CLEVELAND – It’s been an all-around disappointing season for the Indians, who are in last place in the Central Division and all but out of contention, and we haven’t even made it to the All-Star break yet.
They have struggled at the plate, where they are 12th in the American League in batting (.247) and runs (4.3 average) through Friday, and on the mound, where they rank 11th in the AL with a 4.58 ERA. At times they look more like a Triple-A team than a big league club that is only three seasons removed from nearly making it to the World Series.
One of the more disappointing aspects of the Tribe’s trials and one that should be more than alarming to a team supposedly building for the future is the lack of production from the wealth of young players who have littered the lineup this season.
With plenty of opportunities for guys the Indians were hoping would help comprise their core group moving forward, all have fallen well short of expectations, many of them proving they weren’t worthy of a big league roster spot.
• Matt LaPorta, outfielder/first baseman: The key cog in the CC Sabathia trade with Milwaukee in 2008 was billed as a rising power-hitting star who would undoubtedly fill one of the spots in the middle of the order at some point. What the Indians have seen hasn’t resembled anything close to that. LaPorta has struggled to adapt to big league pitching, and as a result, was recently demoted to Triple-A Columbus. He’s been able to produce at the highest level in the minor leagues, hitting five homers just since he was sent down, but the Indians were counting on much more.
• Michael Brantley, outfielder: Also part of the Sabathia trade, Brantley has a big league pedigree with his father, Mickey, playing three seasons in the majors, but he didn’t show big league ability after opening the year as the Indians’ starting left fielder. Not long into that stint, Brantley was supplanted by Austin Kearns and shuffled back to Columbus, where he hit just .267 in 116 games last year. Brantley appears to be a solid overall player but his stock has fallen substantially.
• Lou Marson, catcher: Marson, who was acquired from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee trade last year, was sent down Friday to clear the way for Carlos Santana, the top prospect in the organization. While in Cleveland, Marson was one of the AL’s most efficient at throwing out would-be base stealers, but he struggled early with blocking balls and never showed signs of emerging from a season-long slump that saw him bat just .191 in 45 games. Marson may get another shot if the Indians discover that Santana is better suited at another position, but right now, he looks like nothing more than a serviceable backup.
• Jason Donald, shortstop/second baseman: Also part of the Phillies deal for Lee, Donald appears to be a top-shelf defender as he fills in for injured Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop, but he, too, hasn’t yet shown the ability to hit on the big league level – .237 batting average in 23 games through Friday. If Donald, a career .285 hitter in the minors, can’t produce at the plate in the big leagues, he’s nothing more than an above-average utility infielder at best. He still has time to prove he can swing the bat, but he has done just the opposite out of the gate.
• Luis Valbuena, second baseman: Though he wasn’t netted in a big-name trade (acquired from Seattle for Franklin Gutierrez in 2008), the Indians thought they had their second baseman of the future when Valbuena put up respectable numbers once arriving in Cleveland early last season. Manager Manny Acta thought enough of Valbuena to name him the starter at second shortly into spring training despite the presence of veteran Mark Grudzielanek in camp. The slumping Valbuena lost time to Grudzielanek early in the season, but the veteran was recently released and the job is Valbuena’s once again. He’s had some shoddy moments in the field, and though Acta says he has shown signs of improving at the plate, it’s been difficult to see as Valbuena is batting just .172 in 42 games through Friday.
The Indians don’t need all of their young players to morph into stars, but some of them had better start showing they have big league ability or it’s not going to be much of a future at all.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
