Weekly Wroundtable: Judging the Cleveland Indians’ New-Look Lineup

The Tribe’s New Look Is a Good One

May 12, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians first baseman Carlos Santana (41) reacts to a called strike during the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Bretz: I, for one, really like the new Indians lineup. I’m a big believer in putting your best hitters near the top of the lineup, and finally the Indians are steering towards that. It’s still not my ideal lineup, but getting Bourn out of the leadoff spot and moving an OBP guy like Santana up is a huge step in the right direction. One concern I see from many is “who will drive them in?” but really, isn’t that the concern no matter where you bat Santana/Brantley? If they bat third and fourth, who drives them in? The only difference now is the walk machine in Santana is ahead of Brantley and getting more plate appearances. Even more excited to see how the lineup will look once Gomes is back and healthy. Adding his power bat should help ease some of those concerns many have with the new-look lineup.

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Ryan Rosko: As a whole, I really like the lineup. I just hope they found an order where the lineup can start producing plenty of runs on a regular basis. I am intrigued with how they will adjust it when Gomes gets back, and how that would affect Chisenhall and Bourn. I would like to see Gomes in the fifth or sixth spot, with Chisenhall dropping to seventh and Bourn going to eighth. The opportunity to get runs early and often should be encouraged, with Kipnis/Santana/Brantley/Moss at the top of the order.

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Others liked the new lineup, but found a weak link…

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