Cleveland Indians: Three players on pace to breakout in 2021

Jordan Luplow

After coming to Cleveland from Pittsburgh prior to the 2019 season as part of a trade involving Erik Gonzalez, Jordan Luplow had fallen short of expectations. He moved up and down between the majors and minors for much of 2019 and 2020 seasons, playing a combined 114 games in Cleveland over the two seasons. However, this season seems to be showing some promise for the 27-year old outfielder.

Beginning the year as mainly a platoon player, Luplow entered Tuesday’s contest against Chicago slashing .250/.344/.714 with four home runs while also drawing four walks before clubbing another home run against the White Sox. While 22 of Luplow’s 28 at-bats had been against left-handed pitchers, most of his success had actually come against right-handed pitching.

Of Luplow’s now five home runs, three have been against left-handed pitchers while two have been against right-handed pitchers. He also has his lone double of the season against a right-handed pitcher.

If Luplow can continue to have success against all pitchers, then he could very well become the every day center field for the Cleveland Indians, opening the door for a lot of possibilities throughout the season including a potential breakout season. It might come a bit later than some were hoping but, hey, better late than never, right?