Cleveland Indians: 3 players on pace to breakout in second half

Bobby Bradley, 1B, Cleveland Indians

Calling up Bobby Bradley to Cleveland has been something in the works for a few seasons. He was always roadblocked by Carlos Santana, but once he got his shot this season he hasn’t looked back. There’s some things he can improve on, as there is for any 25-year old, but the future is bright for Bradley, especially the second half of the 2021 season.

Being called up on June 5, Bradley has been in Cleveland just over a month. In that time he’s played in 31 games and has 104 official at-bats. He’s made sure to make good use of them.

While his average is a bit lower at .240, he does damage when he makes contact to complete a slash line of .240/.336/.577. That line is thanks in large part to 10 home runs, five doubles and 20 RBI in a short period of time while also scoring 23 times. With 25 hits this season, 15 have been either a double or a home run. That also means that almost 15% of Bradley’s at-bats have resulted in a double or a home run.

Most of Bradley’s stats came while Franmil Reyes was on the injured list. As the lineup returns to full strength, Bradley should see an increase in his stats. He’s going to be in the order around the same area as Reyes, Eddie Rosario, Harold Ramirez and Jose Ramirez. That should give him plenty of opportunities to log more RBI down the stretch.

If the power continues, Bradley could be a huge addition for the Cleveland Indians. He’s on an insane pace that would have him hit 52 home runs in a 162 game season if he played every single game, but even if he settles in the 30-40 home run range, that would be a big upgrade at first.

Oscar Mercado, OF, Cleveland Indians

Don’t close out the story just yet. Hear me out. While he’s had his fair share of troubles over the last year plus, Oscar Mercado is quietly finding his stride once again in Cleveland and could see an expanded role in the second half of the season. After spending most of 2020 at the alternate site, Mercado rejoined the Tribe on June 28 and has taken advantage of the opportunity.

Yes, it’s only been 12 games and yes Mercado only has 32 at-bats in 2021. However, he’s been one of the better options the team has tried in the outfield and that could grant him a lot more playing time if he can sustain that.

Over those 12 games, Mercado is slashing .281/.343/.500 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, four RBI and a pair of stolen bases. For comparison, Mercado’s slash line during his big 2019 season was .269/.318/.443.

The sample size is much smaller, but there is definitely some intrigue there. The key for Mercado will just be consistency. He had three hits in his first seven games up, all coming in one game, but since then he’s started to settle in and find his swing.

Over his last five games before the All-Star break, Mercado went 6-for-15 (.400), including another three-hit game to close out the first half. He also logged two doubles, a home run and all four of his RBI.

Hopefully the hot streak to close out the first half is a sign of things to come from Mercado. If he can get back to what we saw from him in 2019 that would be tremendous for the Cleveland Indians. He would essentially complete the outfield with Eddie Rosario and Harold Ramirez.

Cal Quantrill, SP, Cleveland Indians

Again, just hear me out on this one. It took Cal Quantrill a bit of time to settle in as a reliever, but once he did he was a strong option. We’re seeing the same thing as he moves back into the starting rotation. It wasn’t an adjustment that could happen overnight, but he’s emerging as the club’s best internal option to be the fourth or fifth starter behind the Big Three.

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If you look at Quantrill’s pitch count, it was slowly climbing and then in July it jumped into the 90s, tossing 94 pitches against Houston and then 90 against Kansas City. He’s officially stretched out to be a full-time starting pitcher in the majors. Luckily, his stats have started to level out as well.

In both of those 90-pitch starts, Quantrill allowed three runs in each. The first lasted 5.1 innings and the second went a full six. He’s also been able to cut down the walks, having two against Houston and just one against Kansas City.

The hope is that the runs can come down a bit, but the potential is there. Quantrill was the eighth overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft out of Stanford after lighting it up in college. I can’t say it enough, the potential is there. He just needs an extended opportunity.

Given the state of the Tribe’s rotation, that extended opportunity might be coming in the second half. Of the players that have auditioned for the starting rotation, Quantrill has pitched the best. That combined with his 90-pitch outings point to him getting his shot to be part of this starting rotation down the stretch.