Cleveland Sports Forum

With all this talk about 5th starters and sore arms, where is Carrasco? he seems MIA.

He worked a B game a few days ago and is pitching for the A Team today.

Thanks Civ- I wonder why not in a majors game.

?? Maybe since he's a guaranteed starter, they'd rather give the "tryout" candidates the opportunities against the real opposition hitters?

I note that while going 0-4 yesterday Kipnis left 6 on base. No rbi in his first three spring games, continues his string including not one RBI during the month of September last season. Its early obviously but I'd feel much better if he started hitting soon.

Minor leaguers usually show up in full about March 15. If anyone's around I'm interested if you get a chance to see Gabriel Mejia, who stole 75 bases in 71 games in the Dominican summer league; which was tops for all minor leaguers in 2014, I believe, despite being a short season league.

Kind of a silly story after 2 weeks of ST games.

The Cleveland Indians are making waves early in spring training and have a legitimate shot at winning the American League Central in 2015.

If they're going to do it, though, they'll need all hands on deck. That hasn't been the case so far in spring training, and three players in particular are turning heads for all the wrong reasons.

It's important to remember that spring training stats aren't the be-all-end-all forecaster of regular-season success, but it doesn't hurt to get off on the right foot.

So here's a look at three players who have been the most disappointing in Cleveland's camp thus far.



Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B

Could Lonnie Chisenhall be a flash in the pan? Well, if his spring numbers are any indication, then yes, he could be.

Last year, Chisenhall had a breakout season, posting a .280/.343/.427 batting line with 43 extra-base hits (13 home runs), 59 RBI and 62 runs scored. Chisenhall also showed a great feel for the strike zone and patience at the plate, shaving his strikeout rate to 18.6 percent while bumping his walk rate to 7.3 percent.

Chisenhall's defense didn't prove up to snuff last year (minus-15 UZR/150, per FanGraphs), but he had the best season of his young career. Many hoped that success would carry over into the 2015 season, but his early spring numbers forecast a different series of events.

Take a look at the spring numbers that preceded Chisenhall's 2014 breakout and compare them to the numbers he's posted through his first 13 at-bats this spring:



Lonnie Chisenhall 2014 Spring vs. 2015 Spring

Year AB AVG OBP SLG HR 2B RBI R K/BB
2014 62 .306 .386 .532 3 1 9 0 14-7
2015 13 .231 .286 .231 0 0 0 0 6-1

MLB.com


Chisenhall's numbers this spring represent a stark departure from his strong showing last spring, and although it's only 13 at-bats, it would have been nice to see him come out of the gates a little stronger.



Michael Brantley, OF

Michael Brantley had a breakout season of grand proportions in 2014 and nearly netted himself an MVP award, coming away with a third-place finish.

Brantley is starting to look like a franchise player, and the 27-year-old is hoping to build off his standout campaign.

Unfortunately, through 12 at-bats, that plan hasn't come to fruition, and the Florida prep product is struggling mightily:



Michael Brantley Sping Stats

Splits AB AVG OBP SLG HR 2B RBI R K/BB
2015 12 .167 .167 .167 0 0 0 0 2-0

MLB.com


Two hits and no walks in 12 at-bats isn't the best way to start your spring.

Brantley is probably due for a little regression after his BAbip jumped nearly 30 points from his average prior to the 2014 season, according to Baseball-Reference.com. To be fair, the veteran outfielder also increased his line-drive percentage and improved his solid strikeout and walk rates, so the regression won't be nearly as profound as what we've seen this spring.



Jose Ramirez, SS

Jose Ramirez is looking to have his name penciled in to the Indians starting lineup on a regular basis in 2015. At 21 years old, Ramirez held his own in his first extended showing at the big league level and has laid claim to the job at shortstop.

However, if he continues to struggle at the rate he has this spring, things could change. Here's a look at Ramirez's spring stats through his first 15 plate appearances:



Jose Ramirez Spring Stats

Splits AB AVG OBP SLG HR 2B RBI R K/BB
2015 17 .176 .176 .176 0 0 3 1 5-0

MLB.com


Ramirez is struggling big time, and his inability, or unwillingness, to take a walk has kept him from showcasing his full range of talents. In addition to that nonexistent walk rate, Ramirez is striking out at a 26.7 percent clip.

Entering his age-22 season, Ramirez is young and somewhat raw. His offensive game was always going to be a question mark, but if he's going to become anything more than a utility player once Francisco Lindor makes his big league debut, he'll need to show that he's capable of drawing a walk, something he hasn't shown an affinity for to this point in his career.



All stats are current through play on March 13, 2015, and come courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Agreed, very silly.

Sat behind a couple of great shortstops in Bradenton last night:

who are they working for?

The Tigers

Back in Bradenton, this time with DENVER LOU and his sons:

Hey Lou, great to see you (and you to JR). When last I saw you it was in Akron for an Aeros game where the pitches were being charted by some kid named Cliff Lee.

Denver Lou at the ballpark. What could be more "springtime" than that?

Remember when there wasn't a fence between the fans and the players?