FanPost

27 Games Later

Well things are certainly getting exciting now aren't they! The Indians finished this 4th set of 27 games with a record of 19-8 and have positioned themselves for a very exciting final 2 months of the season. This set saw the our beloved Indians make up a huge amount of ground on the division leading Twins, this set began with the Indians 9 games behind the Twins and ends with the Indians only 3 games back. The team also made a huge trade that will help the team both in the stretch run and in the future. Sure they waited 7-8 months longer than any of us wanted to thread the needle but they finally did it.

This set of games saw the Indians dominate their competition winning 6 of 9 series. It also featured a delightful All Star week that saw our very own Shane Beiber win MVP honors. The crown jewel of this set though was probably the trade of Trevor Bauer that brought the Indians an offensive boost and capitalized on the organizations deepest strength. Losing Bauer for the stretch run may hurt but we'll have to see how these final 54 games play out to determine the depth of thepain. Now on to some individual player analysis.

Over Achievers - Jose Ramirez - JOSE IS BACK BABY! In this set of 27 games Jose Ramirez has run a wRC+ of 149. This is the guy we all expected to see all season long. If Jose can keep up hitting like this the rest of the season he might just be the most important addition the Indians have made all season.

Francisco Lindor - It's taken a while but we're finally seeing Lindor up here in the over achiever ranks. Lindor ran a wRC+ of 135 during this set of games which is 13 points better than his season mark of 122. With Lindor and Ramirez back to murdering baseballs the Indians offense feels a lot more dangerous and now Lindor won't be tasked with carrying the offense virtually all by himself.

Tyler Naquin - Tyler Naquin had one of his super high BABIP fueled runs during this set of games. Naquin ran a wRC+ of 149 during this stretch and did it without running significant splits against right handed or left handed pitching. These sorts of runs by Naquin are always fun hopefully in the final 2 sets of games the BABIP will regress a bit but we'll still get an offensively productive Tyler Naquin.

Jordan Luplow - Luplow continues to be a great platoon partner for whatever lefty Tito is pairing him with. Luplow ran a wRC+ of 145 during this stretch and continues to be a pleasant surprise this season. Acquiring him for the corpse of Erik Gonzalez was a steal.

Greg Allen - I know Allen was just sent down because of the big trade the Indians just made but Allen had performed well during this set of games. Since being recalled on July 6th Allen's wRC+ was 125. I imagine that Allen will someday get regular playing time in the Indians outfield but it probably won't be for the remainder of 2019.

The entire pitching staff - Since this set started on June 29th the Indians pitching staff ranks 3rd in the majors in fWAR, 1st in the AL, 1st in ERA, and 6th in FIP, 2nd in the AL. It's impossible to imagine what this team would look like without the super human effort by the pitching staff. The staff has been carried by Beiber, Bauer, Clevinger and Hand. I can't be the only one who is anxious to see how things work out now without Trevor Bauer. I should note here that Tyler Olson and AJ Cole have been pretty dreadful during this set and probably need to be replaced thankfully they are the 7th and 8th guys in the bullpen and those sorts of guys rarely pitch which is good for all of our eyes.

About what we expected - Carlos Santana - Carlos continues to have a fantastic season but he cooled every so slightly during this stretch of games. While the wRC+ of 110 is all well and good it's well below Santana's 137 mark on the season. Carlos has been a blessing all season long so hopefuly the shoulder nick he's carrying around from sliding into first base won't linger and he'll get back to his superb form as the season progresses.

Oscar Mercado - Even though Mercado only ran a wRC+ of 92 during this set I'm placing him here in the about what we expected category. Projections from FG had Mercado as a decidely below average hitter headed into the season, going by memory here but I think they had him in the 65-70 wRC+ range. So Mercado scuffling a bit in this stretch but still producing a 92 wRC+ is nice. He's been kind of an adventure in the OF but overall I feel pretty good about what Mercado has done this year and I look forward to his future development.

Roberto Perez - Bebo set a really high bar this season by performing at a completely unexpected level offensively. His wRC+ for the season sits at 106 which has slid back from a high in the 120s and it's due to his performance in this stretch of games. Bebo put up a wRC+ of just 90 during this stretch but considering what many were expecting out of him this season 90 really isn't so bad. Perez dominates former All Star Yan Gomes in every single offensive category this year. The fact the Indians got his kind of performance from Perez and traded Gomes for what looks at a minimum 2 useful players is ridiculous.

Under Achievers - Jason Kipnis - I know Kip is a fan favorite and he's had some big hits during this stretch, including an absolutely tremendous bat flip against the Astros but he's been pretty meh at the plate during this set of games. His wRC+ of 85 is worse than the robots projected for him this season. Kipnis has been pretty good defensively this year but not good enough to bring his value up to where it needs to be. I'll miss Kipnis when he's gone but his money could be better spent elsewhere.

Jake Bauers - Bauers is easily the most disliked Indian now that Trevor Bauer is gone. Bauers projected to be about an average offensive player when the season began and he's only managed to approach that number in June. In this set of games his wRC+ was only 83 and he was sent down to Columbus with the arrival of Puig and Reyes. He'll get a chance to battle for a spot next season either in the OF or as Santana's back up at 1B.

This next set of 27 games is going to be the most difficult set of the entire season. It kicks off with 3 each against the Angels and Rangers, both teams that have been scuffling a bit of late. Then what could likely be a season defining 11 game stretch, 4 against Minnesota, 3 at home against Boston and 4 on the road against the Yankees. By the time that stretch is over we'll probably have a really good idea whether or not the Indians are heading for a division title or whether they are going to be battling Boston, Tampa or Oakland for a wild card spot. We can take some solace in that fact that Minnesota is facing a somewhat similarly difficult schedule during this stretch. The Twins have the 4 games against us, 2 against the Brewers and 3 against Atlanta and I can't decide if it's good or bad for the Indians that the Twins get to play 4 down in Texas. This second to last set carries us to August 30th with game 1 of a 3 game set against Tampa Bay.

The Indians are going to need any help you can give them during this stretch so cross your fingers, say your prayers, sacrifice a chicken and hold on to your butts!

FanPosts are reader-generated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Covering the Corner or the Covering the Corner staff.