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Cleveland Indians Lindor needs to succeed in his MLB debut

By Wayne Cavadi

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And the prospects keep rolling. The only surprise about the Cleveland Indians calling up Francisco Lindor on Saturday was that it hadn’t been done sooner.

Francisco Lindor was the top prospect in the Cleveland Indians farm system. It is imperative that Lindor succeeds for the future of the Indians. The Indians are not deep on the farm, and Lindor is heads and shoulders above the rest of their prospects on the pipeline. Should Lindor miss or fail, it would be a pretty big blow to the team. 

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Lindor, the 21-year old shortstop who was the Indians’ 8th overall pick in the 2011 draft, projects to be a lot more Omar Vizquel than Alex Rodriguez, but that isn’t a negative by any means. MLB Pipeline’s grades of Lindor’s defensive ability projects him to be one of the more exciting shortstops in quite sometime.

Lindor has a 60 arm and is a 70 fielder. His range and glove have earned him the honor of being considered the best defensive player in the Minor Leagues. Can he bring that same energy and skill set to the next level?

Much like Vizquel, Lindor won’t be the next member of the 500 Home Run Club. Lindor’s best assets are saving runs and helping to create them. Only a career .278/.354/.384 hitter over his first 4-plus seasons, Lindor is a gap hitter with the speed to cause havoc and stretch out extra base hits, putting him in a position to score a lot of runs if this Indians offense gets hot.

Lindor had a terrible start to the season but has been on fire as of late. He was the International League Player of the Week last week (you can see his gaudy numbers here). When Jose Ramirez was sent down last week, many were sure that Lindor was the next in line. Alas, Zach Walters got the call and Mike Aviles has been manning short since. Now, the Indians have a prime opportunity to move forward with a very exciting double-play duo up the middle. Jason Kipnis has bounced back after his 2014 slump and is emerging as one of the best — if not the best — second baseman in the game. Can the two become the Dynamic Duo that turns the tides for the Indians?

Today we find out.

Lindor heads to Cleveland as the first Indians prospect with a lot of upside in a long time. Lindor has time to settle in, but he has to prove he was worth that first round pick and not be a dud. With only Clint Frazier and Bradley Zimmer on the farm as really exciting prospects, a lot rides on Lindor’s success.

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