Cleveland Indians and Mike Napoli a Perfect Fit

Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Indians and Napoli a Perfect Fit

Yesterday, the Cleveland Indians have signed first baseman Mike Napoli, pending a physical. The deal is for one year and $7 million plus incentives that could push the deal to $10 million. There are many that will brush off this move as another low-key, uninspiring addition to a club that “needs” an impactful offensive player. However, while Napoli did only sign for one year and for a relatively cheap amount, he is actually a perfect fit for the Cleveland Indians. He’s a player that improves the club in a number of ways and can have a big impact on the 2016 club as they push towards a title.

Right Handed Power Bat

Starting with the obvious fit, Mike Napoli hits from the right side. Not only that, but he has some real power in that bat. What’s that we’ve been hearing for years the Indians have needed? Oh that’s right, a Right Handed Power Bat. Yes, at the age of 34 Mike Napoli is no longer the 30 home run threat he was with the Rangers; however, he still has shown a knack for power. His .171 ISO (isolated power) in 2014 would have ranked fourth on the Indians (minimum 300 plate appearances behind Carlos Santana (.196), Yan Gomes (.194), and Michael Brantley (.175). His .187 ISO this past year thought would have ranked second on the team (min. 300 PA) behind only Brandon Moss (.190), who was of course traded midseason. Over the past two years in fact, Napoli’s .179 ISO is behind only Carlos Santana’s .180 ISO among current members of the Cleveland Indians (Gomes is also at .179).

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Where Napoli fits even more is his splits. As said, Napoli bats right-handed and like many right-handed hitters, he hits left-handed pitching better…and in 2015 it was a LOT better. He hit .278/.391/.563 versus left-handed pitching this year with a mammoth .285 ISO and 154 wRC+. Among all qualified major league hitters last year, that .285 ISO versus left-handed pitching of his ranked fifth best in all of baseball. The closest Indians to him (among qualified hitters), was Francisco Lindor who had a .200 ISO versus left-handed pitching. Ryan Raburn was in the ballpark but even he was 20 points behind Napoli at .265.

Another major plus with Napoli’s bat was how much he improved in the second half of 2015. Napoli really struggled early on last year, hitting just .193/.294/.353 in the first half. He hit just ten home runs in 309 plate appearances along with a very un-Napoli-like .160 ISO and 75 wRC+. However, the second half was a complete 180 for Napoli. He hit 283/.381/.522 with a stout .239 ISO and 142 wRC+. He also hit eight home runs in just 160 plate appearances. And while yes, a lot of those offensive numbers came after his trade to the Texas Rangers and their very nice hitter’s park, he did still start to show a turnaround pre-trade. Plus, it’s not like Fenway and its very short left-field can’t be a great place to hit as well.

What is more likely the culprit for his vast turnaround is the difference in his BABIP (batting average on balls in play). In the first half of 2015 when Napoli hit just .193, he had an extremely low .232 BABIP. His career BABIP is .307 and in each of the previous two years it was over .320. In the second half, however, Napoli had .333 BABIP, much more in line with his career numbers. It’s not a coincidence that his numbers turned around when more balls started finding infield holes and outfield grass. Now, there’s no telling if Napoli will see similar struggles in 2016, every year is different and guys can get in to funks at any time, but given his career numbers and the turnaround seen in the second half, it’s pretty safe to expect Napoli could be a lot closer to his 2015 second half numbers in 2016 than his first half…

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Cleveland Indians and Napoli a Perfect Fit

Right Handed Power Bat

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