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Baseball America ranked one of those high school selections in their top 20 AZL prospects, as well as an international free agent signing. Here's a brief overview of each player:
#5 SS Dorssys Paulino (17 Years Old)
How Acquired: International Free Agent, 2011 ($1.1M bonus)
This was Paulino's first professional experience, which is unusual; usually most players signed from the Dominican Republic or Venezuela spent at least one season in the Dominican Summer League. And it turned out that Paulino was more than ready to face 18-year-olds, as he hit .355/.404/.610 with 20 extra-base hits. Of players with at least 100 at-bats, he placed 5th in OPS, and was among the youngest players in his league. He was also highest-rated 17-year-old on the list.
Paulino is probably going to move off of shortstop eventually; he's already 6'0, 175 lbs, so if he makes the big leagues, it will most likely be at a corner position. He also has an outside shot of making BA's top 100 overall prospect list. He was promoted towards the end of the season to Mahoning Valley, where he held his own. The Indians may move him to Lake County next year, giving the Indians quite a collection of shortstops in their full-season leagues.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 17 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | Rk-A- | CLE | 56 | 250 | 231 | 47 | 77 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 11 | 2 | 18 | 45 | .333 | .380 | .558 | .938 |
| 2012 | 17 | Indians | ARIZ | Rk | CLE | 41 | 188 | 172 | 42 | 61 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 31 | .355 | .404 | .610 | 1.015 |
| 2012 | 17 | Mahoning Valley | NYPL | A- | CLE | 15 | 62 | 59 | 5 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 | .271 | .306 | .407 | .713 |
| 1 Season | 56 | 250 | 231 | 47 | 77 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 11 | 2 | 18 | 45 | .333 | .380 | .558 | .938 | |||||
#15 RHP Mitch Brown (18 Years Old)
How Acquired: 2012 Draft, 2nd Round ($639K Bonus)
Brown was a rare northern high school pitching prospect, and even rarer, he was from Minnesota. But his professional debut went fairly well; in a hitter-friendly league, he allowed just 6.5 hits per 9 innings, and had a decent walk rate (3.3). He started out a two-pitch pitcher, with a fastball and a slider, but he added a curve to his repertoire as the season went on.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 18 | Indians | ARIZ | Rk | CLE | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.58 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 112 | 1.084 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 8.5 | 2.60 |
| 1 Season | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.58 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 112 | 1.084 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 8.5 | 2.60 | |||||
In the chat (subscriber only), BA's Bill Mitchell also mentioned a couple Indians prospects that just missed the cut.
- 3B Jorge Martinez, who in his third year in Arizona started to hit, and got a brief promotion to Mahoning Valley. There's concerns about whether he can play third base and whether he can handle more advance pitching.
- LHP Luis Lugo, who had big strikeout rates this season. He's currently throwing in the high 80s, but he's only 18 and could add some velocity as he gets older.
- OF Anthony Santander, who like Paulino is only 17 years old but still hit very well.
- RHP Dillon Howard, last year's 2nd Round pick who really struggled in his first professional season.