By: Jamie Renner

Welp, getting absolutely spanked like a 5 year old by Toronto was not fun (weather stopped it

after the 7th thank God). But, Eli Morgan got his first chance to start in the big leagues and while

it was absolutely horrible, things will get better for him. You cannot judge a kid based off of 2

innings with the weather completely against him. Cold, shitty, depressing.... Not sure where I

was headed with this but while the Indians continue to be frauds… Their farm system is anything

but. If you do not know, Cleveland has one of the most decorated farm systems in the league right now.

With talent littered all over the place, it makes things a bit more digestible knowing that

someone great is bound to break out eventually, and that is what I am here to talk about today.

Here are 5 Minor league Cleveland Indians players you should know and follow for the rest of

2021.

*Side note, all information gathered is from Brian Hemminger @HemmingerCVC - twitter and

Todd Paquette @indiansPro on twitter and @indians_prospective on Instagram. All credit goes to

both of them for information provided.*

1. Xzavion Curry (Low A Lynchburg Hillcats) : Right handed pitcher, 7th round draft pick

in 2019, absolutely melts batters at the plate. First year player in the system has great

stuff and leads the entire minor league system for Cleveland in strikeouts with 32. SEC

college arm with above average control of pitches and looks to be a super solid piece

that could make his way up to double A ball before the season is over. Really high on his

potential, a diamond in the rough type of player.

2. Nick Mikolajchak (Double A Akron Rubberducks): Okay, fine, I really like him

because he reminds me of Mike Clevinger in every way possible, which is actually the

best compliment I can give him. The look, the velocity, the swagger, he really does have

it all. In 34 career innings pitched, his ERA is 0.36 with a fastball velocity that very well

could touch 100 the more he moves throughout the system. I love this kid and really

hope he continues to progress.

3. Catchers Bryan Lavastida/Yanier Diaz: Wanna know what is better than 1 catcher that

can rake, try 2! Yes both of these guys are amazing catchers with just a level apart from

each other (Yanier Diaz is in low A and Bryan Lavastida is in High A). Each of them have

their own awesome qualities and they are great defensive catchers. Where they

excel is at the plate. Yanier has a career .332 batting average in 588 at bats. Which for a

minor league catcher is a lot and is damn near close to an everyday starter for a major

league team. Bryan is another career .315 batting average guy that is great. Okay, so

they are not homerun hitters, but we do not need them to be, give me something better

than Austin Hedges and Roberto Perez for goodness sake. The last time a catcher for

the Indians hit over .250 was Yan Gomez and we traded him for Daniel Johnson.... Why

does that seem like so long ago? Dammit.

4. Second Basemen Richard Palacios(Double A Akron Rubberducks) : Friend of the

program, Richard Palacios has easily been one of the most underrated prospects in the

farm system. Okay, so he is 24 years old and is still in Double A ball, but if he keeps

batting .290 with an OBP .417 then he is damn sure making a case for a September call

up spot. Kid wants it and I know he does.

5. Third Baseman Jhonkensy Noel (Lynchburg Hillcats): Yes, okay fine, this is cheating

a bit because of how hot he has been lately, but I mean c'mon. A 19 year old who is

batting .358 and can commit third degree murder to a baseball at any given moment is a

guy I will absolutely fork over money to see. Kid looks to be on his way to making it to

double A in the very near future if his play continues. Obviously, it will slow down, but for

now, I am riding this hot streak.

Honorable mentions: Hunter Gaddis, Juan Hillman, Francisco Perez, Dalbert Siri, and Nathan

Ocker.