Cleveland Indians’ José Ramirez, Francisco Lindor remain MLB’s best duo
The left side of the Cleveland Indians’ infield–with José Ramirez at 3B and Francisco Lindor at SS–is the best in baseball and it isn’t close.
The Cleveland Indians are off to a disappointing 20-20 start to the 2018 campaign. While the bullpen has been dreadful, one constant remains — the dominance of Francisco Lindor and José Ramirez.
From Lindor, this type of dominance was expected. Sure, the power surge wasn’t predicted by most experts, but his elite defense and prowess at the plate were known tools. Ramirez, on the other hand, struggled mightily after being named the starting shortstop out of spring training in 2015.
Since his disappointing 2015 season, Ramirez has rivaled the production of his teammate Lindor (all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted).
| R | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Lindor | 232 | 88 | 7 | 60 | 193 | 39 | .291 | .352 | .488 | .848 |
| José Ramirez | 219 | 113 | 9 | 53 | 187 | 45 | .312 | .370 | .534 | .904 |
Furthermore, their total WARs during the same span are almost identical. Ramirez has a WAR of 13.7, while Lindor’s defense gives him a boost to 14.3. Granted, Lindor’s eight errors this season suggest a peculiar decline defensively.
Strictly focusing on their work at the plate, no team in baseball has a more solid one-two punch than the Indians. Among all qualified hitters over the past three seasons, both rank near the top in a number of offensive categories (wRC, wRAA, according to FanGraphs):
- Hits: Ramirez (406, 9th), Lindor (414, 5th)
- Runs: Ramirez (219, 14th), Lindor (232, 9th)
- 2B: Ramirez (113, 1st), Lindor (88, 8th)
- wRC: Ramirez (246, 11th), Lindor (239, 16th)
- wRAA: Ramirez (74.4, 12th), Lindor (48.1, 30th)
Thus far, their 2018 numbers blow away their past averages — which is terrible news for American League pitchers.
| H | R | 2B | HR | RBI | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | WAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindor | 54 | 34 | 14 | 12 | 26 | .318 | .383 | .612 | .995 | 2.7 |
| AL rank | T-2nd | 2nd | 4th | T-4th | T-18th | 10th | 14th | 6th | 7th | 4th |
Perhaps the scariest part of the Lindor and Ramirez’s meteoric rise is their age and rapid improvement. They’re just 24 and 25 years of age, respectively.
| H | R | 2B | HR | RBI | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | WAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramirez | 44 | 28 | 11 | 13 | 28 | .288 | .381 | .614 | .995 | 2.9 |
| AL rank | T-9th | T-9th | 12th | T-1st | T-12th | 24th | 17th | 5th | 6th | 3rd |
As mentioned previously, the most striking development in Lindor’s game is his power. He’s hitting home runs at an incredibly accelerated pace. The switch-hitting shortstops HR percentage illustrates his rapid power surge over the past several season perfectly. Lindor has increased his HR percentage from 2.2 in 2016, all the way to 6.3 this season.
Not to be outdone, Ramirez’s increased power this season has him tied for the league lead in home runs. The 5-foot-9, always entertaining third baseman is establishing himself at a superstar level parallel to that of Lindor’s.
As the Tribe continues to struggle, both Lindor and Ramirez continue to build their respective resumes. If the team’s bullpen has sucked the joy out of watching baseball for you, find solace in watching these two put on a show every night.
Next: 5 players Indians should target before MLB trade deadline
Don’t be surprised if there’s an all-Indians left side of the infield starting this year’s all-star game.