5 Cleveland Indians Prospects Who Will Shine in 2015

Despite graduating top prospects like Jose Ramirez, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer, the Cleveland Indians' farm system has improved over some of its more recent variations.

The system has some players with the potential to be quick risers, and others who should make an impact at the major league level as soon as Opening Day 2015.

In this piece, we'll look at five prospects who, for for varying reasons, will shine in the 2015 season.

Three of these players will do so at the big league level. It may not happen immediately, but they will have success relatively early on. The other two will do so in the low to mid ranks of the minor league system.

So, let's get familiar with these prospects, and the tools that will help them break through in 2015.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Francisco Mejia

Francisco Mejia signed with the Indians as a 16-year-old back in 2012. Since then, the Dominican Republic native has made a name for himself as an all-around threat at the catching position.

Mejia is a line-drive hitter, with quick wrists and some untapped raw power. Though he'll never be a true power threat, Mejia has plenty of gap power, and should post a significant number of doubles.

The 18-year-old has also displayed an ability to hit for average, posting a .289 batting average over 387 minor league plate appearances.

Mejia's ability at the plate is highlighted by outstanding discipline and plate vision. Despite his age and relative inexperience, Mejia has shown an ability to make consistent contact, while limiting his strikeouts—16.8 percent career strikeout rate—and walking at a 5.9 percent rate.

Mejia's carrying card, however, is his defensive capabilities. The young backstop averaged a caught-stealing rate of 32 percent last season, and boasts a big-time arm to go along with quick pop-up and transfer times.

Mejia has yet to play a full season of professional ball—he appeared in 66 of Low-A Mahoning Valley's 75 games last season—but his current ability level suggests he's more than ready for a shot at Single-A Lake County.

Based on his performance in the Arizona Rookie League, and the Low-A New York-Penn League, as well as his outstanding raw ability, there's no reason to expect anything less than success from Mejia in 2015.

James Ramsey

James Ramsey was the lone return piece in the trade that sent Justin Masterson to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Upon arriving in Cleveland, the 24-year-old promptly tore up Triple-A Columbus—he had played just one game above Double-A prior to joining the Indians. Over 28 games, Ramsey logged 127 plate appearances with a batting line of .284/.365/.468, with three home runs, a triple, nine doubles, 16 RBI, 17 runs scored and a 34-14 K/BB ratio.

Ramsey's power was the only tool ever in question, but, over the last two seasons, he's displayed emergent power, which could make him an everyday option in a contending team's outfield.

Last season, the Indians bench was a dreadful mess. This year, Ramsey could be a big part of it as he continues to develop.

The only thing holding the former Florida State University star is his sky-high strikeout rate. Over 263 career minor league games, Ramsey is the not-so proud owner of a 24.3 percent strikeout rate—24.5 percent in 2014.

Fortunately though, that points more to his aggressive nature, than a lack of strike zone and pitch-recognition skills, as he also sports a career walk rate of 12.3 percent.

Ramsey has shown overall improvement over each minor league level, and with a chance to showcase his skills in search of an everyday role on a contending team. With a reduction in his strikeout rate, Ramsey should settle in nicely for a breakout 2015 campaign.

Giovanny Urshela

A relative unknown in the Indians' farm system—he ranks as the Indians' 13th best prospect according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo—Giovanny Urshela is poised for a big-time breakout in 2015.

The 23-year-old has shown immense offensive progress since breaking in as a 17-year-old back in 2009. Over his first four seasons of professional ball (2009-2012) Urshela put up a .263/.297/.380 slash line with strikeout and walk rates of 12.6 and 4.0 percent, respectively.

In the two years since then, Urshela has improved upon those marks, tallying a .275/.315/.440 batting line with strikeout and walk rates of 11.6 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively.

This growth at the plate has greatly improved Urshela's prospect stock, as his glove was already an exceptional tool. The Colombia native also has above-average fielding ability, and also an above-average arm, and has made just 31 errors at third base over his last three seasons—756 chances.

This, combined with his improving bat and power potential, could propel Urshela into a starting role with the Indians as soon as mid-late 2015. This would require some finagling, as it would be difficult to justify moving Lonnie Chisenhall off of third base after his relative breakout in 2014.

Even so, given Urshela's strong initial showing at Triple-A last season, we should expect a similar, if not better showing again in 2015, as well as a promotion to Cleveland by midseason.

Clint Frazier

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Selected fifth overall in the 2013 MLB Draft, Clint Frazier and his accomplishments routinely get looked over in favor of Francisco Lindor and former top prospects like Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar.

Despite all that, Frazier still ranks as the second best prospect in the Indians' system, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. According to Mayo's grades, Frazier's power, run and hit tools are the best in his arsenal, grading out at 65, 60 and 55, respectively.

Much of Frazier's power is derived from his outstanding bat speed, thanks to great lower-half strength and quick wrists. Despite his rather modest stature in comparison to the game's great power threats—6'1", 190 pounds—Frazier has the potential for 30-plus home run seasons at the big league level.

Frazier's speed is his next best tool, and though he hasn't really shown much on the basepaths—15 steals over 164 minor league games—Fazier uses his speed to cover the ground necessary to be a big league center fielder.

Though his hit tool grades out well, there is some question as to how well it will hold up in the long term. Though he makes consistently good contact when he does connect with the ball, Frazier has outstanding swing-and-miss potential. Over his 164 minor league games, Frazier carries a strikeout rate of 30.1 percent—29.7 percent in 2014. 

Fortunately, Frazier is still very young, and very raw in terms of professional experience. As he continues to hone his pitch recognition skills, Frazier will see his strikeout rate decline, as his extra-base hit totals continue to rise.

This year will be a telling year for Frazier, and while he is likely to start the season at the Single-A level—he played all 120 games there last season—don't be surprised to see the Indians push him in 2015.

Aside from his strikeout rate, Frazier has played exceptionally well at each of his two levels of play—Arizona Rookie League in 2013, and Single-A in 2014—so expect similar results in 2015.

Francisco Lindor

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An easy pick for this piece, Francisco Lindor is going to shine early on in his big league career.

It's disappointing that the 20-year-old didn't get an opportunity to showcase his skills in Cleveland this season, but Lindor was outstanding between two levels of play last season. Over 126 combined games—88 at Double-A and 38 at Triple-A—the young shortstop put up a .276/.338/.389 slash line with 11 home runs, four triples, 16 doubles, 62 RBI, 75 runs scored, 28 stolen bases and a 97-49 K/BB ratio.

The offensive effort wasn't Lindor's best—particularly his showing at Triple-A Columbus—but given his age, and relative lack of professional experience—just three minor league seasons (excluding 2014)—this is somewhat understandable.

Because of this, however, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian believes that Lindor will not break camp with the team in 2015. This may be the best case scenario for Lindor, as his offensive game needs some work.

When he does reach the bigs, Lindor will make waves, and he'll do it with the help of his near-80 grade fielding, and above-average arm. In short, Lindor is a defensive wiz.

The Puerto Rico native has the ability to be one of the best defensive shortstops in the bigs immediately upon his arrival at the level. His career minor league RF/G of 4.37, if applied to the 2014 season, would rank as the best mark among shortstops with at least 700 innings played at the position.

Though he may struggle initially at the plate, Lindor will shine in 2015.