Francisco Lindor, Tyler Naquin, and Lonnie Chisenhall are all former first round selections of the Cleveland Indians in the MLB draft that are contributing at the big league level. Bradley Zimmer, another former top pick, has progressed to Triple-A and gets closer to the majors by the day. And Clint Frazier, yet another selection in the first round, just helped the Tribe secure Andrew Miller in a trade with the New York Yankees.
Drafting well in recent years has been critical to Cleveland’s success this season. Beyond the first round, Jason Kipnis, Cody Allen, Josh Tomlin, and Kyle Crockett are all homegrown players that have made contributions, both large and small, to the Indians current location atop the standings in the American League Central.