Cleveland Indians: Power Ranking the Position Players

15. Giovanny Urshela

Urshela is still a project in many respects. Urshela’s development was rushed last season, as injuries and bad defensive play forced the Indians to expedite Urshela to the majors, and at some points he impressed, and some points he disappointed. Urshela made what was arguably one of the best defensive plays for the Indians last year, but at some points he struggled at the plate, as he only batted .225 last season. Solid play on both sides of the field from Urshela could go a long way to the Indians contending.

14. Joey Butler

Joey Butler had a coming out year of sorts in 2015. He batted .274 in 88 games for Tampa Bay and played well in the field. He even broke up Carlos Carrasco’s no-hitter with two outs in the eighth (I wonder if they’ll talk about that?) Butler has raked at Triple-A over the past couple years, and could be a valuable asset off the bench for the Indians in 2016, or even a replacement in case someone gets hurt.

13. Zach Walters

You may be wondering why a guy who has a career average of .182 is so high up on this list. Well because he can do this. The Indians need power, and Walters has that. Walters also strikes out a lot, which the Indians don’t really need. Walters could be the piece that pushes the Indians over the hump offensively in 2016, he just needs to put the ball in play more. Look for him to start with Cleveland and come off the bench. 

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12. Collin Cowgill

The Indians acquired longtime Angels platoon outfielder Collin Cowgill, to essentially do the same thing in for them. Cowgill had the worst season of his career in 2015, batting .188 with the Angels. There are worse options than him though, and if he’s respectable at the plate and plays good defense, then the Indians will have a serviceable placeholder until Micheal Brantley returns.

11. Jose Ramirez

Ramirez was polarizing in 2015. He went into June batting .180 and was then demoted down to Triple-A. He spent 44 games down there, batted .293, and then came back the Indians and played well down the stretch for them. The loss of Mike Aviles in the offseason puts Ramirez in the “glue guy” infielder role, which appears to be the role that fits him. 

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