The Indians have selected five players to their 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Right-handers Carlos Vargas and Eli Morgan have been added; also joining the 40-man are infielders Nolan Jones, Gabriel Arias and Ernie Clement.
Jones, Arias and Vargas are generally regarded as among Cleveland’s top thirty prospects. Jones, in particular, is one of the top minor-leaguers in the sport. The 22-year-old third baseman has put up monster numbers throughout his time on the farm and looks like a near-term option for the Indians. José Ramírez has third base locked down in Cleveland, of course, so there’s been some speculation about Jones logging time in the corner outfield, where the MLB roster is quite a bit thinner.
Eli Morgan is a righty with an advanced changeup that had been doing well, looking like their next pitching factory product. He was at the alternative site.
Carlos Vargas is a guy who hasn’t been past low A but throws high 90s.
Some names that weren’t protected that might get a look include:
OF Will Benson, former 1st round pick who destroyed low A pitching. Great power, good athlete. But has massive strikeout issues
LHP Raymond Burgess has touched 100, but hasn’t been past Low A
RHP Luis Oviedo was a top prospect for a bit, but had a rough 2019 at Low A. Starter with very good command and stuff
IF Jose Fermin is a speedster who can play SS but whose best position in 2B. Not really any power, but an advanced approach that draws a lot of walks and really good bat to ball skills.
I’ve been such a fan of Eli Morgan for a long time. With the way the Indians develop pitching, I think he’ll be a really good backend starter even though he doesn’t get any attention as a prospect. I’d take him long-term over most other pitching prospects in their system, honestly.
He also has the exact profile that the Indians have been especially successful with; he was a mid-round college arm without great velocity but with an elite feel for pitching. They’ve been able to take guys like that and help them gain velocity so their stuff plays up even better and translates to strikeouts too. Bieber, Plesac, and Civale are all guys just like that. I’m convinced he’s next.
Interesting development program. Meanwhile Billy Eppler has publicly stated velocity is the greatest indicator of success and look where we are.
Pitching is definitely an art. Cleveland is doing it the right way.
I like Morgan a lot too. Assuming they don’t move any guys via trade, they have a major league quality rotation in AAA next year.
Cleveland: Carrasco, Bieber, Civale, Plesac, McKenzie
Columbus: L. Allen, Quantrill, Hentges, Moss, Morgan
I also really like Jean Carlos Mejia who was terrific in 2018 and was injured most of 2019. He might start in Akron but if he can stay healthy he has some of the best upside.
I am surprised the Indians are giving more chances to Adam Plutko and/or Jefry Rodriguez, neither of who were good last year and are both out of options. Jefry has reportedly not regained his velocity, so I’m not sure what his future is. Plutko… I don’t get why they continue with him when they have so many better options.
I agree. Even in Akron, they have some decent pitching — even if none of those guys are nearly in the same prospect tier. Mejia is an interesting prospect, and I like Cody Morris. If you squint, maybe even Tanner Tully could be a swingman/depth type. Definitely a step down from their major league/AAA options, but pretty decent depth that low in the system.
I don’t dislike Jefry, but I think he’s done in the rotation. I get keeping him to see if he can be an option in the bullpen, but his time is probably ticking. If they make a few 40-man additions, he might be on the outside looking in.
I also don’t hate Plutko as much as everyone seems to. He has very limited upside and he’s a “what you see is what you get” type of pitcher, but I definitely think there’s value in a guy who can mop up innings and make a few spot starts without embarrassing himself. Every now and then he looks pretty good too. In an ideal world he’d have more options and be depth in Columbus, but you could do worse as a placeholder.