Each November, Major League Baseball teams are faced with the difficult task of protecting certain players from the consequences of the Rule 5 draft. On Thursday, the Cleveland Indians were one of the first teams to announce their protected players.
In total, the Indians are protecting five prized minor leagues by adding them to their official 40-man roster. The five players are third baseman Giovanny Urshela, reliever Shawn Armstrong, starter Cody Anderson, catcher Tony Wolters and lefty Ryan Merritt. The first four were expected additions while Merritt is a bit of a surprise. Let’s dive into each player specifically.
Urshela, 23, injured his knee in the Venezuelan Winter League last week. He had a breakout offensive season in 2014 between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus, batting .280/.334/.491 in 128 combined games. He is viewed as a talented defensive infielder too, so he had a chance to make waves in Cleveland next year. Hopefully his injury isn’t too serious, but it’s nice to see the Indians still value him despite that concern.
Armstrong, 24, was a 18th-round selection in the 2011 draft. He had sensational numbers for the Akron RubberDucks the past few years, but struggled in five games for the Clippers at the end of 2014. In 91 career appearances in Double-A, he had a 2.50 ERA, 18 saves, 11.5 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. The walks obviously are a concern, but the high-end potential was tantalizing. Expect him to be in Columbus all season with a chance at a September call-up.
Anderson, 24, remains the organization’s No. 10 prospect in Baseball America despite a tough last season in Akron. The 14th-round pick in 2011, he was a disappointing 4-11 with a 5.44 ERA in 25 starts, allowing 17 home runs in only 125.2 innings pitched. He was much, much better in 2013 for High-A Carolina — including a 3.61 K/BB ratio, compared to 1.80 last year. He might start again for the Ducks in 2015, but he needs to be in Columbus soon.
Wolters, 22, is a really odd prospect in that he was drafted in 2010’s third round as a somewhat speedy middle infielder, but was later moved to being a 5-foot-10 catcher. That made him repeat a stop in High-A Carolina in 2013. He then batted .249/.319/.314 in 94 games in Akron in 2014. His upside isn’t that high anymore it appears, yet he should remain a valuable organizational guy because of his versatility.
Finally, the 22-year-old Merritt is the biggest climber in the system among these five. He was a 16th round pick in 2011. He was 13-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 25 starts for the Carolina Mudcats, posting a 7.1 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in his 160.1 innings pitched. The lefty should be a highlight of Akron’s starting rotation this coming season and remains a guy to watch to see if he can repeat that success.
The Indians roster now stands officially at 40 men. Certainly, they’ll be snatching up more players for non-roster spring training invites, but they’d have to make a roster move in order to add anyone of significance this offseason.