Indians: Franmil Reyes could elevate himself if he starts off the year fast

The Indians are looking at a potentially long 2021 if the regular, every-day players don’t step up in a big way. Guys like Jose Ramirez, Cezar Hernandez, Jordan Luplow, and Jake Bauers can’t afford to start slow. Yet, the one guy on the roster whose big season could be huge for not just the team but for him, besides Ramirez, is Franmil Reyes.

While some guys like Ramirez, Luplow, and Bauers have some power, Reyes is the guy who carries the expectation of being a power hitter. People are expecting him to be a power hitter the team can rely on and succeed with.

Since coming to Cleveland in 2019 as part of the Trevor Bauer trade, Reyes has hit 19 home runs, 69 RBI’s, and 20 doubles, in just 110 games. If you adjust those averages across a full 162 game schedule, Reyes would have 31 home runs, and 115 RBI’s. If he’s able to generate that kind of offense across the entire 162 regular seasons, then Reyes will take a huge leap in perception.

Reyes has all the power in the world and evokes former memories from a lot of people of former Indians player Travis Hafner. Hafner, like Reyes, took some time to find his consistent power stroke, but if the trajectories are similar, then Reyes could be looking at a breakout season of massive proportions. Granted, Hafner’s breakout season came at 27, Reyes is only 24.

Reyes is a career .263 hitter, with 38 doubles, 62 home runs and146 RBI’s. He’s never played a full regular season for one team before, playing in only 87 games his rookie year, and while he played 150 in his second year, he split that being San Diego (99) and Cleveland (51), and then last year he played 59 of a 60 game schedule.

This will be the first year, assumingly, that Reyes will play well over 130+ games for one squad in a season. If he can generate the offense expected of him, his profile will never be higher, and should the Indians’ offense be effective, he’ll surely get plenty of national media attention as one of the Indians’ keys to success.

Let’s hope he can deliver.