Rankings

Today we unveil the beginning of our 2013 prospect coverage here at the IPI with the first rankings piece of the Indians system. It goes without saying that first base is the organization’s biggest weakness on the position player front from the big leagues down to rookie ball. Tony sifts through every young first baseman up and down the system and ranks them all, talks about their skills, and if they are an option for the Indians in the future. Jesus Aguilar, Lars Anderson, Chun Chen, Adam Abraham, Jerrud Sabourin and all the rest of the first basemen in the system are profiled.

With the recent acquisition of Lars Anderson from the Red Sox, the Indians have stockpiled an amazing nine players from Baseball America's 2009 Top 100 prospect listing. But not all nine of those players have panned out and it just goes to show that prospects, even the highly touted ones, are simply just lottery tickets. Jeff Ellis breaks down all nine players in his latest.

Every winter, Tony Lastoria produces the preeminent Indians prospect rankings each winter. With the season in full swing, and our massive website being Tony's major focus, Jim Pete has modified the top 22, taking into account performance, the draft, and several other criteria over the course of the first 2/3rds of the season. You must have a subscription to view #2-7, #9-#14 and #16-#22, but the players residing at #1, #8 and #15 are free! Here's a look at #2-7, after the jump

Every winter, Tony Lastoria produces the preeminent Indians prospect rankings each winter. With the season in full swing, and our massive website being Tony's major focus, Jim Pete has modified the top 22, taking into account performance, the draft, and several other criteria over the course of the first 2/3rds of the season. You must have a subscription to view #2-7, #9-#14 and #16-#22, but the players residing at #1, #8 and #15 are free! Here's a look at #1 (and more), after the jump....

Every winter, Tony Lastoria produces the preeminent Indians prospect rankings each winter. With the season in full swing, and our massive website being Tony's major focus, Jim Pete has modified the top 22, taking into account performance, the draft, and several other criteria over the course of the first 2/3rds of the season. You must have a subscription to view #16-#22, as well as #9-#14, but #15 & # 8 are free! Here's a look at #9-#14, after the jump. This is premium content...

Every winter, Tony Lastoria produces the preeminent Indians prospect rankings each winter. With the season in full swing, and our massive website being Tony's major focus, Jim Pete has modified the top 22, taking into account performance, the draft, and several other criteria over the course of the first 2/3rds of the season. You must have a subscription to view #9-#14 and #16-#22, but the players residing at #8 and #15 are free! Here's a look at #8, after the jump....

Every winter, Tony Lastoria produces the preeminent Indians prospect rankings each winter. With the season in full swing, and our massive website being Tony's major focus, Jim Pete has modified the top 22, taking into account performance, the draft, and several other criteria over the course of the first 2/3rds of the season. You must have a subscription to view #16-#22, but #15 is free! Here's a look at #15, after the jump.

Every winter, Tony Lastoria produces the preeminent Indians prospect rankings each winter. With the season in full swing, and our massive website being Tony's major focus, Jim Pete has modified the top 22, taking into account performance, the draft, and several other criteria over the course of the first 2/3rds of the season. Here's a look at #16-#22, after the jump. You must have a subscription to view this piece. #15 is free!

Time to unveil a new weekly premium feature on the IPI, the "Stock Watch". In this weekly report, four to six players at each level in the Indians system will be graded on their currently standing (stock) in the organization and whether their stock is way up, trending up, neutral, trending down, or way down. Insight gained from scouts and evaluators will be used in this report.

The 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown comes to a conclusion with #1 shortstop Francisco Lindor. Drafted less than a year ago Lindor has made the ascent to the #1 prospect both because of his exceptional talent but also because of a depleted system at the top after several graduations and trades last season. Tony provides all the details as to why Indians fans should be very excited about Lindor.

The 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown nears the finish line with #2 outfielder LeVon Washington. He disappointed last year with his performance, but he has has the raw tools to impact a game with his bat and speed. Tony talks about Washington's talent and why those skills did not show much last year.

We are down to the final three prospects in the 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown, and coming in at #3 is right-handed pitcher Dillon Howard. He has yet to throw a professional inning, but Howard has the aptitude, talent, and stuff to become a a very good #2 pitcher for the Indians down the road. Tony provides all the details on this talented right-handed pitcher.

The 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown rolls on with #4 left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone. Last season Hagadone really made some huge strides with his command and is now squarely in the big league bullpen mix this season. Tony looks at what he worked on last year to get where he is today and how much of an impact he can make to the Cleveland bullpen.

The 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown rolls into the top five with #5 shortstop Tony Wolters. The Indians have a lot of promising middle infield prospects, and Wolters is one of the best. He is young and still developing, but is already a very good defender with good potential with his bat. Tony provides the info on Wolters with why he is one of the top young players to watch in the Indians' system.

The 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown moves on to #6 right-handed pitcher Chen-Chang Lee. Also known as C.C. Lee, he has become an immediate impact bullpen arm that the Indians can use at some point this season at the big league level. Tony describes what kind of reliever he is and what kind of impact he can have in the Cleveland bullpen now and in the future.

The 2012 IPI Indians Top 50 Prospect countdown rolls along with #7 outfielder Luigi Rodriguez. As one of the fastest and most athletic players in the system, Rodriguez has exciting potential as a top of the order hitter. He is raw and inexperienced, but the abilities are there in all phases of the game. Tony looks at where he is in his development and where he can go as a prospect.