Cleveland Guardians: The 2022 Opening Day Dream Lineup

3. Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Guardians

For as long as Jose Ramirez is with Cleveland he should slot in as the third spot in the batting order, unless the Dolans open up their wallets much wider than we think. A three-time Silver Slugger already, Ramirez is widely regarded as one of the best bargains in baseball and his strong 2021 season showcased why.

While Ramirez saw his batting average drop 26 points from 2020 to 2021, he did see his power continue. During the 2020 season, Ramirez posted 17 home runs in 219 at-bats, averaging a home run every 12.9 at-bats. In 2021, the home run number jumped to 36, just three shy of his career-high, over 552 at-bats. That averages out to about 15.3 at-bats per home run.

Having that power is a huge plus to the core of Cleveland’s lineup. The hope is that Ramirez can get his average to come back up a bit in 2022. He’s been a career .278 hitter, so his 2021 mark of .266 was a bit low. However, the rest of his slash line saw increases, so depending on what the team needs, Ramirez has shown to be a rather complete player at the plate over the last couple seasons.