Examining the hitting performances of the Cleveland Indians after the first nine games of the season.
Like most teams the Cleveland Indians have had a mixed bag when it comes to hitting in the early part of the season. There are some areas which have been encouraging and other not so encouraging. The fact that Cleveland has been without Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis to start the season has not helped things. There is also the fact that Carlos Gonzalez is still getting warmed up at AAA Columbus and could be coming up to the Majors soon.
The Good
This is the fun part, the good hitting performances. Carlos Santana has absolutely torn the cover off the ball. Santana is slashing .419/.486/.581/1.066 in the first nine games. While a correction will come soon, this early production has powered the Indians to six wins. Santana is leading team with eight RBI’s.
Tyler Naquin struggled a bit to start the year, striking out six times in his first seven at-bats. After a day off Naquin has caught fire at the plate, with seven hits in his following 16 at-bats. Naquin has a slash line of .304/.304/.391 with an OPS .696. In time Naquin will need to start getting on base with a walk, having no walks through his first 23 at-bats will not work out in the long term. For now as long as Naquin continues to hit there is not a lot to complain about.
Hanley Ramirez does not have the best batting average to start the year (.236), but that is to be expected. Ramirez was brought in to drive in runs, get on base with walks and hit for power, not average. So far Hanley has driven in four runs, which is good for second-highest total for the Indians thus far. Hanley leads with Indians in walks (5) and home runs (2) in seven games.
The Bad
There are a lot of players that could end up here. While Jose Ramirez has not seen results in the early going he is making solid contact over the last few games, even though they have resulted in outs. A turnaround appears to be coming rather quickly. Ramirez has six hits including two doubles and has driven in two runs while walking twice.
Leonys Martin has four hits in 27 at-bats, this is not good for a leadoff hitter. Martin has struck out 19 times which is completely unacceptable. Martin will have to turn things around quickly if he wants to continue seeing regular at-bats.
In eight games Jake Bauers is slashing .192/.276/.269/.545. Bauers has two doubles and has driven in three runs. Bauers has also walked three times. The Indians youngster appears to have been making much better contact over the last few games and has been driving the ball to the deep parts of the field, even if they have resulted in outs.
Jordan Luplow has not had a good start which is unfortunate. Luplow has done about all he can in the Minors and it is time for him to produce at the Major League level. Luplow has two hits in 11 at-bats and has walked twice. The Indians outfielder has also struck out seven times.
The Terrible
Kevin Plawecki has struggled at the plate so far. While he does have a home run, that is his only hit of the season. Plawecki was not acquired for his prowess at the plate but rather his abilities as a defensive catcher. However the Indians are expecting better results than this.
Roberto Perez is also not known for his offense and that is quite obvious. In six games Perez also has only one hit in 17 at-bats. The only advantage with Perez over Plawecki is that Perez has three walks while Plawecki only has one.
Max Moroff has struck out in almost half of his at-bats this season. Striking out eight times in 17 at-bats is not a good indicator for future success. Add in the fact that Moroff does not walk and this is a big problem.
Brad Miller is also seeing a lot of time in the infield and has not exactly produced. Miller has two hits in 18 chances and has struck out seven times. Once Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis return his playing time will decrease and he will be reduced to more of a part-time utility which suits him much better than regular starter.
Eric Stamets has been completely overmatched at the plate. Like many other Indians hitters, Stamets only has one hit and has struck out 14 times. While things could turn around it is quite clear why Stamets has been at AAA for so long.
A lot of people were hoping for more from Greg Allen, but he has been brutal at the plate. With only one hit in eight games (a double), Allen has at least driven in three runs and reached base via a walk three times. Allen will need to start producing if he wants to see regular playing time in Cleveland.
