The Indians are a team who looks like a mystery so far this off-season. There isn’t much agreement as to the expectations for Cleveland as some people have very high hopes while others project very mediocre seasons. This write is sold Brantley and Corey Kluber are both for real and are capable of putting up numbers similar to those they put up last season. Also, the acquisition of lefty power hitter Brandon Moss from the Athletics could turn this lineup around. There are still some question marks about this team when all is said and done. Not to mention the fact that the AL Central may have improved more than any other division this off-season.
Notable Additions and Subtractions
Additions
- Brandon Moss
- Gavin Floyd
- Adam Moore
- Bruce Chen
- Scott Downs
- Anthony Swarzak
- Jeff Manship
- Brett Hayes
- Jerry Sands
- Michael Martinez
- Destin Hood
- Charles Brewer
- Michael Roth
- Dustin Molleken
Subtractions
- Jason Giambi
- Joe Wendle
- Justin Sellers
- JB Shuck
- Nick Marondde
- Bryan Price
- Chris Giminez
Biggest Weakness – Left Side Of The Infield
Jose Ramirez and Lonnie Chisenhall currently man the left side of the infield for the Indians and they are both below average. The 3rd base situation in Cleveland is thin and Chisenhall is basically being forced into action as they have no other options. Plus he comes through on occasion with his bat, so he’s not the worst player in the league. With that said, 3rd base is a position that should be addressed if this team wants to make any real noise.
The one that doesn't make sense is Jose Ramirez playing shortstop. With Lindor waiting for the call, Cleveland insists on keeping him down at this time. This team would absolutely be better with Lindor rather than Ramirez, who is still just an average shortstop.
Biggest Strength – Superstars Corey Kluber and Michael Brantley
Kluber is a guy who just about every advanced metrics person has loved for a few years now, and he finally put it all together in 2014. His ability to strike guys out at an elite level while limiting his walks and hits against made him the best overall pitcher in the American League last year. There is no reason to believe he can’t put up similar numbers this year as his long term track record supports it.
Brantley is a similar case, but was a little more of a surprise during his 2014 breakout season. Moving forward, Brantley should be considered a legitimate 5 tool player who can help the team in all ways. He also has some of the best plate discipline numbers in the league with a K% sitting around 8 last year and a walk rate just slightly lower than that. He is elite with his ability to get on base and above average with both his power numbers and his speed numbers while playing great defense every day in all outfield positions. Brantley will look to prove that his near MVP caliber season last year was no fluke.
Something To Keep An Eye On – Francisco Lindor
Feels like just a matter of time at this point. Lindor is the future of the short stop position and the future of the Indians franchise. It will be fun to see when he finally gets the call, and when he gets it, don’t expect to see anyone else in that shortstop position for years to come. Lindor brings to the table the ability to play the position defensively possibly better than anyone in the world.
Andrelton Simmons will have to step up his game to continue to be the best fielder in the game when Lindor is up. Offensively, he projects to be a future leadoff guy who hits for good average and has the ability to steal bases, which seems to be a piece missing from the current Indians roster. This 21 year old phenomenon should get the call sooner rather than later in 2015, as Jose Ramirez is just holding his place for him currently.
Potential Lineup - * = Lefty, ^ = Switch hitter
- Michael Bourn – CF*
- Michael Brantley – LF*
- Carlos Santana – 1B^
- Brandon Moss – RF*
- Yan Gomes – C
- Jason Kipnis – 2B*
- Nick Swisher – DH^
- Lonnie Chisenhall – 3B*
- Jose Ramirez – SS^
Potential Bench
- Roberto Perez
- Mike Aviles
- Ryan Raburn
- David Murphy*
Potential Rotation
- Corey Kluber
- Carlos Carrasco
- Trevor Bauer
- Danny Salazar
- Zach McAllister
Potential Bullpen
- Cody Allen – Closer
- Bryan Shaw
- Scott Atchison
- Marc Rzepczynski*
- Kyle Crockett*
- Nick Hagadone*
- Anthony Swarzak
Starting season on DL
- Gavin Floyd
Fantasy Bargain – Jason Kipnis
Now that Kip has been in the league for several years, his track record at the big league level says he is a streaky player due to his high strike out rate. The truth is that in fantasy, batting AVG is possibly the most overrated category out there and it’s scary to draft a guy who looks like he will hit .240…this writer would take the 20/20 upside at second base without thinking twice about the AVG every time. The only year Kipnis had a below average offensive season compared to the rest of the league was 2014, so he is sure to fall later in drafts that he should. It would be more a surprise if he doesn’t have a bounce back season than if he does.
Overvalued Fantasy Player – Michael Brantley
This writer stated earlier that Brantley is capable of doing what he did last season, and this is true. The problem here is that we can’t expect it. Brantley is currently going in the late teens, early 20’s of fantasy drafts which means he is going in the 2nd round. This is too early. He had a major jump in production last season and it hasn’t yet been consistent enough to expect it every year yet. For this reason, take him in the 4th round or so. Your first picks in fantasy drafts need to be guys you can completely count on for that production.
Conclusion/Prediction
This is a team that this writer has expected more from each of the past several seasons. They have had misfortune of dealing with signings that haven’t quite panned out such as Michael Bourn and Mark Reynolds and that has hurt the teams success in recent years. Now that Yan Gomes has gotten his bat going in their lineup and made it possible to get Carlos Santana out from behind the plate it has helped the offense out quite a bit. Also, this team should be a lot better with Lindor manning shortstop and that bodes well for this team for years to come.
If Brantley and Kluber replicate their season last year and Kipnis can have a bounce back year, it should at least be interesting in that AL Central division which has improved more than any other division this off-season. At the end of the day, this team looks like it will be fairly average. This writer predicts 81 wins and a playoff miss.
Tyler interviewed Cleveland native Ray Kaltenbach @REKcleveland on the radio about the Indians. Hear what Ray had to say.
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