Predicting the Cleveland Indians lineup as summer camp opens.
The Cleveland Indians continue to move forward with a 2020 season, and whether or not MLB plays the campaign out, will likely depend on baseball is able to stay ahead of COVID-19.
Summer camp will open on July 3, and there’s plenty to dissect. After you think you’ve got a handle on the roster, you’ve then got to construct a batting order, and predicting a lineup for a Terry Francona-led team is about as hard as it gets, as the veteran manager makes the most of using what he has, moving parts around in a quest to put his players in the best position to be successful.
Things get really complicated when you try to figure out what Francona will do with an unsettled position, such as the outfield. Oscar Mercado is an everyday player, as is Franmil Reyes. Factoring in an unsettled DH spot, along with a questionable left-field spot, and all bets are off, especially since Tito will be able to choose from an expanded roster in the early going.
The Indians aren’t being talked about much in this 60-game sprint, although one analytical projection has the Tribe grabbing the Wild Card. Ideally, Tito’s group will win the division where the season won’t come down to a do-or-die Wild Card game.
That’s especially true because after going over the lineup, Tito’s batting order has the potential to be very, very, very good. Factor in the sticks with the Tribe’s starting pitchers, and the recipe is there for the Tribe to make some noise, and perhaps, go on a little run.
With the season pegged to start sometime at the end of July, here’s my guess for a lineup.
Top of the order
RHP and LHP: Hernandez, Mercado, Lindor
For the first time in years, Francisco Lindor won’t be batting leadoff for the Cleveland Indians. His presence at the top of the order was mostly borne out of necessity, but with the Indians adding some lead-off candidates, in addition to the presence of Oscar Mercado, the Tribe can breathe some depth into the lineup by moving Lindor down.
Newly acquired second baseman Cesar Hernandez has a ton of experience batting first, as does outfielder Delino DeShields. Mercado, could also be a candidate after a stellar rookie campaign in which he mostly hit out of the No. 2 spot.
In what’s been a stellar five-year career, Lindor has lead off in 364 games, while hitting second and third in a combined 342 games.
Since DeShields doesn’t project as an everyday player, Mercado would be the ideal leadoff hitter, since he’s in the 97th percentile when it comes to spring speed. That said, Terry Francona may not want to put the pressure on younger player who’s entering his second year under unusual circumstances.
It’s for this reason I’d look for Hernandez, a switch hitter, to bat leadoff. He’s done so 433 times in his career, posting a lifetime .276 average with a .360 on-base percentage. He might not be as fast as Mercado or DeShields, but he’s quick enough and his on-base percentage .333 was higher than Mercando’s (.318) a season ago.
I’d keep Mercado at the No. 2 spot, though, giving the Tribe a formidable duo on the base paths to start games, while Lindor would bump down to No. 3. The third spot is where you want your best hitter, a la Ken Griffey Jr. in his days with the Mariners. Sure, he could hit 56 bombs, but it was Jay Buhner, who was batting clean-up.
Middle of the order
RHP: Reyes, Santana, Ramirez
LHP: Reyes, Santana, Ramirez
The truth is Reyes struggled when he came over from the Padres in the deal that sent Trevor Bauer to the Reds at last July’s trade deadline, but big things were being expected of the slugger back in Spring Training.
In fact, find someone who wasn’t penciling Reyes to crack 40 bombs back in March. Well, if he does that now, he might as well change his name to Babe Ruth.
Reyes is the right-handed, power presence Indians fans have long craved and he’ll be nice cog in the lineup for the first half of the decade.
After Reyes, the decision probably comes down to Carlos Santana or Jose Ramirez. Heck, Jordan Luplow could bat here, too, if a. left-hander is on the mound.
My guess is that Santana gets the spot though, with Ramirez, another switch hitter, hitting No. 6.
The idea of Jose Ramirez batting sixth could be a scary scene for opposing pitchers if Ramirez is to replicate his output from the past 2 2/12 seasons. We all expected to take residence at third base when The Prog hosted the All-Star game, but .218 average (.652 OPS) gave J-RAM an unexpected July vacation, instead.
He returned, looking like the Ramirez we all know and love, batting .327 (1.105 OPS).
Bottom of the order
RHP: Perez, D. Santana, DeShields/Naquin
LHP: Luplow, Perez, D. Santana
This is where Terry Francona earns the big bucks, as he’s got a glut of players to rotate around.
I know this: You want Jordan Luplow, who hit 14 home runs with a 1.181 OPS in 155 plate appearances to bat against lefties. Plus, the Tribe was talking about taking more of a look at him against right-handers, as well.
He can play one of the corner outfield spots, or he can DH some too, as the Indians haven’t really figured that spot out. Many pundits are giving the spot to Domingo Santana. He hit 13 homes off right-handers, compared to eight against southpaws. That said, he was a better bet to get on base against lefties, boosting a .345 on-base percentage in 167 plate appearances ages left handers.
It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see Francona DH Luplow against southpaws, while starting DeShields in the outfield.
Perez’s 2019 breakout has mostly been forgotten, so it will be intriguing to see if he can build on the 4.0 WAR, 24 home-run performance of a season ago.