Is it real or is it Memorex

Wow, if that title doesn't date me, I don't know what will!

For those of you who don't know this was an ad on TV purporting how good a quality recording you could make on this type of audio tape, so good you couldn't tell if it was the actual singer live or a tape of that singer.

But now to the point.

Early in the season you can't tell if a player's aberrationally (is that even a word?) good season will hold up the entire year.   If the player is only a minor leaguer there is the additional question of whether that performance will translate to the major leagues in the future.  

Let's look at some of the Indians' key (in my opinion) minor leaguers and their performances so far:

Triston McKenzie - This guy has been so good at such a young age that it made me make him my #1 Indians' prospect this winter.  Above Zimmer.  Above Mejia.  Above everyone.    Well, this season is even better.  If I had to make my list now, McKenzie would still be at the top.   I think he can be that good.  I think his performance is real and bodes well for his future.  His ceiling is really high.

Francisco Mejia -  Well, all those people (all three of them, thanks for reading!) who saw my rankings and thought Mejia was better are probably chuckling right now.  Mejia has been outstanding so far.   Better than outstanding.   He has been why-the-heck-hasn't-this-guy-been-promoted-yet good.  He is exceeding expectations which, as lofty as they were coming into this season, a pretty strong statement.

Mike Papi - He has been beyond good this year, especially against lefties.   To me he has shown more consistent power even in his outs whereas, in the last two years, his outs were really, really weak and his hitting against LHP was, well, terrible.  It is still up in the air whether this is real or not but it is encouraging, nevertheless, as EVERY area where he should be making improvements, he IS.

There are lots of other guys who are exceeding expectations this year but these are the guys who come to mind for me, as expectations for them have been high for some time and, if they reach their apparent, current potential, they could be a big part of the Indians' future.