Cleveland Indians: Best Infield In The American League?

The Cleveland Indians infield is playing at such a level that they could be seen as the best in their league.

With Jose Ramirez catching fire after his move to third base, the Cleveland Indians’ infield now is a net positive at each position. Francisco Lindor is already a star, Jason Kipnis is in the midst of a career year, and Mike Napoli keeps trying to hit the scoreboard. Could it be now that the Indians have the best infield in the American League? They just might.

First Base – Mike Napoli

No, we are not counting Carlos Santana here, even though Santana himself has had a great season and seemed to rediscover the power that made him a far better hitter than his stats suggested.

For Napoli, it has been a party all season slashing .263 / .346 / .528 with 29 homers and 83 RBI’s. Those lines are good enough for a 1.4 WAR, sixth best in the AL.

Those 29 home runs lead the position ahead of Miguel Cabrera and Chris Davis and his 83 RBI are 7 more than Cabrera. He even leads the position in runs and is second in OPS.

What hurts is the 148 strikeouts, second only to Davis, but 51 more than the next player. There’s a reason there have been talks about a contract extension to keep the party going in Progressive Field.

Second Base – Jason Kipnis

Kipnis has taken off in the second half to keep a good season going. As of the first inning of Sunday’s game, Kipnis has a career high 20 home runs, a number not hit at the position since Roberto Alomar in Cleveland.

For the season, Kipnis is hitting at a .290 / .350 / .494 pace with those 20 home runs and 65 RBI. What sets Kipnis apart from his fellow second basemen is his performance since the MLB All-Start break, where his line jumps to an exciting .340 / .402 / .560 line with five home runs and 15 RBI over that time.

What’s been great to see from Kipnis is that he has been steady all season. He struggled in May, hitting as low as .259 in that month. But he started with a .274 April, then followed with a .283 June, a .344 July, and a .304 August so far. That kind of consistency is key for a player that faded in the back half last year.

Shortstop – Francisco Lindor

It all starts with the glove for Lindor. It seems like there is at least one play a week where you wonder who other than Omar Vizquel would have made the play. There is a reason the Indians defense has improved so much since he joined the big league team.

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His range makes everyone around him better. Kipnis is only an average defensive second baseman and while Ramirez is a major improvement over Juan Uribe at third, Lindor helped cover for the now released vet.

His bat is pretty fantastic too, hitting .312 / .360 / .456 with 14 home runs and 60 home runs. Lindor ranks in the top five among AL shortstops in just about every offensive category and trails Carlos Correa in WAR 5.0 to 4.6. But even that number is a bit misleading.

According to Baseball Reference, Correa has a 5.3 Offensive WAR, but only a 0.3 Defensive WAR, showing that his only true value is at the plate. There’s a reason Alex Bregman will likely bump Correa to third before the year is out. Lindor isn’t looking to change positions anytime soon, as his 2.1 Defensive WAR easily makes him far more valuable in the field than Correa, while still posting a 3.2 Offensive WAR.

Third Base – Jose Ramirez

This may be where the Indians will look at as one of the defining points of the season. Ramirez now has an 18 game hitting streak after a first inning single on Sunday and has been napalm hot with the bat. On the year he is hitting .312 / .367 / .456 with 8 home runs and 51 RBI.

So far in August, that line is .440 / .462 / .740 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI. Yes, that is a .740 slugging percentage for Ramirez in August. If we go back to include games since the MLB All-Star break, Ramirez is going .360 / .409 / .570.

Just a little over half of Ramirez’s at bats have come at the hot corner after playing as the primary left fielder due to Michael Brantley‘s injury. But third base has been good for Ramirez, where he is .296 overall.

Keep in mind that his recent hot streak has come solely at the position as well, meaning that Ramirez has only improved since finding a permanent home at third. He’s finally made the position worth watching, despite how much we all loved Juan Uribe’s clubhouse impact.

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It could still be up for debate, as the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox all have a case. Still, any conversation about the best infield group in the American League has to include the Indians near the top of the list.

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Cleveland Indians: Best Infield In The AL?

By Joe Russo | Aug 14, 2016