The Cleveland Indians are in need of some breakout success, and here are three who could have a big year in the shortened 2020 season.
The Cleveland Indians are in a situation where they need to find guys constantly to step up from season to season. As a small-market team, they can’t just throw money at guys all the time like the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers. It wouldn’t matter if they did, as that’s not how you build a winner in the majors anyway. Constant development is. That’s why the Indians, as long as their minors keep producing talent, should always have their competition window open.
Yet, to keep that competition window open, they need the young guys to step up and deliver with authority. The team under Mark Shapiro was so janky due to the inability to develop prospects and young players acquired from other teams. If they were more consistent then the team would’ve never fallen off after 2007, leading to Eric Wedge’s firing. They would’ve been able to transition seamlessly into a new era.
Now Chris Antonetti is going to have to do just that. With Carlos Carrasco, Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez, and Francisco Lindor the last real pieces of that World Series team, the team needs to find their next crop of stars. Framhil Reyes looks like he could be a Jim Thome type of guy. Big numbers and big hits, but not a big average. Shane Bieber is also a guy who looks like he’s ready to be the new ace of the team, but can he be as dominant as Kluber?
Maybe, but they can’t do it all themselves, so here are three names that could join the list of breakout stars for 2020.
Bradley Zimmer
The hype around Bradley Zimmer was once as high as it was for Francisco Lindor. He had an eye for the ball, hitting .368 for a season in college, and had fast hands that crossed the strike zone with ease. He also had blazing speed on the basepaths and many saw him as the complete player. A transcendent talent. Many expected him to be the next great offensive player, yet around 2016 his ability to hit for average nosedived, and he bottomed out. Injuries to his shoulder and oblique had sapped him of his talents.
He missed most of 2018 and nearly all of 2019. Prior to that in 2017, he wasn’t exactly making people fantasize about him becoming the next Ken Griffey Jr. either. So 2020 is a season of dyer expectations for Zimmer. Can he brush off the injuries and return to form? Well, it’s possible.
If we as sports fans know anything, it’s that when a situation is do-or-die, players generally find a way to step up. Be it for their careers, a new hefty contract, or for that last shot at a title; winners find a way to win. If Zimmer is ever truly going to live up to his lofty expectations, he’ll find a way to do just that in 2020.
Good news for fans, Zimmer looks like he’s back. He’s hitting .571 (12-for-21) with four home runs and eight RBI so far in summer training (as of July 21) and he’s absolutely looking like the player the team expected him to be when he was drafted. Could he finally be the guy the team needs him to be? It sure looks like it but it’s only summer training and it’s only a small sample size.
Yet, he has done enough to warrant an opening day roster spot.
Jake Bauers
Consistency, not so much talent, is Jake Bauer’s biggest issue. At only 24-years-old, he’s still awfully young and shouldn’t be viewed as a finished product just yet. He could be someone who offers a great deal of versatility. Bauers can play first base or in the outfield, so if someone struggles, he could fill in and not really cause too much of a disruption to the lineup.
Bauers has the power to make an incredible impact but has to be able to stay consistent and make each plate-appearance. He nearly averaged a strikeout per game, which is just awful. Only Bauers, Roberto Perez, and Carlos Santana broke 100 strikeouts last year. Santana however had 1/3 more at-bats than either man and had fewer strikeouts than both. If Bauers wants to remain in the rotation for outfield/first-base work, he’s got to cut down on the number of strikeouts he commits.
His patience at the plate was a problem beyond just his strikeouts. He rarely ever worked a count well enough to warrant a base on balls. Of all players with 300 at-bats, only Jason Kipnis and Oscar Mercado had fewer walks. He also finished last in OPS among batters who had 300 at-bats with the Tribe in 2019.
Bauers has the power to make an impact but if he can’t stay consistent at the plate, and not be so eager, he’s going to be in trouble. Thankfully though, his immaturity at the plate could be a symptom of his youth. He was one of the youngest players on the club, and with more experienced and more time with a major league hitting coach, hopefully, Bauers can put his potential and talent together to become a quality and consistent player.
Jordan Luplow
There wasn’t much hype around Jordan Luplow when he got traded from Pittsburgh to Cleveland for Erik Gonzales. Many people thought Luplow wouldn’t find much playing time outside of the usual platoon work or filling in for slumping and injured players in the outfield.
Yet in 2019, he played in just 85 games and had 225 at-bats. In that span, he had some of his best numbers for his career. He hit 15 home runs and had he played a full season would’ve hit nearly 30. Luplow blew up within a small sample size and looks poised for another similar year in 2020.
For comparison, Luplow’s best season prior to 2019 for hitting, regardless of where, college, minors, and majors were 23 home runs in 2017. He had 414 at-bats that year and played in 117 games.
Luplow should hopefully negate the loss of Yasiel Puig, especially if he continues to improve. Luplow has shown the ability to be patient at the plate and to take what he’s offered. He’s not going to try and force too many things, which allows him to get on base pretty frequently comparatively. His OPS isn’t great, just under a 1.000, but with more reps that could be a thing of the past.
He should get a shot to start every day but Oscar Mercado and Domingo Santana might make that hard. Hopefully, Luplow is given a fair shake, as he can put up similar numbers, if not better, than Mercado and Santana if given the chance.
Assuming 2019 wasn’t a fluke.