Since we are halfway through the Major League Baseball season, we thought it would be a good time to evaluate the performance of the roster of the local nine, the Cleveland Indians.
And if look at WAR (Wins Above Replacement), at least according to BaseballReference.com, it doesn’t paint a pretty picture.
According to their version of the formula, the Indians rank third from the bottom for non-pitchers, ahead of only the Orioles and Tigers. Even with all the injuries to the pitching staff, Cleveland pitchers rank 4th, behind only the Yankees, White Sox, and Blue Jays.
To break it down further for the guys who stand on the mound, Tribe starters rank 8th, which could have been expected considering the injuries to Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, and Aaron Civale, and the performance of the hurlers who replaced them.
However, the Indians’ bullpen ranks second in the AL, trailing just Boston.
As for the position players, it’s not a pretty picture. Since there are 15 American League teams, we will consider the top eight to be in the top half of the league. Using that standing, the Tribe has only two positions ranking in the top half, third base, of course manned by Jose Ramirez, the team’s best player and an All Star for the third time, and DH.
Franmil Reyes is the usual designated hitter, and his OPS (914) leads the team. And while Reyes was out, Terry Francona used a number of players at the spot to give them rest, one of whom was Ramirez.
The next highest ranking by position is rightfield, manned most often by the now injured Josh Naylor, followed by Harold Ramirez, who has an OPS of just under 800 (785).
Cleveland ranks in the bottom three at two positions, catcher and second base. We know the team values defense first and foremost at the catcher position, but having Roberto Perez out for two months didn’t help. And that said, we felt Austin Hedges did a marvelous job handling the pitchers, many of whom are getting their first big league experience.
Despite the good defense, Perez and Hedges have combined to hit .146 with 7 HR and 22 RBI. Those numbers are slightly better than having the pitcher hitting.
At second, Cesar Hernandez has put up surprising power numbers, he is one off his career high in HR, but his on base percentage is not what the brass is looking for and his defense hasn’t been what it was a year ago.
They are one spot above that at first base and leftfield. Bobby Bradley has helped the numbers at first, but that was after watching two months of a Jake Bauers/Yu Chang platoon at the position. The left-handed hitter has belted 8 homers and drawn 10 walks to date.
Eddie Rosario has been the primary guy in left, and although he’s been hitting better in the past month, his OPS is still under 700 (685). And let’s just say, he’s not going to win a Gold Glove anytime soon.
That would leave SS and surprisingly CF as the next best positions. Amed Rosario has stabilized short, but despite being hot over the last six weeks, he still has a 690 OPS, which is below average. The Tribe is still looking for someone to take charge in center.
It just shows there is still a lot of progress needed in the everyday lineup, and how the organization has worked around this to still have a winning record.
We don’t think WAR is the end all, be all statistic in baseball. But using it to compare the production of your team vs. others seems legitimate
Cleveland Sports Perspective 