MLB Season Preview: Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians


Last Season's Standings: The Cleveland Indians went 78-84, including a fine 8-2 in their final ten games to finish 4th in the AL Central at the commencement of the 2006 baseball season.

In: RP Joe Borowski (prev. team: Florida Marlins); LF David Dellucci (prev. team: Philadelphia Phillies); RP Keith Foulke (prev. team: Cleveland Indians); RP Jeff Harris (prev. team: Seattle Mariners); RP Roberto Hernandez (prev. team: NY Mets); RF Trot Nixon (prev. team: Boston Red Sox); C Mike Rose (prev. team: St. Louis Cardinals); RP Cliff Politte; LF Jason Michaels; RP Jason Davis; SP C.C. Sabathia; RP Rafael Betancourt; RP Matt Miller; 2B Luis Rivas (prev. team: Minnesota Twins); 2B Keith Ginter (prev. team: Oakland A's); 2B Josh Barfield (via trade w/ San Diego Padres); SP Jake Westbrook; 1B Casey Blake

Out: RP Andrew Brown (via trade w/ San Diego Padres); 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (via trade w/ San Diego Padres); 3B Aaron Boone (new team: Florida Marlins); RP Danny Graves (new team: Colorado Rockies); 2B Lou Merloni (new team: Oakland A's); SS Ramon Vazquez (new team: Texas Rangers)

Starting Pitching: The big southpaw C.C. Sabathia will once again be the ace of this youthful pitching staff. He went 12-11 with a 3.22 ERA in 28 starts in 2006 (he missed the month of May to a strained abdominal muscle). What makes Sabathia so devastating, aside from the intimidation factor, is his ability to change speeds after introducing a fastball that reaches the high 90's. He can work himself out of jams. His biggest flaw to date is a lack of endurance, fading in the later innings (though he has improved). Also, he sometimes battles control problems. The consistent Jake Westbrook will follow Sabathia in the rotation. He went 15-10 with a 4.17 ERA in 32 starts last season. Westbrook doesn't have dominating stuff but he uses what he has (a 90-mph sinking fastball, slider and change) to its maximum potential with his exceptional pitching savvy. He needs to get ahead in the count more often and he gets shaken with runners aboard. He also has to get more effective late in starts. Lefty Jeremy Sowers will be the third pitcher in the rotation. He's likely to be entering his first full season in the majors. He was 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 14 starts last season. Sowers is a very smart young pitcher whose wits help him overcome his barely 90 mph heater. He has great command of his fastball, slider and change. Sowers still needs to work on his mechanivs a bit, as well as his approach with runners in scoring position. Rightie Paul Byrd is battling for and should be the 4th starter. He went 10-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 31 starts last season. He dominates right-handed batters with his repertoire of breaking stuff. His screwball is a dominating pitch. Left-handed hitters demolish him and he has a very weak fastball that rarely reaches the high 80's. For a fifth starter, the Indans can either go with southpaw Cliff Lee or rightie Fausto Carmona. Expect Lee to get the nod most times due to more experience as a starter. Lee went 14-11 with a 4.40 ERA in 33 starts last season. He has a nice 4 pitch arsenal featuring low-90's heat, nasty slider, curve and change. Lee has a fluid, sometimes sneaky delivery. The southpaw has had his struggles against right-handed hitters, who often pound his stuff out of the park. He needs to develope endurance. Carmona went 1-10 with a 5.42 ERA in 38 appearances, 7 of those being starts. He has a nasty mid-90's sinking heater, plus a good slider and change-up, all thrown with good command. He's a good groundball pitcher. He can be so fine with his command that he sometimes finds too much of the plate and gets hit a lot. He tends to get hit hardest early in his starts.

Bullpen: Rightie Joe Borowski will get the ball in the ninth and will anchor this bullpen. He saved 36 games and went 3-3 with a 3.75 ERA in 72 appearances last season. Borowski has good heat and is surprisingly effective against left-handed batters, considering he's a rightie. He's not afraid to challenge hitters. His command has been shaky in previous big-league stints and that is primarily what kept him in the minors for so long. Setting him up will be the aging but still effective Roberto Hernandez. He went 8-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 68 appearances last season. Though over the age of 40, Hernandez's biggest asset remains his fastball, which at one time possessed so much power that it looked like his arm was powered by NASA. His phenomenol heater sets up a surprising splitter. He's a little streaky and tends to peak during the hot summer months. Trouble arises when his slider doesn't slide and when he struggles with his control. After missing the month of May to a sore back last season, Rfael Betancourt came back and did a good job in helping be a second option as setup man. It will be more or less the same role this season and he'll also be a closer should Wickman go down with an injury or need a day or rest. Betancourt went 3-4 and notched 3 saves with a 3.81 ERA last season. The righty boasts a hot fastball and excellent command, particularly against right-handed hitters. He isn't as effective when pitching with RISP, nor on consecutive days. Slated to face the opposition's lefties is southpaw Aaron Fultz, who went 3-1 with a 4.54 ERA in 66 appearances last season. Fultz has the velocity and movement on his fastball to be able to overpower hitters. He also has the control to be able to work inside to right-handed hitters, who paste him. He's often used for more than an inning but shouldn't be. Fernando Cabrera, who went 3-3 with a 5.19 ERA in 51 bullpen appearances in '06, should be entering his first full year in the bigs. His dancing mid-90's fastball and hard splitter can be almost unhittable. He's aggressive and mentally tough. Cabrera doesn't have much beyond the heater and splitter. He's ineffective on back-to-back days. Looking to have his first full season in the bigs is righty Jason Davis. He's battling for a role as a middle reliever/spot starter. He was 3-2 with a 3.74 ERA in 39 games played last season. Davis has tremendous heat that scorches into the high 90's and that pitch is complemented by a strong split-finger. He shows his best command against right-handed hitters. Davis needs to get into the game from the first pitch forward and must bear down when the going gets tough. Also, he tends to start slow in the first half of the season. Rookie Matt Miller is also vying for final roster spot out in the 'pen, he went 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 14 appearances as a September call-up last season. Expect Miller to start the season in AAA Buffalo. Miller may be a question mark having suffered a serious elbow injury in '06. Finally, rookie Tom Mastny will also likely be a September call-up. He went 0-1 with a 5.51 ERA in 15 appearances last season. Mastny is an excellent control pitcher who works very hard to overcome his mediocre fastball. This former starter is still adjusting to bullpen life, needing to be more effective on less rest.

Designated Hitter: The big left-handed bat of Travis Hafner will be third in the line-up and will play between 125 and 140 games if healthy. He missed the final month of last season to a broken hand. Hafner hit .308 with 42 HR and 117 RBI last season. You can't go wrong with power, a steady bat and a good eye at the plate. He absolutely mashes righties and has become a strong run producer. His legs are fairly slow and he has serious trouble against lefties. Righty Ryan Garko will be the back-up DH/1B. He hit .292 with 7 HR and 45 RBI last season. Garko has a good approach at the plate and a quick line drive swing with occasional power. He knows how to drive runners home. He's slow on the bases. At third and final option at DH will be primary catcher Victor Martinez. . more on him later.

Catcher: Victor Martinez will be the primary catcher, batting clean-up and playing between 145 and 155 games if healthy, about 125-135 of those behind the plate, the rest will come as a designated hitter. He hit .316 with 16 HR and 93 RBI in 2006. Martinez boasts great plate discipline, along with power and great run-producing ability. He hits righties and lefties with equal proficiency. He runs about as well as you expect a catcher to run, and that's never good. Backnig him up will be Kelly Shoppach. He batted .245 with 3 HR and 16 RBI last season. He's a natural leader with good power. Shoppach is also a strong defensive catcher, with a good arm and the ability to wisely call pitches. He focuses a little too much on power, at the expense of consistently getting on base and making him impatient at the plate. He may never steal a base or hit a triple.

First Baseman: Casey Blake will bat 2nd and play between 145 and 155 games if healthy. He missed a month to various injuries last season. Blake batted .282 with 19 HR and 68 RBI last season. He loves to crank the ball into the open gaps for doubles and will occasionally deposit one into the seats. Blake has surprising speed for a big guy. Blake has to learn to come through with runners in scoring position and to be more selective at the plate. He tends to start and finish the season slow. Garko, who's not terribly competent in the field, will be the primary back-up. He'll be followed by the mediocre Hafner and, if there are a few injuries at first base, Martinez.

Second Baseman: Josh Barfield, son of former great Jesse Barfield, is entering his second full season in the majors and will bat 9th and play between 145 and 150 games if healthy. The speedster stole 21 bases last season and hit .280 with 13 HR and 58 RBI last season. He gets his bat around quickly through the strike zone with a consistent line drive swing. He has some speed and has shown some RBI potential. Barfield strikes out a little too much for his power level (81 times last season) and he can get fooled on pitches in tight, particularly from righties. Rookie utility man Mike Rouse will be the back-up as a September call-up. He hit .292 while driving in two runs last season.

Shortstop: Batting seventh and playing between 145 and 155 games if healthy will be Jhonny Peralta who hit .257 with 13 HR and 68 RBI last season. He's a good fastball hitter who can drive the ball to the gaps and occasionally over the fence. Defensively, he has a very strong arm and a good glove. Plate discipline is the biggest worry here and he could stand to improve his approach with runners aboard. He's not very quick, both on offense and defense. Rouse will be the primary back-up.

Third Baseman: At the hot corner will be the eighth hitter Andy Marte. This rookie will play between 125 and 135 games this season. He hit .226 with 5 HR and 23 RBI last season. Marte can crush the ball to all fields and has rapidly growing plate discpline. His work around the bag at the hot corner is top notch. His discipline at the plate is inconsistent and he has shown jitters in the majors. Hafner and Rouse will back-up.

Left Fielder: David Dellucci returns to the AL after spending last season with the Phillies. He'll bat leadoff and play between 125 and 135 games if healthy. He hit .292 with 13 HR and 39 runs driven in last season. He has a keen eye for the breaking ball and is a reliable hitter with runners in scoring position. He's a good defensive outfielder. The left-handed hitter seems allergic to southpaws, he just can't hit them which keeps him from playing every day. Backing him up and playing against most southpaws will be righty Jason Michaels. He hit .267 with 9 HR and 55 RBI last season. Michaels plays hard, running hard around the bases and in the outfield. He's got occasional power and hits righties and lefties equally well.

Center Fielder: In center field will be 5th hitter Grady Sizemore. He could well end up playing all 162 games like he did last year or close to it. Sizemore hit .290 with 28 HR and 76 RBI in 2006. He has five-tool talent, hitting well and with occasional power to all fields. He hits well in the clutch, has impressive range in center field and plays hard. His plate discipline has something to be desired and struggles when facing a lefty. Michaels will be available to back-up.

Right Fielder: Finally, free agent signing Trot Nixon will bat 6th and play between 125 and 135 games if healthy. Nixon missed a month last season to an oblique strain and has become injury prone in recent years. He hit .268 with 8 HR and 52 RBI last season. Nixon is an aggressive base-runner with good speed, giving him the ability to turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He's got decent power when pulling the ball to left and a good eye at the plate. In the field, he gets to a lot of balls a guy with less hustle couldn't reach and he has a strong arm. He strikes out a ton (56 times in '06) and needs to learn to hit the ball the other way a bit more. Against lefties, he's simply a bad hitter. Blake will provide the back-up.

Season Prediction: The Cleveland Indians boast a good line-up from top-to bottom that will give opposing pitchers fits most nights. This team will challenge for Wild Card, but that will come from the AL East. The Indians will finish second in the AL Central.