Left Field
This is one of the most interesting positional matchups between the two teams. One on side, there’s emerging star Andrew Benintendi, a true center fielder who has been pushed to left given the ability of his fellow outfield teammates. And on the other is Michael Brantley, a breakout star who barely played in 2016 due to several shoulder injuries.
Benintendi made his big league debut in 2016 for the Red Sox, just 13 months after he was drafted seventh overall. His meteoric ascent throughout the minors is nearly unprecedented except for MLB’s biggest stars, and it wasn’t without reason. At 21 years old, he simply destroyed the minor leagues to the tune of a .312/.392/.540 slash line.
The youngster showed quick transition to the majors, slashing .295/.359/.476 with the Red Sox over 34 games. Even the postseason couldn’t faze Benintendi; he started all three games and went 3-for-9 with a double and a home run.
His quick maturity and poise is what leads scouts to believe that Benintendi won’t fall victim to the infamous “sophomore slump” – a steep regression that many second-year players endure when opposing pitching begins to adjust to their tendencies. It’s also the reason that Dombrowski chose to deal super-prospect Yoan Moncada to the White Sox in the Sale deal while keeping Benintendi untouchable.
It’s probably reasonable to expect some regression from the now-22-year old’s stellar 2016 line, but it’s a safe prediction to say that he will be an above-average left fielder for next year.
The Indians have far more uncertainty at their left field spot. Of course, they would love to be able to pencil in a healthy Brantley in for 162 games, but that seems unlikely. The 29-year old managed just 11 games in 2016 resulting from shoulder and bicep injuries that he sustained when diving for a fly ball on Sept. 22, 2015. That November, he went under the knife to repair a torn labrum before undergoing several more related surgeries. Now the Indians are hopeful that Brantley will have finally recovered by Spring Training, but are willing to wait an extra month to be safe.
All in all, the team is confident that Brantley will return to major league action by the start of the 2017 regular season, but even if that comes to fruition, the question remains whether he can stay healthy. The injuries he sustained have been lingering for over a year now, and it may be too soon to assume that it will all go away.
If he does manage to stay on the field, Brantley’s value is unquestionable. Adding yet another dangerous bat to an already-dangerous Cleveland lineup, he would likely slot in the third spot in between Francisco Lindor and Edwin Encarnacion, creating a fearsome trio of alternating handedness that opposing managers can’t pitch around.
To quantify Brantley’s value to the Indians, he posted a combined 10.2 WAR between 2014 and 2015 over 293 games. He hit 90 doubles in that span and 35 home runs to go along with a .319/.382/.494 line. Perhaps most impressively, Brantley drew 112 walks and struck out just 107 times, joining an elite group of hitters who walk more often than strike out.
Overall, this is a difficult race to judge. The Indians have both the highest ceiling and the lowest floor, depending on Brantley’s 2017 durability. If he gets hurt, Benintendi likely is the more productive left fielder, but if he’s healthy, Brantley is. Thus, left field is declared a tie.
Advantage: Tie