Cleveland Indians: Which Lineup Could Be The Best?

What kind of batting order could maximize the Cleveland Indians offense the most in 2016?

Despite winning 81 games in 2015, the Cleveland Indians offense struggled often at the plate. That is still expected to be the case as no significant difference maker was acquired in the offseason.

Through a grueling 162 game season, there will be many slumps and injuries that will affect team’s lineups. Hopefully not many of those occur with Cleveland Indians players, but multiple lineups that will be made by Terry Francona, which is inevitable.

Could the Cleveland Indians only have a few lineups (including those with bench players) over the course of the season if the team remains pretty healthy? Yes, but that is very rare and highly unlikely. If Cleveland can finish the season with six to eight, I would be very happy, and a winning record could reflect that. Though that may be nice, at

If Cleveland can finish the season with six to eight, I would be very happy, and a winning record could reflect that. Though that may be nice, at least 10 lineups should be made, especially due to the multiple options in the outfield.

Now, viewing the team completely healthy, who are the nine players that could make the most of their opportunities while leading the Cleveland Indians to success? Also, which batting spot in the order could make the most sense? Let’s review a possible scenario:

1). Rajai Davis, center field 2). Francisco Lindor, short stop, 3). Michael Brantley, left field 4). Jason Kipnis, second base 5). Mike Napoli, first base, 6). Yan Gomes, catcher 7). Carlos Santana, designated hitter, 8) Lonnie Chisenhall, right field 9). Giovanny Urshela, third base.

The one thing Francona has, just like with last year’s roster, is plenty of flexibility. Davis is listed above as the leadoff hitter, but he could also fit batting second, seventh, eighth, or ninth. However, Tyler Naquin could win this job out of camp, and he would fill in nicely in this role.

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Lindor, like former Cleveland Indians great Omar Vizquel is listed second. Lindor could bat leadoff, but not being in that role lessens the pressure.

Brantley has seen his spot in the lineup vary since coming up from the majors, but over the last few seasons, he typically has been somewhere between third and fifth. It would be great if his home runs were higher, but as an overall hitter, Brantley is the best on the team.

Kipnis is the cleanup hitter, but if Brantley slumps at all, the two of them could easily be flipped flopped. Outside of Brantley, Kipnis may be the best overall hitter on the team. However, being consistent is key.

The rest of the lineup could go in any order. Napoli, Gomes, Santana, Chisenhall, and Urshela all likely has the most experience on the team in not having a consistently set place in the order.

Urshela is listed in this lineup because by the end of 2016, he should be the every day player. Besides, comparing him to Juan Uribe, who would you want playing? Uribe is nice to have, but starting the young, up and coming player should be a priority. Just look at Uribe’s production offensively too, I’d take my chances.

Besides, comparing him to Juan Uribe, who would you want playing? Uribe is nice to have, but starting the young, up and coming player should be a priority. Just look at Uribe’s production offensively too, I’d take my chances.

Next: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not In Spring Training

Over the course of 2016 we will see many Cleveland Indians lineups. How many we see will be determined later, but at the end of the day, as long as Cleveland can find the right successful lineup with minimal issues, then their offense should be much better than next season.