Regular Season Review: Position Players

Success breeds expectation, and when a city and its fanbase become accustomed to winning on a consistent basis, a regular season like the Indians just had can feel slightly underwhelming.

I suppose it can be considered a positive sign of how far the Tribe have progressed when a third straight AL Central title is only greeted with modest applause, and not city-wide celebrations. We all know that champagne sprayed in September doesn’t taste the same as it does in late October, and the players know this more than anybody.

It’s not their fault that people feel this way. Ever since Cleveland’s 2016 journey to game seven of the World Series, the only results that really matter are those that occur in the postseason. Nothing else matters once you’ve come so close to having it all.

With that said, their performance over the many months of the regular season deserves recognition. Despite the lack of competition in their division, the players still had a job to do and they achieved their mission. A number of guys have really excelled in 2018, and this review will focus on them and all the other contributors that helped build this Indians club into a contender.

The Lineup

Francisco Lindor SS - 745 PA, .277 BA, .352 OBP, .519 SLG, 38 HR, 92 RBI, 129 R, 70 BB, 25 SB
Michael Brantley LF - 631 PA, .309 BA, .364 OBP, .468 SLG, 17 HR, 76 RBI, 89 R, 48 BB, 12 SB
Jose Ramirez 3B - 698 PA, .270 BA, .387 OBP, .552 SLG, 39 HR, 105 RBI, 110 R, 106 BB, 34 SB
Edwin Encarnacion DH - 579 PA, .246 BA, .336 OBP, .474 SLG, 32 HR, 107 RBI, 74 R, 63 BB, 3 SB
Yonder Alonso 1B - 574 PA, .250 BA, .317 OBP, .421 SLG, 23 HR, 83 RBI, 64 R, 51 BB, 0 SB
Yan Gomes C - 435 PA, .266 BA, .313 OBP, .449 SLG, 16 HR, 48 RBI, 52 R, 21 BB, 0 SB
Melky Cabrera RF - 278 PA, .280 BA, .335 OBP, .420 SLG, 6 HR, 39 RBI, 28 R, 20 BB, 1 SB
Jason Kipnis 2B - 601 PA, .230 BA, .315 OBP, .389 SLG, 18 HR, 75 RBI, 65 R, 60 BB, 7 SB
Greg Allen CF - 291 PA, .257 BA, .310 OBP, .343 SLG, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 36 R, 14 BB, 21 SB

The undisputed leaders of this team are Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. This young pair have surpassed all expectations (and they were particularly high in Lindor’s case) and together they have emerged into legitimate MVP candidates. The dynamic duo continue to make their mark on history, and became the first teammates to reach 80 extra-base hits in consecutive seasons since Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio achieved it for the 1936-37 Yankees.

Lindor was voted to his third straight All Star game and somehow improved upon his performance from last season. This year he’s collected a career-high 38 home runs, putting to bed the notion that he would never develop into a power hitter, but it’s also encouraging that he’s been able to raise his batting average as well (.273 in 2017, to .277 this year). This team will go as far as Lindor carries them, in 2018 and in the years to come, and Indians fans everywhere will celebrate the day the club can tie him down to a long term deal. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about.

Ramirez emerged into one of the most dangerous hitters in the league last season but, like Lindor, has taken things to another level in 2018. His batting average has taken a slight dip but in exchange for a significant power increase, with a career-high 39 home runs. Perhaps the most welcome progression Ramirez has made is in his stolen base numbers, stealing an incredible 34 bags this year, good enough for fifth place in MLB. Now part of the elite 30/30 club, reserved exclusively for those with that unique combination of power and speed, he’s only the third player in the club’s history to achieve the feat (Joe Carter and Grady Sizemore the others) and first AL player since 2012. Jose's mixture of energy and power make for a dangerous mix, and the fans will be hoping he sticks around for a very long time.

Michael Brantley is another feelgood story of the season, and I could not be happier for him. When the Tribe picked up his contract for an extra year, many were sceptical due to his recent struggles with injury, but Brantley’s ability to remain in the lineup has been an absolute blessing. His consistency at the plate has kept the Tribe offense ticking along nicely and the veteran left fielder deservedly made the All Star team, for the third time.

The heavy hitters of Edwin Encarnacion and Yonder Alonso might not be able to keep up with Brantley when it comes to batting average, but they have contributed the sort of power numbers we wanted. Alonso has never been a prolific home run hitter, and last season was the first time in his career he hit double digits (with 28 HR split between Oakland and Seattle), so for him to collect 23 in his debut season with the Tribe is a respectable tally. Given Carlos Santana’s slight decline in offensive performance since his departure to Philadelphia (112 OPS+ in 2017, a 105 OPS+ in 2018), Yonder has performed admirably in his place.

Encarnacion's second season in Cleveland saw a small reduction in his numbers, but that’s mostly down to missing time with injuries, limiting him to 137 games. His 32 home runs continue his streak of seven consecutive years with 30+ homers but a slight concern is his decrease in walks, down from 104 in 2017 to 63 this year. Nevertheless, Edwin has still been a very capable and important player in 2018 and the Tribe will gladly accept the 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI from their first basemen and designated hitters.

If you took a poll in the spring, most fans would probably have agreed that the odds were slim of seeing the 2014 version of Yan Gomes ever again. However, the Brazilian backstop earned his first All Star call-up during a campaign that saw him recapture some of that form that made him one of the game’s best catchers just four year ago. His .266 batting average is a vast improvement from last year (.232) and he is still the defensive presence the Indians rely upon so much. Would-be base stealers know better than to run on Yan.

Brantley aside, the rest of the outfield were formed by committee to create a Frankenstein-like monster, composed of misfits and rookies. When Melky Cabrera was added to the Indians roster, most of us assumed he would be an insurance option at best but the 33 year-old surprised us all by developing into a key contributor. In the 78 games Cabrera featured in the field, the veteran soon endeared himself to the Tribe faithful. He was partnered for the majority of the season by either the rookie Greg Allen or veteran Rajai Davis in center, who both caused havoc on the bases, collecting 21 stolen bases each, helping the Indians rank first in the entire league with 135 SB total. Allen has been a fine defender in the field this season, although his bat is still developing, and Davis has been a solid presence when called upon, since his return to the team from 2016.

Jason Kipnis endured a difficult 2018 but the 31 year-old managed to stay healthy for the majority of the year. The second baseman, converted into a center fielder in September, struggled at the plate but never let his head drop, and did manage to turn things around a bit in the season’s final weeks (.282 average in the final couple of weeks with 6 of his 11 hits going for extra bases). His 18 home runs mark the second highest total of his career but he would be the first to admit his batting average is not where he would have liked it to be. A portion of the fanbase were starting to get on his back as the season progressed but as long as he’s on the team, I’ll continue to back him.

Other notable contributors include:

• Josh Donaldson, the Tribe’s new third baseman and former American League MVP, worked his way back to full health during his few weeks with the club, and he’ll be hoping he can carry his late season form into the postseason. In 60 plate appearances for the Tribe, Donaldson hit .280 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI, with a .400 OBP and a .520 slugging percentage.
• Brandon Guyer was used predominantly in right field this year, his third season in Cleveland, usually as part of a platoon but he wasn’t as effective as we might have hoped. Guyer’s ability to attack left-handers was always his calling card but this year Francona utilized him against righties too, but the results were about the same unfortunately (.233 BA against LHP and a .176 BA against RHP). The guy still has a talent for getting hit by pitches though, with 11 balls crashing into him this year!
• Roberto Perez, Erik Gonzalez, and Yandy Diaz were the handful of bench guys able to have an impact in the few games they featured in. Only Diaz really made an impression on me (although his renowned batspeed hasn’t translated into extra-base hits yet, with just 8 XBH in 143 PA) and Perez appears to have finally put to rest any notion that he could be an everyday catcher, despite his defensive abilities.
• Bradley Zimmer, Leonys Martin, Lonnie Chisenhall and Tyler Naquin were all hit by the injury bug and missed significant time. In the case of Martin, the life-threatening illness that derailed his season caused him to make just 6 appearances for the Indians after his trade from Detroit (they were at least 6 excellent appearances). All of us wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him anchor the outfield next year. Zimmer might have some trouble reclaiming his place in center field once healthy, since the addition of Martin and promotion of Allen, and Naquin will once again have to work hard to even make the roster. Chisenhall is set to leave Cleveland as a free agent, having never really fulfilled his potential with the Indians. He’ll be hoping a club is willing to take a chance on his return to full health, and the Indians might even be tempted to keep him around if the price is right.

As the Indians enjoy their first significant rest period since the All-Star break, attention now turns towards the Houston Astros and game one of the ALDS. The reigning champions host the Tribe this Friday and the lineup will be busy studying the likes of Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, and the rest of their impressive pitching staff ahead of what many predict to be a tightly contested series.

I will have a pitchers regular season review coming up shortly. Thanks for reading.