Going into the season, the Indians farm system was ranked by many to be in the bottom half of the Majors. After having four teams make the playoffs, including one championship, those rankings should improve.
"With the progress that guys made and the additions through the draft and trades this has really been one of the better years I can remember in awhile," said Vice President of Player Development Ross Atkins. "We have a lot more depth and balance than we had a year ago."
In a year that saw 11 rookies on the major-league roster, Columbus and Akron both advanced to the playoffs while Lake County reached the Midwest League championship. The Arizona Rookie League team won their title.
During the organization's end-of-season press conference, General Manager Chris Antonetti did acknowledge that the Indians are better positioned with prospects in the system if they wanted to make a trade in the offseason.
"We have the depth now. It's an area where we have made steady progress over the past three years and want to continue on that path," Antonetti said. "We have the players to make a meaningful trade if that is the way we want to go."
POSTSEASON TEAMS
Columbus: The Clippers won the West Division in the International League and advanced to the playoffs for the third time in five years before losing to Durham in four games in the semifinals.
On May 30, Columbus trailed by 8 1/2 games but went 51-34 the rest of the way as Indianapolis faltered. The Clippers were sixth in the IL in batting average (.261) but second in RBI (635) and third in home runs (121). The pitchers had the sixth-lowest ERA at 3.71 but had the largest run differential in the league, scoring 87 more runs than they allowed.
Jesus Aguilar batted .304 in Columbus and was ranked fourth in the IL in RBI (77) and fifth in home runs (19).
Akron: The RubberDucks finished second in the Western Division and lost their semifinal series to Richmond in four games.
The RubberDucks occupied either first or second in the division from April 27th through the end of the regular season, and despite going just 25-34 over the final two months of the season.
Akron was sixth in the league in hitting (.261) and seventh in ERA (3.98). They were tied with Richmond for fewest homers (74) but had the league's best fielding percentage at .982.
Lake County: The Captains were 65-74 in the regular season but claimed one of the wild card spots by going 38-31 in the second half. They would advance to the Midwest League championship series before being swept 3-0 by Kane County. Lake County led the league in home runs with 119 but was near the bottom in batting average (11th, .246() and ERA (14th, 4.28).
Arizona League: The Indians had the best-regular season record at 37-16 and defeated the Giants to win the AZL Championship. The Indians strung together three winning streaks of at least five games, including a 12-game streak from Aug. 7-22.
The Indians led the league in team batting average (.269), slugging pct. (.400), and on-base percentage (.345). The pitching staff recorded 37 wins (1st), a 3.51 ERA (2nd) and a league-best 19 saves.
LINDOR'S PROGRESS
Francisco Lindor began the season in Akron before being promoted to Columbus on July 22. In 126 games, he batted .276 with 31 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs, 62 RBI, 75 runs scored and 28 stolen bases, which was third most in the organization.
At the age of 20, Lindor was the youngest player in the International League. Atkins remarked that it was pretty incredible to see how teammates and opponents reacted around him.
"His performance was great but more encouraging was to see the passion and work ethic," Atkins said. "We just want to gage his workload and make sure we're not spiking it. Make sure he is challenged and also not feel like he is in over his head. What is best to make him feel the best he can be?"
Lindor is in the Arizona Fall League and will be in the major-league camp when Spring Training begins. Whether or not he takes over as the Indians' shortstop or sees more time with the Clippers is one of the biggest questions of the offseason. With the emergence of Jose Ramirez, Lindor doesn't have to be rushed up to the majors.
Said Antonetti: "Ramirez and Lindor are not necessarily intertwined. We're trying to look at what is best for his (Lindor's) development. Anyone can come up to the Majors but are they ready to succeed? He had a great year developmentally. He had some challenges in Triple-A he was working through."
In nine Arizona Fall League games, Lindor is batting .300 with a home run, three RBI and a stolen base.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
The 2014 Draft class is off to a great start. First-round pick Bradley Zimmer hit .304 at Mahoning Valley before finishing the year with Lake County. Fellow first-round pick Justice Sheffield was in the Arizona League and was regularly throwing 96 miles per hour with his fastball.
The one who might have stood out the most though is third-round pick Bobby Bradley, who led the organization in hitting with a .361 average and also led the Arizona League in RBI with 50.
"We haven't seen players come into an organization and make an impact like Zimmer and Bradley in awhile," Atkins said. "The last player that neared Bobby Bradley's performance in the minors was Manny Ramirez."
ELSEWHERE IN THE SYSTEM
Carolina: The Mudcats were 62-74 and finished in third place in the Carolina league Southern Division. They led the league in batting average (.263) and were third in ERA (3.89), Ryan Merritt led the organization in ERA (2.58) and was second in wins with 13.
Mahoning Valley: The Scrappers went 33-42 in the New York-Penn League. Zimmer's development was the most noteworthy thing.
MOVING ON
The Indians announced in September that their Carolina League affiliate would move to Lynchburg (Va.). The Indians had been affiliated with the Mudcats since 1987 when the franchise was in Kinston, NC.
"We're excited to stay in the Carolina League and work with a new group that shares our visions and values," Atkins said.
