The Cleveland Indians return home from a nine-game road trip that started out perfectly and ended with five one-run lo ses in a six-game stretch. The Tribe
Daniel Descalso Jersey is 10-12 after one month of play. Here are a few takeaways from the first 22 games.The offense is better, but not good enough. The Indians came into the new season with some new faces in the lineup to help improve their offensive output form a year ago.The addition of players like Rajai Davis, Mike Napoli and Juan Uribe as everyday players has seen itsups and downs. Rajai Davis has been decently productive at the top of the order when he's been given the opportunity to do so. Davis, who's much more effective against left handed pitching, also looks to have brought the team some speed on the base paths with his seven stolen bases thus far. Mike Napoli has hit some timely homeruns for the team but has shown a lack of consistency early on as he struck out 33 times in 78 April at-bats. He has brought some power to the lineup but has only 16 hits through the first month. Striking out two times as often as you get a hit isn't ideal for the teams cleanup hitter. As expected, Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor have been the most consistant hitters to begin the season.While theduo has been good, not great at the top of the lineup, when they get on base it's up to the guys behind them to get them home. Carlos Santana seems to have started to turn things around after a shaky first couple weeks of the season. Yan Gomes is still working to find an effective approach at the plate and Juan Uribe hasn't been the hitter the Indians were hoping for to begin the season. The biggest problem for the Tribe so far offensively is their inability to produce with runners in scoring postion.With Michael Brantley returning to the lineup, that production should start to increase in the coming weeks. With the first sizeable sample size of the season it is clear that the Indians offense is stronger than years prior. At the same time, early on the holes in the lineup seem to be as apparent as they've been in the past.The bullpen has been solid while giving up a few games late. For the most part the bullpen has done a solid job holding leads when they're handed over to them. It's when the game is tied or the Tribe is down late that the bullpen hasn't been at their best. The last few seasons, Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw have been automatic, lock down pitchers coming in at the end of games for the Indians. So far this season while the two have been very
Kerry Wood Jersey good at times, they have each had outings that they wish they could have back. Between the two of them they are 0-4 with an 8.24 ERA. Allen is seven for seven in save opportunities but has really struggled in non-save situations early this season, tallying three lo ses. Shaw has also been dominate in many of his appearances this season but has had a couple slip ups that has cost the team a couple games. Zach McAllister looks to have gotten comfortable coming out of the bullpen posting a 0.93 ERA in his 11 appearances so far. With Bryan Shaw's stuggles in the early going, McAllister has given Terry Francona another reliable option late in games. Joba Chamberlin and Jeff Manship have been decent suprises for the Indians so far by not giving up a run in fourteen innings of relief work between the two. With those five arms coming on after the starting rotation it looks like the bullpen will be in pretty good hands through the remainder of the season.Scroll to ContinueSome of the starting rotation has been as advertised while others have faltered. After Corey Kluber got off to a rocky start through his first three outings, the Tribe ace has settled into his own after two good starts on the teams most recent road trip. While Kluber's velocity still isn't at the point it's been at the past couple years, the righty seems to be figuring things out on the fly and once again looks like someone the Indians can count on when they give him the ball every fifth day. Carlos Carrasco got off to a fast start in his first three appearances, picking
Kyle Ryan Jersey up two wins in the proce s. Unfortunately, early in his start against the Detroit Tigers last weekend, Carrasco suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out of action for about another month for the Tribe. Danny Salazar has been the most consistent starter of the rotation in 2016. After Sunday's outing in Philadelphia, Salazar holds a 2.40 ERA in 30.0 innings to start the season. While he's been one of the hardest pitchers to hit in all of baseball early on, Salazar has had some command i sues as he's i sued more walks (15) than hitshe's allowed (14). Cody Anderson had a rough April giving up at least five runs in each of his three starts to begin the season. Anderson was recently optioned to AAA Columbus and with Trevor Bauer taking Carrasco's spot in the rotation momentarily, the Indians are going to have to figure out what to do going forward when it comes to a fifth starter. Do the recall Cody Anderson? They could bring up Mike Clevinger for a start to see what the kid can do at the next level. That decision will need to be made before Saturday's game against the
Justin Steele Jersey Kansas City Royals.The outfield has heldtheirown. Entering the 2016 campaign the outfield was a bit of a question mark. Micheal Brantley mi sed nearly all of April while rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgury. In his limited time back, Brantley is still looking to settle in at the plate. Rajai Davis has given the Indians what they envisioned when they signed the center fielder in the offseason. He's brought a spark to the lineup in the leadoff position and has contributed on the base paths as well. Tyler Naquin has carried over his strong play from spring training and aside from a few blunders in center field the rookie has filled in his role nicely. Naquin is hitting .333 and has two triples after the first month. He has been striking out quite a bit but that was something to be expected from a first year player. Marlon Byrd has brought another veteran bat to the lineup and while it took him a week or so to get going, it looks like he's
Baez El Mago Jersey found his stroke. He's not getting consistent at-bats but lately he's made the most of them. Lonnie Chisenhall has been spliting time in right with Bryd but has yet to find his timing at the plate since being activated from the 15-day DL. Jose Ramirez has also brought a spark to the lineup from a new position. The multi-talented Ramirez has been given the opportunity to gain more playing time in the outfield. The former infielder has made the most of his time in the outfield and has given the Tribe another option in a what seemed like a weak unit heading into 2016.There is too much talent on this roster for the small i sues to continue. The offense is bound to become more productive. All the strikeouts are begining to become alarming but it's something you wouldn't expect t
