Cleveland bound for short postseason if they don’t hit
The Cleveland Baseball Club is bound for a rather short postseason run if they are unable to turn around their performance at the plate.
It has been far from a secret that the Cleveland Baseball Club has been abysmal at the plate this season. Their pitching staff can be the best in the league, but if they can’t hit it will not matter and will lead to quick playoff exit.
Entering Tuesday the team has been an extreme disappointment offensively. Coming into the season nobody expected a top offense that will put up runs with the best of them. Average/adequate performance was expected, but even they are falling short of some low expectations.
Here is where Cleveland ranks in the following offensive statistics
- Batting average 25th (.227)
- On-base percentage 21st (.317)
- Slugging percentage 28th (.363)
- On-base plus slugging 27th (.680)
- Hits 23 (349)
- Doubles 20th (67)
- Triples 22nd (4)
- Home runs 25th (45)
- Runs 26th (189)
- RBI 26th (179)
- Total bases 27th (559)
- Walks 5th (187)
- Strikeouts 13th (414)
- Stolen bases 13th (22)
These numbers have largely stayed the same all season long. Cleveland has benefited from Carlos Santana and his MLB leading 39 walks. Jose Ramirez checks in at 22 with 26 walks on the year. The problem is that they are having trouble hitting and driving in runs.
Franmil Reyes leads the team in batting average and while that is nice, he should not lead Cleveland in the batting average department. We all know who Reyes is, someone who go on an absolute tear for a week or two than go in the complete opposite direction for a similar duration.
The three players that the Cleveland Baseball Club needs to perform in order to be successful are Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Carlos Santana. Lindor’s 106 WRC+ is a career-low, same for Carlos Santana’s WRC+ of 96. Jose Ramirez has one his higher WRC+ numbers in this career this season (132), unfortunately the trouble is that he has not been consistent and has been battling an injury lately.
Other WRC+’s of note
- Cesar Hernandez: 95 – Slightly less than his average for his career (98)
- Delino DeShields: 59 – Tied for second-lowest of his career
- Tyler Naquin: 83 – 20 points lower than his career-average
- Roberto Perez: 38 – Massive drop-off after 98 WRC+ last season
- Josh Naylor: -11 (CLE only) – Insert trash can emoji
Unless the team finds some magical source of consistency and the players that need to turn things around do so, this is destined to be a short postseason run for the Cleveland Baseball Club. Setting the scene for the offseason which will more than likely result in moves being made that are very unpopular.
