Cleveland Indians minor league players
Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Cleveland Indians system.
Players
Will Benson
William Buchanan Benson is an American baseball outfielder in the Cleveland Indians organization.Benson was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft out of The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. He was committed to play college baseball for the Duke Blue Devils, but instead chose to sign with the Indians.
Benson made his professional debut with the Arizona League Indians where he posted a.209 batting average with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 44 games. In 2017, he played for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers where he batted.238 with ten home runs and 36 RBIs in 56 games, and in 2018, he played with the Lake County Captains, hitting.180 with 22 home runs and 58 RBIs in 123 games. He returned to Lake County to begin 2019. On April 18, 2019, he hit four home runs in one game. Benson was promoted to the Lynchburg Hillcats in June after hitting.272 with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs in 62 games with Lake County.
In July 2020, Benson signed on to play for Team Texas of the Constellation Energy League for the 2020 season.
Ernie Clement
Ernie Clement is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Cleveland Indians organization.Clement attended Brighton High School in Rochester, New York, where he played baseball and ice hockey. For his high school career, he hit.472. Undrafted out of high school in the 2014 MLB draft, he enrolled at the University of Virginia where he played college baseball.
In 2015, Clement's freshman year at Virginia, he played in 62 games, hitting.245 with one home run and 22 RBIs. He hit.292 in the 2015 College World Series and was named to the All-CWS Team, helping Virginia win their first ever national title. He spent the summer playing in the Northwoods League with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. As a sophomore at Virginia in 2017, he batted.351/383/.443 with one home run and thirty RBIs in sixty games, earning a spot on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Third Team. That summer, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Harwich Mariners where he was named the league's Most Valuable Player after hitting.353 with 59 hits in forty games. In 2016, his junior season with Virginia, he hit.315 with two home runs and 34 RBIs in 58 games, earning All-ACC Third Team honors for the second consecutive year. In 745 collegiate at-bats, Clement struck out only 31 times. After his junior year, he was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB draft.
Clement signed with Cleveland and made his professional debut with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, hitting.280 with 13 RBIs in 45 games. He began 2018 with the Lake County Captains and was promoted to the Lynchburg Hillcats and Akron RubberDucks during the season. In 102 total games between the three clubs, he slashed.289/.358/.375 with two home runs, 33 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases. He returned to Akron to begin 2019. He missed a month during the season with an adductor strain, and also played in three games for the Columbus Clippers at the end of the year. Over 101 games during the year, Clement batted.269/.323/.331 with one home run, 28 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Solar Sox following the season.
Tyler Freeman
Tyler Andrew Freeman is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Cleveland Indians organization.Freeman attended Etiwanda High School in Etiwanda, California. As a senior in 2017, he hit.526 with four home runs, 36 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases. After the season, he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Indians, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at Texas Christian University.
Freeman made his professional debut with the Arizona League Indians, batting.297 in 36 games. He played the 2018 season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, slashing.352/.405/.511 with two home runs, 38 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases in 72 games, earning New York-Penn League All-Star honors. He started 2019 with the Lake County Captains, with whom he was named a Midwest League All-Star, before being promoted to the Lynchburg Hillcats in June. Over 123 games between both teams, Freeman batted.306/.368/.410 with three home runs, 44 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases.
Oscar González
Oscar Luis González is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Cleveland Indians organization.González signed as an international free agent with the Cleveland Indians on July 2, 2014 for a $300,000 signing bonus. He played for the DSL Indians in 2015, hitting.203/.266/.324/.590 with 4 home runs and 38 RBI. He split the 2016 season between the AZL Indians and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, hitting a combined.297/.340/.554/.894 with 8 home runs and 26 RBI. He was named the 2016 Arizona League MVP. He spent the 2017 season with Mahoning Valley, hitting.283/.301/.388/.689 with 3 home runs and 34 RBI. He spent the 2018 season with the Lake County Captains, hitting.292/.310/.435/.745 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI. He split the 2019 season between the Lynchburg Hillcats and the Akron RubberDucks, hitting a combined.293/.315/.418/.733 with 9 home runs and 70 RBI.
Sam Hentges
Sam D. Hentges is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization.Hentges attended Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, Minnesota and as a senior in 2014, was the St. Paul Pioneer Press baseball player of the year. He committed to play college baseball at the University of Arkansas. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fourth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Indians, forgoing his commitment to Arkansas, and made his professional debut with the Arizona League Indians, compiling a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings.
Hentges pitched 2015 with the Arizona League Indians and Mahoning Valley Scrappers, pitching to a combined 3-5 record and 4.37 ERA in 13 total games between both teams. He started 2016 with the Lake County Captains, but had his season ended early after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. He returned in 2017 and played with the Arizona League Indians and Mahoning Valley, going 0-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 11 starts. In 2018, Hentges played with the Lynchburg Hillcats where he was 6-6 with a 3.27 ERA in 23 starts.
The Indians added Hentges to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season. He began 2019 with the Akron RubberDucks.
Jean Carlos Mejía
Jean Carlos Mejía is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization.Mejía signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in 2013. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Dominican Summer League Indians, going 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in innings. He returned to the Dominican Summer League in both 2015 and 2016, pitching to a 4-3 record and 1.37 ERA in relief innings in 2015, and going 2-4 with a 3.48 ERA in innings in 2016. In 2017, he pitched for both the Arizona League Indians and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers where he compiled a 2-0 record with a 1.22 ERA in 21 relief appearances, and in 2018, he played for the Lake County Captains and the Lynchburg Hillcats, going 4-9 with a 3.31 ERA in 18 games.
Mejía returned to Lynchburg to begin 2019.
The Indians added him to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.
Andruw Monasterio
Andruw Monasterio is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder in the Cleveland Indians organization.In 2014, at age 17, Monasterio tried out for the Chicago Cubs at the organization's Venezuelan academy. The Cubs were impressed and signed him to a contract. Originally a shortstop, Monasterio began seeing regular time as a second baseman starting in the 2016 season with the South Bend Cubs. On August 21, 2018, the Cubs traded Monasterio for Washington Nationals infielder Daniel Murphy and cash considerations. Monasterio was assigned to the Potomac Nationals of the Class-A Advanced Carolina League, contributing key offense to the Potomac lineup within days of joining the Nationals organization.
Baseball scout Adam McInturff of 2080 Baseball described Monasterio in 2018 as a "high-floor prospect" with "above-average" defense, but not much power on offense.
Monasterio was traded to the Cleveland Indians on December 17, 2018. He began 2019 with the Akron RubberDucks.
Eli Morgan
Elijah Allan Morgan is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization.Morgan attended Peninsula High School in Rolling Hills Estates, California. In 2014, as a senior, he went 10-2 with a 1.23 ERA. He was not drafted out of high school in the 2014 MLB draft and enrolled at Gonzaga University where he played college baseball.
In 2015, as a freshman at Gonzaga, Morgan pitched to a 1-0 record with a 2.36 ERA in 14 appearances. As a sophomore in 2016, he transitioned into a full-time starter, going 10-3 with a 3.73 ERA in 16 starts, earning him a spot on the All-West Coast Conference First Team. After the season, he played in the Cape Cod League for the Orleans Firebirds. In 2017, his junior season, Morgan compiled a 10-2 record with a 2.86 ERA in 14 starts and was once again named to the All-WCC First Team. After his junior year, he was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the eighth round of the 2017 MLB draft.
Morgan signed with the Indians and made his professional debut that season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, pitching to a 3-2 record with a 1.03 ERA in 35 innings. He began 2018 with the Lake County Captains and was promoted to the Lynchburg Hillcats in May. In 27 starts between the two clubs, Morgan went 9-7 with a 3.27 ERA, striking out 156 batters in innings. In 2019, he began the year with Lynchburg before being promoted to the Akron RubberDucks in May, with whom he was named an Eastern League All-Star. In July, he made one spot start with the Columbus Clippers before being reassigned to Akron, with whom he finished the year. Over 26 games between the three clubs, Morgan went 9-6 with a 3.39 ERA, striking out 146 over innings.
Scott Moss
Scott Ian Moss is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization.Moss attended DeLand High School in DeLand, Florida. In 2013, as a senior, he went 4-2 with a 0.52 ERA and 70 strikeouts in innings. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 38th round of the 2013 MLB draft, but did not sign and instead chose to enroll at the University of Florida where he played college baseball for the Florida Gators.
Prior to his 2014 freshman season at Florida, Moss tore his ulnar collateral ligament and underwent Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss all of 2014 as well as all of 2015. Moss returned to action in 2016 as a redshirt sophomore, appearing in 14 games in which he went 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA. He was named to the All-SEC Tournament Team after throwing six shutout innings versus the LSU Tigers. After the season, the Cincinnati Reds selected Moss in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft with the 108th overall pick.
Moss signed with the Reds and made his professional debut with the Billings Mustangs, going 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in ten starts. He spent 2017 with the Dayton Dragons, where he went 13-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 26 starts and was named a Midwest League All-Star, and 2018 with the Daytona Tortugas, pitching to a 15-4 record with a 3.68 ERA in 25 starts. He began 2019 with the Chattanooga Lookouts, earning Texas League All-Star honors.
On July 31, 2019, the Reds traded Moss to the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade in which the Indians also acquired Franmil Reyes, Logan Allen, and Victor Nova, the Reds acquired Trevor Bauer, and the Padres acquired Taylor Trammell. Following the trade, Moss was assigned to the Akron RubberDucks. After two starts, he was promoted to the Columbus Clippers. Over 26 total starts between Chattanooga, Akron, and Columbus, Moss went 10-6 with a 2.96 ERA, striking out 159 over innings.
Moss was added to the Indians 40–man roster following the 2019 season.
Kyle Nelson
Kyle B. Nelson is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization.Nelson attended Galileo Academy of Science and Technology in San Francisco, California, where he played football and baseball. He went undrafted in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft out of high school, and enrolled in at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he played college baseball for the Santa Barbara Gauchos.
In 2015, Nelson's freshman year at UC Santa Barbara, he pitched to a 3-1 record and a 0.75 ERA, striking out 32 batters over 36 relief innings pitched, earning Freshman All-American honors. He played in the Northwoods League after the season. As a sophomore in 2016, he appeared in 33 games, going 7-2 with a 2.18 ERA, striking out 87 batters in 74 innings, and was named to the All-Big West First Team. In 2017, his junior season, he moved to the starting rotation. For the year, he made 15 starts, pitching to a 6-4 record and a 4.53 ERA over 87 innings. After the season, he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 15th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.
After signing with Cleveland, Nelson made his professional debut with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers where he went 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA over 29 innings pitched in relief. In 2018, he began the season with the Lake County Captains, where he was named a Midwest League All-Star, before being promoted to the Lynchburg Hillcats in August. In innings pitched between the two clubs, he compiled a 6-1 record and a 1.58 ERA, striking out 67 and walking nine. Nelson began 2019 with Lynchburg before being promoted to the Akron RubberDucks in May where he earned Eastern League All-Star honors. In August, he was promoted to the Columbus Clippers, with whom he finished the year. Over 42 games with the three teams, he went 4-4 with a 2.28 ERA and 69 strikeouts over innings.
Jordan Stephens
Jordan Shane Stephens is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization.Stephens attended Alvin High School in Alvin, Texas and played college baseball at Rice University. In 2014, he underwent Tommy John Surgery and missed most of his junior year. He returned from the injury in 2015 and after the season was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the fifth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.
Stephens pitched his first professional season with both the Arizona League White Sox and Great Falls Voyagers, posting a combined 0.51 ERA in innings pitched between both teams. In 2016, he pitched for the Winston-Salem Dash, pitching to a 7-10 record and 3.45 ERA in 27 games started. He spent 2017 with the Birmingham Barons, posting a 3-7 record with a 3.14 ERA in only 16 starts due to missing the first two months of the season because of tendinitis in his right elbow. The White Sox added Stephens to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season. He began 2019 with the Charlotte Knights and also played in one game with Winston-Salem.
Stephens was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians on June 15, 2019. He was assigned to the Akron RubberDucks. On August 30, Stephens was designated for assignment. After clearing waivers, Stephens was outrighted to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers on September 2, 2019.
Ka'ai Tom
Tom graduated from Saint Louis School in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he played baseball and football, in 2012. He was teammates with future Heisman Trophy winner and NFL first round pick Marcus Mariota. After going undrafted in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas where he played college baseball. After his freshman year, he transferred to the University of Kentucky and joined their baseball team. In 2015, as a junior, he batted.375 with five home runs, 51 RBIs, 15 doubles and 16 stolen bases. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.
Tom signed and made his professional debut that same season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers where he batted.283 with three home runs and 29 RBIs in 66 games. He played in only 28 games in 2016, with the Lake County Captains, due to injury. In 2017, he played with the Lynchburg Hillcats where he slashed.254/.340/.418 with ten home runs, 65 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases in 126 games, and in 2018, he played for the Akron RubberDucks, batting.245 with 12 home runs and 64 RBIs in 121 games. He returned to Akron to begin 2019, with whom he was named an Eastern League All-Star as well as the Eastern League Player of the Month for May after hitting.333 with seven home runs in 26 games during the month. He was promoted to the Columbus Clippers in July, with whom he finished the year. Over 132 games between Akron and Columbus, Tom hit.290/.380/.532 with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs.
George Valera
George Valera is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Cleveland Indians organization.Valera was born in Queens, New York and moved to San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic with his family when he was 13. He signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 2017.
Valera made his professional debut with the Arizona League Indians in 2018, batting.333 over six games. He started 2019 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.