ball in the middle of the plate. He's a little too aggressive right now, chasing pitches early in the count when he could get better ones by laying off. That's common for a kid his age though. He's a smart kid who is aware of the value of taking a walk, so I wouldn't be surprised if his plate discipline improves as he moves up.

Micah Schilling, who was taken eight picks after Whitney, is manning second base on the Tribe's farm. He's struggling with the adjustment to pro ball, though. He looks a bit like Marcus Giles, and that's not a real good thing defensively. His left-handed bat is going to need to carry him to the majors. So far, he's getting fooled on curveballs and he's chasing too many pitches up in the zone. It's just 54 at-bats though, and he raked in high school, so he's still worth keeping an eye on.

The first night I saw Burlington, they sent third-rounder Dan Cevette to the mound. An 18-year-old lefty, he features a decent curveball that he threw about 40 percent of the time. His command of his fastball was not there and he had to try and rely on the curve for strikes. It didn't work, and he only lasted 2 innings. He doesn't throw hard and he's not real big, so he's going to have to be a command pitcher who lives in the strike zone. He hasn't had the good control he'll need yet. He's a work in progress.

More recently, I saw Sean Smith start for the Tribe. He was actually drafted in 2001, but went to JC and did the draft-and-follow routine. He signed just before this year's draft and got a bonus equal to that of many first-rounders. He threw between 86-90 with his fastball and showed the makings of a decent slow curve. He didn't have his best stuff but was still somewhat effective. He's got a loose, easy throwing motion, so it's not hard to imagine him getting into the 92-93 range as he gets older. Despite his mediocre performance, I walked away impressed.

Burlington also features fourth-round pick Fernando Pacheco. He's listed at 17 but looks like he's 25. He's well-built and is probably limited to first base defensively. He's getting eaten alive by breaking balls and will need to make adjustments.

Right-handerBlake Taylor was a 39th-round pick out of South Carolina, but he's showing some potential as a reliever. He doesn't throw his fastball above 86, but his slider is murder on hitters. He throws it around 80 percent of the time and can put it anywhere he wants. He'll need a complimentary pitch, but he's got an outside shot to make the majors as a reliever.

A few other non-Indians notes before I get out of here...

Twins 6'6" right-handerScott Tyler is one to watch if he can get his command down. Pretty good mechanics and a major-league breaking ball. He's at 92 now, but could probably get to 94 with a smoother release. He leads the league in both walks and strikeouts. He's a project, but he's got some potential.

The Twins also feature slugging first baseman Dusty Gomon, who leads the league in home runs and extra base hits (he's also second in batting average and slugging percentage). He puts a real charge in his swing and has quick hands. He mashed three fastballs when I saw him, so he's got some juice in his bat. We'll see how he adjusts to higher-level pitching.

The Mariners have signed fifth-round pick Kendall Bergdall and he's being assigned to Peoria of the Arizona Rookie League. I generally don't note draft signings, but this isn't being reported anywhere else, so I figure I might as well let you guys know.

about the author

David Cameron had a dream about being eaten alive by breaking balls. Assure him that Area 51 harbors no flesh-eating sports equipment project at dac@strikethree.com.