The Cleveland Indians are in the midst of a pennant race right now, but the future is looking bright. The club’s top two prospects were just promoted to Triple-A.
The Cleveland Indians on Sunday night announced that the top two prospects in the organization, outfielders Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier, were promoted from the club’s Double-A team, the Akron RubberDucks, to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.
Clint Frazier and Bradley Zimmer have been promoted to @CLBClippers. pic.twitter.com/Iuuc1n7ApN
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 25, 2016
Frazier and Zimmer, both ranked among the top 26 prospects in all of baseball according to Baseball America’s Midseason Top 100 Prospects list, were Cleveland’s first round picks in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
The 21-year-old Frazier, who was selected fifth overall in 2013, had a slash line of .276/.356/.469 (.825 OPS) in 89 games with Akron this season, with 25 doubles, 13 home runs, 48 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. An Eastern League All-Star, the Georgia native also took part in the MLB Futures Game in San Diego during the All-Star break.
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Zimmer, 23, was taken 21st overall in 2014, and through 93 games for the RubberDucks posted a slash line of .253/.371/.471 (.842 OPS) with 20 doubles, six triples, 14 home runs, 53 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases. Strike outs have been his Achilles heel thus far as a professional, as he has fanned in just under 30 percent of his plate appearances.
Speculation on both prospects has been a hot topic among Indians fans all season, first set off by comments made by the team’s President of Baseball Operations, Chris Antonetti, in mid-June about the pair “being options” for the big league club, and more recently as part of the rumor mill with the trade deadline approaching.
The promotion to Triple-A likely has little to do with either, as it is in step with how the Tribe has handled several top prospects the past few years. As Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com wrote on Monday morning, Zimmer had been promoted to Akron at around this time a season ago, and in 2014, Francisco Lindor made the jump from Double-A to Triple-A near the end of July as well.
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While it is not outside the realm of possibility that one or both players could see a September call-up, particularly if Michael Brantley’s ailing shoulder continues to keep him on the disabled list, it appears much more likely that the move is being made with an eye toward 2017. Frazier and Zimmer are strong contenders to be called up to the big league club next May or June once their Super Two arbitration cutoff has passed.