Emmanuel Clase is our No. 11 Cleveland prospect. Who should be No. 12?

Emmanuel Clase nabbed 30% of the vote for the coveted No. 11 spot, which feels awfully low for a guy who throws a Rivera-style cutter at 100+ MPH. Here were a couple of the comments on the site yesterday regarding his polling numbers:

OneTwoSeven: “How is Clase being voted this high on anything other than name rec?”

Pezzicle: “Proximity is the name of the game on this site usually.”

I’m not chiding you; I’m not criticizing you; I’m not mad at you. Hell, I’m not even going to do the played-out “I’m just disappointed” schtick. Clase’s ranking in our poll tells me two things:

1) Brian is right — there are a lot of young guys in this system that we are all really excited about.

2) Missing an entire season makes everyone think that you have sailed west to the undying lands.

Clase didn’t even really miss a season. He was suspended for 80-games by the league after testing positive for performance enhancer and name of the 1990s alt-rock one-hit-wonder Boldenone. Fortunately, this was reverted to time-served as a result of the pandemic-shorted 2020 season. He wasn’t a total ghost during his suspension — courtesy of Indians Prospective we enjoyed a peak or two into his preparations for 2021.

Thanks @captainvide0 / Patrick Ellington for sending this NSFW content along.

This is not “11th-best prospect” stuff, people.

Again, I understand that recency bias, excitement, ceiling, position, and maybe one hundred other things all influence the way that we think about prospects. He also needs to prove that he isn’t 90% cream and clear out there on the mound.

However, I don’t think there is anyone that we already have or have yet to discuss who is poised to make a more significant impact for the 2021 season.

Let’s just hope that impact isn’t the difference between, say, 75 and 80 wins.

Bobby Bradley, 1B (Age 24)
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 in 2019, but with 1B Carlos Santana and DH Franmil Reyes healthy in 2020, Bradley didn’t get a chance last year.

Tanner Burns, RHP (Age 22)
Cleveland 2020 1st round MLB draft competitive balance pick

A prototypical Cleveland college pitcher draft pick who possesses great strikeout ability combined with excellent control. Could be a quick mover in the system.

Joey Cantillo, LHP (Age 21)
2019 (A): 19 GS, 98.0 IP, 34.7 K%, 7.3 BB%, 1.93 ERA, 2.15 FIP
2019 (A+): 3 GS, 13.2 IP, 25.4 K%, 11.1 BB%, 4.61 ERA, 4.98 FIP

Former Padres 16th round pick has soared through their system. Possesses stellar control and an elite changeup, but doesn’t blow away the radar gun.

Daniel Johnson, OF (Age 25)
2020 (MLB): 13 PA, .083/.154/.083, 0 HR, 0 SB, 7.7 BB%, 38.5 K%, -71 wRC+

Saw a brief cup of coffee in the shortened 2020 season, but other than picking up his first career hit and walk, he didn’t have much to show for it and was sent back to the taxi squad.

Angel Martinez, SS (Age 18)
2019 (DSL): 137 PA, .306/.402/.428, 1 HR, 11 SB, 11.1 BB%, 11.1 K%, 134 wRC+

Switch-hitting shortstop with excellent instincts and an already-mature approach at the plate. Opened eyes with his 2019 DSL performance as the top-performing Cleveland player.

Owen Miller, SS/2B (Age 24)
2019 (AA): 560 PA, .290/.355/.430, 13 HR, 5 SB, 8.2 BB%, 15.4 K%, 121 wRC+

Fast-moving college infielder with pop and excellent contact skills. Was a third round pick by the Padres in 2018 and was already in Double-A in his first full season. Could help Cleveland at the MLB level this year.

Gabriel Rodriguez, 3B (Age 18)
2019 (DSL): 170 PA, .238/.335/.406, 3 HR, 3 SB, 8.8 BB%, 15.9 K%, 106 wRC+
2019 (AZL): 73 PA, .215/.288/.262, 0 HR, 1 SB, 5.5 BB%, 30.1 K%, 59 wRC+

The top international signing by Cleveland in 2018, Rodriguez is already physically mature to the point where he had to be moved to third base. Has the potential to be a big-time home run hitter as an infielder.

Carson Tucker, SS (Age 18)
Cleveland 2020 1st round MLB draft pick

The younger brother of Pirates MLB player Cole Tucker, Carson possesses plus speed and sprays hits to all fields, but has yet to debut in the minor leagues.

Carlos Vargas, RHP (Age 21)
2019 (A-): 15 GS, 77.2. IP, 21.9 K%, 7.4 BB%, 4.52 ERA, 3.36 FIP

Flamethrowing right-handed starter who can approach triple digits with a low 90s slider. Was added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

Josh Wolf, RHP (Age 20)
2019 (R): 5 GS, 8.0 IP, 36.4 K%, 3.0 BB%, 3.38 ERA, 1.37 FIP, 58 strikes, 11 balls.

Because I gave OneTwoSeven a hard time I’m doing him a solid and tossing Josh Wolf onto the list. With a fastball and curveball that rate as plus pitches and rookie league velocity that touched 94 MPH, the recent trade acquisition looks right at home in the Cleveland system.