Continued mediocrity followed by a six game winning streak to end August has kept the Tribe within play-off limbo. Still too far out to be considered legitimate contenders, but too close to throw in the season. A rash of injuries, including shoulder issues for Kipnis, Carrasco and Brantley, hand and wrist problems for Johnson and Aviles and an illness for Salazar made it difficult to field ten men every day and keep the 25 man roster full. While there were some positives, including a few starting pitchers and the top three hitters in the lineup, there were a lot of negatives as well, particularly the outfield defense, Lindor bunting and the bullpen.
Before reading this list and judging, know that players are ranked by what they have done in the entire year to this point, not what they are at their best or what they could provide for the rest of the year. In addition to being ranked by their season stats, each player’s production in August is judged with a grade of Above, Even or Below comparing actual performance to their expectations. The number in parenthesis shows their movement since the July rankings. For your consideration, these can be compared to the original, predictive pre-season player power rankings from March and those from April, May, June and July.
1. Michael Brantley Above (+3)
The Tribe’s top hitter in August, Brantley batted .406/.463/.604 with three steals, 17 RBI, 19 runs and a team best ten doubles. With those, he now leads all of baseball with 40, surpassing his teammate Kipnis who missed much of August with a shoulder injury. Brantley also missed some games with a sore shoulder, but it didn’t affect his offense at all as he posted his best month this year.
2. Jason Kipnis Even (0)
Returning from the disabled list on fire, Kipnis added another seven extra base hits in 14 August games and was just barely surpassed on the rankings by Brantley. On the season, both have about 450 at bats, more than ten steals, 35 doubles, 60 runs scored and are hitting near .320. The duo help give the Indians a top three in the order as good as any team in baseball.
3. Corey Kluber Above (-2)
Kluber had one of his worst starts to a month in August, but still managed a 3.32 ERA and a team high 47 strike outs in 43.1 innings. On the season, he remains the best Indians pitcher with an ERA of 3.41, 219 strike outs (third in MLB) and an MLB high 200.1 innings. He is currently on pace to surpass his 2014 strike out total and has had a great season for a full year with six or seven starts to go.
4. Danny Salazar Above (-1)
Although his last start was delayed, Salazar still finished the month with excellent numbers including 36 K’s in 32 innings, both numbers second to only Kluber in August. For the season, his .217 BAA and 3.27 ERA lead the team and he only trails Kluber in the rankings because he has thrown more than 40 less innings.
5. Cody Allen Even (+1)
The Tribe closer had his worst month since his terrible April, but still managed to save seven of eight attempts, bringing his season total to 28 of 31. While his 3.68 ERA was less than optimal, his 12.9 K/9 and .218 BAA give reason to believe in coming improvement and he has been consistently good in save situations.
6. Zach McAllister Even (+4)
McAllister has been the Indians most steadying force in the bullpen this year, but even he has had some issues of late. August was his first month with an ERA above 2.62 (it was 3.38) and the first time he allowed multiple home runs in a month this year after just three total over his first 38 appearances. Even with this, he has generally been lights out in his new role and the Indians should be able to count on him as a decent set-up man in 2016.
7. Carlos Santana Below (0)
It appeared that Santana was back on the right track in July, when he had 11 extra base hits and four steals while batting a respectable .271, but in August, he’s returned to the worst edition of Santana. Before Johnson was injured, he had already supplanting Santana at first base, with Terry Francona noting the latter’s lack of effort and he finished the month with a paltry .248/.333/.385 line.
8. Francisco Lindor Above (+4)
After joining the rankings in the 22nd spot in June, Lindor has quickly become one of the Indians most dependable hitters and their most exciting defender as well. Playing every day and batting second, Lindor has already moved into fifth in at bats among players still with the team and deservedly so with a .307/.347/.433 line bolstered by a .370/.413/.500 August. He already looks to rank among the Indians top hitters heading into 2016 along with Brantley and Kipnis. If only he would stop bunting…
9. Bryan Shaw Even (-1)
As happened late last season, Shaw has struggled some in recent weeks, posting a 3.95 ERA in 15 appearances. An interesting note about those struggles is that they have generally come in non clutch situations. Shaw earned five holds in August to just one blown save and has a 2.89 ERA on the year in close and late situations.
10. Ryan Raburn Above (+3)
Raburn played acceptably in August, although he played less often than any other month this year due to an illness and some time spent on the bereavement list. When he did play, he went 8/19 with a home run and three doubles. His playing time has also decreased with the addition of Johnson and Sands and once September call-ups are made, his playing time will likely dwindle even more.
11. Trevor Bauer Below (-2)
While Carrasco and Salazar had as good of a month as any in their career, Bauer may have had his worst. An 5.01 ERA in six starts, Bauer has allowed a .258 average to opposing hitters and nearly a home run per game. In the past two months, he has dropped eight spots in the rankings after holding the top spot at the end of April. Command has clearly been an issue and he will need to put some serious work in during the off-season if he wants to be considered among the Tribe’s elite three starters.
12. Lonnie Chisenhall Above (Un-Ranked)
While there were very few clamoring for the return of Chisenhall, trades of David Murphy, Brandon Moss and Michael Bourn left the Indians desperate for a starting right fielder and Lonnie has filled in admirably. Starting almost every day, Chisenhall’s defensive ability in right is yet to be exposed and at the plate he has been more April/May of 2014 than April/May of 2015. In August, he was one of the top hitters, batting .403/.474/.552 in 67 at bats.
13. Roberto Perez Below (+3)
After a very successful June, Perez has returned to his form as a light hitting, reserve catcher in the past two months. In total, he played in just 17 games since the beginning of July and in August batted .185/.313/.185 and knocked in just one run. His biggest strength remains his plate discipline and he walked five times compared to just seven strike outs.
14. Yan Gomes Even (+3)
Gomes continues his lost season continues as he remains far inferior to the player he was last year. This was, however, his best month this season with a team best four home runs and 18 RBI. Gomes lack of dominance at the plate has really hurt the Tribe this year as they depend on getting above average production from a normally offensively weak position.
15. Cody Anderson Below (0)
Anderson rejoined the team late in the month after hitting the DL early in August with a strained oblique. He replaced Carrasco (who would have been ranked fourth if not on the DL) in the rotation and pitched well in his return, but his first two starts marred his month so badly that nothing could save this month from being considered below expectations.
16. Ryan Webb Above (+6)
Webb was one of the Indians most used relievers in August and it was well deserved. He posted a 2.13 ERA, walked none and held batters to a .200 average. This lowered his season ERA to 2.74, walking ten in 42.2 innings. While his strike outs aren’t very impressive, he offers a good change of pace from the right side compared to Shaw, Allen and McAllister.
17. Giovanny Urshela Below (+1)
While Lindor has taken off since the All-Star break, Urshela has really struggled. Batting just .179 in the month, he has seen Ramirez take some of his playing time as Terry Francona tries to get his corner man back on track. On the positive side, his defense has continued to be stellar as Urshela has made some of the best plays of the year in recent weeks.
18. Jeff Manship Above (0)
Although he hasn’t pitched much this year, Manship has been surprisingly effective, posting a 1.42 ERA in 25.1 innings. His 0.71 WHIP is the best in the Indians bullpen and he has come through in just about every situation the Indians have used him in. His .194 BABIP after a .308 career mark is worrisome as it appears unsustainable, but since he is under team control through 2018 and the Indians may see him as an option next year.
19. Abraham Almonte Above (UR)
Coming in the Marc Rzepczynski trade from San Diego, Almonte quickly became a fan favorite by outperforming Bourn’s entire season in about a week. Showing the value of comparing a Major Leaguer to a replacement level performer, Almonte has 11 extra base hits, 14 RBI and 15 runs already in just 22 games compared to 13, 19 and 29 by Bourn in well over 200 more at bats.
20. Josh Tomlin Above (UR)
One of the pleasant surprises that allowed the Indians to compete at a high level on a daily basis was Tomlin filling in for Anderson initially, then staying on as Carrasco was hurt and Salazar dealt with a short illness. In four starts, Tomlin threw 26.1 innings and struck out 26, allowing just nine runs (3.08 ERA) on seven home runs. His .175 BABIP may be unsustainable (as is his extremely high home run rate), but by winning three of his four starts, Tomlin has already got the Indians through a rough time and done his part for the year.
21. Jose Ramirez Even (UR)
Filling in for the injured Kipnis for the first half of the month, Ramirez brought new life to the Indians offense. In his first 14 August games, Ramirez posted a .348 OBP, being particularly efficient as the Indians lead-off hitter, walking four times and hitting safely in three in his 14 starts at the top of the line-up. As more of a bench player to end the month, he managed to lower his average to .241 in August.
22. Mike Aviles Below (0)
Somehow, it is August, the Indians have an infusion of young talent and Mike Aviles is still playing at least three times a week. In those games, mostly against left handed pitchers, he has batted .216 with nine strike outs, accounting for nearly a third of his in the year. Of course it is getting harder to say this is below his expectations since he has been a .222 hitter all year and a .243 hitter in his Indians career. If there is any positive, it is that he didn’t look like a complete fool in his few games in center field this month.
23. Austin Adams Below (0)
The dream of Adams as a high end reliever is slowly crumbling as his rising ERA (3.62 on the year, 6.00 in August) has Francona afraid to use in him only the most predetermined situations. He can have electric stuff, but hasn’t this month and is taking far longer to acclimate to the Majors than other recent relievers, like Crockett and Allen, have.
24. Jerry Sands Below (UR)
Nobody expected anything of Sands this year, but he became a cult hero after just one game when he knocked in four runs on three hits in his debut on April 11th. Since then, he has had multiple hits in just two games and batted .177 in August. In addition to his terrible outfield defense, he hasn’t even been that great against left handed pitchers, when he is taking at bats from Chisenhall. Against south paws, he has a .314 OBP compared to Chisenhall’s .315 for the year.
25. Kyle Crockett Below (UR)
With Rzepczysnki in San Diego, Crockett has been the Indians only left handed option and things haven’t went quite as well as he would have hoped in August. Without multiple LOOGYs, Crockett has been forced to pitch against more right handed hitters and that is not a good situation. So far this year he has allowed a 7.20 ERA and .313 average against right handers and a 1.23 ERA and .267 BAA against lefties.
No Longer Around
AAA
Michael Roth DNP
Zach Walters Below
Tyler Holt Below
DL
Carlos Carrasco Above
Chris Johnson Above
Traded
Marc Rzepczynski DNP
David Murphy DNP
Brandon Moss DNP
Michael Bourn Even
Whether you agree or not, you can vote for your own rankings by going to Ranker.com.
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