Tribe Notes
Quarter pole of the Indians season by the numbers and grades
By Justin Lada

The Indians have officially passed the first quarter pole of the season and they were the last team in the league to pass the mark thanks to horrible early season weather. At 45 games, the Indians are 25-20, which puts them on pace for a 90 win season, which would be their highest total since 92 when they made the playoffs in 2013.

A quick look at the Indians by the numbers at the quarter pole mark.

34: Games the Indians have been forced to play without arguably their best hitter, Michael Brantley, thanks to battling shoulder soreness after offseason surgery.
4: Starts made by Carlos Carrasco this year. He’ll throw in a rehab appearance at Lake County on Saturday but likely will not rejoin the Indians rotation until mid-June.
20-25: The Indians record in 2015 after 45 games.
+33: The Indians run differential which is 3rd best in the American League and 6th in all of baseball.
17: Francisco Lindor’s fWAR rank in all of baseball, which is 2.0.
8: Games out of first in 2015 after 45 games.
0.5: Games out in 2016 after 45 games.
-2: The most games the Indians have been under .500 so far in 2016 (10-12)
-9: Most Indians were under .500 after 45 games in 2015
3.53: Indians bullpen ERA, 13th in baseball.
8: Wins by the Indians in Josh Tomlin’s starts.
6: Walks by Tomlin in 2015
5: HR by Napoli with the Indians trailing
7: Sacrifice bunts by the Indians (21st in baseball)
6.2: Indians UBR rating on Fangraphs (measures team’s ability to take the extra base. 0 is average)
80%: Indians stolen base percentage (40 attempts) (5th in baseball)
4.7; 4.5: Average runs scored per game in 2016 through 45 games; 2015 (through 50)
Lost count: Of Jose Ramirez’s helmet losses so far

All numbers point to the Indians being a much improved team in 2016. Here are one man’s quarter interim grades for the club

Front office (VP Baseball Ops Chris Antonetti, GM Mike Chernoff) - B
Comment: Despite the large K%, MIke Napoli has had a huge impact. Though he’s hurt now, Joba Chamberlain was an excellent pickup. Marlon Byrd, Juan Uribe and Rajai Davis have had their moments that have both helped and hurt this club on some days, but collectively, pretty good so far.

Terry Francona - B
Comment: Finally, Francona took the shot at placing Carlos Santana in the leadoff spot. It’s worked most games he’s been in there. Sometimes he moves Santana around for almost no reason and still thinks Davis is a capable leadoff hitter against right handers. He’s played Jose Ramirez a ton, almost out of necessity, but has kept him in.
Players (in order of games played)
Jason Kipnis - B
Comment: Didn’t have the incredible month of May like he did last season but the Indians weren’t very good when he was anyway. He’s putting up numbers closer to his 2013 season when he was nearly a 20-20 player.

Francisco Lindor - A
Comment: His power numbers haven’t been what they were in his 99 games as a rookie. Already has +3 DRS and 17 multi-hit games. He hasn’t gone more than two straight games without a hit and has settled into the third spot in the order with Brantley out. It’s highway robbery if another SS makes the All-Star game ahead of him.

Carlos Santana - B
Comment: Cleveland social media’s favorite whipping boy is tied for the team lead in HR with 8, his K% is at a career low (11.9%), BB% is down a bit (15%) but his ISO (isolated slugging percentage, slugging % - batting average) is up to .219, which could be a career high for him.

Rajai Davis - C+
Comment: He’s made some unfortunate miscues in the OF with Corey Kluber on the mound, but his 5 HR and 11 steals in 14 attempts through 41 games played is better than anything the Indians ever got from Michael Bourn.

Mike Napoli - B
Comment: Five of his eight homers have come in the sixth inning or later and have tied the game for the Indians or gotten them back into it. His 67 strikeouts lead the league but his 8 HR and 33 RBI have him on pace for 30 and 100. The Indians will take that.

Jose Ramirez - A
Comment: A 2015 AL All-Star finished the year with two homers and eight steal, 98 wRC+ and a 2.4 fWAR while playing five positions. Ramirez has played mostly outfield and third base but recently checked in with starts at second and shortstop. He currently has three homers, three steals, 116 wRC+ and 1.2 wins banked. That All-Star was Brock Holt. Ramirez won’t make it, but if Holt was an All-Star, Ramirez is too.

Yan Gomes - C+
Comment: His splits vs. RHP/LHP are becoming more prounounced and though he’s already hit half his home run total of 2015, his OPS is still almost down by .400. He is still throwing out 30% of runners but his framing run average is now in the negatives.

Juan Uribe - C
Comment: If this were graded on dancing and just being a boss alone, Uribe gets an A. It took him a while to get going but he’s brought his average up almost 060 points. He’s struggled vs. LHP more than expected and has played more vs. RHP because of Brantley’s injury. But he’s had a positive impact on Ramirez this season, which can’t be overstated.

Marlon Byrd - C+
Comment: Byrd has done exactly what the Indians have asked. He’s collecting big extra base hits (hit .273 vs. LHP but a .697 OPS, .229 vs. RHP but .723 OPS) and played solid defense and a brings a good presence.

Tyler Naquin - C
Comment: 16 of hits 20 hits were singles and a .476 BABIP. His 32.3 K% and 3.1 BB% would have caught up to him sooner or later. Credit the Indians for bringing him north because he was one of the best 25 players on the team coming out of spring training and they put him in situations to succeed in the majors. His defense wasn’t exceptional but wasn’t too terrible. He’ll be back and will contribute again this season.

Lonnie Chisenhall - C-
Comment: Lonnie has been Lonnie. He’s had a few games where was in a groove and really helped the team but has had games where he’s been lost. He’s been solid in the outfield as expected. He’s not hurting them, has made a few key plays but hasn’t been a huge factor.

Cody Allen - B+
Comment: Teams are hitting just .143 off of him with RISP and .138 with runners on overall. Whatever else you think about Cody Allen, he’s done his job. He misses an A so far for the 13 walks and three homers in 22 ⅔ innings.

Bryan Shaw - B-
Comment: Nine of the 12 runs Shaw has allowed this year have come in two outings (5 and then 4, both within one week in April). In his last 11 innings he’s allowed eight hits and has a 1.59 ERA. He’s allowed runs in five games and none in 17. You’d like him to be a little more lock down than that, but he’s been more good than bad.

Zach McAllister - C-
Comment: McAllister also faces unfair criticism at times but he’s walked more batters than Shaw and teams have a .956 OPS against him in high leverage situations. Hard to use him as a late game option at this point.

Jeff Manship - B
Comment: He’s allowed as many runs in 12 ⅔ this year as he did in 39 ⅓ innings last year. He wasn’t going to keep up that ridiculous pace but he’s done a good job mostly being employed when the Indians need to keep the game within reach when they’re losing.

Dan Otero - B
Comment: Just like Manship, he’s been deployed in low leverage, trailing situations. Teams have a .532 OPS in those situations against him.

Joba Chamberlain - B+
Comment: Lefties aren’t hitting him (.439 OPS) and neither are righties (.570). Batters have one hit in 11 plate appearances in late and close situations off of him. It’s a big blow that he’s currently out, as he’d earned the right to be deployed as a higher leverage reliever. Who would have thought that at the start of the season?

Trevor Bauer - C+
Comment: He didn’t seem to like being a reliever and now he’s had a few nice moments as a starter. He had a few good starts, a rough one and an OK one. That’s kinda how Bauer has been in his career thus far. Still, not many teams could lose Carlos Carrasco for two months and be able to replace him with someone like Bauer.

Michael Brantley - INC.
Comment: In 39 at bats and knowing for the last handful that he wasn’t feeling right, it’s hard to judge anything other than his nobleness in trying to come back.

Kyle Crockett - D
Comment: In 2013, Crockett was a weapon vs. LHH. This year they have a 1.005 OPS off of him. His changeup is down almost two MPH and fastball slider is one. Not sure if that’s an issue but he’s no longer a reliable option against left handers.

Chris Gimenez - B
Comment: He’s gotten the best outings out of Trevor Bauer and Cody Anderson and has hit two key homers. Hard to complain about a guy picked up when Roberto Perez, maybe the league’s best backup catcher, went down.

Corey Kluber - B+
Comment: His last three starts: 21 IP, 7 ER, 22K/6BB. He’s either becoming ‘Klubot’ again or is still pretty close.

Collin Cowgil - C
Comment: It’s hard to give a guy like Cowgill an F full well knowing he wasn’t going to hit. He made the team to play defense while Brantley was out. When Brantley came back and Ramirez proved he could handle the outfield consistently, he was sent out doing exactly what anyone could have expected: playing good outfield defense and providing nothing at the plate.

Tommy Hunter - C+
Comment: Only had three strikeouts in eight innings. He hasn’t worked his way up to be trusted in high-leverage outings but has been a solid cog.

Danny Salazar - B
Comment: He’s been the Indians most dominant starter at times. He’s had some of the worst control at times. But overall he’s been able to keep the Indians in most games when he’s lacked control. If he cuts the walks in half, he might have a legitimate All-Star candidacy. He still might.

Cody Anderson - D
Comment: Outside of his last start (7 IP, career high 9 Ks, five hits, one earned run) he’s been shelled. His velocity has been up but it appears he’s had a hitch in his delivery that’s causing his pitches to flatten out over the fat part of the plate. He also threw 21 curveballs and didn’t allow a hit off of one. His previous high was 10 curveballs in one game and in three different games batters hit 1.000 off of it. Gimenez might have helped him rediscover the pitch.

Michael Martinez - C
Comment: Same as Cowgill. How much can you expect? He’s filling the role Ramirez would have if he wasn’t needed to fill Brantley’s. His throw to nail a runner at home plate in the double header split vs. the White Sox was pretty impressive, however.

Josh Tomlin - A
Comment: The Indians are 8-0 in his starts. Pitcher wins are obviously a flawed stat and the Indians do average a little over four runs a game for him, which is about their average anyway, but he’s had five wins after the team lost the previous game. It’s hard to discount that. Not bad for a guy who had to wait nine games into the season to make his first start.

Ross Detwiler - D
Comment: Terry Francona said after spring training that he didn’t know how they were going to use Detwiler but he’d work hard to find a way to have him help them. He couldn’t get lefties out or throw strikes. He’s now in Triple-A building up to be a starter again.

Carlos Carrasco - B
Comment: Unlike Brantley, Carrasco was pitching well before his injury and was healthy coming into the year. His four HR allowed was a little out there for him but everything else looked great.

Roberto Perez - B
Comment: Was 0-8 with four walks and gunned down the only runner who attempted a steal on him. It’s not often backup catcher make a significant impact, but Perez was a luxury that could have helped more than the average backup playing one game a week.

Austin Adams - B
Comment: He’s retired 15 of 20 batters he’s faced. In limited time up again, that’s a heck of a lot better than he fared last season. Francona thinks he rediscovered his other pitches besides his 99 mph fastball.

Mike Clevinger - C+
Comment: Ideally, Clevinger probably doesn’t make his debut until the White Sox double header anyway as the 26th man. But Carrasco’s injury and Anderson’s struggles have forced him up before he’s ready. He struggled with control in the White Sox double header but has overall done as much as you can expect from a guy in his position so far.

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​POSTED 05/27/2016 13:44
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