Indians Minor System "Depleted"

[Pronk48]

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- The Indians raided Ross Atkins' cupboard last year.
Not that Atkins is complaining. It's the job of a farm director, after all, to oversee the grooming of players who can eventually help out the Major League club.

But the Tribe's player development system didn't just augment the 2007 Indians; it was a critical part of their success. Callups such as Rafael Perez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Franklin Gutierrez, Jensen Lewis and Aaron Laffey sparked the team in the second half of the season.

All of the above players are now considered some part of the big league equation, which means Atkins' territory looks decidedly less deep than it did this time last year.

"It's just different," Atkins said. "There is a depleted aspect of the department. Our depth is in different places now, but I feel just as good about our depth. Our depth is stronger at the A-ball levels now. And I feel better about our high-upside-ceiling prospects than I did a year ago. Our Major League protection might be a little less, but we've covered that with more six-year free-agent signings this year."

Those Minor League contracts went to right-handers Rick Bauer, Matt Ginter and Jeff Harris, left-hander Rich Rundles and infielders Andy Gonzalez, Aaron Herr and Danny Sandoval.

In-house prospects such as right-handers Adam Miller, Brian Slocum and Ed Mujica and outfielder Ben Francisco, all of whom will likely open in Triple-A Buffalo, are viewed as the first line of defense, so to speak, should a need arise at the big league level.

"The thing that makes me feel better about it is it's pretty much the same group of talent," Atkins said. "It's just that some of it is in the Major Leagues now."

Rough rankings: The Indians only had two players in Baseball Prospectus' rankings of the Top 100 prospects in all of baseball.

Miller (No. 52) and third baseman Wes Hodges (No. 78) were the two players ranked.

"I certainly have respect for the job they do," Atkins said of Baseball Prospectus. "But they're not big enough and powerful enough to understand how many prospects we really have, in the grand scheme of things. Our assessment of our talent is just that. It's ours. It's not based on Baseball Prospectus' assessment. Whether we have two or six, I'm going to wake up the next day feeling exactly the same about our talent."

Early arrivals: Minor Leaguers aren't due to arrive at camp until March 2, but the Indians always hand-pick a group of players to come to Chain of Lakes for an early camp.

This year, the participants in that camp are: right-handers Chris Archer, Kevin Dixon, Santo Frias, Jeanmar Gomez, Hector Rondon, Carlton Smith and Steven Wright; left-handers Kelvin De La Cruz, Ryan Edell, David Huff, Ryan Morris and Shawn Nottingham; catchers Robbie Alcombrack, Alex Castillo, Brian Juhl, Douglas Pickens and Michael Valadez; infielders Brandon Chaves, Adam Davis, Jared Goedert, Hodges, Chris Nash, Ronald Rivas, Carlos Rivero, Josh Rodriguez, Karexon Sanchez and Mark Thompson; and outfielders Matt Brown, Jose Constanza, John Drennen, Stephen Head and Adam White.

He's No. 1: This is a big season for 2003 first-round pick Michael Aubrey, who will be out of Minor League options next year.

Aubrey is an excellent defender at first base and possesses a potent bat (.301 career average in the Minors), but he's yet to have a full, healthy season. Last year, he had an impressive camp, but he strained his hamstring just before being optioned down to Double-A.

"With Aubrey, it's always been a matter of health," Atkins said. "Now, it's a matter of health and performing immediately. There's a little more urgency to it. He could be a Major League contributor, if he shows he's healthy for an extended period of time."

Class of '07: It's standard practice for first-round Draft picks to work an invitation to big league Spring Training camp into their first professional contract.

So it is with Beau Mills' arrival to camp this week. Mills, taken with the 13th overall pick of last year's First-Year Player Draft, will get a chance to show off his power bat to the big league coaching staff. He'll also get a taste of life in the Major League clubhouse before his eventual demotion to Minors camp.

"The guys who handle it the right way gain an incredible experience of interacting with the best baseball players in the world and seeing how they go about their business, from a routine standpoint," Atkins said of the arrangement. "They learn it is about teamwork and chemistry and being a good teammate. That's hard to learn at the Minor League level, where everybody's trying to get off the team they're on."

What they're saying: "It's getting to be crunch time. This is when things have to start happening. I have to make the most of this season" -- Aubrey, on the year ahead

I am not very worried. The guys that are now on the big-league club were going to more-than-likley end up there anyhow. Some will end up back down in the minors, and get called up later. As long as the injury bug doesn't smack the Tribe around, they shouldn't be reliant upon the minors too much.

[catman]

The Indians have a lot of talent at the higher and mid-levels of the minors. Their lower levels may be a bit down, but with good coaching, they should be able to continue developing good players.