Brantley Expecting Unexpected in Comeback Indians Left
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Brantley expecting unexpected in comeback Indians left fielder put in hard work to be on Opening Day roster By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | April 6th, 2017 PHOENIX -- The sound was methodical. After a handful of seconds, the crack of Michael Brantley's bat would shoot through the batting cage at Cleveland's spring complex. Another ball was placed on the tee in front of him, and the noise would reverberate in the tunnel again. Only Brantley's father, Mickey, was present for this afternoon hitting session a few days before Opening Day. They remained in the cage more than an hour, fine-tuning the swing that the elder Brantley helped design. The father knows that his son's work is not done, either. "He's worked hard. He really has," Mickey Brantley said. "He's been kind of leery. He doesn't know what to expect yet." That is the great unknown with Michael Brantley's improbable comeback. A complicated right arm injury kept the Indians' star left fielder shelved for most of last season, and no one is quite sure what kind of player he will be now. But following two surgeries (one on his shoulder in November 2015 and another for his right biceps in August '16), consultations with five doctors and as many rehab games as Major League games (11) last year, Brantley is back. Brantley passed every test this spring and suffered no setbacks, convincing the Tribe to carry him on its Opening Day roster. There are people close to Brantley who were amazed he pulled off that feat. No one, however, is surprised that Brantley put in the work to make it happen. "It always comes back to the player. And with him, it's easy," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He's been a star. He had to be a star in the training room, so he was. He made so many sacrifices to get himself in this position. It's nice when you write him in your lineup. It's nice to have him on your side." The road back to the lineup was not easy. Not only did Brantley deal with the physical stress, but last season was a mental test, too. Francona has referred to Brantley as the "heart and soul" of the team, and the outfielder was forced to watch Cleveland's run to the World Series from the dugout. Brantley loved witnessing the success, but it also hurt not to be on the field with his teammates. "It was tremendously hard. He couldn't do anything," Mickey Brantley said. "He was still there, though. That was the difference. I think that's the leadership role -- the kind of leader he is. He was still with his team. That World Series, he wasn't a part of it physically on the field and batting, but he wanted to be there for the guys." Brantley became an extra voice, providing guidance for the team's younger players and acting almost like an additional hitting coach. It is rare to see a player on the disabled list be involved as much as Brantley was behind the scenes last season. "It's extremely impressive," said Tribe outfielder Tyler Naquin, who was a rookie last year. "That just shows Mike's character more than anything, what he's about and who he is as a person. He cares about other people, cares about his teammates and the staff, everybody around here. He's going to try to win in any way he can." This year, that includes finally being back on the field again. Staying on the field is the next task. "He's still in untested water," Mickey Brantley said. "Mentally, he's ready. I told him, 'Are you ready?' I'm asking him. He said, 'Pops, I'm ready.' He doesn't know what to expect, missing that much time. But he's in a good place right now." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Anthony Castrovince Hot start fuels talk of Lindor's MVP chances By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com | @castrovince | April 6th, 2017 This endurance test we refer to as the baseball season will provide proper context for what Francisco Lindor did Wednesday night at Globe Life Park, where he atoned for an ultra-rare defensive gaffe by homering twice, including the game-winning grand slam that completed a sweep and made a grown Rangers fan weep. For now, this felt like early justification of all those spring predictions that Lindor could emerge as the American League MVP Award winner. This column isn't an evaluation of that case after three games, so put down the pitchforks. This is merely a discussion about the uphill battle a player like Lindor faces and how moments of magnitude like Wednesday's help push back against precedent. The Tribe is a popular pick to win the AL Central. Lindor, as its emoticon embodiment who delivers on both sides of the ball, is a popular AL MVP Award pick among those who veer away from Mike Trout, if only for the sake of variety. Personally, I'm skeptical of Lindor's AL MVP Award likelihood -- not because I doubt him personally (I'm currently looking into the legality of adopting him) and not because I blindly assume Trout will win yet another one (it's still surprising voters did the right thing in not holding a 74- win Angels squad against him). It's because the Baseball Writers' Association of America electorate tends to lean more toward power numbers in the MVP Award vote. Lindor's .482 slugging percentage as a rookie in 2015 was a revelation, given his Minor League track record (.384 SLG in 1,880 plate appearances). Predictably, his power regressed a little his sophomore year. Even if Lindor surges this season, keep in mind only six men who MVP Award winners with sub-.500 slugging percentages are outliers. In the past 40 years, there have been just four: Dustin Pedroia (.493) in 2008, Ichiro Suzuki (.457) in '01, Barry Larkin (.492) in 1995* and Kirk Gibson (.483) in '88. *While Larkin's 1995 National League MVP Award might seem a nice comparable as a fellow shortstop, it ought to be stricken from the record. Barry Bonds recorded a 1.009 OPS and league-best 7.5 Wins Above Replacement mark… and finished 12th! It was a different time. So Lindor will need other factors in his favor. We can probably rule out a serious statistical setback for Trout, because, well… you know. But if the Angels fall shy of October again and the Indians are anywhere near as good as they looked in Arlington, that cracks the door open a little. Like Mookie Betts last year, Lindor could potentially log a case built more on overall impact than outlandish OPS. Ignore Wednesday's two-run error (which arguably should have been charged to Edwin Encarnacion, anyway) and assume that Lindor will finish 2017 with strong defensive metrics. Soon enough, we'll have better Statcast™ data, in the vein of the Catch Probability currently available for outfielders, to really illustrate just how good Lindor is. For now, defensive runs saved, where he has graded out as elite, will suffice. The reason Lindor received only down-ballot MVP love on the heels of the Tribe's surge up the standings last season was his offensive output was solid but not extraordinary. His 112 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) mark, for instance, was good but nothing like that of Dodgers rookie sensation Corey Seager (137). Lindor did not finish in the top 10 among AL position players in WAR. A way-too-early takeaway in 2017 is that Lindor, right in line with a growing concept in our game, is elevating the ball. His ground ball percentage was 50 percent in his first two seasons. So far, Lindor has put nine balls in play and only three were on the ground. That'll merit monitoring. Lindor will never be a slugging shortstop in the vein of a young Alex Rodriguez, but he does have a combination of strength and strike zone judgment that could be improving. In the entirety of 2016, Lindor put 27 balls in play measured by Statcast™ at an exit velocity of 105 mph or greater. He had two such balls on Wednesday alone, and they both cleared the wall. Lindor is not going to suddenly be a 40-homer sensation, but bump everything up a bit -- turn that 15-homer season into something north of 20 and that 30-double output into something north of 40 -- and pair it with the dazzling D and the storyline of a squad running away with its division, and you might have something that attracts MVP Award attention. The elevated profile that accompanies what Frankie did in the Tribe's 2016 postseason (.310/.355/.466 slash line in 15 games) could also help, as it did with Pedroia in '08 after his rookie run to the World Series title. It's merely a conversation built on assumptions for now, but it's a fun one, especially in the aftermath of an evening in which Lindor elicited two very different raw emotions from Indians and Rangers fans. Anthony Castrovince has b “On the dark days, they put some light into it.” Major League Bastian - Medium by Jordan Bastian Put yourself in Michael Brantley’s shoes for a moment. Imagine showing up to the stadium every day with a list of rehab exercises.