Magic In Minnesota, Twins Get Swept

The Indians got back to winning ways on the road, winning their first series since the opening week in Texas. A heavy dose of rain on Wednesday night reduced the four game set in Minnesota to just three games and Cleveland emerged victorious in each one, sweeping the Twins to take their overall record to 8-7.

Here's some talking points from the Tribe's trip to Target Field.

Back Of The Rotation Getting The Job Done

The Indians sent their three, four and five guys to the mound over the course of this series and each pitcher performed well, picking up the win in their respective game.

Danny Salazar got the series started on Monday and shut down the Twins over 6 innings of work. He allowed 7 hits, 2 walks and 1 earned run, whilst striking out 7. It was his best start of this early season and Bryan Shaw, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen combined to earn Salazar his first win, and seal a 3-1 victory for Cleveland.

Josh Tomlin, who was awful in his first couple of starts, also put in his best performance of the season so far. Tomlin was gifted a 3-0 lead by the time he walked out to the mound but proceeded to give 2 runs right back on a Max Kepler sac-fly and a Robbie Grossman double. Just as everyone was about to panic, Tomlin settled down and only gave up one more run, another sac-fly in the fourth inning. Overall Tomlin was effective, lasting 6 innings with 7 hits surrendered for 3 earned runs with 2 strikeouts for good measure. The offense backed him and he also picked up his first win, in a 11-4 Indians blowout. It must be his new haircut.

In the third and final game Trevor Bauer took the ball for the Indians and guess what, he pitched his best game of the season too! Similar to Tomlin, Bauer had also lost his previous two starts but despite the cold and damp conditions he pitched well, lasting 6.1 innings. He gave up just 3 hits but walked 3 as well, for 2 earned runs, and he struck out 7 batters as well. Credit must go to Bauer for working his way out of a sticky fourth inning. After a slip on the mound that resulted in a balk to open the scoring, Bauer got out of a bases loaded situation and avoided the big inning that might have lost this game. Fortunately the Tribe offense picked him up later in the seventh inning and Shaw, Miller and Allen did their thing again to seal the sweep and give Bauer the win.

It's a big positive for any ballclub when your back of the rotation guys can all produce quality starts that keep your team in the game. Fortunately for Salazar, Bauer and Tomlin, the offense was there to capitalise on Minnesota's less-than-stellar pitching staff and get the win each time out. I'm still not convinced Tomlin will be in the rotation all year long, especially when Mike Clevinger is forcing the issue down in Columbus.

The Kipnis Predicament

Rumor has it that Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is ready to return from his strained right rotator cuff injury. Kipnis opened the year on the disabled list after experiencing some discomfort in his shoulder and the club rightfully took precautions. Now Kipnis is back to full health and could feature this weekend against the White Sox in his native Chicago, maybe even as early as tonight.

This creates a roster problem for Terry Francona and co. Who makes room for Kipnis' return?

The likely choice will be Yandy Diaz. The young Cuban who took spring training by storm hasn't managed to produce those sort of numbers thus far in his first taste of the big leagues but he's been surprisingly good with the glove. Diaz is slashing just .236/.295/.255 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 2 RBI and 5 walks to 14 strikeouts and has just one extra-base hit so far, a double. He's featured almost every day at third base but hasn't made the most of the plate appearances he's had.

Nevertheless, with Kipnis set to resume his duties at second base, that means Jose Ramirez will slide back over to third base. Ramirez has been red hot to start the season, slashing .345/.415/.618 with a 1.034 OPS, plus 4 home runs and 16 RBI, with 8 walks (and just 8 strikeouts.) At this stage in Diaz's development, it wouldn't be beneficial for him to ride the bench and just fill in on Ramirez's days off. The sensible option would be to demote Diaz to Columbus and keep him playing everyday.

The only other option would be to keep Diaz on the roster and continue to use him as an outfielder, a position he's very familiar with. But I can't see this happening honestly. The Indians are committed to developing Diaz at third base and after all this early season effort, what would be the point in pushing Diaz back to a corner outfield spot? Also, the Tribe are stacked with outfielders at the moment, so much so that Tyler Naquin was dropped to Columbus only recently when Lonnie Chisenhall returned from the DL. If the Indians decide to continue carrying Diaz, they'll have to drop Abraham Almonte or Austin Jackson. Jackson in particular is unlikely to be demoted as the Indians would have to risk losing him entirely through waivers, something I don't think they'll even contemplate at the moment.

I'm sure we'll see Diaz again in 2017 but for the time being, Columbus will almost certainly be his new home for the foreseeable future.

Player Of The Series

There is always a host of candidates for this award when a sweep is involved but the lucky winner this time is Cody Allen. The right-handed 28 year-old closer featured twice against the Twins, recording his 3rd overall save of 2017 in Monday's win, and he pitched a scoreless ninth inning on Thursday as well. Allen made Indians fans sweat on Monday however, giving up 2 hits and a walk before finally ending the inning for the save. Allen loves to turn his save opportunities into a spectacle but thankfully more times than not he gets the result we all want. He is one of the best relief pitchers in baseball after all.

The Indians now travel to the south side of Chicago to take on the White Sox in a three game series, their second match-up of the season. Both teams will send their respective aces to the mound tonight, as the Tribe's Corey Kluber will faceoff against Chicago's Jose Quintana. Cleveland will be keen to continue their recent form against AL Central opposition and pad their lead at the top of the division.

Thanks for reading.

Death By Diamondback: Tribe Swept

After sweeping Texas to open the season, the Indians received a reality check against Arizona in their first inter-league series of 2017, with the hosts taking all three games to sweep the series. The D-Backs are off to a scorching start and have raced out to an early 6-1 record. Sadly the Tribe couldn't string together key hits when it mattered most and now sit at 3-3, dampening some of our early excitement after the sweep of the Rangers.

(Un)Stuck In The Middle

Arizona's success in this series largely came from their ability to feast on Indians pitching in the middle innings, consistently putting Cleveland in a hole each night that they were unable to crawl out of. The first game of the series saw the hosts unload on Josh Tomlin, despite the Tribe gifting the Texan an early 3-0 lead. Tomlin was pitching well until the fourth inning, when the D-Backs capitalised on seeing Tomlin's stuff for the third and fateful time. The right-hander got pounded for 6 runs on 7 hits and never made it out of the fifth. Cleveland couldn't recover and dropped game one, their first loss of the year.

Trevor Bauer experienced much of the same in game two. Cleveland took an early lead in the fourth inning but Arizona replied in the fifth, then took the lead in the next inning thanks to a David Peralta solo home run. Up to that point Bauer was actually holding his own in his duel with Zack Greinke but soon the D-Backs broke the game open. When Bauer departed, Bryan Shaw entered the game but could only surrender stinging extra-base hits to push Arizona's lead to 5-1. In the eighth inning reliever Shawn Armstrong was absolutely torn apart in his 1 inning of work: 5 hits and 2 walks for 5 earned runs. The Tribe lost 11-2.

Corey Kluber was the Indians' last hope to salvage something from the series but even he couldn't halt this rampaging Arizona lineup. Kluber battled, giving up 2 runs in the fourth inning, but he lasted 6 frames before departing, giving up a total of 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 1 walk and he struck out 4. The Indians tried to rally late on, scoring a single run in seventh and ninth inning but couldn't come back all the way, eventually losing 3-2.

Leaving Runners On Base Is Bad

The Indians' pitching wasn't great in this series but the offense didn't offer them much support either. Over the course of the three game series the Indians left a total of 48 runners on base.

48!

15 in the first game, 12 in the second, and a whopping 21 in last night's close loss. Every game was relatively close until Arizona broke them open in the middle innings, but then we enter a game of what-if: what if just one or two Indians' hits evaded the D-Backs' gloves or found their way out of the infield? It's completely pointless to pull on this thread now and I'm not going to do it. The Indians didn't get their key hits and they lost - it's time to move on to the next one.

Player Of The Series

Last week I had so many candidates to choose from but this time I'm having difficulty choosing just one. I'm going to opt for Yandy Diaz and his improving defense at the hot corner. The club had questions about whether Diaz could handle third base and this was partly why the Cuban was left off the expanded roster last September. There were still questions being asked this spring but Diaz has done everything possible to prove himself at the position and is looking more and more comfortable each game. He made a sharp play in Texas last week and pulled off a beautiful bare-handed play in this series, a real highlight. So far Yandy's bat hasn't been quite as hot as it was in spring training, not yet anyway, but I've enjoyed seeing his progress defensively so he gets the award for this series.

The Indians have an off-day today before their home opener tomorrow against the Chicago White Sox at 4:10pm ET. The Sox will send James Shields to the mound and Carlos Carrasco will go for the Indians. There's a possibility Lonnie Chisenhall could be activated off the disabled list and return for the Tribe as well. Hopefully the Indians can channel the positivity of the home opener into results on the field and get back to winning ways against our division rivals.

Thanks for reading.

Yandy Diaz Makes Opening Day Roster

Yandy Diaz, the Indians' 25 year-old Cuban infielder, has been on an absolute tear this spring and he has been rewarded for his hard work with a position on the Opening Day roster, which was made official yesterday. With a roster spot looking unlikely when players reported for spring training, Diaz appeared just happy to be part of it all. When the news broke that second baseman Jason Kipnis would miss the first few weeks of the 2017 season, current third baseman Jose Ramirez was almost instantly lined up to fill in. This opened the gates for the rest of the Tribe's infielders to compete for the suddenly vacant slot at third and it was Mr Diaz who was announced the winner, and deservedly so.

Most outsiders would have thought with the Indians possessing such a strong pitching staff, the safe choice would have been to opt for the best defensive third baseman, which would be Giovanny Urshela. The 25 year-old Colombian is the unanimous pick when you consider his glove, but it's been his hitting in the past that has held him back. In his defense Urshela hasn't been bad with the bat this spring but he hasn't had quite the same impact as Diaz either.

Diaz doesn't have the experience Urshela has at third base but he's been putting in a lot of work at the hot corner over the last year or so, with some time spent in the outfield as well. Manager Terry Francona has acknowledged that Diaz's defense isn't the finished article but his bat is likely to compensate for any deficiencies he may have in the field.

Despite battling a groin injury, Diaz has slashed .444/.537/.667 (BA/OBP/SLG) for a staggering 1.204 OPS over 19 Cactus League games. He has clubbed 2 homers and 14 RBI, with 8 walks and a solo stolen base for good measure. Offensively, he's been the best Indians hitter this spring and has impressed everyone in the organisation. They say you should never get too worked up over spring training numbers but in Diaz's case, what more could he have done to force his case?

Francona said it himself yesterday; "We've all seen guys who have hit in spring training. But if you look at Yandy last year ... at the end of the season we were trying to figure out a place for his bat. That's why he was going to the outfield... So this isn't a kid who has 45 at-bats and has never hit. He's been a good hitter and he's becoming a better hitter. There are no guarantees that somebody gets hits the first week of the season. We know that, but he sure looks like a good hitter."

Last season Diaz was a revelation and quickly rose up through the prospect rankings. The 2016 International League Rookie of the Year spent time at Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus, slashing a combined .318/.408/.446 between the two levels. Diaz drew 71 walks compared to 86 strikeouts in 2016, and has 198 walks to 191 strikeouts for his entire career thus far, an impressive ratio. He continued his remarkable form over the winter, batting .371 in 40 games for Caracas in Venezuela.

I'm not expecting Diaz to light up the league right away but with Urshela starting the season in Columbus, Yandy should get the chance to start games more often than not. Until Kipnis returns from injury to resume his second base duties, Diaz's only threat for playing time will be Michael Martinez (who I don't envision getting many starts, especially not at third base) and Jose Ramirez (only on days where someone else is spelling him at second.)

Hopefully Yandy can remember to pack his hot bat with him when the Indians depart Arizona. His hitting statistics in his short professional career thus far have been sensational so theoretically his skill-set should translate well to the majors. I'm excited to see him on the roster nonetheless and I think he could catch casual fans by surprise.

Thanks for reading.

Taking Care Of Kipnis: 2B Options

When it was announced recently that Jason Kipnis was going to miss some time with a shoulder injury, fans started to worry. Not outright panic but cautious concern. Given Michael Brantley's shoulder struggles over the past couple of years, it's definitely understandable to be concerned. Kipnis will likely miss out on making the Opening Day lineup, and the Indians are doing the right thing protecting their All Star second baseman. Kipnis himself has said if this injury had occurred mid-season he could have probably played through the pain but it's better to make sure he's 100% before any long term damage can be done.

With that being said, Terry Francona and crew are already looking at their options to fill Kipnis' boots on Opening Day, and I am going to do the same thing. Let's take a look at some of the guys the Tribe can send out there:

Jose Ramirez

Considered by most to be the clear favourite to take Kipnis' place, Ramirez could slide over from his home at third base with relative ease. The versatile 24 year-old has spent time in many different positions and shown he can fill in adequately all over the infield, so second base is no stranger to him.

There is some hesitation on Francona's part however: "I think our first choice is not to (move him to second), but we'll see," the skipper said. After a few years as the Indians' utility man, Ramirez seemed to have found a nice home for himself at third base so I understand why the club are unwilling to shift him around again, especially off the back of a superb 2016 performance. In a perfect world Ramirez could use 2017 to really make third base his own but he's also the best option where this particular problem is concerned.

If Ramirez is chosen to replace Kipnis then it leaves a hole at third base. Thankfully this is a position where the Indians have some depth. Giovanny Urshela is my choice to fill Ramirez's spot and it could be a great opportunity for the 25 year-old Colombian to showcase his skills. We've seen in the past what a defensive wizard he is at the hot corner but his bat has always held him back from sticking in the bigs full time. Urshela has only appeared in 9 games for the Indians so far this spring but has hit well (he's spent the rest of the spring with the Colombian team at the WBC). He spent all of 2016 at Triple-A Columbus and had a decent year, slashing .274/.294/.380 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 8 home runs and 57 RBI over 117 games for the Clippers. I'm a huge Urshela fan and would love to see him have an impact with the club this season, so seeing him feature early on would be a plus.

The other candidate to fill in at third would be Yandy Diaz, who I wrote about recently. Diaz has been limited this spring with a right groin issue (just 8 appearances), which has likely hindered his chances to crack the Opening Day roster. I'm excited about Diaz's future in Cleveland but he's almost certain to start 2017 with Columbus, given he has no major league experience. It would be a big test for the rookie to chuck him in the deep end on Opening Day, whereas Urshela has been tried and tested.

Erik Gonzalez, Michael Martinez, Ronny Rodriguez

This trio from the Dominican Republic are Ramirez's closest competition for the second base spot. If Francona is truly against moving Ramirez from third base then one of these guys will likely be partnering Francisco Lindor on Opening Day.

So far all three of these gentlemen have seen about the same amount of action thus far this spring but let's take a look at them individually.

Erik Gonzalez is probably the best option to spell Kipnis until the All Star is ready to return, plus he's already on the 40-man roster, unlike Martinez and Rodriguez. Cleveland's number 8 prospect saw some time in the majors last year, although he only had two starts over a 21 game span where he was almost always used to pinch hit/run in the late innings. In his limited time at the plate he didn't hit well but then I wouldn't have expected him to given how rarely he got the opportunity. Down in Columbus however he was much more productive, slashing .296/.329/.450 with 11 home runs and 53 RBI, good enough for a 122 WRC+. Gonzalez is a natural shortstop but his path to the majors will be blocked for many years to come by Francisco Lindor. Second base is going to be Gonzalez's best opportunity to show off his abilities because if the Indians don't have a future place for him, somebody else will and they'll be willing to trade. If the young infielder is given the chance to play well and put himself in the shop window, then that will only serve to benefit both himself and the club. Gonzalez is certainly a safe choice if Kipnis isn't expected to miss significant time, and he can easily be optioned back to Columbus.

Michael Martinez is the veteran option and you pretty much know what you're going to get where he's concerned. The 34 year-old has spent 6 years in the majors and is now on his second stint with the Tribe. Francona has always supported Martinez, despite the player having his many detractors, and trusts him in late inning situations. He's a career .197 switch-hitter and most often suited to a bench role, but his versatility in the field makes him useful in a crisis. I would argue that the Indians have better options than Martinez and despite his usefulness, the club should be looking to move forward without him.

Ronny Rodriguez is the wildcard in this pack. He, like Martinez, is also of the utility infielder category but I just can't envision Francona opting for Rodriguez as his starting second baseman over the other options he has at his disposal. As Rodriguez is the least experienced of this trio, his chances of filling in for Kipnis are slim at best.

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Ultimately the Indians and their fans will be hoping Kipnis' absence is brief and his replacement just a temporary visitor at second base. If he has to miss some time, even if just for a few weeks, I'd be much more comfortable with Ramirez covering for him, and Urshela being given a chance at third base. If Francona doesn't want to unsettle Ramirez on the corner, then I'd like to see Gonzalez be given a chance as an everyday player. He certainly looks the best option, at least defensively, and will likely emerge victorious from his battle with his compatriots.

Thanks for reading.

Center Of Attention: A Discussion

For the first year in a long time the Indians' roster is fairly settled across the board heading into spring training. The lineup is strong and the pitching is top notch but there is always room for improvement. One particular area of uncertainly is in center field; with Michael Brantley penciled in left field (once healthy) and the effective platoon partnership of Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer in right field, it's the men in the middle who currently present the outfield's biggest question mark. In this post I'm going to have a look at the Indians' current options ahead of the 2017 season.

The Current Crop

Currently atop the center field depth chart sits Tyler Naquin. The 25 year-old finished third on the AL Rookie of the Year ballot last season after exploding onto the scene during spring training. Naquin took his opportunity last spring and ran with it; he played in 116 games and batted .296/.372/.514 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 14 home runs, culminating in an impressive 135 WRC+ and 2.5 WAR. Naquin was especially effective against right handed pitchers and slashed .301/.372/.526 in 289 at-bats (in fact he only faced a lefty 32 times). Not too shabby for a rookie and he'll be forever remembered for that unforgettable inside-the-park homer against the Jays. If he goes on to have a Hall of Fame career in Cleveland, you can already picture that fist pump immortalised as a statue.

Yet despite Naquin's prowess at the plate (and my wishful thinking), his defensive abilities leave something to be desired. This was noticeably obvious in Game 6 of the World Series but Naquin's flaws in the field were evident throughout the regular season as well. According to Fangraphs, Naquin graded as the second worst defensive center fielder in the majors with a -17 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved). Now I don't entirely trust defensive metrics as I feel action in the field, especially somewhere so open like the outfield, can be hard to quantify with accuracy, but the numbers don't make for pretty reading. Even the casual fans among us noticed that his routes to the ball were rather, err, wobbly all season. Even so, he rarely looked like a complete novice out there, despite what the numbers would indicate. When you weigh up the pros and cons, overall I felt that Naquin's bat compensated for his mistakes in the field.

Naquin's closest rival is Abraham Almonte, who this time last year was the clear favorite to play center field on Opening Day. That was before it emerged Almonte had violated the MLB Drug Policy and was suspended for 80 games, paving the way for Naquin's emergence. Almonte returned to the team on July 3rd and played in 67 games, slashing .264/.294/401 over that span and played solid defense. He had a decent stretch as a starter in August and September but was eventually relegated to a pinch hitting role as the regular season came to an end, due to his postseason ineligibility.

Unless Naquin struggles right out of the gate (he was looking more and more susceptible to high fastballs as 2016 progressed) and Almonte gets off to a fast start, I can't see the 27 year-old Dominican becoming the permanent center fielder for a while. He'll likely platoon with Naquin and probably play some left field until Brantley is ready to take over full time again. I grew to really like Almonte in 2015 when his addition to the club jolted the team to life but his 2016 suspension left a sour taste in the mouth, even if it turns out he was innocent. Almonte will be hoping for a lot of reps this spring so he can stake a claim for center field but I can't see Naquin regressing to such an extent that he's not gonna be the everyday guy out there to start 2017.

The Outsiders

Naquin and Almonte should feel pretty secure in their jobs but they will face some outside competition this spring; some men will have their eyes on that center field spot whereas other will satisfy themselves with a place on the roster.

Austin Jackson signed a minor league deal with the Tribe just prior to his 30th birthday and the veteran outfielder will be hoping for a late present, a spot on the Opening Day roster wrapped in a box with a bow on top. Jackson only managed 54 appearances in 2016, thanks to a left knee injury that ruled him out of action from June onward. He's a career .272 hitter and has primarily featured in center field during that time. I think Jackson could be a very useful addition to the team. He'll start the spring with a point to prove, to show the league he can still be a productive everyday player for a top ballclub. He certainly lends some much needed depth to the outfield at the very least but he'll likely need an injury from a rival or a drop in performance to firmly earn his place.

As it currently stands the only other outfielder on a minor league contract with hopes of making the team is Daniel Robertson (unless Wily Mo Pena wants to return to center field!). The 31 year-old journeyman outfielder has primarily featured in left field so won't realistically be expected to figure much in center. Robertson played in just 9 games last year for the Mariners in 2016 but had a decent season at AAA Tacoma. With all of the Indians' other outfield options, I don't see Robertson featuring for the Indians on Opening Day and unless injury strikes, I don't imagine we'll see him figure at all in 2017.

The Prospects

Last but not least we come to the prospects. These guys have been cooking nicely down on the farm but are they ready for a big league job?

The honest answer is no, they probably are not. The top dog for the center field job is Bradley Zimmer, who has been developing nicely in recent years. I've already covered Zimmer and his chances of making the team in part two of my spring wishlist, which you can read here. I think Zimmer will need a bit more maturing in Columbus this year before he's fully prepped for the show. A September call-up should be his goal in 2017, although a nice showing this spring wouldn't hurt his chances.

Greg Allen is the Tribe's dark horse to take over center field in the next year or so and the young speedster received a spring training invite for his sterling work in the minors last season. The 6th round pick from the 2014 MLB draft announced himself in a big way in 2016, leading all of minor league baseball in runs with 119. That's completely insane considering he has yet to reach the AAA level. The switch-hitting 23 year-old began the year at A+ Lynchburg before getting a promotion to AA Akron in late July but his performance didn't suffer at all. Between the two leagues he slashed .295/.416/.413 with 7 home runs, 44 RBI and 45 stolen bases (the highest in the Indians' entire system). You may as well call him Barry Allen as he's so frickin' fast on the basepaths.

Allen had 77 walks to 78 strikeouts, a fantastic ratio and the polar opposite to Zimmer (77 walks to 171 strikeouts). So far in his career Allen has displayed all the attributes of a perfect leadoff hitter. He plays a superb center field too, collecting the 2016 MiLB Gold Glove award for that position, an impressive feat given Rawlings only award this to one guy in the entire minor leagues. Overall I think the dude is a surefire stud and fans should be paying attention to Allen in 2017. He'll likely start the year in Akron but don't be surprised if he gets promoted to Columbus sooner rather than later. Here's hoping we get to see a September cameo from him before the season concludes.

The final center field prospect is Yandy Diaz but realistically he's unlikely to compete for that position this year, if ever. I took a look at Diaz when I analysed Zimmer and despite how versatile and effective Diaz has been throughout his career thus far, his time in center has been limited. He played all of 2 innings there in Columbus, the first time he's featured in center in his professional career. Whilst I think Diaz may have a future in the outfield ahead of him, it's more than likely going to be in the corners.

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Who do you think will claim the center field mantle in 2017? Can Naquin rediscover his early 2016 form and fend off the future advances of prospects like Zimmer and Allen? Or will Almonte and the other veterans elevate themselves during the spring and force their way into Francona's plans? Or could the position feature a revolving door of candidates, rotating in and out of center field depending on whether they're hot or cold?

Whatever happens the center field position should be a topic of conversation all year long.

Thanks for reading.

2017 Spring Training Wishlist: Part 2

Welcome back to part two of my Indians' Spring Training wishlist, where I have a gander at what's going on for our Cleveland club in Arizona this spring. In this installment, we'll look at a couple of the team's top prospects and what I'd like to see from them going forward.

Bradley Zimmer

Zimmer is currently considered by most to be the Indians' number one prospect (although catcher Francisco Mejia is running him close), and was recently deemed so by ESPN's Keith Law, coming in at number 22 on his top 100 list (ahead of Mejia, at number 40). Drafted 21st overall in the 2014 MLB Draft, the 24 year-old center fielder has steadily progressed up the minor league ladder, impressing at every level with his slugging prowess and base stealing ability. He also projects as an above-average defender in one of the hardest positions on the field, and could potentially stick in center for many years to come. Zimmer is at the stage in his development where he's very close to a call-up to the show, and now he's earned a big league invite to Spring Training for the first time in his career.

I've read and heard a lot of hype surrounding Zimmer so I'm excited to see what he might bring to the team, even in meaningless spring exhibition games. It's this time of year fans starting projecting their dreams onto prospects just like Zimmer and it's in the land of "what-if" where we get carried away.

Zimmer spent 2016 between AA Akron and AAA Columbus, with the majority of his time being in Akron. Between the two levels Zimmer hit .250/.365/.425 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 15 home runs, 62 RBI, 77 walks, and an impressive 38 stolen bases. By all accounts Zimmer is considered to be on the right path to being a successful big league player for the Indians.

However as Zimmer has risen through each level, so have his strikeouts. It's a somewhat worrying trend, even in an age where many major leaguers can strike out a lot and still be important contributors to their club. After his promotion to AAA Columbus, Zimmer's strikeout rate topped out at 37.3% (per Fangraphs) and his long swing, despite producing good power, is missing way too often for most fan's liking. It's a concern for sure; if Zimmer is whiffing this much in the minor leagues, what chance does he stand against major league arms?

I hope to see him play well this spring but I don't realistically expect him to make the Opening Day roster. With Tyler Naquin, Abraham Almonte, Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer all currently on the active roster, and Michael Brantley's return on the horizon as well, there won't be much room for Zimmer anyway. I'll be content to see some flashes of brilliance but ultimately find his way back to Columbus. I think a full season at AAA could work wonders, and hopefully help to iron out his strikeout issues.

Yandy Diaz

25 year-old Diaz is another prospect with an invite to Spring Training. The 2016 International League Rookie of the Year spent time at AA Akron and AAA Columbus, slashing a combined .318/.408/.446 between the two levels. Diaz was such a revelation that he was even considered for promotion to the Indians last September. He continued his remarkable form over the winter, hitting .371 in 40 games in Venezuela.

The young Cuban has rocketed through the minor leagues since his acquisition in late 2013. It's extraordinary that in just a couple of years he's climbed so high in such a short space of time.

Diaz has an opportunity to find his way onto the Opening Day roster via a similar route that Jose Ramirez took only a few years ago. Like the versatile Ramirez, Diaz can play a multitude of positions. In 2016 alone he played five different positions between the infield and outfield, seeing action at 2B, 3B, LF, RF and CF. This diversity will serve him well in the short term, although I'd prefer to see him stick to an infield spot in the coming years, although he could wind up in a corner outfield position too.

An area where Diaz really shines over his fellow prospects is his great eye at the plate, with 71 walks compared to 86 strikeouts in 2016, and 198 walks to 191 strikeouts for his entire career thus far, an impressive ratio. He's yet to develop much power but I feel his plate discipline and overall ability to create contact more than make up for that.

Ultimately, depending on his spring performance, I'd like to see Diaz given a shot and make the Opening Day roster. I know Francona has a thing for Michael Martinez as his utility guy but I just feel Diaz has the potential to offer so much more. He can spot the corner outfielders if injuries strike or poor performances necessitate a change, and if Kipnis needs a day off at second base then Ramirez can cover there and Diaz can play third. Of course there is a case to be made that Diaz would be better off receiving regular playing time in Columbus rather than sitting on the bench in Cleveland but honestly, after such a great 2016, what does he have left to prove there?

Whatever happens down the road, I'm eager to see Diaz in action in Arizona.

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That's a wrap on part two. I'll be back soon with the third part, where I'll be focusing on the Indians' pitching staff.

Thanks for reading.