James Karinchak is our No. 7 Cleveland Indians prospect. Who should be No. 8?

Whiff-tastic right-handed reliever is our No. 7 Cleveland Indians prospect for 2020, exploding up the rankings after being unranked in 2019.

Karinchak did not get off to a great start with the Indians, dropping to the ninth round of the 2017 MLB draft due to injury concerns, and posting an ugly 5.79 ERA in 10 games, including six starts as the Tribe tested him out as a starting pitcher.

The Bryant University alum converted to reliever full-time in 2018 and the results were incredible. He posted a 0.79 ERA in 11.1 innings with Single-A Lake County, striking out 15.9 batters per nine innings. He didn’t miss a beat in his promotion to High-A Lynchburg, posting a 1.00 ERA over 25 appearances spanning 27.0 innings, and again striking out 15 batters per nine innings.

The 6-foot-3 230 pound flamethrower struggled in his first taste of Double-A at the end of the 2018 season, but he had it all figured out in 2019, when he began the season with 10 of the most devastating innings a pitcher pitched in minor league baseball.

In those 10 innings spanning 10 games, Karinchak struck out 24 batters, walked two and gave up two hits. He sported a 0.00 ERA and an unreal -1.03 FIP. He continued to embarrass hitters after being promoted to Triple-A Columbus, but an injury sidelined him for two months.

Upon his return, Karinchak was slightly more hittable for Columbus and his walk-rate spiked, but his strikeouts remained exactly the same at over 21 per nine innings.

He earned a late season cup of coffee with the Tribe, where he sported an impressive 1.69 ERA with eight strikeouts and one walk in five appearances spanning 5.1 innings.

Look for Karinchak to begin the season with the Indians because as long as he’s not walking a batter an inning, he’s got nothing left to prove in the minor leagues.

Logan Allen, LHP (Age 22)

2019 (AAA): 18 GS, 80.0 IP, 22.3 K%, 9.3 BB%, 5.85 ERA, 5.57 FIP

2019 (MLB): 4 GS, 27.2 IP, 13.4 K%, 10.2 BB%, 6.18 ERA, 5.49 FIP

Headlining piece of the Trevor Bauer trade, Allen was a top 100 MLBPipeline prospect at the time of his acquisition. Allen had a great MLB debut (7.0 shutout innings vs Milwaukee), but struggled in many of his other 2019 appearances in both MLB and Triple-A.

Advertisement

Aaron Bracho, SS (Age 18)

2019 (R): 137 PA, .296/.416/.593, 6 HR, 4 SB, 16.8 BB%, 15.3 K%, 162 wRC+

2019 (A-): 32 PA, .222/.344/.481, 2 HR, 0 SB, 15.6 BB%, 25.0 K%, 141 wRC+

Injury kept him from debuting in 2018, but the DR native made up for it in 2019, rebuilding his hype by posting incredible numbers in the AZL and earning a promotion to Mahoning Valley.

Bobby Bradley, 1B (Age 23)

2019 (AAA): 453 PA, .264/.344/.567, 33 HR, 0 SB, 10.2 BB%, 33.8 K%, 125 wRC+

2019 (MLB): 49 PA, .178/.245/.356, 1 HR, 0 SB, 8.2 BB%, 40.8 K%, 51 wRC+

A career best 33 home runs at Triple-A earned the slugging first baseman his first cup of coffee with the Indians. He hit the hardest home run for the Tribe in the statcast era, but also whiffed in 40% of his at bats. Will need to cut down on the Ks if he wants to stay in the show.

Emmanuel Clase, RHP (Age 21)

2019 (A+): 6 G, 7.0 IP, 44.0 K%, 4.0 BB%, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 FIP

2019 (AA): 33 G, 37.2 IP, 25.5 K%, 5.2 BB%, 3.35 ERA, 2.36 FIP

2019 (MLB): 21 G, 23.1 IP, 22.3 K%, 6.4 BB%, 2.21 ERA, 3.43 FIP

The primary return in the Corey Kluber trade, Clase possesses one of the most devastating pitches in baseball, a cutter thrown over 100 mph. He’s never seen Triple-A, jumping straight from Double-A to MLB in 2019, where he found success in the Texas bullpen.

Daniel Espino, RHP (Age 19)

2019 (R): 6 GS, 13.2 IP, 30.2 K%, 9.4 BB%, 1.98 ERA, 4.20 FIP

2019 (A-): 3 GS, 10.0 IP, 40.0 K%, 11.1 BB%, 6.30 ERA, 2.60 FIP

2019 first-round pick struck out a third of the batters he faced in Rookie ball and only got more deadly in Low-A as a 19-year-old. Fastball sits in upper 90s, occasionally touching triple digits. He. Is. 19.

Ethan Hankins, RHP (Age 19)

2019 (A-): 8 GS, 38.2 IP, 27.9 K%, 11.7 BB%, 1.20 ERA, 3.22 FIP

2019 (A): 5 GS, 21.1 IP, 29.8 K%, 12.8 BB%, 4.64 ERA, 4.28 FIP

2018 first round comp. pick blew away hitters at short season ball and earned a late promotion to full season Lake County. His strikeout rate is impressive, but he’ll need to cut down on walks as he moves through the system.

Brayan Rocchio, SS (Age 18)

2019 (A-): 295 PA, .250/.310/.373, 5 HR, 14 SB, 6.8 BB%, 13.6 K%, 107 wRC+

Venezuelan signed in 2017, held his own as one of the youngest players in the New York Penn League in 2019 while improving his walk rate and power.