Preseason Indians Predictions We Got Right

The All-Star Break is a time to reflect on the first half of the season and look ahead to the three months of baseball that still remain. In that spirit, 17 Indians writers representing seven different sites took the time to offer their thoughts on the state of the Tribe, the ups and downs of the first half, and what’s still to come in the second.

As part of the survey I sent out, I asked our participants to reflect on their preseason predictions and see how they did, starting with the ones they got right (we’ll get to our embarrassments later). Most of our panelists were happy to volunteer their now-realized premonitions.

Mike Brandyberry (Did The Tribe Win Last Night?): I predicted that Ubaldo Jimenez would rebound to the old Ubaldo, which it appears he has since June 1.

TD (WaitingForNextYear): I believe I called Michael Brantley as the team’s breakout star.

Brian Heise (Wahoo’s on First): I thought Jason Kipnis would end up being the star of the team and so far good. He’s been better than I thought he would.

Andrew Zajac (Indians Prospect Insider): The prediction I’m most proud of is that Jason Kipnis would have a breakout year.

Nino Colla (The Tribe Daily): Well, I said that Nick Hagadone would lead the relievers in strikeouts. Which is quite foolish of me with Vinnie Pestano on the roster, but Hagadone has not pitched as much as Vinnie or anyone else. I’m proud that he found a way into the mix and if you look at his K/9 rate, he’s right up there with Chris Perez.

Charlie Adams (IPI): Shelley Duncan has 7 HR’s in 180 PA’s and if he gets the 450 PA’s you’d expect from a semi-regular, he would make 20 HR’s as predicted. I don’t expect him to get the opportunities (despite an utter void in LF), but the pace is right.

Geordy Boveroux (Wahoo’s on First) I predicted a good year from Jason Kipnis, but I would have been happy with 11 homers and 20 steals at the end of the season, not the mid-way point.

Vince Guerrieri (DTTWLN?): I knew Lonnie Chisenhall was going to come into his own — but then he got injured.

Ed Carroll (The Cleveland Fan): I believe I’m nailing the wins prediction, I had Lowe at 17. He’s got 8.That stat is dumb. Also, I was the only one to predict a division title for the Tribe, and they’re only 2 games back as I write this.

Steve Kinsella (Wahoo’s on First): Recognizing the talent of Ubaldo Jimenez when everyone else was lamenting the trade.

Merritt Rohlfing (Wahoo’s on First): I was kind of proud of my feeling that Derek Lowe would be great for the Tribe, and he was for a while. Also, Vinnie Pestano hasn’t let down, just like I’d hoped.

Andy Cooper: Ubaldo Jimenez hasn’t been quite as bad as I thought, but he’s been very inconsistent and certainly nowhere near the player the Indians thought they were getting when they traded for him last year.

Lewie Pollis (Wahoo’s on First): I’m proud to say that I was on the Jason Kipnis bandwagon before the season started.

Steve Eby (DTTWLN?): This is right about where I figured their record would be. I stand by my 88 wins that I predicted at the beginning of the year.

Katie Hendershot (Wahoo’s on First): I expected the Indians to contend within the division, though not for a wildcard spot. So far that’s the way it has happened.