Cleveland Indians: Kipnis’ absence opens up leadoff debate

The Cleveland Indians have been searching for a leadoff hitter all season, and Jason Kipnis being injured may allow someone to step up and seize the role.

Injuries have prevented Terry Francona from giving his Cleveland Indians a consistent lineup in 2017, and that remains true as Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis have recently succumbed to injuries.

Kipnis’ comes just days after he returned from the disabled list, which means another lineup shakeup is in order.

And while seeing the veteran go down with another injury is frustrating, this will allow Francona to find a true leadoff hitter to plug into the role for the remainder of the season.

Kipnis hit leadoff in three of the four games after he returned and combined to go 1-13 in that top spot, including an ugly 0-6 day on Wednesday. Francisco Lindor moved into the leadoff spot Thursday before Kipnis left with his injury.

To be fair to Kipnis, he was thrust back into the leadoff spot after nearly a month away from facing MLB pitching. It is not his fault he hit leadoff, and it just didn’t seem to make sense to put him in that spot coming off an injury.

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But with Kipnis out again, Francona has a chance to find a permanent leadoff hitter for the rest of the year, with the top two candidates being Lindor and Bradley Zimmer.

Both Lindor and Zimmer have similar offensive stats this season, as Lindor is slashing .269/.329/.477, while Zimmer has marks of .263/.329/.433. The main difference is that Lindor has 19 home runs, and with Brantley out it may be wise to slide Lindor down in the order to add some power in the middle of the order.

Zimmer has 13 stolen bases this season, and every time he gets on base he is a threat to run. This is the kind of player who slots in nicely into the leadoff spot, especially with his average and OBP.

Francona may not want to put the rookie into such a situation, but Zimmer is an everyday player and can handle himself anywhere in the order.

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Kipnis’ injury isn’t expected to be major, but these next few days provide Francona a great opportunity to begin to formulate his most effective lineup, which is one that sees someone other than Kipnis leading things off.