Leo: 2012 Baseball America Top Prospects

Baseball America has released its 2012 Prospect Handbook, ranking the top young players in each organization.

Here is a look at the Cleveland Indians Top 10, which is really only a Top 9 now that #10 has been traded to Colorado. I made a few notes about each one. Let’s take a look:

 1. Francisco Lindor, SS – 1^st round draft pick (8^th overall) in 2011 from Montverde Academy in Florida, played five games with Mahoning Valley last year.  He passed up a scholarship to Florida State and received a $2.9 million signing bonus. He will likely start in Lake County.

2. Dillon Howard, RHP – 2^nd round draft pick (67^th overall) in 2011 from Searcy High School in Arkansas. Did not play last year. He had committed to Arkansas, but chose to sign for $1.85 million. He will likely start in Lake County.

3. Nick Hagadone, LHP – 2^nd round pick (55^th overall) by Boston in 2007. He was traded to Cleveland at 2009 July deadline, along with Justin Masterson and Bryan Price, for Victor Martinez. He was 4-3 with a 3.35 ERA in 34 relief outings with the Clippers last year and was called up in late August. He will compete for a spot in Indians bullpen this spring, but will likely start the 2012 campaign in Columbus. He is a member of the 40-man roster.

4. Chen Lee, RHP – Signed as an international free agent in 2008 from Taiwan. He was a combined 6-1 with one save and a 2.40 ERA in relief with Akron and Columbus. The opposition hit just .210 against him (right-handers hit just .197). Lee was the Indians Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He will attempt to crack Cleveland’s roster, but will likely start the year in Columbus. He not currently on the 40-man roster.

5. Luigi Rodriguez, OF – Signed as an international free agent at the end of 2009 from the Dominican Republic. Split last season between the Rookie-level Arizona Indians and Lake County. He will start in Lake County or Carolina.

6. Zach McAllister, RHP – 3^rd round pick by the New York Yankees in the 2006 draft. He was traded to Cleveland in August 2010 for Austin Kearns.  He was 12-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 25 starts with Columbus last season. He won’t likely crack the Cleveland rotation in the spring, but will be on the short list pitching in Columbus. He is on the 40-man roster.

7. Tony Wolters, SS – 3^rd round pick in 2010 from Rancho Buena Vista High School in California. He batted .292 with 1 HR, 20 RBI, 19 SB, and a .385 OBP over 69 games with Mahoning Valley last season. He will likely start the season in Lake County.

8. Austin Adams, RHP – 5^th round pick in 2009 from Faulkner University in Alabama. He was 11-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 26 starts with Akron last season, striking out 131 batters over 136 innings. He will be considered for a spot in the Clippers starting rotation, but the log jam of arms may push him back to Akron to begin the season.

9. Scott Barnes, LHP – 8^th round pick by San Francisco in 2008 and was traded to Cleveland for Ryan Garko in 2010. He tore his ACL while pitching for the Clippers in July and is rehabilitating in hopes of pitching this spring in Arizona. At the time of his injury, he ranked 4^th in the International League in strikeouts (90), 7^th in batting average against (.240), 10^th in wins (7), 17^th in ERA (3.68), and 19^th in WHIP (1.30). Barnes will, if healthy, likely slot into the Columbus rotation. He is a member of the 40-man roster. Click here for more on Scott Barnes.

10. Zach Putnam, RHP – Traded to Colorado for RHP Kevin Slowey on Januray 20^th