Cleveland Indians Shortstop Fransisco Lindor Proving His Worth

Francisco Lindor has helped guide the Cleveland Indians to first place. While he’s not the only reason for the team’s success, Lindor has proved how valuable he can be and has solidified his status as a stud shortstop.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

The 22-year-old shortstop ranks third on the team in batting average with a .313 clip. His sixth home runs are fifth on the team and he has the third most RBI with 29. Just as importantly, he has stolen 10 bases in 11 attempts and has an on-base percentage of .367. He has established himself as an all-around offensive threat with speed and the ability to hit for contact and power.

He has a 2.16 oWAR, which ranks 15^th best in the league and second amongst shortstops behind Boston’s Xander Bogaerts, according to ESPN. His average is the fourth-best mark amongst the position, he ranks ninth in RBI and fourth in on-base percentage. In other words, the dude can rake.

While his offense is a big part of Lindor’s game, the youngster has also established himself has a top defender at his position. Lindor ranks 19^th in all of baseball with a 0.79 dWAR, but tops the American League, according to ESPN. which is the fourth highest mark amongst shortstops, only trailing San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford, Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart and Chicago’s Addison Russell.

If anyone ever had any reservations regarding Lindor’s defense, just watch the replay of his stellar heads-up play against the Royals Saturday, June 4.

With Kendrys Morales at the plate and the shift on, Lindor ranged to his left to field the ground ball up the middle and flipped the ball to Ramirez, who finished the play to get a key out in the ninth. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Even his own teammates were in awe of his instincts, as Josh Tomlin said after the game, via Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com.

“That’s unbelievable. That’s instincts,” said Josh Tomlin, who logged 6 1/3 strong innings. “That’s not something you learn or you teach or anything like that. It’s just the instincts that he has in the game. It’s unreal.”

“That’s unbelievable. That’s instincts,” said Josh Tomlin, who logged 6 1/3 strong innings. “That’s not something you learn or you teach or anything like that. It’s just the instincts that he has in the game. It’s unreal.”

And while it’s not an official stat, Lindor’s attitude and passion for the game add to his greatness. After making the great play against the Royals Saturday night, he gave the perfect response to the media.

”If I react the way I react when I make a play like that on a home run, people are going to think I’m hot-dogging it,” he said, via Yahoo! Sports. ”You’ve got to know your place. I love it when a pitcher makes a good pitch to get the guy out and I help him to make the play. It’s huge.”

Next: Indians Fear Michael Brantley Could Miss Significant Time

There’s no more doubt that Lindor is a great shortstop, but where does he rank among the top shortstops in the game?

Sound off in the comments and let us know where you think he should be ranked.