Tuesday Thoughts - Injured Prospects

We are now entering the second month of the minor league seeason.   These months are all important, developmentally, for our prospects.  Guys can miss 2-3 weeks with an injury and they are probably OK.  Once they start missing a month or more then it is a concern for the stunting their development.  

Let's take a look at our injured prospects.  Remember, every organization has injured prospects but I feel that the Guardians rely so much on their farm system to fill their ML roster that the development of these guys is as, if not more, important for them compared to other teams who can buy their way out of failed development of their prospects.

So here goes:

George Valera -We have heard the story of they are taking their time with a guy to make sure he is really ready. Can't wait to get him on the field as I think he could be a contributor in September.  But time is running out for that.

Ethan Hankins - Hankins has been assigned to Lake County.  They were taking it slow with him but hopefully he is ready to give his career a jump start after a lot of injury-filled seasons.  He has fallen so far in status that only 1 rating service (FanGraphs) has him in the top 30 prospects for the Guardians.

Ross Carver - A new addition to this list, Carver was just injured this past week.  He was not particularly effective early in the year although, with his prospect pedigree, he was expected to pick up his production at Akron as the weather warmed up.  

Justin Boyd - One of two prospects picked up in the Will Benson trade, it was going to be interesting to see where Boyd was deployed and how he performed.  As a Joe Lampe clone he could easily start at Lake County, if and when he is deployed, and be very successful.  His injury didn't seem like a month-long thing coming out of ST so it is concerning he hasn't been assigned to a full-season team yet.

Steve Hajjer - The second prospect we got in the Benson trade, little has been said about Haffer not reporting to a full-season club.  He should likely be in Akron although he might start the year at Lake County to ease him in

Alexfri Planez - He had an ankle sprain in ST.  Surprising he hasn't started playing.  Crucial year for him as his minor league free agent clock AND his Rule 5 clock are ticking.  He has to make a big jump this year and you can't do that in Goodyear.

Daniel Espino - No word after the ominous 'going to see a specialist' statement a week or more ago.  The most crucial guy on this list as he has superstar written all over his tools and performance.  

Cody Morris - Not truly a prospect any more, he still meets the rookie category so I am mentioning him here.  His presence in the bullpen may be crucial later in the season and we need to get him up and running by the trade deadline, at least.

Justin Campbell - No word on him although he is not far behind Espino in importance of getting him on the field pitching.  His injury sounds significant so I am crossing my fingers he avoids surgery and can come back sometime this year.

Chase DeLauter - Timetable for him is sometime in August which makes waiting around for him a litttle less stressful as we have know for months that his return is not imminent.

There are obviously more injured guys like Jake Miller, Geo Rivera, Justin Lewis, Sabrowski, Carson Tucker,  Hernandez, Villalobos, Turner, Misiasek, Mikolajchake, Polanco, Ramirez, Rodriguez, F. Santos, Carson Tucker, Teaney and Tovar.