Cleveland Indians’ ideal lineup to close out the 2020 season

Designated Hitter, Right-Handed Hitter

When it comes to the best hitter in the Cleveland Indians’ lineup, the answer in many statistics is Franmil Reyes. Reyes and Ramirez are neck-and-neck for the overall best hitter right now for the Tribe and it really comes down to one question for who goes where – who is more dangerous?

The cleanup hitter needs to be dangerous to opposing pitchers to not only protect the three spot, but to also give the team an opportunity to load the bases and hit a grand slam to jump out to a 4-0 lead early in the game. Reyes has the best chance to do that.

Heading into Saturday’s contest, Reyes was leading the team in batting average (.304), OBP (.369) and slugging percentage (.509) while being second in home runs with eight and RBI with 25.

Now the downside to Reyes is his strikeout numbers, which also leads the team at 47. This can be a big downer if it happens at the wrong time, but that’s the risk-reward that you run with a batter like Reyes. Sometimes he’ll provide the spark with a home run, other times he’ll end the inning with a strikeout. Regardless, his power makes him the dangerous bat you need behind Ramirez.