2013 in Review: LeVon Washington

Age: 21

Acquired: 2nd Round, 2010 Draft

Rule 5 Eligible?: No

Even though just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong in LeVon Washington's early pro career, there's still a lot to like about him.

Washington was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Gainesville, Florida at the end of the first round in 2009, but didn't sign with them. Instead he attended a local junior college (Chipola Junior College). His stock fell a bit, but the Indians drafted him in the second round and was able to sign him. After playing a couple games in Arizona in 2010, he was scheduled to make the jump to Lake County in 2011 but was delayed by a knee injury and wasn't really healthy all season. Then in 2012 he had hip surgery (torn laburm) and missed a large chunk of that season. This year he battled a pulled hamstring, but when he's played, he's been outstanding.

If not for the injuries, Washington would probably be at least in Akron by now. He still has very good speed, is an excellent base runner (he was 14-for-16 in stolen bases with the Captains this year), and dominated Midwest League pitching (.321/.425/.477). He has a sub-par arm (a shoulder injury in high school in high school robbed a lot of its strength - see this very nice profile in Wahoos on First for more details), so he won't be playing right field in the majors if he gets there.

Washington is only 21 years old, so there's still time for him to develop into a major-league prospect. He'll probably start the season in Carolina and if he can stay healthy, could get to Akron by the end of the year and present the Indians with a difficult decision after the 2014 season (he'll be Rule 5 eligible then). But first and foremost he'll need to stay on the field, as health is just as important to a player's career as his bat or his glove.