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5 reasons to be optimistic about Indians
- Updated: May 27, 2016
The premise for a small-budget baseball team with questionable offseason upgrades is that everything — especially the big stuff — has to go right.
But for the Cleveland Indians, some of the big stuff has gone absolutely, positively wrong. And yet, here they are, half a game out of first place in the American League Central entering Memorial Day weekend.
This was supposed to be a season that hinged on Michael Brantley, coming off November surgery to his right shoulder, and perhaps it still does. But Brantley has played just 11 games, hit lightly and with very little power in those 11 games, and then retreated back to the disabled list with continued shoulder soreness.
This was supposed to be a season that hinged on the top three in the rotation. But Carlos Carrasco strained his left hamstring on April 24, and Corey Kluber has only recently begun to resemble his old Cy Young Award-winning self.
And on the off chance you thought this season hinged on Mike Napoli’s sliding prowess, well, um…
To be where the Indians are without Brantley and without Carrasco and with no regulars turning in OPS+ marks higher than 111 (and five lineup spots with below-average OPS+ marks) is fairly remarkable. The looming return of Carrasco, who will make his first rehab start this weekend, and the remaining hope that maybe, just maybe, Brantley can still salvage a respectable season after he rests the shoulder makes Cleveland a little bit dangerous.
Here are five other encouraging things about the Tribe’s start.
1. Carlos Santana’s improved power
Terry Francona took the bold step of inserting Santana in the leadoff slot for the first time on April 22. In Santana’s 17 starts at that slot, the Indians are 11-6.
And yet, it’s not Santana’s bounce up the batting order that stands out in his 2016 season. It’s his improved power production. After failed defensive stints as a catcher, third baseman and first baseman, a move to designated hitter seems to have benefited Santana. His homer/fly-ball rate hasn’t improved significantly, but his fly-ball rate itself has — from 37.1 percent to 47.1 percent, per FanGraphs. Santana is on pace for his first 30-homer season, having hit his eighth on Saturday — an …
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