Cleveland Indians: Several Indians Players Pass the Eye Test

A recent ESPN.com article broke down players who stand out as the best in the game without looking at stats, and several Cleveland Indians made the list.

Out of all professional sports, the game of baseball is the most obsessed with statistics. It is a game that involves so many stats, allowing front office executives to break down player value based on different metrics.

The Cleveland Indians are a team that has embraced the world of analytics, allowing the franchise to build a great team and reach the World Series last season.

For fun, Sam Miller of ESPN.com wrote a piece in which he asked several MLB insiders who they would take in a fantasy draft if stats were not kept. So essentially, who these people would take if it was just based on the eye test.

After Miller spoke with those involved with the article, he offered up a list of 24 players who were mentioned at least once. And to the surprise of no one in Cleveland, Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor, and Jose Ramirez all made the list.

Now this list is not an exact science, and some of these anonymous “insiders” could be involved with the Indians, but none of those three names is a shock to any Indians fan.

Related: 3 Spring Training Invitees Who Could Make the Team

Lindor makes this list easily because of how high his stock rose in 2016 thanks to his defense. Then there is Ramirez, who was the team’s best hitter all season. And then there is Kipnis, who, based on just the eye test, looks the part of a professional baseball player.

This list is flawed in the sense where stats are already so ingrained in one’s mind it is hard to ignore them. However, there is an overlap between talent and this list.

The key when scouting, or making trades or signing free agents, is to not solely focus on just stats or to completely disregard them altogether and go strictly on the eye test. Both go hand-in-hand, with statistics serving as mathematical proof of one’s opinion of a specific player. Stats also allow players who may get overlooked because of their size or athleticism to prove they are worthy of being considered worthy of a roster spot.

Next: Bullpen Takes Pressure Off the Starters

The Indians spent a great deal of time scouting and building this current team, so it is nice to see some national recognition for the talent on the roster. And while statistics are a major part of the game, Kipnis, Lindor, and Ramirez all proved that they did enough to leave lasting impressions when people think of great baseball players.