Cleveland Indians: Top 5 players from the first half of 2018

Jose Ramirez

There were a lot of questions surrounding the Cleveland Indians coming into this season. One player who was never in question, and frankly hardly talked about was the Indians third baseman, Jose Ramirez.

Now Jose Ramirez has solidified himself as one of the best players in baseball as well as an AL MVP candidate. Ramirez is tied for the MLB lead in home runs with 29 along with having 40 RBIs and an incredible .402 on-base percentage.

Ramirez also boasts a 6.5 WAR which is just a decimal below the leader Mike Trout. He was voted in as the starting All-Star 3B for the American League and is the first Indians player to have 20 steals and 20 homers before the All-Star break since Grady Sizemore. On top of that he has 26 doubles.

Despite all of those breathtaking numbers, Jose Ramirez is not talked about much. It seems like he is under the radar of the big names that have significantly lower stats than he. But it doesn’t seem to stop Jose from his remarkable performances.

Ramirez has only gotten better in every year of his young career. The fact that the Indians were able to extend him before his big breakout is a major blessing for the Tribe. He’ll be a fan favorite and a Cleveland All-Star for a long time to come.

Next: Indians beat Yankees to close out the first half

Honorable mentions:

Mike Clevinger, Yan Gomes, Shane Bieber, Edwin Encarnacion