Cleveland Indians Minor League Player of the Week (5/22-5/28)

Overall #2 prospect Clint Frazier absolutely mopped the floor with everyone last week, and his mocking of the baseball gods with his incredible play was punished by a brief stint to the 7-day DL which kept him out of action for the majority of this week.

Back on topic, the Tribe affiliates had a pretty good week, going a combined 15-12 and there were several standout players overall.

Some of the following Tribe farmhands will be extremely familiar to you as we had them ranked high on our preseason prospects list, but don't discount some of the unfamiliar names either, as they may be working their way onto next season's lists.

Without further ado, here are the Tribe's top performers from the past week (May 22-28):

* * *

Bradley Zimmer (AA, OF) - .360/.484/.760

After getting sick of everyone hyping up his partner in crime Clint Frazier, Indians #1 prospect Bradley Zimmer decided to do something about it by having a monster week. Zimmer paced Akron this week with nine hits, five of them for extra bases including two more home runs to bring himself up to third place overall in the organization with nine on the season.

Zimmer did it all this week, also walking six times and stealing two bases. Perhaps most promising of all was how he closed out the final two days, failing to strike out in back-to-back games for the first time all season.

Ka'ai Tom (A, OF) - .417/.481/.667

A POTW nominee two weeks ago, Tom was back at it this past week, leading the way from the top of the Lake County batting order with an impressive 10 hits and three walks in 27 plate appearances. Tom picked up his first home run of the year and also led the way defensively by scoring two outfield assists.

At 22 years old, it would not be a surprise to see him make the jump to Lynchburg before long as he is playing well above his peers through his first month of Single-A ball.

Tyler Krieger (A, 2B) - .428/.484/.571

Tyler Krieger has been a sensation in his first taste of minor league baseball this season. The 2015 fourth round pick missed out on playing last year with a shoulder injury but hasn't skipped a beat.

Krieger paced Lake County with 12 hits this week and is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak. While not known for his power (although he hit a home run on May 21), Krieger socked three extra base hits this week and managed to steal three more bases. He's currently second overall in the Midwest League in hits on the year with 58 already.

Nathan Lukes (A, OF) - .419/.437/.677

A seventh round pick in last year's draft, Nathan Lukes has done nothing but hit the ball for a high average at every level he's experienced thus far. Lukes showcased a power surge this week, leading the Tribe system with 13 hits including a whopping six doubles and one triple while knocking in seven runs. .

Lukes also stole four bases, moving his overall season total to 14, where he's now tied for fourth overall in the Midwest League. He has transitioned very well to being moved to the middle of the Captain's batting order after Ka'ai Tom was activated.

Shawn Morimando (AA, LHP) - 0.00 ERA, 10.3 K/9, 0.43 WHIP

Shawn Morimando only had one start this week, but boy was it a good one. Morimando absolutely destroyed the Altoona Curve to the tune of eight strikeouts and zero runs allowed while walking zero batters for the first time this season. He would have improved his Eastern League leading record to 9-0 with his performance but the bullpen blew the lead after he was pulled.

Morimando's ERA on the season dropped to 1.65 after his start and he's definitely going to be in contention for the 2016 Bob Feller award for best Indians minor league pitcher if he keeps going at this rate.

Michael Peoples (AA, RHP) - 1.42 ERA, 5.0 K/9, 0.79 WHIP

While he's not on the major prospect lists, Michael Peoples has quietly had an excellent 2016 season as a starting pitcher for Akron. The former 2012 14th round pick now has an ERA of 3.17 on the season after excellent back-to-back starts this past week.

Peoples pitched 6.0  innings of one-run ball on Sunday in a winning effort and followed that up with a spectacular one-hit effort over 6.2 innings this past Friday where the only hit he gave up was to the last batter he faced in the seventh inning (also in a winning effort). While People's strikeouts are a bit down this season, he's more than made up for it by surrendering the fewest baserunners of his career with a 1.14 WHIP on the season.

Previous Winners

Clint Frazier (89%) - Week of 5/15-5/21
Ryan Merritt (52%) - Week of 5/14-5/20

Most Nominations

Clint Frazier - 2
Ka'ai Tom - 2
Shawn Mormando - 2