Monday, February 20, 2012

Tribe Prospect Countdown: #1 SS Francisco Lindor

5'11", 175 lbs, 18 in 2012
Bats: Switch; Throws: Right

2011 Stats (SS-A Mahoning Valley): .316, 2 RBI, 1/1 SB, .666 OPS, 5.00 K/BB

While my "peers" and I might disagree on a great number of these prospects, there is one thing that we have a solid quorum on: the man at the top.  Unbelievably, what the so-called "experts" cannot agree on is in which areas Francisco excels.  I have read that everything from his defense at short to his power to his projection as a leadoff man separating him from the herd.  As opposed to echoing any of those sentiments, I am going off on my own.  Many have heard that the ceiling of 2010 first rounder Manny Machado is Alex Rodriguez production.  Here's my thought (because I think in old school SAT analogies) Machado:A-Rod::Lindor:Miguel Tejada.  Frisco (that's what I'm going to call him, props if you can dig out the reference) certainly has a lot of time ahead of him to make his mark and define his identity, but I project him to be a 20ish home run guy with 40 doubles and a .320 average.  Calm down.  That, again, is the ceiling.  With #2 man Tony Wolters sliding to second base and Jason Kipnis to DH, it falls to Lindor to fill what will become a gaping hole at short after Asdrubal Cabrera prices himself out of our mid-market hell.  Frisco sports soft hands and great footwork to compliment a slightly better than average arm.  Most scouts foresee him as a defensive upgrade over AzCab.  So, we have three quarters of the future infield (Lindor, Tony Wolters, Jesus Aguilar) in the top 8 and when you add Lonnie Chisenhall at third base, 2015 looks awfully bright.  Expect Lindor to play a full season at Single-A.  He will begin at Low-A Lake County with a merit promotion to Carolina a distinct possibility.

Up Next:  Up next?  Pitchers and catchers report today, bitches!

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