5 Cleveland Indians Minor Leaguers You Should Know In 2021
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.
