Lindor is currently 16th in the American League in average (.302), tied for fifth in hits (32), and tied for seventh in home runs. Two of those home runs (7 April at Arizona, and 27 April at home against Houston) still may not have landed yet, as hard as they were hit.
The 23-year-old shortstop was supposed to be the cornerstone of the Indians foreseeable future, but no one expected him to be this good this fast. There was a lot of hype when Lindor was added to the everyday roster midway through the 2015 season, and he followed up with a Gold Glove Award and All-Star appearance last year.
The Tribe spent $60 million to get Edwin Encarnacion away from the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason. The impact of Encarnacion instantly turned the Blue Jays from contender to basement dweller, as they currently sport the worst record in baseball. Encarnacion is third in the American League in strikeouts (39), and has a mere four homers, and .198 average.
The contract of Encarnacion is significant as Indian ownership has been notorious for overpaying for aging veterans, but not signing their younger talent long term. We all remember how Cleveland used to be the MLB’s farm system back in the 1980’s. The Blue Jays owe one of their World Series titles to Cleveland, after Joe Carter left.
Lindor reportedly turned down $120M to sign an extension just as Spring Training concluded. His rights are owned by the Indians until 2021, but next is the last season before salary arbitration would kick in.
Buried in all the hype over the Indians having the best young player in the game today, and the highest-coveted free agent on the open market, has been the play of Jose Ramirez. Before coming out of nowhere after the All Star Game last year, the most famous Ramirez to play for the Indians was Manny.
If Jose turns out to be half the player “Man-Ram” was, Cleveland will be breaking their own World Series title drought before the end of the decade. Ramirez currently sits in the top 10 in every major offensive category (9th in average at .323, tied for fifth in hits with 32, tied for fourth in RBIs with 23), except for home runs, where he’s tied for 11th (6).
Ramirez, 24, signed a 4-year, $26M extension, that will keep him in Cleveland until he turns 30.
Everyone in the baseball world thought Encarnacion would hit at least 45 HRs this year in a hitter’s park like Cleveland, especially being a pull hitter, and the left-field wall being a shorter distance at Progressive Field. What a luxury for the Indians to have half of their infield very early in their careers, and bookending one of the best power hitters in baseball every day. Right now, if either Ramirez or Lindor can be the catalyst to force pitchers to actually throw something suitable at Encarnacion, they should be awarded the MVP on merit alone.
This was a team that was a half inning away from their first World Championship in 68 years last October. The last Indians’ MVP winner was Al Rosen in 1953. Albert Belle had a couple of close calls in the 1990’s, including highway robbery to Mo Vaughn in 1995...and he didn’t have Jason Grimsley to recruit when the votes were cast.
Then again, if Lindor hits a few more tape-measure shots, you may be seeing him flexing at an opposing manager or two before October rolls around.
-JC24