The Cleveland Baseball Team is next on our Players Likely to Debut series. In case you missed it, we have already rolled out the AL and NL East.
AL East: Red Sox — Yankees — Orioles — Blue Jays — Rays
NL East: Marlins — Braves — Phillies — Mets—Nationals
AL Central: Tigers — Royals — White Sox—Twins
Below, you will find a list of three prospects from the respective organization. Each prospect will have a number score next to their name — this number will represent the estimated amount of time we anticipate that player seeing at the big-league level. Players that have already made their big-league debut will not be included on this list.
BREAKDOWN OF TIME ON ROSTER SCORES:
1 — September call-ups / guys that are likely to see less than 20-25 games on the roster
2 — 1/4 of the season (roughly 40 games on roster)
3 — 1/2 of the season (roughly 80 games on roster)
4 — 3/4 of the season (roughly 120 games on roster)
5 — Full season on the MLB roster
CLEVELAND BASEBALL TEAM
Position — Name (Time on Roster Score)
INF-Nolan Jones (2)
Cleveland’s outfield woes are well documented and the athletic Jones could see some time out there in 2021. He spent time playing the outfield in Cleveland’s alternate site last summer and could see himself in either corner spot. The number one prospect in their system carries a strong power tool and a grade 70 arm that could place him at either corner position.
LHP-Sam Hentges (3)
Hentges spent time on the team’s alternate site in 2020 and opened some eyes hitting 100 in intrasquad action. The lefty’s 2019 numbers do not exactly stand out but with the trade of Carlos Carrasco, the 6-6 245 starter may have an opportunity to make the team out of spring training.
As Justin Lada wrote up in his report, he spots his fastball well but lacks command of his other pitches. If Hentges can command his secondary pitches better, Cleveland may end up using him out of the bullpen instead, which would be another weapon to add to an already formidable bullpen.
LHP-Scott Moss (3)
Moss is another arm who could compete for the final spot in the rotation. He posted near a 30% K rate in his stops in Double-A and Triple-A in 2019. Another tall lefty standing at 6-6, Moss got time in the team’s alternate site and features a fastball, slider, and changeup. He is 26 years old so this could be the right time for Moss to see time.
NOTABLE
Other names to consider that could see some time are SS/2B Ernie Clement and Owen Miller.
