Elephants on Acid - the rookies

There are 7 rookies presently on the team, but Brad Zimmer continues to cut his teeth at the major league level despite Tyler Naquin playing at Triple AAA.

He has hit 3 home runs, and has stolen 3 bases while playing spot duty for the Indians.

Bradley Zimmer hit a two-run homer in the Indians' loss to the Royals on Saturday.

Zimmer went deep off Royals starter Jason Hammel in the top of the second inning. The talented young outfielder is batting .295/.367/.591 with three home runs, 11 RBI, three stolen bases, and six runs scored over his first 16 major league games.

Vlad Guerrero JR continues to bash the ball in Double AA ball.

Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. picked up his fourth homer of the season on Wednesday for Low-A Lansing.

He also singled. Guerrero continues to punish the baseball in the Midwest League, and most impressively, he's walking more than he's striking out. This is the best prospect in the system by a long shot, and Guerrero has the offensive potential to be one of the best hitters in baseball, no matter what position he's playing. 

Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 2-for-4 on Wednesday for Low-A Lansing.

One of those hits was a double, and Guerrero Jr. also scored a run while picking up an RBI. Scouts continue to rave about what they've seen from the 18-year-old this year, with the one concern being where he's going to play. When you can hit like this, you find somewhere. Guerrero is one of the best hitting prospects in all of baseball.

Nick Gordon progresses at Double AA,

Twins prospect Gordon went 2-for-4 on Sunday for Double-A Chattanooga.

Both of Gordon's hits were doubles, and he scored two runs for good measure. He had been in a mini-slump coming into the game, but the overall numbers (.859 OPS) tell the story of how good the former first-round pick has been. You probably won't see him in 2017, but it's not longer a foregone conclusion that he won't get big-league time this year. 

Dillon Tate struggles continue .

 His control has wavered a lot, and his inability to throw strikes consistently continue to plague Dillon.

Frankie Mejia sparkles on defense and on offense, and it won't be too long before the call comes from the Indians to the big club.

His defense has exceeded scouts expectations.

Indians prospect Francisco Mejia reached base five times on Wednesday for Double-A Akron.

Not only did Mejia go 4-for-5, he also homered twice, drove in six runs and drew a walk to fill out the stat sheet. He now has his average at .344, and the .550 slugging percentage tells you that he's definitely hitting the ball with authority. Cleveland usually likes players to complete a year at a level, but at this point, Mejia should get a chance to hit Triple-A pitching. He's very good.

Andrew Benintendi has already come into his own playing left field for the Boston Red Sox,