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Cleveland Indian 2014 draft picks (L-R) Bradley Zimmer, Bobby Bradley, Justus Sheffield, and Grant Hockin pose for pictures before an Indians game last year. Sheffield and Bradley will begin this season in Lake County and Zimmer is headed to the Lynchburg Hillcats high Class A team.
(Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland Indians left-handed pitcher Justus Sheffield, catcher Francisco Mejia and infielder Yu-Cheng Chang are the top minior-league prospects assigned to the Lake County Captains for the 2015 season. The roster was released Monday.
Class A Lake County opens at Lansing (Mich.) on Friday and its home opener is 4 p.m. Sunday against Bowling Green.
According to his MLB.com scouting profile, Sheffield has a "solid three-pitch mix. His fastball sits in the low 90s and has been clocked up to 96 mph. At 5-10, Sheffield is slightly undersized but still has all the tools necessary to develop into a solid starting pitcher.''
The web site rates Sheffield's curveball as the best in the Indians' farm system.
- Click here for the Class A Lake County Captains roster.
- Click here for the Class A Lynchburg Hillcats roster.
Sheffield was drafted 31st overall with a compensation pick for losing Ubaldo Jimenez to free agency, and he received a $1.6 million signing bonus, spurning a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt. He was 3-1 with a 4.79 ERA in eight games for the Arizona Rookie League Indians. During the offseason, he pleaded guilty to a criminal trespass charge in Tullahoma, Tenn., paid court costs and could have his record expunged if he stays out of trouble for one year.
Sheffield is the Indians' ranked eighth in MLB.com's list of the Indians top 30 prospects. Mejia is No. 7 and Chang is No. 15.
Mejia, 19, is a switch-hitting catcher from the Dominican Republic with a big arm and plays beyond his years behind the dish. He was a New York Penn League All-Star for short-season Mahoning Valley, batting .282 with 23 extra-base hits. He threw out 32 percent of would-be base stealers (19 of 59).
Chang is a 19-year-old, switch-hitting shortstop from Taiwan who hit .346 (55-for-159) with six homers and 56 RBI last year for the Arizona Rookie League Indians. He signed in 2013 for $500,000 as an international free agent. He also played some third base in Arizona.
Several familiar names return to Lake County from last year's team, which reached the playoffs with a late-season surge. The Catpains won two playoffs series and advanced to the Midwest League championship series. They were swept by Kane County, 3-0.
Dorssys Paulino is back for the third year in Lake County, which usually isn't a good sign. But he's 20 and learning a new position after converting to the outfield in the middle of last season. He had been a highly regarded infielder since signing in 2011 as a 16-year-old shortstop out of the Dominican Republic, but was a mess defensively.
Right-handed starters Jordan Milbrath and Dace Kime return, and right-hander Nick Pasquale is back after missing last year with an injury. Infielders Grant Fink and Claudio Bautista also return after each hit 13 home runs last year.
Another player to watch is first baseman Bobby Bradley, a third-round pick last year who put up monster numbers in Arizona: .361, 50 RBI, 39 runs and 25 extra-base hits (eight homers) in 39 games.
Pitchers to watch could be left-hander Sean Brady and right-handers Jordan Carter and Julian Merryweather.
One of the best names in baseball also returns to Lake County, catcher Sicnarf Loopstock, a native of Altus, Aruba. His first name is Francis spelled backward and is pronounced SICK-narf. He seeks to become just the sixth Arubian in the majors.
Shaun Larkin was promoted from hitting coach to manager of the Captains. Former Indians pitcher Steve Karsay is the pitching coach and Larry Day will coach the hitters.
Class A Lynchburg
The Hillcats are in and the Mudcats are out.
The Indians moved their high-A affiliate from Zebulon, N.C. (Carolina Mudcats), to Lynchburg, Va. Cleveland signed a four-year player development deal with the Lynchburg Hillcats in September.
Lynchburg features a $6.65 million outfield and three of the Indians top nine prospects -- No. 2-ranked Clint Frazier, No. 3 Bradley Zimmer and No. 9 Mike Papi. All were high draft picks in 2013 and 2014 whose signing bonuses combined for $6.65 million.
The pitching staff includes four hurlers ranked between 12th and 19th in the organization: right-handers Dylan Baker, Mitch Brown and Adam Plutko, and lefty Luis Lugo. Two relievers to watch include right-handers Justin Brantley, an undrafted free agent who turned heads last year in Lake County with a 1.31 ERA, and closer Ben Heller, who has a 2.69 career ERA in two seasons. Brantley is the cousin of Indians left fielder Michael Brantley.
First baseman Nellie Rodriguez (22 home runs in Lake County) and catcher Eric Haase (17 homers) will provide power in addition to the three outfielders, who also have plenty of pop.
Mark Budzinski, who managed Lake County last year, will lead the Hillcats.