Cleveland Indians 2017 top prospects: No. 24, Shawn Morimando

Coming in at number 24 on our 2017 Cleveland Indians top prospect countdown is left-hander Shawn Morimando, who moves up five spots from last year’s list.

Who is Shawn Morimando?

Shawn Morimando was drafted by the Cleveland Indians out of high school in the 19th round of the 2011 draft. The left-hander has worked exclusively as a starter since 2012 in the minors, though he made his big league debut in 2016 as a reliever, appearing in two games.

He was added to the Tribe’s 40-man roster after the 2015 season to avoid the Rule 5 draft and made his major league debut on July 2 in Toronto.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The 24-year-old Morimando has never been one the more heralded prospects in the Tribe system but that hasn’t stopped him from turning some heads and forcing his way to the big league stage. He’s been a very steady force in the minors, posting ERAs of 3.59, 3.73, 3.31, 3.18, and 3.25 in his five minor league seasons as a starting pitcher. He’s been a workhorse too, working over 150 innings each of the past three years.

Morimando began 2016 at Double-A Akron, which may have seemed like a disappointment after spending all of 2015 there and part of 2014. It wasn’t a lack of success either, but rather, the amazing depth the Tribe has in the upper levels. Morimando was a victim of the numbers game.

Morimando has surprisingly good stuff, despite being a bit undersized. His fastball sits 89-92 for the most part, but he complements it with a very good slider that Baseball America rated as the best in the system.

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He does have a changeup, which allows him to start but it’s not much of a pitch still. He also throws a curve at times. He’s not a big strikeout guy but has increased his K-rate to about 19-percent. He complements that with solid control, maintaining a walk rate under 10-percent.

The lack of a real third pitch is one reason I could see him move to the bullpen. The fastball/slider combination is more than good enough to play at the big-league level, though. He has done well getting both righties and lefties out throughout his career though was much better versus lefties the last couple years, further suggesting he could be even more dominant out of the bullpen.

Where does he go from here?

Morimando impressed in 2016, rising from Double-A to the major leagues in just one season. He’ll enter 2017 though with very little chance of cracking the Opening Day roster, but he remains on the radar. He’ll return to Triple-A Columbus though his role remains someone of a mystery.

As things stand now, the Cleveland Indians have at least six guys for five rotation spots in Columbus: Mike Clevinger, Cody Anderson, Adam Plutko, Ryan Merritt, Carlos Frias, and Morimando. At least one of those six will have to go to the bullpen. All six have big league experience so a trip to Double-A for any seems unlikely.

Many do still believe that Morimando could develop into a solid fourth or fifth starter at the big league level. Personally, I remain skeptical that he can start at the big league level, at least consistently. I do think that if he moves to the bullpen he could be a consistent contributor, possibly as soon as this summer.

Next: Indians 2017 Top 30 Prospects: No. 25, Hoby Milner

The strikeouts aren’t great but I expect them to improve with a move to the pen and the control should remain solid. In fact, he could be so good in a bullpen role that he’d pass Kyle Crockett on the depth chart.