Cleveland Indians: Predicting who will break out in 2018

Pitchers and catchers have finally reported to spring training! Now we finally have some baseball to talk about. As such, it’s time to think about potential breakout players in 2018.

There are several breakout candidates this season. There will be players who made minor impacts last season that now have a chance to be a major factor on this team. There will be players who have not gotten much of a chance at all in the big leagues yet who could be called up and put in important roles.

What determines a breakout? There’s no statistical threshold a player needs to reach to have broken out. It’s a mix of the eye test, along with stats and how the player was projected to perform.

Given those conditions, here are some players who have the potential to break out for the Cleveland Indians this season.

Yandy Diaz

Diaz has the bat, there’s no question about that. The glove is the big question mark with him. Currently, he sits behind Jose Ramirez on the depth chart at third base. But given a variety of potential infield alignments, Diaz could end up with a starting gig if Kipnis has to move to the outfield to start the season. It will be down to him and Giovanny Urshela to win that job and Diaz’s bat may be too much to ignore for Terry Francona.

If Diaz can get that starting spot, he can settle in to his role and his bat will stay hot. He only hit .263 last year, but he has a lot of upside in that bat. With such a high ceiling, he still has plenty of room before he reaches it.

He is in line for a lot more at-bats this season, and if he can make the most of that opportunity, he will for sure be considered one of the breakout players of 2018.

Francisco Mejia

I’m a big believer in Mejia. He may not be the best defensively, but he’s getting better and showing out in spring training will go a long way for potentially making the roster out of camp.

Mejia has the bat that the Cleveland Indians have been longing for at catcher for several years. Last year, he hit .297 with 14 home runs in Triple-A. His bat is ready for the big leagues. Roberto Perez and Yan Gomes may be better defensively, but how much longer can the Tribe justify going with them in the lineup, hitting around .210 or .230, when Mejia is there with the chance to hit .300?

Gomes and Perez are locked in to long term deals but Mejia is the future and he is here. A strong showing in spring could earn him the starting job on Opening Day. It was my bold prediction, but I think he can make the team coming out of camp and even earn an All-Star nod this year. If he can do that, it will certainly be regarded as a breakout year for the young backstop.

To be honest, Mejia doesn’t even need to hit .300 this season to be considered an improvement for the Tribe. Gomes and Perez have been so bad offensively, that even hitting .250 would be considered an upgrade in the lineup. Mejia could probably hit .250 in his sleep. The bat is real and it’s something that fans should get excited about.

The glove is what worries most about Mejia. He’s not terrible behind the plate, but he’s not as advanced as Gomes and Perez are. Even though Mejia is a young catcher, he will have a veteran pitching staff to work with, and guys like Corey Kluber and Andrew Miller will help him along. He won’t need to call the game all on his own because of the experience of the staff.

With a hopefully improved glove coming out of spring, Mejia has all the makings of a breakout player this major league season.

Mike Clevinger

Clevinger broke out in a way last season, posting a 3.11 ERA over 121 innings in 21 starts, but he’s got his sights set higher. There’s going to be a battle for the two rotation spots between Clevinger, Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin, and Ryan Merritt.

Clevinger has every intention of winning a rotation spot, going on the record saying that he is focused on throwing 200 innings this year. If he can post similar ERA numbers this year, while pitching those 200 innings, he will establish himself as one of the better starters in all of baseball. He also struck out over 10 batters per nine innings last season, a good sign for the young starter.

If he can cut down on his walks, he will be golden. He averaged 4.4 BB/9 last season, which is way too high. If he can keep that number below three, the Cleveland Indians could have a young ace on their hands. And if becoming an ace in your third season in the big leagues isn’t a breakout, I don’t know what is.

Clevinger has a real opportunity to solidify himself in this rotation for years to come. Even with Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer entrenched in the first three spots in the rotation, Clevinger could prove himself as perhaps a #2 or #3 starter that’s pitching out of the fourth or fifth spot. Now that is a sign of a deep rotation.

Basically, all that Clevinger has to do to breakout this year, is continue to perform like he did last year and carry it over to an entire season in the rotation. Reducing the walks will help a lot, but he has one of the best chances to break out for the Cleveland Indians this season.’

Nick Goody

Last season, Goody posted a 2.80 ERA in 56 games. That’s a pretty good output for the 26 year old reliever. But this year, Goody is going to be relied on a lot more. Veteran set up men Joe Smith and Bryan Shaw are no longer with the Cleveland Indians. That means it’s up to Goody and Andrew Miller to get the game to closer Cody Allen.

Goody is going to get more opportunities late in games now, and he will likely end up pitching in more than 56 games this season. He has a chance to prove himself as a quality set up man for the rest of his career.

He never achieved much success with the New York Yankees, but after one season in Cleveland, Goody is in position to cement himself as a valuable bullpen pitcher for years to come.

He struck out close to 12 batters per nine innings last year and cut down his walks to 3.3 BB/9, the lowest total so far in his young career. He improved in nearly every statistical category in 2017 and will be given the opportunity to grow even more in 2018.

Goody is only 26 years old. He is just about to enter his prime. At such a young age, Goody is as primed for a breakout as anybody.

With his performance last season, Goody has broken the door slightly open. But to break it down and fully burst out and announce his presence, a second successful season is needed. And that is exactly what fans should expect Goody to do this season.

Next: Ideal infield alignment in 2018

These four players are prime breakout candidates for the Cleveland Indians. If all of these young players can reach their potential this season, there’s no reason to believe the Tribe can’t win the World Series. Contributions are needed from everybody on the team to win a title, and these four players will be counted on to step up.