Buster Olney is doing his Top 10 players at each position. Has not hit the outfield yet- he's doing Left, Center, and Right. Think Brantley is the only one who gets mentioned.
But Indians so far mentioned:
#2 Starting Pitcher - Corey Kluber
Kluber still hasn’t talked about what ailed him during the Indians’ division series loss to the Yankees, and baseball’s most prominent stoic probably never will. But he just wasn’t the same, with his velocity and command diminished. He had owned hitters leading up to the postseason. From Langs: Kluber went on the disabled list with a back injury in May, and when he returned in June, he was the best pitcher in baseball the rest of the way. From June 1, he led MLB starting pitchers in wins (15), ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76) and K/BB ratio (9.7).
With that four-month surge, Kluber managed to beat out
Chris Sale for the AL Cy Young Award, and you could make a reasonable case that Kluber should be No. 1 on this list. Few pitchers can make a baseball move in the way Kluber does. His late, lateral movement and camouflaged delivery make it difficult for hitters to discern the trajectory and velocity of his pitches. Kluber led all starting pitchers in swing-and-miss rate last season at 15.6 percent.
#1 was Scherzer
#3 Reliever - Andrew Miller
Even while fighting some knee trouble that affected his command, Miller continued to be baseball’s most dominant left-handed reliever, striking out 95 of the 244 batters he faced, with an Adjusted ERA+ of 319. He’ll be a free agent next fall, and odds are that Miller, who will be 33 years old in May, will be making a whole lot more than that $9 million salary that moved the bar the last time he was a free agent.
#1 and #2 were Jansen and Kimbrel
Honorable Mention Second Baseman - Jason Kipnis
It’s unclear what role he’ll play in 2018. But when he’s healthy, he hits.
#2 Third Baseman - Jose Ramirez
He finished last season as the second baseman for the Indians, but the bulk of his exceptional work was accomplished at third base, where he made 86 of his 151 starts. One longtime coach said about Ramirez that he competes with more intensity than any player in the American League -- game to game, inning to inning, pitch to pitch. Last year, Ramirez had 91 extra-base hits and scored 107 runs, and stole 17 bases -- and for all that and more, Ramirez finished third in the AL MVP voting. Ramirez had
the 10th-lowest swing-and-miss ratio in the majors.
From Langs: Ramirez, a switch-hitter, ranked in the top 20 in batting average against right-handed pitchers (.312) and left-handers (.329).
#1 was Arenado
#1 Shortstop - Francisco Lindor
The Indians thought his swing got a little big last season and that he sometimes got away from what he does best -- that is, consistently hitting the ball hard -- and he batted .252 before the All-Star break. But he finished well and closed the year with 81 extra-base hits including 33 homers, and was fifth in the AL MVP voting. He has played all but seven games in the past two regular seasons.
From Langs: The only other shortstop to hit at least 30 homers as a shortstop in a season before turning 24 years old is Alex Rodriguez, who did that twice.
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Carlos Santana ranked #9 1B, fwiw. No mention of EE; not sure if he was even considered for 1B and Olney isn't doing a DH
Still alotta guys out there...