Cleveland Indians: Power Ranking the Position Players

Henry Palattella

Sep 6, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) makes a throw to first to complete a double play in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Power Ranking the Cleveland Indians Position Players

Baseball is right around the corner. The Cleveland Indians season (technically) starts on March 1st when they’ll take on the Cincinnati Reds in a battle for Goodyear, Arizona. The Indians currently have 19 position players on their 40-man roster right now and obviously not all of them are going to make it onto the big league roster. Here’s my rankings of the said 19 players, and their chances of making the big league roster.

*Note, Juan Uribe is not currently on the Tribe roster, so he is not on this list.

19. James Ramsey

Ramsey being at the bottom of the list does not mean that he is a bad player at all, he just doesn’t have enough experience to warrant a higher spot in the rankings. Ramsey came over in the Justin Masterson trade, and 2015 was his first full season in Colombus and didn’t have the best year, hitting.243 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI. The Indians have a crowded outfield as it is, but Ramsey still has a huge ceiling, and a good start in Triple-A could fast track that.

18. Erik Gonzalez

Gonzalez is in the same boat as Ramsey. He’s a young budding talent who has struggled at the Triple-A level. Gonzalez batted .223 in 65 games in Triple-A and struggled in the field committing 23 errors. Gonzalez could come up the bigs before Ramsey though, as the Indians could need help in the infield, and Gonzalez has the wheels to make an impact in the big league club, look for him to be a September call-up.

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17. Jesus Aguilar

Unlike the two players ranked below him, Aguilar has big league experience. The reason Aguilar is ranked this low, is because he has big league experience. Aguilar has had a total of 52 MLB at-bats over the past years, and he has a .192 batting average to show for it. Aguilar has put up very good numbers in Triple-A and still has a chance of being the future at first base. Look for him to get called up if Napoli struggles.

16. Tyler Naquin

Naquin’s name has been a hot take, as some major baseball writers, like Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter, have predicted Naquin to break camp with the big league squad. Now this isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but it will be tough for Naquin. The Indians outfield is already crowded, but a strong spring could push him into that conversation. He hit well last year in the minors, batting .300 in 82 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

Next: The Next Five 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.

Next: Top Ten Countdown Begins

10. Abraham Almonte (Disclaimer: Ranking Pre-Suspension)

Almonte was the Indians big name acquisition of the trade deadline last year, as they netted him when they traded Marc Rzepczynski to the Dan Diego Padres. Almonte produced in the majors last year and earned the right to start almost every game in September and October. Now Almonte had never produced like that before in his career, so it will be interesting to see if that success carries over into this year. ~~Almonte will probably settle into being the Indians fourth outfielder.~~ However, Almonte is unfortunately now suspended 80 games after failing a drug test for performance enhancing drugs…

9. Roberto Perez

Perez is a boom or bust hitter. Last year, he had 7 home runs among his 42 hits. Yes, that’s right 16 PERCENT OF HIS HITS WERE HOME RUNS. Now while that is an amazing stat, it should also be noted that he had 42 hits in 148 at-bats, which is a .228 average. Perez has the ability to knock the ball into the parking lot anytime that he steps into the box, but sometimes it seems like that’s all that he wants to do. Perez was decent behind the plate filling in for Yan Gomes last year, and look for the him alleviate Gomes behind the dish every once and a while.

8. Rajai Davis

The Indians signed 36-year-old Rajai Davis this offseason to bring some spark in both the field and on the base-paths, which is something that I think they needed. Last year, Davis was responsible for the Injury that hampered Yan Gomes all year, so with him and Joey Butler on the team, the Indians 2015 season has come full circle. Davis had a productive 2015 for the Detroit Tigers and look for him to be efficient this year for the Indians.

7. Lonnie Chisenhall

Lonnie Chisenhall is an enigma. He started the season at third, hit .209, got sent down to AAA, got recalled on July 30th, and hit .288. Another big difference in this is that he was playing right field. Chisenhall routinely made exceptional plays in right, including this amazing catch (fun fact, this person who robbed this hit from was none other than Rajai Davis, sensing a trend here?) If Chisenhall can carry over his comfort into 2016, then the sky is the limit for him.

6. Mike Napoli

Mike Napoli continues the Indians trend of signing a power hitting first baseman in the offseason (for reference see: Reynolds, Mark, Moss, Brandon.) The big right-hander has always hit for power, as shown 2011 when he hit 30 home runs. He hit 18 total in 2015, which would have been good for second on the Indians in 2015. Napoli will probably be the starting first baseman, which will move Carlos Santana to DH.

Next: The Top Five Position Players

5. Carlos Santana

Speaking of Santana, he comes into the rankings in fifth. Santana had another great year getting on base and continues to be a productive part of the Indians line-up. While he only hit .231, he walked 108 times, which was good for fifth in the MLB. Santana has one of the best eyes in baseball and is a great table setter. Francona says that he has toyed with the idea of having him as a leadoff hitter, I think it’s worth trying out.

4. Francisco Lindor

This kid can play. Lindor was a lighting rod for the Indians after his June call-up. he proved that the Indians have their shortstop of the future, and a franchise cornerstone for many years to come. He dazzled with his glove, and surprisingly with his bat. The one knock many people had on Lindor was that he wasn’t where he needed to be in the batters box, and man did he prove them wrong. He batted .313 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI. Lindor will get his chance to shine in a full season this year, and he will not disappoint.

3. Jason Kipnis

Coming into 2015, Jason Kipnis‘ career was at a crossroads, he had played well throughout the first three years of his career, but he had an injury-marred 2014 season, where he only bat .240 and was letting down his team. But he responded in a huge way in 2015. He had one of the hottest starts in baseball, cumulating in him batting .429 in May and .358 in June, earning him his second all-star game nod. Kipnis tore the cover off the ball in the 2015 and expect that to carry over into 2016. Kipnis and Lindor make up one of the best, young middle infields in the game.

2. Yan Gomes

The Brazilian himself, Yan Gomes didn’t have the best 2015. He was hurt in April on the aforementioned Davis slide, and was out for a good chunk of the year, and when he came back he just didn’t look like himself. He came back a month early than expected, and it just seemed like he was rushed back. When healthy, Gomes is one of the best hitters in baseball, not just catchers. A fully healthy 2016 from Gomes all but guarantees that the Indians will be contending.

Next: What To Do With Giovanny Urshela

1. Michael Brantley

What does it say about the Indians when their best player will most likely start the season on the shelf? It says a lot. MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports that Brantley has opening day as his target, but his chances of coming back then are very slim. No matter when he comes back into the Tribe’s lineup, he will be the most important hitter in it. He has been one of the most productive hitters in baseball over the past few years, and could look to make another run at MVP this year. Brantley is the true key to the 2016 Cleveland Indians.

Henry Palattella

Henry Palattella is the Site Expert at Away Back Gone. He's a writer and editor based in Cleveland, Ohio, and his work has appeared in MLB.com, Forbes Betting and Cleveland Magazine, among others. When he's not watching baseball, he can be found playing tennis, golfing or hanging out with his fiancée and cat.