Freeman among Cleveland non-roster invitees

Before he can say, "Hello, Cleveland," one of the Indians' top prospects is going to say, "Hello, Goodyear."

No. 98 overall prospect Tyler Freeman headlined Cleveland's group of players receiving non-roster invitations to Major League Spring Training on Thursday. Pitchers Kyle Dowdy, Anthony Gose, DJ Johnson, Nick Sandlin and Bryan Shaw; catchers Gavin Collins and Bo Naylor and fellow infielders Mike Freeman and Owen Miller were the others invited.

This will be Freeman's second trip to Major League camp in Arizona. He was also invited to last year's shortened Spring Training and went 4-for-11 (.364) in his brief Cactus League stint.

The 2017 71st overall pick checks into MLB.com's Top 100 on the strength of his plus hit tool. He is also considered a capable defender at shortstop and possesses average speed that he makes good use of on the basepaths. Freeman's only below-average tool is his power. The right-handed hitter hit .306/.368/.410 with three homers and 19 stolen bases over 123 games between Class A Lake County and Class A Advanced Lynchburg in 2019. He owns a career .319 average over three seasons in the Minors, boosted by a .352 mark for Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley that won him the 2018 New York-Penn League batting title. Freeman was also an alternate-site participant last summer following the cancellation of the Minor League season.

Following Cleveland's decision to trade Francisco Lindor to the Mets this offseason, there is a clearer path to Major League playing time for Freeman in 2021. Instead of sitting behind a four-time All-Star on the depth chart, he will instead contend with acquisitions Amed Rosario and Andrés Giménez for playing time at the six.

No. 4 Naylor, No. 20 Miller and No. 30 Sandlin were the other ranked Cleveland prospects to receive invitations.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Goodyear on Feb. 17 with position players arriving four days later. The first full-squad workout is expected to come on Feb. 22.