Cleveland Indians Minor Leagues Review: April’s best hitters and pitchers

Today we take a look at the best players at each level of the Cleveland Indians minor league system in the month of April.

April has come and gone and today we take a look at some of the best minor league players in the Cleveland Indians system. We’ll take a look at the best position player and best pitcher at each level and the overall best this April. Starting us off, the best at the Tribe’s Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers.

Best Columbus Position Player: Richie Shaffer

Key April Stats:  .271 AVG, .402 OBP, .945 OPS, 5 HR, 4 2B,16 BB

Honorable Mention

Bradley Zimmer: .277 AVG, .518 SLG, .848 OPS, 3 HR, 7 2B, 2 3B, 5 SB
Erik Kratz: .415 AVG, .756 SLG, 1.234 OPS, 4 HR, 2 2B

Richie Shaffer was a non-roster invitee this spring for the Indians and had a nice camp before losing out to Yandy Diaz and Michael Martinez for the final couple spots on the big league roster. Despite not having a set position, Shaffer has done plenty of damage with the bat including an on-base percentage over .400 in April and five long balls.

Bradley Zimmer had a good but not great April. He had 12 extra base hits but he also struck out 25 times versus just six walks. Erik Kratz has been one of the Clippers’ catchers this year and put up the best offensive numbers of anyone.

However, he’s played in fewer games and gotten about 30 fewer plate appearances than Shaffer, which is why he didn’t take the top spot. Guys like Yandy Diaz and Tyler Naquin also played great but spent too much time with the big league club to crack the list.

Best Columbus Pitcher: Mike Clevinger

Key April Stats: 5 starts, 2-1, 1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .193 BAA, 10.1 K/9

Honorable Mention

Kyle Crockett: 9 apps, 2.53 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 11.0 K/9

Mike Clevinger did not make the big league club out of spring training thanks in large part to the Indians wanting him to stay stretched out as a starter. The right-hander made five April starts and allowed just four runs while striking out 27 in 24 innings of work. What’s scary is that his numbers could have been even better.

In his fifth “start” he only went pitched 1/3 of an inning as a rain delay hit just after the game started. He ended up allowing two runs that game and wasn’t able to return due to the long downtime.

In his first four starts, he allowed just two runs over 23 2/3 innings, which would have given him a ridiculous 0.76 ERA. Clevinger was rewarded for his outstanding start with a call-up to the big league club and started Sunday in place of the injured Corey Kluber.

The Clippers didn’t get the best pitching in April but Kyle Crockett performed well out of the pen, posting a WHIP well under one and striking out 11 per nine innings. Nick Goody was fantastic as well but pitched less than five innings before getting called up and Shawn Armstrong had some moments as well between his big league stints.