Cleveland Indians Host Chicago in Final Home Series of 2016

Names to Know

Adam Eaton

The Ohio native they call Spanky has put together a solid season against the Indians in 2016. In 15 games against the Tribe, Eaton has a .262/.297/.525 slash line with three doubles, two triples, three home runs, nine runs batted in, and an OPS+ of 128. Those numbers are even better at Progressive Field, where he has slashed .333/.360/.625 in six games this year, with a 148 OPS+.

The last time Eaton set foot in Cleveland, he hit a game-winning grand slam to cap a five-run ninth inning off Indians’ closer Cody Allen, blowing a bubble with his gum as he swung.

Needless to say, the Tribe knows how well Eaton, a Springfield native and Miami University alum, has performed against them in his home state this season, and will take care when he steps into the batter’s box.

Carlos Rodon

It’s been an up-and-down year for Rodon in his second big league season. The former first round draft pick is 7-10 in 2016, with a 4.29 ERA, 4.23 FIP, and ERA+ of 93 in 151 innings of work for the White Sox.

The inconsistency that Rodon has experienced this season has also extended to his outings against Cleveland. As a rookie in 2015, the lefty went 3-0 against the Indians, with a 1.52 ERA, holding the team to a .221/.294/.269 slash line and an OPS+ of just 57 in five appearances that included four starts and covered 29.2 innings.

In three games against the Tribe this year, Rodon is 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA. Cleveland hitters have knocked him around to the tune of a .352/.390/.549 slash line and 145 OPS+, scoring 10 runs in his 17.1 innings pitched.

With Sale and Quintana ensconced in the No. 1 and 2 spots in Chicago’s rotation, Rodon still has time to grow and develop as a pitcher without an overly intense amount of pressure. However, as rumors of one or both of them potentially being dealt in the offseason have been swirling for months, his window to take a leap forward may be closing quickly.