As a sports media consumer, you’ve no doubt been bombarded with the coverage of Johnny Manziel doing literally anything, while backing up Brian Hoyer for the Browns, and Lebron James “coming home” to Cleveland. Both of these story lines have helped turn Cleveland into a focal point of the sports world instead of just a punchline. Joining the Cleveland sporting landscape next could very well be 20 year old, 2011 first round pick, switch-hitting shortstop, Francisco Lindor.
Lindor was ranked as the number four overall prospect by MLB.com, and sixth overall by Baseball America, in their midseason rankings, and he has done nothing but improve that position over the remainder of this past season and the just underway, Arizona Fall League. When you read scouting reports on Lindor they all say the same thing: elite defender, decent speed mixed with an average hit tool and plate discipline that will lead to a middling average and a high enough on-base percentage to stick at the top of the Cleveland order for the next decade, but with very little power upside. The hitter that I was able to watch in person this week, was much different than what I had witnessed in the past at last year’s AFL and throughout his brief minor league career.
In the most recent game (10/10/14) I saw four Lindor at bats, all four ended in hits with three coming from the left side of the plate. However two at bats in particular caught my eye. In his first at bat, Lindor worked the count to 2-2 showing off excellent plate discipline before driving a ball in the left-centerfield gap and using his speed to slide in with a double. In the past, Lindor would have either fouled the 94 MPH sinker off or tried to poke it through the hole in the right side of the infield, instead, he displayed a strong front side and drove the ball hard the other way.
Finally, the third at bat of the game for Lindor was by far his most impressive, and not just because it ended in a 415 foot, no doubt, home run to right field, he worked the count, fouled off two pitches with two strikes and then hit the longest home run I’ve witnessed thus far in the Fall League, a league considered more of an offensive showcase than anything. It was impressive power for a 20 year old that had not displayed much, if any, in the past.
It is important to remember that skills like power tend to peak during the age 25 to 27 seasons as approach and plate discipline mature, so it is not unfathomable to think that Lindor has made some gains in the power department in just over the year since I had seen him in person last. This is also a ludicrously small sample size, but from where I was sitting it appeared that Francisco Lindor is already making strides toward becoming a staple at the Major League level in Cleveland. If he can out hit the projections of the other prospect evaluators by even a little bit, then Lindor is primed to become a top 5 overall shortstop in baseball.
Right now, the Indians have an unsettled situation at shortstop. The team has an option on Mike Aviles for $3.5 million that has not yet been exercised. Jose Ramirez also played 68 games at shortstop and posted a 1.9 WAR* though that was entirely accumulated through plus-defense. If Lindor continues with his solid showing in the AFL, and he is off to a great start, it may force the hand of the Indians’ front office to call him up very early in the season, even before the “Super 2” deadline in June.
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*WAR taken from www.fangraphs.com
