Yesterday, the Cleveland Indians bolstered their scouting staff by hiring Junie Melendez as an Area Scouting Supervisor. Melendez will oversee the scouting for a region that includes Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky.

Melendez played college baseball at the University of Toledo, but went undrafted and unsigned. Melendez comes to an already strong scouting staff that many consider to be in the top ten in Major League Baseball. Due to the fact that the Indians do not have enough money to sign a lot of big name free agents, most of their talent has to be grown from within. Many of the players on their team now, and most of the team that helped Cleveland to two World Series appearances in the 1990s were originally signed either as long term minor league projects or professional baseball players who had just debuted.

General Manager Mark Shapiro takes the scouting side of his job very seriously and he takes various trips to the minor league clubs in the organization throughout the year so he can see for himself how the talent he signed is developing.

After facing many injuries last season, the Indians hope to be able to overcome those in 2009 to make another run at the division title. Scouting has always been, and will probably always have to be a staple of the Indians’ franchise.

Bill Jordan is a contributor to BaseballReflections.com. He can be reached by e-mail at BillJordaniv@yahoo.com.