Indians' Lindor exits early with face injury

Highly touted shortstop Francisco Lindor left a Double-A Akron game early Wednesday afternoon with an apparent face injury.

The Indians' top prospect suffered the injury when a sharp ground ball off the bat of Erie's Devon Travis took a bad hop in the infield and hit Lindor squarely in the face. Lindor walked off the field under his own power but was replaced immediately by Justin Toole, who switched positions with third baseman Ronny Rodriguez.

He was getting precautionary X-rays done, according to the team, and would be reviewed later after the game to determine his exact condition, although there were no initial signs of a concussion or any broken bones. 

The 20-year-old shortstop doubled in the first inning -- his ninth two-bagger of the season -- during his only at-bat of the game, raising his Eastern League average up to .283. He entered the day with a .281/.360/.403 slash line with with six homers, 43 RBIs and 19 steals in 71 games for the RubberDucks.

He's seen as perhaps the best defensive prospect in baseball, earning a 60 grade on his arm and 70 on his fielding tool from MLB.com this past offseason. That kind of ability with the glove has not only vaulted him to the top of the Tribe's prospect rankings but also to No. 9 overall, according to MLB.com. Only Javier Baez (No. 6) and Carlos Correa (No. 7) are currently ranked higher among shortstops.

Because of all his skills and performance, Lindor was named to the World Team roster for next month's Futures Game at Target Field on Tuesday. It's his third straight season being named to the Futures Game, meaning the Puerto Rico native has been invited to the showcase in each of his full-season Minor League campaigns.

Francisco Lindor left Wednesday's game after being struck in the face by a ground ball. (David Monseur/Akron RubberDucks)