Surprise! Tribe drafts shortstop

By Dennis Manoloff

Cleveland Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND

With perceived “safer” college pitchers on the board, the Indians selected high school shortstop Francisco Lindor eighth overall in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night.

As Tribe amateur-scouting director Brad Grant prepared to discuss the pick with reporters at Progressive Field, he said: “Surprise. High school position player. We kind of went against it.”

The Indians had not drafted a prep player in the first round since 2001, when they opted for right-handers Daniel Denham and Alan Horne. Denham never made it to Cleveland; Horne did not sign.

The previous prep position player to go in the first round to the Indians was shortstop/third baseman Corey Smith in 2000. Smith never made it to Cleveland.

Each of the Indians’ previous two first-rounders were college pitchers: Alex White of North Carolina in 2009 and Mississippi’s Drew Pomeranz last summer.

Among those available at No. 8 were Vanderbilt right-hander Sonny Gray, Georgia Tech lefty Jed Bradley, Texas righty Taylor Jungmann and Connecticut righty Matt Barnes. Most draft experts had projected any combination of the four to be gone in the top half of the first round.

“There were good players we passed over,” Grant said. “A high school player certainly is more of a risk. But at the same time, to enter a shortstop into our system was something too good to pass by.”

Lindor, a switch-hitter, batted .528 (28-for-53) with 31 runs, six homers, 13 RBI and 20 steals as a senior at Montverde (Fla.) Academy High School. He was a first team All-American. In August 2010, he won the home-run contest at the All-American Game in San Diego.

“He’s played against the best players in the country and performed very well,” Grant said.