Here is the summation:
Projected MLB Starters:
LF - Michael Brantley
CF - Grady Sizemore
RF - Shin Soo Choo
Bench Options: WHO KNOWS???????
I choose to breakdown the outfield first, because as the health of the outfield goes, so goes the Indians season. That isn't to discount any of the other players or positions on the roster, but out of the 3 projected starters, there are two MVP caliber players and an up-and-coming lead-off hitter of the future for any MLB team. The asterisk is going to be health. Can Grady Sizemore stay on the field long enough for 'Grady's Ladies' to even have time to take their seats? Can Shin-Soo Choo rebound from his first off year since being a professional hitter? Can Brantley continue his improvement?
Grady Sizemore - For anybody who has followed the Indians knows that Grady Sizemore has become almost a mythical creature for us fans. We all know that he has the potential to be a game changer both offensively and defensively, and is probably one of the more unheralded players to ever play the game due to his location in Cleveland rather than Boston or New York. He has the ability to be a 30/30 player, hit over .300, and be in the running for a gold glove by the end of any season. However like a Sasquatch, you can never really be sure if or when you will ever see him. He was once the guy you could never get out of the lineup, and now he is the Bob Sanders of the Cleveland Indians (the X-Factor that just can't get and stay healthy). This season is either more of the same, or a back to the future sort of thing with Grady. In Spring Training we will all know how the season will go. Will he be on a normal schedule with the rest of the MLB players? However if you see him on any sort of "schedule" that is discussed before the season even starts, then we will know that he is not going to be healthy. 'Healthy' to me means that a player has no 'schedule' for planned rest. Grady isn't as old as Jim Thome, he is still young, and should play everyday that he wants to. That is a healthy Grady.
Shin-Soo Choo - Everyone will have at least one bad season over the course of their career. Choo had a tough time out of the gate, and then got a DUI. That slowed him from getting on track even further, and then it looked like as interleague play that Choo was getting on track for the first time, only to be injured in San Fransisco. Such is the way the season went for Choo who then could never stay fully healthy. Bad seasons happen to the best of professional athletes because they are human. However the difference between a Charles Johnson and a Ivan Rodriguez is that after a bad season how does the athlete respond? Choo has always had his head on straight, and his priorities in-line, so I think this won't be the trend and that you will see a healthy and motivated Choo heading into and out of Spring Training. When going good, Choo is the second coming of Grady Sizemore. Although don't expect diving plays in the outfield, instead Choo will erase outs with his arm, and watch the baserunners when they round 2nd or 3rd, most of them don't even bother going forward once Choo has the ball in his hands.
Michael Brantley - Barring any more trades or Cespedes acquisition, Brantley will be starting in left field and batting somewhere around the 7 spot when Sizemore plays, and leading off when Sizemore does not. Brantley hit around .290 for most of the year, and then dropped off significantly in August. What makes me like Brantley so much, is that he doesn't only drive a good OBP and Avg. for a lead-off guy but Brantley draws a lot of pitches every at-bat and wears down pitchers. I wish I had a stat guy, because I remember several times during the season that Brantley would just foul pitches off, over and over again and drew some at-bats into 7-10+ pitches frequently. That wears down pitchers, and also helps the rest of the lineup, especially if it is early in the inning. The biggest problem with the Indians offense last season was strikeouts. Adding a healthy Sizemore will not help that at all, but Brantley playing doesn't hurt the strikeout rate as he traditional will put the ball into play. He is still young, and may end up being the best piece of the Sabathia deal if he can stay consistent all season, and not fall off come August again.
Bench - I got no clue who is going to make the club on the bench as a reserve outfielder. Here is a rundown of the new Indians who will be competing for one of 2 outfield spots on the bench. I put them in order of whom I think will make the MLB squad out of camp.
Shelley Duncan - can hit for power from the right side, and Manny Acta is familiar with him.
Russ Canzler - More on him when we review first base, but he can play OF which makes him versatile.
Aaron Cunningham - Right hander with some pop, but my hope is he gets regular ABs in AAA and gets called up for more than a platoon job.
Fred Lewis - Is it just me or does it seem like he hits for the cycle once a year? Might as well hit one for us.
Felix Pie - Always had potential, but never fully realized. Serviceable OF in spot roles.
Ryan Spilborghs - Will have to wow everyone out of the gate to make the team, will he accept a minor league start to the year?
If you watched Tribe games last year you will notice that Ezequiel Carrera is not on this list. Why is that? He was only called up due to the mass of injuries last season. He should be the AAA CF to start the year, and we will see him again soon, but he was rushed in his promotions last season.
Minor League Watch List:
Jordan Smith
LeVon Washington
Next up will be 3rd Base. Sorry for the length, but there are a lot of outfielders. And the Indians seemed to use free agency to beef up the depth of the outfield with a bunch of guys who are are replicas of one another. The biggest loss may be Travis Buck who did play well for us last season, and seemed to be getting healthier than he was in prior years. However, we did add 5 outfielders to almost identical contracts, so we should be able to make things work.
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