Notes: Draft strategy; rotation plans

CLEVELAND -- So much about the Indians¡¯ season this year has been about taking advantage of their depth. That strategy will carry over into its approach for the 2021 MLB Draft.

After an unprecedented year in 2020, having just five rounds in the MLB Draft due to the COVID-19 pandemic and limited resources to scout players because of the circumstances, the Indians are expecting a deep Draft class this time around.

¡°Your standard reasoning is this will be a deeper Draft class this year than in previous years,¡± Indians director of amateur scouting Scott Barnsby said. ¡°Taking advantage of that is gonna be really important for us.¡±

? The Draft begins at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday (ESPN/MLB.com)
? The Indians have the 23rd pick in Round 1
? Cleveland¡¯s bonus pool is $7,398,800

Year after year, the Indians' No. 1 priority heading into the Draft is to know each player inside and out. It was more difficult to accomplish that in 2020 without being able to meet with people face-to-face, however the organization got creative in utilizing Zoom to make sure it didn¡¯t miss a step. With better access this year, while also learning from a year of Zoom, the team believes it¡¯s ready to enter the Draft with full knowledge of every player it¡¯s considering.

¡°I think the quick answer is that we were able to prioritize our time as well as we could,¡± Barnsby said. ¡°We always want to be efficient and effective with how we cover the Draft and that was no different this spring.¡±

This year is still much different than others. All clubs had an extra month to prepare since the Draft had previously been held in the middle of June. But Barnsby said the club took advantage of that extra time to evaluate players further and get a better idea of what its looking for.

And after five rounds in 2020, Major League Baseball determined that this year¡¯s Draft will extend out to 20 rounds, beginning on Sunday.

¡°Again, one of the things that we rely on so much with our scouts is to get to know their area extremely well,¡± Barnsby said. ¡°So we cast that wide net, feel like we're in a really good spot to make good decisions on Draft day. So once Major League Baseball shared with us that it was 20 rounds, we just moved on and we're prepared and ready to go.¡±

Day 1 of the 2021 Draft will take place live from Denver¡¯s Bellco Theatre on Sunday. It will feature the first 36 picks and will air on MLB Network and ESPN at 7 p.m. ET. Day 2, which will span rounds 2-10, begins at 1 p.m. ET on Monday. The Draft will conclude with rounds 11-20 on Tuesday, starting at 12 p.m. ET. MLB.com will simulcast MLB Network¡¯s broadcast and provide live coverage on all three days.

To view when teams pick, the Top 200 Prospects list, mock Drafts from analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, scouting video and more, visit MLB.com/Draft. Follow @MLBDraft and @MLBDraftTracker on Twitter to see what Draft hopefuls, clubs and experts are saying and to get each pick as it¡¯s made.

Rotation plans

In order to get Zach Plesac back on the 26-man roster for his start in the series opener against the Royals, the Indians informed J.C. Mejia that he was being optioned to Triple-A Columbus. Assuming the team decides to plug him back into the rotation after the All-Star break, he¡¯d be ready to get called back up to start the fourth game of the second half. But in the meantime, the Indians are hoping the 24-year-old can work on attacking left-handed hitters.

¡°I think he understands that there's a lot to learn at this level and that when you make a mistake, you probably pay for it more here,¡± Indians manager Terry Francona said. ¡°But he really, badly wants to succeed here. He has the weapons to do that. ¡­ He's been doing a really good job against righties. In a perfect world, that doesn't happen, but I don't think it's fair to expect a younger kid to not have things to work through. It's just not the way it usually happens.¡±

While Mejia goes down to get some extra work, the Indians are going to give Triston McKenzie another chance to prove he¡¯s worked through some of his command issues he battled through earlier this year.

¡°It sounds like his strike-throwing, balls in the zone, were better [in Triple-A],¡± Francona said. ¡°Again, it¡¯s not at the Major League level, but that¡¯s where he was pitching. So you¡¯d rather see improvement as opposed to not.¡±