Cleveland Indians Wrountable: Predicting Francisco Lindor’s First Season

Jun 14, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Cleveland Indians short stop Francisco Lindor (12) walks back to the dugout after striking out in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The All-Star Break Is the Turning Point For Lindor

Andrew Schmid: I’m not really sure what to expect from Francisco Lindor this season.  Defensively, he should be a great short stop, but we saw nerves get the best of him a few times (tripping over first-base).  I expect his defense to progressively get better and better throughout the rest of the season.  Offensively, I project a lot of strikeouts.  I wouldn’t be shocked if he strikes-out 25-30% of the time.  Even though he didn’t strikeout too much in Triple-A, he’s not particularly well-known for his batting skills.  I envision a scenario in which Lindor is league-average or worse at the plate, but league-average or better in the field.

As for Jose Ramirez, I think that we will see him again.  He will certainly reappear in September, and it’s likely that one or more of Aviles, Kipnis, Lindor, or Walters will get hurt.  For a player who had such high hopes entering the year, I have a hard time imagining that the Indians would give up on him this year.

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Brian Brochetti: I expect Lindor to have initial success at the plate, but following the All Star break, I expect some struggles from him. As with almost all rookies, I expect the roller coaster first year to see another uptick just when the Tribe would be (hopefully) making a postseason push. If the club is in it, we’ve seen plenty of recent examples of other organizations’ youth making an impact, and Lindor has that potential.

I expect him to have some miscues in the field, but nothing that will be terribly detrimental to the club.

As an aside, I’m hoping for some success from Lindor to renew my confidence in the club’s ability to find talent in the draft. We’ve had some big picks over the last couple drafts, and if Lindor pans out this year, as I expect, it bodes well for the club moving forward.

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So will Lindor be successful? Whether Lindor hits well or is primarily a defensive shortstop, one thing is certain – Tribe fans are far more excited about him than any other player in recent memory. With any luck, he’ll be the superstar that Cleveland expects. While Ramirez may find himself with another team in the not-so-distant future, it’s certainly not the end of the road for him, either.

Do you agree? Disagree? We always want to hear what you think, too, so feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section below.

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