Cleveland Indians Should Start Jose Ramirez in Center Field

Jose Ramirez Should Start in Center Field for the Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians were dealt a blow to their outfield with the loss of Abraham Almonte after he was suspended 80 games for failing a drug test. This loss leaves an already thin outfield core looking for someone to step up and be the starting center fielder. There are no shortage of options for this including Rajai Davis and Collin Cowgill, among others. Nicholas Blaze highlighted the Indians’ issues in the outfield and some of the players that could be looked upon to step up in the absence of Almonte and Michael Brantley. For me though, one player that the Indians need to strongly consider using in center field is Jose Ramirez.

Should Ramirez Start At Any Position?

The first question when considering Ramirez starting in center field is whether or not he deserves to start anywhere, let alone center field. I mean, he was given the starting shortstop position to begin the 2015 season and he really struggled offensively, creating a big hole in the lineup and eventually leading to top prospect Francisco Lindor being called up to replace him. Overall his offensive numbers definitely left much to be desired in 2015. He hit only .219/.291/.340 for the year. Hardly numbers you want from a starter at any position.

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However, things really turned around for him in the second half as he hit .259 with a .775 OPS (on-base plus slugging) and 114 wRC+ (weighted runs created). Small sample size? Absolutely, but it’™s still a very encouraging sign from someone as young as Ramirez. His plate discipline, which has always been a big part of his game, saw a marked turnaround in the second half as well. His walk rate jumped from 7.5% in the first half to 10.4% in the second while his strikeout rate went from 13.9% to just 8.2% (yes, he walked more than he struck out in the second half). If he can keep that up for an entire season, watch out…

Ramirez Showing Some Power

Probably the most intriguing part of Ramirez’s second half resurgence was the big increase in power. In the first half, Ramirez hit just one home run and had only seven extra base hits in 173 plate appearances, which equated to a mere .059 ISO (isolated power). In the second half, however, Ramirez hit five home runs and had 16 extra base hits in 182 plate appearances, giving him a rather impressive .179 ISO.

Now again, it was just a half of a season and only 182 plate appearances, very small sample size; however, it was still an impressive display by Ramirez. So could Ramirez be developing some power? It wouldn’t be the first time we saw a young middle infielder develop power as we saw Asdrubal Cabrera eventually develop some decent pop. Small sample size or not, it’s still encouraging to see.

Next: Can Ramirez Handle CF?