5 Cleveland Indians Players Who Will Be Key To Their Success In 2017
By Eric Pitcher
2. Yan Gomes, C
Another player who was affected by injuries last season was Yan Gomes. When healthy, Gomes is one of the better defensive catchers in all of Major League Baseball.
According to baseball-reference,com, base runners only have a 34.62 percent success rate against Gomes. That is sixth best amongst active catchers. So if you’re a base runner, running on Gomes probably would not be a good idea.
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Offensively wise though Gomes has been a guy who has struggled. Also per baseball-reference.com, Gomes has a career average of only .246. When he went down last season, Roberto Perez was able to step in and fill that hole behind the plate. But even he struggled at the plate.
The Indians haven’t had a catcher who is going to hit 25+ home runs, drive in 70+ runs in a couple of seasons. In 2014, Gomes was able to slug 21 home runs and drive in 74 RBI, but that was a career year for Gomes.
2017 is important for not only Gomes but also the Indians because Cleveland needs someone who can produce runs and be a provider. With such a strong top half of the lineup, there needs to be a leader, someone who Francona can rely on towards the bottom of the lineup.
If Gomes can stay healthy there is no reason why he can not be that guy. Gomes proved that he has what it takes to be that player. Back in 2014, when Gomes had his breakout year and was the silver slugger at the catcher position, he proved he can produce for the Indians.