Eric Haase Stats & Scouting Report

AB	66
AVG	.273
OBP	.304
SLG	.515
HR	5

Full name Eric Michael Haase
Born 12/18/1992 in Detroit, MI
Profile Ht.: 5'10" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Divine Child
Debut 09/02/2018
Drafted in the 7th round (218th overall) by the Cleveland Guardians in 2011 (signed for $580,000).

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Eric Haase is the best high school position prospect in Michigan, but scouts believe he's not ready for pro ball and needs to go play for three years at Ohio State. He has some strength and has more athleticism than most catchers, but it's uncertain he'll hold up behind the plate at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds. He didn't even catch regularly for his high school team. He has some strength in his righthanded swing, but he may not have the bat speed to fare well against better pitching.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Track Record: The Indians went over slot to sign Haase in 2011 but he looked to be more org player than prospect much of his professional career. He challenged that evaluation with a breakout 2017 season with Double-A Akron. In 2018, he hit 20 home runs with Triple-A Columbus and was rewarded with a September callup to make his big league debut at 25.

Scouting Report: Haase had long shown strength in his swing but after the 2016 season made some changes to improve his launch angle. His power comes with a hefty amount of swing and miss, but his strikeout rate of 30 percent has remained steady. Haase caught a career-high 90 games in 2018 because he was able to stay healthy and was decoupled from Francisco Mejia, with whom he often shared catching duties. He earns praise for his receiving and has solid arm strength.

The Future: The Indians in July traded Mejia, relieving their catching logjam in the upper levels. The trade of Yan Gomes to the Nationals gives Haase a better shot a playing time in Cleveland in 2019.
The Indians went over slot to sign Haase away from his commitment to Ohio State after taking him in the seventh round of the 2011 draft. He looked to be more org player than prospect for much of his professional career until he broke out in 2017 with Double-A Akron, where he was serving as top prospect Francisco Mejia's understudy. Haase hit 27 home runs and led all Indians minor leaguers with a .578 slugging percentage. He had long shown strength in his swing but made some changes after the 2016 season to improve the launch angle of his swing and better tap into his raw power. While his power comes with a hefty amount of swing and miss, his strikeout rate of 30 percent remained steady following his mechanical adjustment and he set a career high for walk rate (11.6 percent). Defensively, Haase is still something of a question mark. He caught 108 games total in the last two years because of injury and playing behind Mejia. He earns praise for his receiving but still needs to show he can handle the rigors and responsibility of catching for a full season. The Indians added Haase to the 40-man roster in November, keeping him from becoming a minor league free agent. He'll get more opportunities behind the plate in 2018, either at Triple-A Columbus (where he'd again be paired with Mejia) or back at Akron for a third year.