CTOD: Cleveland Indians

Times are tough in Cleveland. Although the Tribe has tried to stay relevant in recent years by flipping big league stars for young talent, the unpredictability and difficult of developing prospects has thwarted their best efforts. Last year the Indians struggled offensively, scoring only 646 runs, as they battled injuries and poor performance from their young players.


On the injury front, the Indians only managed to have one position player total over 123 games last season. Thankfully, it was also their best player in Shin-Soo Choo. Choo, despite toiling in the relative obscurity of Cleveland the past two seasons, has quietly emerged as one of the premier outfielders in all of baseball. However, the offense gets dicey outside of Choo. Youngsters Matt LaPorta, Trevor Crowe, and Michael Brantley all posted negative WAR values last year despite excellent minor league pedigrees. It really is baffling that not one of this three could manage an average over .251, an OBP over .306, or a slugging percentage over .362. Ouch. Outside of the disappointment from these three, the Indians are hoping for healthier seasons from Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, and Carlos Santana. Hoping for health for Hafner and Sizemore has become a yearly tradition in Cleveland and suffice it say that while everyone is still hoping for the best for these two, nobody is banking on them. Santana is one of the best young prospects in the game and had gotten off to an electric start to his career last season before having his knee torn apart by a home plate collision. All in all, if you want to know how bad the Cleveland offense was last year then all you need to know is that the player with the second highest WAR was Santana, and he only played 46 games.

Moving away from the offense, the pitching doesn't look much better. Like the batters, the Indians rotation struggled to produce high value players as they didn't have a single pitcher with a WAR over 2.7. At the top of the rotation it was good to see Fausto Carmona back taking regular turns but his production still isn't close to his 2007 peak. Alongside Carmona, Justin Masterson posted respectable numbers in his first full season of starting and is probably the best pitcher in this rotation. Finally, the last three rotation spots belong to Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, and Mitch Talbot. Carrasco being the only of the three who really deserves a shot on an MLB roster.

So what is there to be excited about if you are an Indians fan? First off, a full season of Carlos Santana who could immediately become their best player if he can log enough ABs. Second, the return of Grady Sizemore. I personally think Sizemore can make the comeback from microfracture surgery, like many NBA athletes, and start to be a quality player again - although not the player we once knew. Finally, the arrival of Lonnie Chisenhall at some point in the season should give Tribe fans another prospect to root for.

Overall, the Indians are still a few years away. Even if Crowe, Brantley, and LaPorta finally get it together and join a superstar Santana there still isn't much hope on the pitching front. Overcoming health issues and getting significant at bats for most of the lineup and developing pitching in the minors seems to be the modus operandi for the upcoming season.

Prediction: 5th AL Central.

Surprise Player: Justin Masterson

Masterson finally got out of Boston in 2009, where a loaded roster prevented him from cracking the rotation, and was given 29 starts with the Tribe last year. Masterson is a ground ball machine, generating more GB outs than his rotation mate Carmona, and still strikes out batters at a decent rate. While he may never be a true #1, if Masterson can keep getting ground balls and start to lower his walk rate he will find himself at the top of the Cleveland rotation, a sort of younger reincarnation of Derek Lowe.