As much of an uncertainty as the Cleveland Indians’ outfield may be, their skilled infielders are unquestionably the strength of the lineup. Led by the 22 year-old All-Star Francisco Lindor, the Tribe’s skilled infielders aren’t just excellent on defense, but they also largely make up the heart of Cleveland’s batting order which ranked second in runs scored in 2016. While Lindor, Kipnis, and Jose Ramirez are all returning starters, the team also has some intriguing depth options coming up from the minor leagues. The list of players below will give fans a sense of who will be spending time at the skilled infield positions this season for Cleveland.
Shortstop
Francisco Lindor
Perhaps the most exciting up-and-coming young star in the game, Lindor has lived up to all the hype surrouding him as he worked his way through the Indians’ farm system after being drafted #8 overall in the 2011 draft. Since his debut in mid-2015, Lindor has slashed .306/.356/.454 in 257 games, while playing gold-glove caliber defense. Lindor has also been a threat on the bases, stealing 31 bases in 38 attempts during that time.
All things considered, Lindor is undoubtably one of the ten best position players in baseball today, and at 22, he is just getting started. In a world where 2 Wins Above Replacement in a season is considered average, conservative projection systems like Steamer and Zips peg Lindor to be 5+ WAR player in 2017. There is no reason to believe Lindor will slow down any time soon, and after batting third in the Indians order in 2016, he figures to hit somewhere in the top three once again in 2017.
Second Base
Jason Kipnis
One of the longest-tentured Indians position players, Kipnis has been the team’s every day second basemen since late 2011, and has proven to be one of baseball’s best there. Entering his age 30 season, Kipnis has already been named to two All-Star teams, and has put up 4.5 or more WAR in three of the last four seasons. Kipnis’ offense is what carries him, and that is reflected by .272/.345/.423 career slash line. However, just as some began to worry his defense would become an issue, Kipnis had back-to-back strong years defensive in 2015 and 2016. According to UZR, Kipnis has been about six runs above-average per 150 games on defense since 2015.
While Kipnis is slowly leaving his prime, at just 30, fans shouldn’t expect any big drop off yet. Steamer and Zips do project Kipnis to have the worst healthy season of his career in 2017, calling for the Chicago-native to put up around 3 WAR. That feels a little low, but as long as Kipnis remains healthy – he has been dealing with shoulder soreness this spring – he will be an above-average contributor for the Tribe.
Third Base
Jose Ramirez
After a breakout season in 2016, Jose Ramirez is now simply known as the GOAT in the Indians Twitter-verse. It could be argued that Ramirez was Cleveland’s most valuable player in 2016, as his 4.8 WAR between left field and third base made-up for the loss of Michael Brantley. As well as Ramirez played generally, it was his production in the clutch that made him an instant fan-favorite, slashing .355/.406/.475 with runners in scoring position. While some may attribute that to luck, Ramirez’s high contact-rate (he strikes out in just 11% of plate appearances in his career) and good plate discipline (7.3% of plate appearance are walks) make him a great hitter in clutch situations.
Ramirez played outfield in 2016 due to necessity, but the Indians have already said Ramirez – whose best position is second base – will stay in the infield this season. Moving to third hasn’t been an issue for the 24 year-old Ramirez, as by UZR, he has been about 11 runs above-average at third per 150 games so far in his MLB career. Steamer and Zips project a small drop off in 2017 for Ramirez, predicting he will be worth just north of 3 WAR. It will be hard for Ramirez to improve on his 2016, but no doubt he will be one of Cleveland’s better players once again in 2017.
Giovanny Urshela
Should something happen to Ramirez, the Indians have a depth option at third base sitting in AAA who already has some MLB experience. Tribe fans may remember Urshela, who played during the second half of 2015 for Cleveland at third. While he is top-shelf defensive third basemen, and made several highlight plays in Cleveland, the 25 year-old Urshela couldn’t get his bat going, posting just a 66 wRC+ in 81 games. Unfortunately for Urshela, he dealt with injuries and largely struggled in AAA in 2016, only managing a 90 wRC+ while failing to reach a .300 on base percentage. He has flashed some power, but until he develops better plate discipline, he won’t be able to take advantage of his defensive ability regularly at the MLB level.
Utility Infielders
Michael Martinez
As much as it may pain some of more well-informed Indians fans, Martinez, who by wRC+ is the 12th worst hitter since 1900 with 500+ MLB plate appearances, is very much a candidate to make the Indians’ opening day roster as a utility infielder. Despite entering the decline of his career at 34 years old, and never posting a positive WAR, Martinez seems to have gotten on Terry Francona‘s good side, because the numbers indicate Martinez should never receive another MLB at bat.
To date, Martinez’s most memorable big league moment was grounding weakly to third to clinch Chicago Cubs’ first World Series in 108 years. Since Martinez can’t hit much better than a pitcher at the MLB level, you would expect he would at least be strong defensively. However, Martinez hasn’t posted a positive UZR score at any infield position since he played second base briefly for the Pirates in 2014. Given that Martinez is 34, and defense doesn’t age well, it isn’t a stretch to say that Martinez is mediocre at best with the glove.
Needless to say, the projection systems aren’t very excited about Martinez, predicting he will be below-replacement level in 2017.
Erik Gonzalez
If anyone else is going to win the Indians’ utility job, it would seem Gonzalez, a well-regarded 25 year-old shortstop prospect, would have the best chance. Before being promoted to the MLB last year, Gonzalez put up an impressive .296 /.329/.450 slash line at AAA Columbus. Once in the MLB, he had a decent showing, slashing .313/.353/.313 in just 17 plate appearances. While that sample is much to small to draw any conclusions, when paired with his minor league success, it gives optimism that Gonzalez can be adequate offensively for a middle infielder.
By all accounts, Gonzalez is more than capable with the glove – Fangraphs scout Eric Longehagen gave his glove an above-average grade in 2017, while Dan Farnsworth, also of Fangraphs, gave it a plus-grade in 2016, saying “Gonzalez is a legitimate shortstop with great range, quick feet and soft hands.”
He may be young, but it would seem Gonzalez would provide much more upside than a player like Martinez, and Steamer and Zips agree, calling for him to be just above replacement level in 2017.
Ronny Rodriguez
The dark horse in the utility-man race seems to be Rodriguez. Few Indians fans know about Rodriguez, but Terry Francona named him as a candidate for the job this week in Arizona. In terms of upside, the 24 year-old Rodriguez has shown flashes of power in the minors (.204 ISO in 2015 while playing home games in the pitcher-friendly Canal Park in Akron), and Farnsworth called him a “defensive-whiz” in 2016. However, last year at AAA Columbus, Rodriguez failed to post a .300 on-base percentage, and that trait has been a common one in his minors career. He has shown the ability to play all over the infield, but if Rodriguez played meaningful innings for Cleveland in 2017, it would be a shock.
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