The AFL begins its season on October 2nd this year.
Last year the Guardians sent David Fry, Angel Martinez, Connor Kokx, Mason Hickman, Cade Smith, Lenny Torres, Jr., and Hunter Stanley to the AFL. If you follow the Guardians' minor leaguers closely you will see that most of these guys had prominent roles this year. Fry made his ML debut, Martinez remained at top 10 prospect, Kokx held in own in his second full year in AA, Smith showed himself to be a priority relief prospect for the Guardians who might even be added to the 40-man roster this winter, Stanley was a starting pitcher this entire season at Akron, two steps from the majors, in only his second season, Torres, Jr., finally healthy, made a name for himself as a closer in A ball. Only Mason Hickman seemed to tread water this year at Akron as his development seemed to me to stall out. But you can see how beneficial the AFL can be for most players.
In many cases teams will send players who are significant prospects who missed time that year due to injury and need the reps against good competition that simply going to the instructs won't give them. Sometimes, especially with catchers, teams will send a guy who is might not be an organizational priority prospect but may be needed to balance a roster in the AFL. As I said, catchers seem to be at a premium in the AFL which Fry used to his advantage last year...and you can see where that got him this year.
So, all that being said, who do I think the Guardians should send to the AFL this fall?
(1) Chase DeLauter - Normally teams are discouraged from sending inexperienced, A ball players to the AFL. It is more of a finishing school for prospects rather than just a place for a guy to get ABs or IPs against better competition. So why should DeLauter be there? He has shown incredible bat-to-ball skills at Lake County and needs to be challenged with better competition. If the goal is to get hm ML-ready by next August/September it is crucial he gets a leg up on playing against higher level competition,
(2) Kyle Manzardo - This may sound like overkill, but he could use the extra ABs that he missed with his shoulder injury this year. Still, the Guardians may believe it better for him to rehab that shoulder further and get into his off-season routine. But it's a thought to have him go to the AFL if the plan is for him to play in the majors sometime next year.
(3) Franco Aleman - Following the same path as Cade Smith did last year, Aleman started the year in Lake County and then moved up to Akron. Like Smith Aleman pitched a full, injury-free season and, like Smith, he would not be eligible for the Rule 5 this year so him getting innings in won't impact him being exposed as a good prospect and us, as a result, having to roster him this fall.
(4) Tyler Freeman - Here me out. We are looking for versatility, right. What better place to practice that but in the AFL. Freeman goes there to practice playing in the OF and playing 1B, as well as some 2B. Plus he gets to make up some ABs that he didn't get sitting on the end of Francona's bench. Don't know if someone who has exhausted their rookie eligibility can play in the AFL but, if so, this could help Freeman.
(5) Ryan Webb - Webb has missed so much time that maybe he could benefit from pitching against better competition. That bein said, maybe they are trying to cap his innings this year and so this would be a bad idea but maybe not. This would be an easier sell to the AFL people if Webb finishes the season with Akron this coming week. As I mentioned in a previous blog I hope that happens as it would give him one more start before the end of the AA season next weekend.
(6) Bryan Lavastida - Hey, as I said catchers are a valuable commodity and Lavastida could get more work on his defense here. I would roster him this winter and, if so, more catching reps have to help, right?
(7) George Valera - Hey, two of the criteria for a guy to play in the AFL is that he is a good prospect and he missed reps during the regular season. Check and check.
(8) Dayan Frias - The guy has helium right now and plays the middle infield. Although he has not played higher than A ball he did play in the WBC so it's not like he doesn't have high level experience.
So, here is my 'dream team' of guys for Cleveland's contribution to the AFL roster. If we need another pitcher we could look at Tanner Burns or Cody Morris to get some extra work in as a reliever.
Interested to see what the Guardians do.
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