How Some Young Indians Are Faring As They Get Chances To Impact the Big League Squad

The Indians sit at 26-21, five games over .500 at 1.5 games back of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

The team has played for the most part up to potential in 2021, and while they are not at their ultimate goal of first place, they are still competitve and a team that looks like if they can get healthy can turn it on over the last four months in 2021.

The club has had to shift around their lineup, as well as sub in players that no one seems to know due to injury.

If there's one thing that the Indians have done a good job of in the last few years it's finding players that can step in and be solid at their positions - whether it be pitchers or those playing on the field.

Today we will take a look at a couple young players that have had quite a bit of looks from the Indians thus far in 2021, and how those players may keep going as the season continues. 

Josh Naylor - Acquired last season from the Padres, Naylor is best remembered for a big second playoff game against the Yankees.

This year he's played rather well, sitting right now at .250 with four homers and 13 RBI, with seven walks and 35 strikeouts. 

Naylor also can play a number of positions, which only helps his value for the team to be able to play a couple of spot. 

Andres Gimenez - The 22-year-old was acquired from the New York Mets as part of the Francisco Lindor deal back on January 7th, and the hope long term is that he will round out into a long term Major League shortstop.

Gimenez has gotten off to a slow start on offense, going 14-for-78 (.179) with two homers and five runs batted in.

He's been just fine when it comes to playing defense, but long term the club would like to see him not only play D but also hit the ball as well. 

Logan Allen - This is a tough one, as he's another acquisition from last year when the Indians sent ace Mike Clevinger to the Padres for a package of players.

Allen was one of those players, and he due to injury might be forced into more starts in 2021 despite already having one opportunity this season that just didn't work out.

He sits at 1-4 with a 9.19 ERA, not exactly great numbers, but a lot of what Allen is going through are expected to help him for the future.

Expect to see him on the mound more in the last four months of the season as he'll get chances with the team dealing with injuries, hopefully he'll have learned from his early issues.

Sam Hentges - The tall, lankey pitcher thus far is 1-1 with a 6.20 ERA, but like Allen he has shown some promise thus far in the 2021 season. The 24-year-old from Arden Hills, MN has what looks to be a bright future, but again he's got to learn from his mistakes.

During his time in the minors in the spring the lefty pitcher struck out five and walked a pair in five innings and picked up one save.

The nice thing like Allen is that he can come on a starter if need be, or can come in from the pen if the club needs it. 

With the injury woes that the pitching staff has had, expect to see Hentges more in the final four months of the season.