Cleveland Indians: Who Should Hit Behind Edwin Encarnacion?

With the addition of Edwin Encarnacion to the Cleveland Indians’ lineup, Terry Francona must decide who will be behind him in the order.

Edwin Encarnacion is almost a guarantee to hit fourth in the Cleveland Indians’ lineup. With the Toronto Blue Jays, he spent time as both the three and four-hitter, but he fits better in the cleanup role for the Tribe.

With Encarnacion hitting fourth and being the productive hitter that he is, Tribe manager Terry Francona and the rest of the coaching staff will be looking for a way to maximize the value of Cleveland’s new right-handed power bat.

Outside of batting him fourth behind a high average and consistent top of the lineup that will consist of Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor and likely either Carlos Santana or Michael Brantley, the Indians will need to choose who to bat after the power hitting righty.

The Detroit Tigers have a science to maximize their prize power bat, Miguel Cabrera. Since Cabrera is both a power hitter and has a high batting average, he is one of the most lethal bats in baseball. While it would be easy for opposing teams to simply walk him in tight situations, the Tigers have but the trio of Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton behind Cabrera in the lineup. Because of these three productive and clutch bats, teams are forced to face Cabrera because the bats that follow him are not any more attractive.

The Indians will likely look to do something similar with Encarnacion. The question is, who would be best suited to hit behind Encarnacion?