Cleveland Indians All-Decade Team Studs and Duds: Outfield and DH

Center Field

This is a weird position to try and pick the stud actually. The best player was actually Michael Brantley who posted a 4.3 fWAR in center early in his career. However, he was much better in left field and has already taken the award so he’s disqualified.

After that is a “battle” between lots of guys that many would actually think would be up for the “dud” award. Michael Bourn actually has the highest fWAR among the remaining options, posting a 2.6 WAR with the club. However, his bat was bad with a slash line of .257/.315/.345 and a meager 84 wRC+. To put that in perspective, Jason Kipnis hit .245/.304/.410 with an 82 wRC+ this past season.

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The next highest WAR in CF this decade though? That would be Tyler Naquin and his 2.1 fWAR. Fans may laugh at him being the stud but consider that despite the very poor defensive numbers (-13 DRS in CF), he did hit .283/.335/.453 this decade with a 105 wRC+. Numbers to jump for joy over? No. But light years ahead of Bourn.

The other choices? Well, Bradley Zimmer and Rajai Davis are next on the WAR list at 1.7 each followed by – wait for it – Drew Stubbs at 1.3. Davis may get bonus points for his Game 7 home run but for as great as that moment was it’s hard to justify him as the stud of the decade. Same with Zimmer, whose value comes solely from his defense. So by virtue of defaults almost, the stud award here is going to Tyler Naquin.

The dud? Well, there were a few to consider but in the end, only one name really stud out: Trevor Crowe. The former first-round pick never became close to what the Tribe had hoped. A failed attempt at making him a second baseman in the minors slowed him down and things got even worse once he finally made it to the big leagues.

He posted a -1.3 fWAR in center for the Tribe this decade. He hit a putrid .249/.302/.328 with just two home runs in over 500 plate appearances while playing mediocre at best defense in center. He was out of baseball completely by the time the decade was half over.

Stud: Tyler Naquin
Dud: Trevor Crowe