Cleveland Indians: Michael Brantley seems to have never left

The Cleveland Indians are off to a 2-0 start to the 2017 season, and Michael Brantley has had a key part in both of the victories.

The offseason focus on Michael Brantley involved a lot of questions from Cleveland Indians fans, and a lot of silence from the team.

The way of answering the questions was by playing Brantley in March, and ultimately naming him to the Opening Day roster. His presence in the Opening Day lineup may have been a shock to some, but it is clear that Brantley is feeling just fine. Or so we hope.

Brantley’s best moment came last night with an RBI single in the seventh inning, which happened to be the insurance run the team needed in a 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.

This came one night after he opened the season going 1-for-5 with a RBI in the team’s 8-5 victory over the Rangers.

So at least on offense, Brantley appears to be doing just fine. It is his defense which some fans may be worrying about.

He misplayed a few balls on opening night, but it was not like he flat-out dropped the ball or took a horrible route on the play. He is playing meaningful time in the outfield for the first time in nearly a year, so it will take some time to get his personal timing back.

The most important thing is that he stays healthy while playing outfield, and avoids any collisions with the wall.

Related: Scared at the sight of Brantley nearing the wall

As with all our early-season takes, it is understandably too soon to make a definitive statement on any player. However, it is fair to say that Brantley appears to be back to his old ways on offense through the first two games.

He does have three strikeouts through two games, but his hits show that he is tracking the ball just fine at the plate.

The proof is in the above tweet, as Brantley waits on the pitch and takes it the other way, when he could have easily tried to pull it and hit a weak grounder to second base. Hitting like that takes great natural ability, and we know Brantley has it in him., so it is nice to see him executing so early in the season.

It also appears as if he is settling into an everyday role, which is more than fans could have hoped for a month ago.

Next: Importance of getting the first win

Brantley is just one piece of this great lineup, but having him in there everyday makes it impossible for opposing pitchers to pitch around any of the first four hitters. And that should result in plenty of offensive explosions, just as we have seen during the first two games of the season.