Cleveland Indians Half-Point Grades: Infielders and Outfielders

Continuing on from the pitchers and catchers portion of the half-point grades, it's time to look at the infielders and outfielders.

This is probably the more interesting part of the team to grade and break down. They've been disappointing and with all the injuries and underachieving there are plenty of unsuspecting faces.

Infielders

Ryan Garko: C-

.242 AVG, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 30 R

I've been a big Ryan Garko supporter for the past few years. Like I've mentioned an endless number of times, I love the guys with smarts and spunk.

Ryan Garko has both to go along with a very strong bat.

However, his performance as an Indian so far is starting to resemble a better version of Ben Broussard.

You remember Broussard, the first baseman who couldn't seem to hit left handed pitchers worth a lick, and when he got hot, he got hot.

Garko isn't as inconsistent as Broussard was, and he certainly has better numbers than he did.

But, watching him do so well for a period of time and then scuffle is really frustrating.

Ryan has to put it all together and stop worrying about the pressure. He tries to do too much at times and that is why he gets in his funks. When he relaxes and just takes whatever they throw at him, he is a hit machine.

Then, his doubles start to come and he becomes an RBI machine.

Asdrubal Cabrera: D-

.184 AVG, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 16 R

There are two saving graces for Asdrubal and why he doesn't have an F for a grade.

The first is his defense. The guy will soon make us remember the good old days of that Omar guy that just left town a few days ago.

That type of defense will give you a pass with the stick, but a .184 average is totally unacceptable.

I know people say that he can give a .250 average and be fine. But, I know Asdrubal is capable of better and the proof is in his performance at Triple-A Buffalo since being sent down.

He can hit, he just needs to find himself at the big league level. That will come to him and we will see not just great defense, but a better than average hitter.

Jhonny Peralta: C+

.241 AVG, 11 HR, 32 RBI, 43 R

I'm considering a C+ very generous for Jhonny Peralta.

I'm not one that expects a ton from Jhonny. Eric Wedge for some reason does. For that, his grade is worse than it should be.

While I don't expect him to hit .300, I don' like seeing .241. Jhonny is going to get you 20 home runs and 80 RBI every year. To expect more in that aspect is insane and Eric Wedge is just that for thinking so.

I wouldn't mind moving Peralta in the off-season. But, I'm not ready to give up on him, especially since we don't know what we are doing at third base next year and our uncertaintiny with Josh Barfield.

Casey Blake: B

.281 AVG, 7 HR, 46 RBI, 37 R

You can say what you want about Casey Blake. But, his average has quietly grown to a decent .281 and he leads the team in RBI.

He certainly isn't supposed to lead the team in RBI, but to get that out of a guy who is supposed to be a bottom of the player is not bad at all.

Blake's value is as high as it will ever be, so shipping him off is probably the best move that could be made.

I don't have much to say about Casey. He's done a good job for the most part, and he's shouldered a lot the load when he really wasn't supposed to and for that you can't give him a bad grade.

Jamey Carroll: A

.297 AVG, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 29 R, 6 SB

One can't say enough about what little Jamey Carroll has done as the second base fill-in.

Carroll is a very useful guy to have as a utility player and Shapiro would be wise to pick up the option he has for 2009.

I've got nothing more to say about the guy, he's done a bang up job so far.

Travis Hafner: D

.217 AVG, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 34 R

I'm not going to rip on Hafner, I simply can't bring myself to do that.

Pronk is hurt and he has been hurt for most of the year. His shoulder needs to be healed before we can even think of seeing him back swinging the bat.

He'll have a chance to show the world he isn't a fluke this year. But, I fully believe that he needs to reinvent himself as a hitter. I'm not sure he will have that respect he gained in terms of teams shifting their infield. That could work in his favor.

They still might not pitch him inside like they did in his 40 home run years. With that, he must start to take what the pitchers give him and drive the ball the other way.

The Rest: Andy Marte, Josh Barfield, Michael Aubrey, Jorge Velandia

Jorge Velandia has played in exactly one game, but it makes you think seeing him on the roster. I laughed a few months ago when I went to a game against the Blue Jays and saw him playing for Toronto.

I believe I said something to the effect of: "Haha, Jorge Velandia. He has a real awkward looking scoreboard mug shot."

Michael Aubrey started the year out healthy and finally earned that big league call. He hit his first two career home runs and put himself on the radar with his options running out after this year.

Josh Barfield worked hard to get back to the big leagues. Then when he finally did make it back, he got hurt. Hopefully Josh gets back in here as soon as he can to give it another go.

Then of course, there is the most popular player of the bunch, Andy Marte.

The following is the most pathetic part about Andy Marte's season with the Indians so far.

He's played in 24 games and gotten exactly 51 at-bats. Jason Michaels, who was traded to Pittsburgh played in 21 games and had 58 at-bats with us.

Jason Michaels had 12 hits and nine runs batted in, while Andy Marte has seven hits and no runs batted in.

That's how much Andy Marte has played this year. I simply can't put him in his own category to grade because he hasn't had enough chances to be graded.

This problem needs to be solved by the trade deadline or there will be some serious issues with him for the rest of this year and going into 2009.

Outfielders

Grady Sizemore: B

.265 AVG, 18 HR, 44 RBI, 50 R, 18 SB

Grady Sizemore is second in the American League in home runs.

I don't know what that says about the American League or if Grady has just found his power stroke.

I think it's a little bit of both.

Sizemore has definitely hit the long balls this year, but he needs to get his average up for me to be completely satisfied.

Ben Francisco: A-

.287 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 26 R, 3 SB

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Ben Francisco is going to be a fixture in this outfield.

I don't know what you do to be honest. I could see a sort of shared spot between him and Franklin Gutierrez in right field if the Indians were to ever get a left fielder.

Ben certainly came on strong once he got called up. He's sort of fizzled, but he's consistent for the most part because his swing doesn't let him go into slumps.

I like Benny’s future with this team. All he does is hit and his defense is coming around. Shapiro was wise not to trade him for Octavio Dotel last Summer.

Franklin Gutierrez: D+

.227 AVG, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 24 R, 4 SB

The kid started off the year with a bang and he had me looking like a genius.

But, ever since his opening day grand slam, Gutierrez has just fallen off a cliff.

He lost his starting job to Shin-Soo Choo and he only plays against the left-handed pitchers.

I love Franklin's potential, but it's starting to look like he will be nothing more than a left-handed hitting fourth outfielder. If he gets it together he and Choo wouldn't be a bad platoon.

Shin-Soo Choo: B

.273 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 14 R

I'm really stuck with what to do with Shin-Soo Choo. I didn't really intend for that to rhyme either.

I think he's a decent player. However, Choo is a guy who doesn't really do anything great, but does a few things well.

He isn't a spectacular fielder by any means, but he isn't bad. I feel the same way about Choo that I'm starting to feel about Gutierrez. He might be nothing more than a platooning fourth outfielder.

David Dellucci: F

.216 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 23 R

We are better off cutting or trading him whenever Barfield, Hafner, or Martinez are ready to come back.

I'd rather hold on to Sal Fasano than David Dellucci to be honest. Fasano would probably be a better club house leader than Dellucci has been.

Considering that the only reason he is on this roster is for his veteran leadership, and he really isn't doing a Trot Nixon type job at it, I think we can let him go.

Where do we go from here?

We continue to play it out for a few more weeks. I think with the three top teams in the division coming up on the schedule, we will soon find out if this team is going to be in the race or not.

I believe they have enough talent to at least stay afloat until guys like Carmona and Martinez return. Yet, I don't think they will.

It's been a rough first half, with a record of 37-44 and tied for last place with Kansas City. Now, watching the Twins go on a 10-game win streak and seeing the Tigers reach the .500 mark, our hopes are fading fast.

I've got daily thoughts and ideas running through my head at what this team should do if they fall out of it. I will share those if it ever happens, but for now I think we have to watch intently as the next two weeks play out.

Click here to see the grades for the pitchers and catchers.