John McDonald

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Cleveland Guardians #14 prospect in 2002
  McDonald was born about three or four decades too late. He's a vintage 1960s or 1970s good-field, no-hit shortstop stuck in an era of high-octane offense. He's a state-of-the-art defender with borderline Vizquelian gifts. But his path has been blocked by Omar Vizquel himself, and McDonald's Mark Belanger-like bat hasn't helped. Given the chance to play every day, McDonald would be a "SportsCenter" regular for his defense, which is Gold Glove-caliber. He's not as acrobatic as Vizquel, but McDonald has more range and a better arm. He has great hands, quickness in the field and wonderful instincts. All that won't matter unless he can hit, however. McDonald batted a combined .236 between Triple-A in the majors last year, has just six homers in the last four seasons and rarely hits for extra bases. He makes reasonable contact but doesn't draw walks and isn't much of a basestealing threat with his average speed. McDonald will compete for a spot as a backup middle infielder on the big league club this year. Trade rumors continue to swirl around Vizquel, and a deal would make McDonald the starter.
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  Ranked Cleveland Guardians #13 prospect in 2001
  The trade of Enrique Wilson to Pittsburgh last season was a break for McDonald, now the heir apparent as the Indians' utility infielder. Unfortunately for McDonald, when the injury bug was sweeping Cleveland in 2000, he was limited to 75 games at Buffalo by a pulled quad. McDonald is well above average at shortstop, and his defensive skills are superior to many major league starters. He has very soft hands, is very good on the transfer, shows excellent quickness around the bag and has a quick release. He has terrific makeup and loves to play the game. There still are questions about whether he will hit enough to be an everyday player in the majors, however. Right now he's a No. 8 or 9 hitter. He'd probably have to play on a big offensive team that could carry him offensively. McDonald also needs to improve his bunting and his ability to play the little game. He'll go to camp with a good chance at opening the season as the Indians' utilityman. Defensively, there isn't much of a dropoff from Omar Vizquel to McDonald.