2017 Cleveland Indians Roster Preview: Gomes A Silver Slugging Catcher?

Cleveland Indians roster preview: The Tribe starts the season with questions at catcher, but Yan Gomes can put those concerns to rest if he plays with his 2014 form.

Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes may be one of the most scrutinized players in Terry Francona‘s lineup.

The Brazilian native hasn’t come close to putting together the numbers that helped him win the Silver Sluggler Award in 2014.

Injuries have mostly curbed Gomes’ career since that marvelous 2014 campaign, in which he blasted 21 homers and drove in 74 runs.

In 2017, Gomes was one of baseball’s unluckiest player, and that led to his first negative WAR season (-0.8) in an Indians uniform. Gomes’ Batted Balls In Play (BBIP) was .189, according to Baseball-Reference. If you’re unfamiliar with the stat, .300 is average. BABIP measures the balls a player hits that defenders have a chance to make a play on. Homers an strikeouts do not count.

With one spring training game left to play, Gomes had complies some great stats. He hit .364 (1.068 OPS).

The biggest question regarding Gomes will be how he responds when he does enter a slump. Can he pull himself out of the doldrums, or will poor production at the plate only cause more frustration should bad luck continue to play a factor.

You can never read too much into Spring Training stats, but Gomes numbers at least show he’s healthy and ready to start the season.

Should he falter, the Indians have Roberto Perez waiting in the wings.

I never quite understood the argument to start Perez when Gomes is healthy because the Animal has so much more upside at the plate.

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Perez is more than capable of running into a fastball every now and then, but he is what he is at the plate. The Indians got an extended look at him in 2017, and he hit .183 (.579 OPS) in 184 plate appearances, which spanned 61 games.

He is an excellent defender and a perfect backup catcher for this club.

In the minors, Cleveland boasts one of the top prospects in the game in Francisco Mejia.

Sometimes, the trades you don’t make are the ones that pay off, and that may be the case with Mejia. The 21-year-old was to be a part of the trade for Jonathan Lucroy last July, but because Lucroy vetoed the deal, Mejia stayed put. He put together a 50-game hitting streak and is regarded as the 28th best prospect (No. 1 catcher) in baseball, according to Baseball America.

Next: 5 Bold Predictions For the Indians Season

With a healthy Gomes back in the lineup, Perez serving as a more than serviceable backup and Mejia working his way up the ladder, the Indians catching position is in solid shape.

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2017 Cleveland Indians Roster Preview: Catcher

By Nick Dudukovich | Mar 31, 2017

Cleveland Indians roster preview: The Tribe starts the season with questions at catcher, but Yan Gomes can put those concerns to rest if he plays with his 2014 form.

More from Factory of Sadness