Jason Kipnis is having a really nice year for a change rather than just a really incredible 4-6 weeks that generally carries his season stats. It’s being overlooked, however, because Mike Napoli keeps partying and hitting balls at the new giant Progressive Field scoreboard. So let’s look at Kipnis’ season and why he’s becoming a more complete player, because we need to read something positive after this crap bag of a week so far.
We know Kipnis has been prone to very ‘hot’ months, only to cool off the rest of the way. For example:
May 2012
He had a .810 OPS (125 wRC+), but couldn’t top .741 the rest of the year. Like any baseball season with ebbs and flows, Kipnis bounced up and down. No hitter can stay hot forever but he managed just a 94 wRC+ on a .298 BABIP in June. He had just a .531 OPS in August.
June 2013
39 hits on his way to a .419 average and a 231 wRC+ fueled by a .500 BABIP (!!!) in 93 at bats. His .880 OPS (140 wRC+) in May that year was nothing to sneeze at, but in August he was at 90 wRC+ and a solid 114 in September’s amazing run.
May 2015
That ridiculous month where he had 51 hits and a whopping 232 wRC+. He collected 34 more hits in June and a 157 wRC+ but then followed that up with 106 in July, 87 in August and 74 in September. He didn’t have an OPS over .800 after July but still managed an .823, largely carried by his 1.217 May and .926 in June.
July 2016
174 wRC+ and a 1.021 OPS. That was followed up from a June where he posted a 136 wRC+. He had a 92 wRC+ in May but started with a 101 in April.
I’ve thrown out his rookie year for this showcase as well as his injury plagued 2014 where he didn’t have any good months even when he wasn’t on the disabled list.
Vs. LHP
While he’s not setting the league in fire against fellow southpaws on the mound, he’s putting up numbers against lefties slightly above average for him.
| vs LHP | Career | 2016 |
| wRC+ | 86 | 93 |
| OPS | .669 | .721 |
| BABIP | .308 | .345 |
Most of his numbers vs. LHP this year are slight improvements and while BABIP might not be a great indicator of success, maybe a detractor, for Kipnis, it represents a change in approach vs. LHP.
Early in the season Kipnis talked about using the approach that allowed him to bang out 51 hits in May of last year, but when it wasn’t working, he adjusted. Now he’s been able to combine his ‘hit the ball the other away approach’ from last year with the power he’s shown in the past, already trying his career high in home runs with 17.
It seems pretty obvious that once put in the lead-off spot last season, Kipnis sacrificed power for average. His .356 BABIP gave him a .303/.372/.451 slash line all career highs and helped him to a 126 wRC+. This year with a .330 BABIP, Kipnis’ slash line is now .288/.345/.480 and a 124 wRC+. While maintaining a higher OBP, Kipnis’ ISO is at a career high .201 (outside of his 150 PA rookie year). In the Majors, Kipnis is now 6th among all second basemen in wRC+, 7th in HR, 6th in RBI, and 5th in WAR (3.7).
Defense
Despite the ire of fans complaining about defense, Kipnis for the second year in a row is actually having an underrated defensive year. In 2012 he posted 3 DRS (defensive runs saved) in 1,293.1 innings at second base. Even throwing out his -11 injury plagued 2014, he was at -1 in 2013. In 2015 he finished at 1 and a 5.8 UZR/150 innings rating.
This year, he is already worth 1 DRS and an 8.5 UZR/150 along with a 7.4 def rating per Fangraphs, which is 3rd highest in baseball for second basemen. Kipnis’ defense isn’t just noticed by the metrics. Baseball America’s “Best Tools” MLB edition was released this week. The ‘tools’ are voted on by the league’s managers and Kipnis was named by AL Managers as the 3rd best defensive 2nd basemen in the American League.
Running
If there’s something to nitpick about Kipnis’ fine season it’s his lack of stolen bases, something he’d proven very successful at in the past. He’s stolen just eight after only swiping 12 in 2015. In 2012 he took 31 and in 2013, 30 when he set a career high in homers with 17.
ZiPS projects Kipnis to score 30 more runs this year, putting him at a career high 91 runs scored. (He had 61 in 2014 and has 61 now, but had 86 in 2012, ’13, and ’15, ironically). That could be a product of being on base with Mike Napoli hitting just two spots below. He’s driven in Kipnis 14 times and Francisco Lindor has driven in Kipnis nine times. Maybe that’s something, maybe it’s nothing, but Kipnis has only attempted 10 steals and had 12 all of last year, so that number could come up a bit more as the year goes on.
Either way, the lack of steals only matters if Kipnis is on your fantasy team and there’s enough things to be worried about with the Indians at the moment. Jason Kipnis and his lack of steals is not one of them and he’s having maybe his most consistent year ever.
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