27-year old lefty swinging Shin-Soo Choo had a breakout year for the Indians in 2009. He played in 156 games for the Indians last season and he was 175 of 583 (.300 avg, .883 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 20 homers, 86 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. The Indians would be ecstatic if Choo puts up another season with a .300 avg with 20+ homers and 20+ stolen bases in 2010. Choo made 7 errors in 124 games in RF last season while showing good range. Choo had 11 assists last season as he showed a very strong throwing arm out of RF. If Choo can tighten up his defense a bit he could be a All-Star in 2010.

29-year old righty swinging Austin Kearns will be given a chance this spring to win a job with the Indians. He played in 80 games for the Nationals last season in which he was 34 of 174 (.195 avg, .641 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. The Indians suspect that Kearns just had a off year as he has a career batting average of .256 with a .780 OPS in 842 games in his major league career. Kearns didn’t make any errors in 54 games last season while showing slightly above average range. Kearns showed a solid throwing arm out of RF with 5 assists there in 2009.

26-year old switch hitting Trevor Crowe played in 5 games in RF for the Indians last season in which he made 1 error while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: B

27-year old lefty center fielder Grady Sizemore tried to play through a lot of injuries last season and it showed in his performance before he shut himself down for the year. Sizemore played in 106 games for the Indians last season and he was 108 of 436 (.248 avg, .788 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 18 homers, 64 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The Indians need Sizemore to at least have his average year in 2010 for them to have any chance to succeed in 2010. In his last five seasons Sizemore has averaged 107.4 runs scored, 25 homers, 77.8 RBIs and 25.6 stolen bases. Sizemore didn’t make any errors in 92 games in CF last season for the Indians while showing good range. He only had 1 assist last season as he played with a bum elbow most of the year.

22-year old lefty swinging Michael Brantley played in 20 games in CF last season for the Indians in which he made 1 error while showing below average range. Brantley would likely shift to CF from LF if Sizemore gets hurt again in 2010.

26-year old switch hitting Trevor Crowe could be the #2 CF for the Indians in 2010 if Brantley starts the year in AAA. Crowe played in 68 games for the Indians last season in which he was 43 of 183 (.235 avg, .611 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Crowe also played in 49 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 55 of 185 (.297 avg, .801 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 2 homers, 20 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Crowe made 1 error in 30 games in CF for the Indians last season while showing outstanding range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: A

25-year old righty swinging Matt LaPorta will battle 22-year old lefty swinging Michael Brantley this spring for the starting LF job in 2010. LaPorta probably has a slight edge after getting bumped off first base with the signing of Russell Branyan a couple of weeks ago. He played in 52 games for the Indians last season in which he was 46 of 181 (.254 avg, .750 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 7 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He also played in 93 games in AAA-ball for the Indians last season in which he was 101 of 338 (.299 avg, .917 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 17 homers and 60 RBIs. LaPorta played in 29 games in LF for the Indians last season in which he made 1 error while showing slightly above average range. LaPorta also has a decent throwing arm as he had 2 assists while playing LF last season for the Tribe.

Before the Indians signed Russell Branyan it appeared that 22-year old lefty swinging Michael Brantley would be the starting LF in 2010 for the Indians and he still can be with a strong spring. Brantley played in 28 games for the Indians last season and he was 35 of 112 (.313 avg, .707 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Brantley also played in 116 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 122 of 457 (.267 avg, .711 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 6 homers, 37 RBIs and 46 stolen bases. Brantley didn’t make any errors in 8 games in LF for the Indians last season while showing average range.

30-year old righty swinging Shelley Duncan could be a darkhorse for P.T. in LF for the Indians at some point in 2010. Duncan played in 11 games for the Yankees last season and he was 3 of 15 (.200 avg, .400 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Duncan also played in 123 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 125 of 452 (.277 avg, .916 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 30 homers, 99 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Duncan is a slightly below average defender in LF.

26-year old switch hitting Trevor Crowe could also win a job for the Indians in 2010. He can play all three outfield spots pretty well which will help his chances of going north with the Indians this April. Crowe played in 32 games in LF for the Indians last season and he made 2 errros while showing slightly above average range. He also had 4 assists from LF showing a very strong arm there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: C

33-year old righty reliever Jason Grilli has a tear in a quad just above a knee and he could need season ending surgery. He is going to get a second opinion but it’s not looking too good for him right now. Grilli pitched in 52 games (0 starts) for the Rangers & Rockies last season and he was 2-3 with 1 save, a 5.32 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. This is a big blow to Grilli who was going to have a decent shot of snaring a spot in the Indians’ bullpen this spring.

26-year old lefty swinging 1B Jordan Brown will be undergoing knee surgery today which will cause him to miss the next 4-8 weeks. Brown is the Indians’ #14 prospect coming into this season according to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook. He played in 111 games in AAA last season in which he was 140 of 417 (.336 avg, .913 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 15 homers and 67 RBIs. This was bad timing for Brown to get hurt as he was going to have a legit chance to make the Indians’ opening day roster this spring.