Danny Peoples (26) the Indians 1st pick in '96, had his best year as a pro last year at AAA Buffalo, though he slumped badly down the stretch. Peoples had a solid spring training with the big club, but there was just no room on the roster so the Tribe returned him to Buffalo. He has struggled most of the year and his average is currently at .224. A recent power surge brought him up to 16 home runs, but for the year his OPS is a mediocre .752. His chance of being an impact player is almost certainly gone, and may have to migrate to another system to get any kind of opportunity at the Major League level. The Indians named Billy Munoz (26) their minor league position player of the year in 2000, hitting for a decent average and hitting 25 homers between Kinston and Akron, but he's experienced a rough 2001. Returned to Akron where he had finished last year, he got off to a slow start, hitting only .148 before landing on the DL May 4th with a sprained right thumb. The sprain must have been severe, as he just started a rehab stint at Mahoning Valley a couple of weeks ago. At 26 he is another player fighting the clock. He is probably falling behind Simon Pond (24) and Nate Grindell (24), both of whom have played a lot of 1st base at Akron with the absence of Munoz. Both of them were promoted from Kinston to Akron in the middle of the season this year and both have continued to hit at the higher level. Pond, acquired from the Expos in 2000, hit .340 in the early going for Kinston and is currently hitting .275 with .778 OPS, not great, but he got off to a slow start at AA and those numbers have been rising. Grindell, signed in '98 as a non-drafted free agent out of a Texas JC started off hot at Kinston and then cooled off to .275, .730 OPS. He has actually picked up his performance at Akron, hitting .318 with an OPS of .927 in 27 games with the Aeros. Byron Ewing (24) is at Kinston and is probably about as far as he can go. He's hitting .225 with 5 home runs and an OPS of only .668. Sean Swedlow (19) was a 3rd round pick in 2000 out of a California HS. The Indians are high on him and vaulted him over Mahoning Valley to Low-A Columbus, where he had a horrendous start, but has gradually brought his average up to ,181, with 12 doubles and 3 homers. Not gaudy numbers to be sure, but he is only 19, barely, and can be expected to improve drastically in the next few years as he matures and gets used to wood bats. The Indians feel he is further along than Richie Sexson at this age. Rickie Morton (23), the Indians 32nd round pick in this year's draft has provided the bulk of the offense so far this year at Short-Season-A Mahoning Valley. He's hitting .273 with 9 doubles, a triple and 8 home runs and has an eye-popping OPS of .906. He is a little old for the league, so his status as a true prospect is a little suspect. The same caveat goes for Andy Baxter (22) our 32nd round pick in 2001 from E Tennessee State. He started out absolutely on fire at Advanced Rookie League Burlington but has since cooled dramatically. He's now at .256, 9 homers, 29 RBI and a still impressive OPS of .943.

Danny Peoples, the Indians 1st round pick in 1996, looked like he was almost ready after a strong first half last year at Buffalo, but slumped badly in the second half. He rebounded by having a strong Spring Training in 2001, but was returned to Buffalo because there was no room for him on the big club. He has slumped his way through the season so far, his average hovering just above the Mendoza Line, though he has shown flashes of power. The question in my mind is whether his performance this year is related to his disappointment at not making the Indians out of Spring Training. The bottom line is that his status as a prospect is in serious jeopardy.