2019 Spring Training

[Amherstcavsfan]

I could be very wrong, but I think Plawecki will be the starter. Or perhaps should be.

I also would much rather see Cheng at SS but...yeah, it'll probably be Moroff.

 

[Kiddo]

One might, though I doubt it.

Both aren't playing the OF.

More than anything, what has Bradley done to warrant such a promotion?

One might, though I doubt it.

Both aren't playing the OF.

More than anything, what has Bradley done to warrant such a promotion?

That was supposed to say Santana or Bauers... If one of them plays the OF which is a possibility it opens up a spot at DH. After 4 straight seasons of averaging 27 hr and 92 RBI Bradley might be worth a long look in spring training. May be a very slim chance for this year but he does carry a big stick.

 

[sportscoach]

My best guess for Opening Day

C: Roberto Perez, 2.5M
1B: Jake Bauers, 600K
2B: Jason Kipnis, 14.5M
SS: Max Moroff, 600K
3B: Jose Ramirez, 3.75M
LF: Greg Allen, 600K
CF: Leonys Martin, 3M
RF: Tyler Naquin, 600K
DH: Carlos Santana, 17M

Bench
C: Kevin Plawecki, 1.14M
IF: Eric Stamets, 600K
OF: Jordan Luplow, 600K
OF: Matt Joyce, 1.25M

SP: Corey Kluber, 17M
SP: Trevor Bauer, 13M
SP: Carlos Carrasco, 9.75M
SP: Mike Clevinger, 600K

RP: Brad Hand, 6.5M
RP: Oliver Perez, 2.5M
RP: Tyler Clippard, 1.75M
RP: Dan Otero, 1.3M
RP: Alex Wilson 1.25M
RP: Neil Ramirez, 1M
RP: Adam Cimber, 600K
RP: Tyler Olson, 600K

DL: Lindor, Zimmer, Salazar

Bullpen Next in Line: Anderson, Edwards, Goody, Hu, Plutko, Rodriguez, Wittgren

Bieber will be called up once the Indians get past all of their early season days off.

Feels like if there's any money to be found under the couch cushions, that a better utility IF/fill in SS while Lindor is down certainly wouldn't hurt. Nor would another RH hitting OF.

I actually feel Chang has the best shot of starting the season at SS out of camp. Moroff and Stamets will always be mediocre at best with the bat. Chang hasn’t hit the best for average, but has a much more dynamic bat with at least average defense at SS.

Also Allen and Naquin have barely played LF, so I still lean towards Luplow getting the spot since he is actually a plus defender in LF and he is RH. That bullpen I think will be way better than last year with all the guys competing for a spot. I actually don’t have faith Naquin will make the roster honestly.

I think we all agree we want more veterans in camp especially a RH OF. Though I am not going to sleep on Flaherty making the roster since he did out of camp last year for the Braves.

 

[sportscoach]

That was supposed to say Santana or Bauers... If one of them plays the OF which is a possibility it opens up a spot at DH. After 4 straight seasons of averaging 27 hr and 92 RBI Bradley might be worth a long look in spring training. May be a very slim chance for this year but he does carry a big stick.

Bradley actually struggled last year for most of the year, but did get it together late in the season. Unless he has a monster spring (unless his OPS is like 1.200 or higher with everyday ABs) he won’t make the roster. He may have hit 27 HRs but overall he didn’t have a good season. I’d say he has to put up a .250/.350/.450 type of season at AAA next year to really get back into consideration for the future in Cleveland. He has a long ways to go to get back into the mix honestly.

 

[CBBI]

I actually feel Chang has the best shot of starting the season at SS out of camp. Moroff and Stamets will always be mediocre at best with the bat. Chang hasn’t hit the best for average, but has a much more dynamic bat with at least average defense at SS.

Also Allen and Naquin have barely played LF, so I still lean towards Luplow getting the spot since he is actually a plus defender in LF and he is RH. That bullpen I think will be way better than last year with all the guys competing for a spot. I actually don’t have faith Naquin will make the roster honestly.

I think we all agree we want more veterans in camp especially a RH OF. Though I am not going to sleep on Flaherty making the roster since he did out of camp last year for the Braves.

I'll believe that Chang is going to break camp with the Indians when that actually happens.

Better defensively in LF or not, I'm still hard pressed to think Luplow will play against RHP over Allen or Naquin with as aggressively as Francona has liked to use platoons in the past. Luplow will definitely play against LHP though because all three guys ahead of him have major issues against LHP. Really the Indians could platoon all three OF spots if they wanted to, but they simply don't have the bodies to make that work right now.

As it stands right now, this team is going to struggle mightily with left handed pitching all year. Allen, Naquin, Zimmer, Martin, Bauers, Kipnis, Joyce are all various levels of bad against LHP.

 

[sportscoach]

I'll believe that Chang is going to break camp with the Indians when that actually happens.

Better defensively in LF or not, I'm still hard pressed to think Luplow will play against RHP over Allen or Naquin with as aggressively as Francona has liked to use platoons in the past. Luplow will definitely play against LHP though because all three guys ahead of him have major issues against LHP. Really the Indians could platoon all three OF spots if they wanted to, but they simply don't have the bodies to make that work right now.

As it stands right now, this team is going to struggle mightily with left handed pitching all year. Allen, Naquin, Zimmer, Martin, Bauers, Kipnis, Joyce are all various levels of bad against LHP.

I am not sure if Chang will get the chance or not, but this is his chance to really impress since without a doubt he can earn the spot until Lindor is healthy.

Luplow’s minor league splits actually says he should have equal production against either hand. I actually feel the Indians traded for Luplow to give him the shot to start not to be a platoon. I mean the pirates in general had a very good OF and they had a very good OF prospect to protect hence why they traded Luplow.

Splits in the minors in 17 and 18 combined:
RHP: .274/.349/.458 so .807 ops in 723 at bats
LHP: .281/.412/.539 so .951 ops in 256 at bats

By those numbers, he should project to be a lefty killer in the pros, but honestly its a good probability he hits both handed pitchers well, he just has a better OPS vs lefties.

Though I think Allen can hold his own eventually against both sides of the plate, but I think we both agree we need another veteran RH OF bat. I hate going into the season so left handed in general.

 

[Real Deal]

Other thread getting a little messy, part of me wants to move on from this off-season from here on out and look for positives.


It's Allen's opportunity to win the leadoff spot.

 

[Lee]

Other thread getting a little messy, part of me wants to move on from this off-season from here on out and look for positives.


It's Allen's opportunity to win the leadoff spot.

I am excited to see what Allen can do. I love his defense for a corner outfield spot, although I am not sure about arm strength.

His bat isn't terrible, obp .310 last year, get that up to around .330 with his speed, I like, not love the combo. He probably has similar leadoff attributes to a Brett Gardner, not saying Gardner was great, but he isn't terrible. Although with Gardner's age probably a bad comparison, just trying to show Allen is not bad and is still growing as a hitter.

 

[sportscoach]

I am excited to see what Allen can do. I love his defense for a corner outfield spot, although I am not sure about arm strength.

His bat isn't terrible, obp .310 last year, get that up to around .330 with his speed, I like, not love the combo. He probably has similar leadoff attributes to a Brett Gardner, not saying Gardner was great, but he isn't terrible. Although with Gardner's age probably a bad comparison, just trying to show Allen is not bad and is still growing as a hitter.

This is actually a good chance to see a bunch of guys! Everyone is likely to get 2-3 at bats in the game. Outside of Ramirez and Perez, no one is actually solidified on this roster. If Allen shows up like he did in the second half of last year, I am actually thinking he will contribute a fair amount. I have said before Luplow is a better defensive OF than Naquin, so we need to see if his bat will project the way I feel it will.

Joyce, Naquin, Luplow, Allen are all vying for the last 3-4 OF spots, while Flaherty and Stamets are vying for the temp starting SS slot/utility spot. I feel like Bauers has pretty much made the team by default since we have no one else to play 1st base on the 40 man roster outside of Bradley. Otherwise really only the minor league invites of Flaherty and Papi have any experience at 1st base.

 

[sportscoach]

NRI Player to Watch: Ryan Flaherty!​

Normally it is strange to spotlight a guy with a career slash of .216/.286/.347, but here is a guy who has also played every single year since his rookie season of 2012 and most of his career he was with Baltimore. He has logged over a thousand innings at both 2B and 3rd with solid defensive numbers and has logged innings at 1st, SS and both corner OF positions. He actually had a very good April for the Braves last season as well, but died as the season went along. He is in competition with Eric Stamets and Max Moroff for the backup utility spot on the bench (essentially replacing Gonzo). Reason why I am spotlighting him is the fact this is the type of guy Francona likes to have at the end of his bench and with the fact Stamets hasn't ever played in the pros yet and Moroff himself is out of options and never has had a very good bat, he sincerely has a very good chance to make this roster out of spring camp. I know he is nothing special in a sense at the end of the day, but I actually project him to come out of camp on the 25 man roster! I just wanted all of you who aren't familiar with him to at least have an idea who he is! Essentially he is a swiss army knife on defense, who is friendly with Mendoza when it comes to batting.

 

[BMAN]

View: https://twitter.com/zackmeisel/status/1099338334210412544?s=21


No update on Frankie though.

Really hoping Zimmer can figure some things out and help us this year. I have no hope for Salazar though, waste of money for a cash strapped team.

 

[Ohio]

Alright Naquin..

 

[Stark]

 

[The Oi]

This team is in the same league as the Yankees and Astros.

 

[Stark]

This team is in the same league as the Yankees and Astros.

The Yankees wish they could replicate our February Spring Training success.