Pics: Nick Swisher has the city of Cleveland on his cleats
April 2, 2015Mike Pettine is the eighth most aggressive NFL head coach
April 2, 2015Though the point has been made repeatedly (at this very authorâs hand, no less) that Spring Training statistics are the snake oil of baseball prognostication, itâs still kind of hard to say goodbye to March without looking back on how our various Tribesmen fared down in the desert. So, as an appropriate April Foolâs Day activity, I gathered up the Indiansâ stat sheet for a quick gander at who has been rolling, scuffling, or mainly just sitting around this spring. Are there hints of things to come within these numbers? Warning signs to heed? New developments afoot? Or is it all just a study in random nonsense, gathered in too small of a sample size to be worth anyone’s trouble? In all likelihood, all of the above. So letâs dig in.
The Bats
I suppose I could be âthat guyâ and include defensive metrics in my Spring Training analysis, but instead, Iâll just forgive Lonnie Chisenhall for failing to dive for a ball during a game in which Will Ferrell might have been an on-deck hitter. Now, on to the sticks! Weâll start with the players who were still in line for a spot on the Tribe’s Opening Day roster as of March 31, listed in order of their spring batting averages. Any number in bold/italics means the player leads the team in that category– Topps baseball card style.
Some of the immediate take-aways from these numbers line-up with popular narratives of the preseason: Michael Bourn seems rejuvenated (though I suppose itâs worth noting he has zero stolen bases), Jesus Aguilar is knocking on the door to a second chance with the big club [UPDATE: Aguilar has been optioned to Triple-A, wah wah], Brandon Moss is showing some encouraging power after offseason surgery, and Nick Swisher is a long way away from earning his money. Some other, less-discussed areas of interestâŠ
Happy Thoughts:
- Michael Brantley shows no signs of not being Michael Brantley.
- Roberto Perez might very well prove to be one of the top backup catchers in all of baseball, and could deserve more than one game a week in the line-up, presuming Yan Gomes could DH on occasion.
- Carlos Santana has had a productive, albeit strikeout-heavy spring. He really canât possibly start the season worse than the hole he dug himself last April, so hereâs hoping we get the Axeman in mid summer form.
Clevelandy Thoughts:
- Speaking of Murphy and Swisher, the latter obviously never suited up in March, and the former wishes he hadnât. Considering how consistently and surprisingly clutch David Murphy was for the Indians in the first half of the 2014 season, itâs been a long dark road ever since. Only his platoon mate Ryan Raburnâa former Spring Training juggernautâhas suffered more in the dry air of Goodyear this year.
- Not to throw cold water on a great spring for Bourn, but he still doesnât walk enough to be considered a great leadoff hitter.
- Jose Ramirez has looked a little bit lost at times. He might smell those Lindor truffles wafting in from the next room. But again, for a guy many project will hit second in the line-up, one walk in 56 ABs isnât super encouraging. I guess the argument could be made, Spring Training is not a time for taking pitches.
Neutral Thoughts That Probably Lean Negative:
- Jason Kipnis. There have been moments where he seemed to have that 2013 pop back in his swing, but nagging injuries have limited him to 30 at-bats, and there are oodles of reasons to remain apprehensive about a return to form.
- [UPDATE] Veteran utilityman Michael Martinez was notified on April 2 that he won’t make the team. đ
On the Fringes (Other Players with at Least 20 ABs this Spring)
Thatâs journeyman catcher Brett Hayes there wielding the boom stick with a team best 1.147 OPS and 3 dingers in just 23 at-bats. No one may ever remember his exploits, but at least itâs being mentioned here on the internet for posterity. Beyond that, there is reason for optimism in Columbus. Francisco Lindor, fresh off another very stellar spring, will be in the state capital for at least a couple months, and the Clippers will have a bunch of power potential in Sands, Moncrief, Ramsey, Aguilar, and Zach Walters (who only had 12 spring ABs due to injury). Plus, there will be plenty of Tyler Holt recklessly slamming his skeleton into the outfield grass.
The Arms
Now letâs have a look at the pitchers who’ve made the squad, organized by preseason WHIP.
Happy Thoughts:
- Obviously a name that jumps out is Nick Hagadone, who ainât young anymore at 29, but who has continued to lurk in the shadows of âpotentialâ for six years now. With just one hit allowed in 7.1 innings this spring, heâll take some momentum into the season, joining Kyle Crockett and Mark Letters to form a 3-headed southpaw monster in the Cleveland bullpen.
- Klubot, much like Brantley, is looking almost disturbingly dependable.
- And finally, probably the biggest winner of the entire spring, Zach McAllisterâwho went from an afterthought for the 5th starter race to forcibly taking it with 24 Ks against just 4 walks in 19 innings of work.
Clevelandy Thoughts:
- Cody Allen wouldnât seem to belong in this category, but two strikeouts in 7 innings is reason enough to whine, I suppose. Fortunately, weâve got Bryan Shaw waiting in the wings⊠Except that Bryan Shaw has been surprisingly horrendous all March, with the opposition hitting a stellar .389 against him. Oh, how fragile be thy bullpenâalways the single easiest way to blow up another otherwise hopeful season.
- That same bullpen will include former Twin Anthony Swarzak for at least a little while, as he won a middle relief job despite posting an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings of work. Austin Adams, the last addition to the Opening Day roster, had a similarly rough go of it. Presuming Shaw and Scott Atchison match their performances from last season is presuming A LOT. Bullpen worries, bullpen worries.
- Both Trevor Bauer and TJ House showed good control of the strike zone this spring, but they also looked uncomfortably hittable. House surrendered 26 hits in 23.2 innings, and Bauer gave up 27 in just 21.2 innings. Bauer Outage also showed no ability to shut off anybodyâs power, giving up a team-high 6 homers.
On the Fringes
Veteran Scott Downs pitched pretty well, but couldnât beat out Swarzak and Adams for a roster spot. Heâs gonzo. Shaun Marcum was looking like a good bet to steal Danny Salazarâs spot in the rotation, but McAllister, being out of options, won that battle rather quickly. The good news is that the Indians were able to keep Marcum in the fold, as the veteran righthander accepted an assignment to Columbus to start the year.
The main numbers that jump out above, though, are clearly Danny Salazarâs, as the youngster was arguably the biggest disappointment in camp. Despite leading the team in strikeouts per 9 innings, Salazar was a wreck of wildness and inconsistency. He coughed up 5 homeruns in 11 innings and is showing a frustrating inability to rediscover the swagger that earned him the spotlight back in 2013. Of course, this was just spring. And things that happen in the desert, sometimes, can stay there.
24 Comments
I’m ready for some baseball! Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong season.
Nothing to say about Jesus A. and his minor-league studliness versus completely inability to perform at the bigs? To me that is a huge burning question. Is he another typical Indians prospect? (superstar in the minors, complete bust in the majors)
Great compilation here. Ryan Rohlinger had a great spring too (just to also preserve his name for posterity though I guess he could come up if Aviles gets hurt and Walters isn’t healthy).
I am about as pro-Jose Ramirez as one can be, but even I don’t think he should be hitting second (also agree that Bourn’s OBP doesn’t lend itself to the lead-off spot unless he gets back to his ATL numbers).
I think Clayman had something to say about Hey-Seuss this spring:
https://waitingfornextyear.com/2015/03/who-believes-in-jesus-aguilar-cleveland-indians/
So I saw, but it bears repeating as a question out of camp in this article too. Or a reference back to the prior one.
My take: Scouts still see the same long swing that will have issues at the MLB level. Only 3 BBs in 39 AB is concerning too. He did seem to have a better approach (wasn’t swinging for the fences on everything like he seemed to when he came up last year).
All that being said, I’d rather have him up than Raburn.
Yeah, at some point you have to reward the guy’s steady improvement and answer the questions on the field. He did look good in the spring. Fewer K’s. The problem is that he doesn’t offer much with the glove. So you’ve got a backup 1B and DH, rather than a 4th or 5th outfielder or utility guy. Still… I’d like to see him in there while Swish is out anyway. We shall see.
13 pitchers on the opening day roster to get us through just four off days in the first 18. Don’t every change Tito.
aaaaaaaand he’s optioned to AAA. C’est la vie.
KIP
Bourn
Brant
Santana
Moss
Gomes
Chisenhall
Murphy
Ramirez
I say bat Ramirez 9th. I am of the thought have your worst hitter 8th, so that you have more of a chance to get the 9th on base at the start of an inning that you will be going to the top of the order
If we can somehow pry Bourn out of his grip on Tito’s leadoff spot, can we get him to 8 or 9, not 2?
I don’t see that happening, but if so I would probably move everyone up and maybe put him after Moss?
I’d rather see someone convince them that Lindor should be on the major league roster.
Bourn is still their best lead off guy Kipnis should be dropped in the lineup if anyone. Bourn, Ramirez, Brantley, Santana, Moss, Gomes, Kip, Chiz & RFer. Spots 4-7 could be any combination though.
Bourn has a .315 OPB since coming over. He’s not their best leadoff guy.
Why do we want Bourn getting more PAs than Gomes, Chisenhall, or even Murphy?
Then bat Brantley lead off.
Bourn is leading off, chis will prob bat 8/9 with Murph. Bourn is more dangerous on the bases. Needs to get his numbers back up.
I’m in favor.
Bourn’s baserunning for the team over two years has led to all of one run below replacement. He’s not been dangerous on the basepaths, and the number of guys who are dangerous to make up the difference between his bat and Gomes or Chisenhall’s is incredibly small.
I believe this has been due to injury. Where do you find these numbers?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bournmi01.shtml#batting_value::none
I don’t view Bourn’s injury issues as any sort of positive harbinger.
Beat me to the punch
http://global3.memecdn.com/aaand-its-gone_o_482608.jpg