Cleveland Indians: Fixing the Batting Order by Moving Grady Sizemore Down

Since the calendar changed to June, the Indians have struggled to an 8-13 record and a pitiful 3.4 runs scored per game.

This power outage has been one of the main culprits of the Tribe's division lead shrinking from five games to one. 

While the batting order only has a marginal effect on a team's offense, I think reordering would help the Indians in the short-term.

The main issue I have is with Grady Sizemore in the leadoff spot. He isn't all the way back from microfracture surgery yet and is hurting the team by hitting first.

From 2005-2009, Sizemore's lowest on-base percentage was .343, not bad for a leadoff hitter.

This year, Grady's on-base percentage is .308, below the major league average. There's no good reason to keep Sizemore hitting first in the order and moving him down would allow other pieces to fit together beautifully. 

1. Michael Brantley, LF

2011 Stats: 5 HR, 28 RBI, 9 SB, 41:27 SO:BB, .274/.338/.396 slash line, .734 OPS (108 OPS+), 1.3 oWAR

Before Grady Sizemore was activated from the DL (both at the beginning of the season and in May), Michael Brantley was a more than adequate leadoff hitter.

He owns the fourth-best OBP on the team, has great speed and has had some surprising pop. Brantley, not Sizemore, is the best choice for leadoff hitter for the Cleveland Indians. 

2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS

2011 Stats: 12 HR, 43 RBI, 12 SB, 51:17 SO:BB, .296/.345/.498 slash line, .843 OPS (137 OPS+), 3.0 oWAR

There's no doubt that Asdrubal Cabrera has been the best player on the Indians this year. But as opposed to hitting him third (traditionally where the best player hits), I'd rather see him hitting second.

This not only would get him more plate appearances, but it also gives him more of an opportunity to use his speed. Since Asdrubal is first on the team in steals as well as homers, I don't want to see his speed stifled by moving him down toward the meat of the lineup.

If Asdrubal wants to continue his breakout offensive season, he'll need to strike out less (and walk more).

It's been a great start for him; as long as he makes the necessary adjustments, it can continue throughout the rest of this year and beyond.  

3. Carlos Santana, 1B

2011 Stats: 10 HR, 31 RBI, 3 SB, 52:49 SO:BB, .232/.360/.414 slash line, .773 OPS (119 OPS+), 1.9 oWAR

Take out Santana's batting average and tell me how Santana's stats look.

Pretty good right?

He walks a ton, gets on base and has 10 home runs.

Santana owns the second best oWAR (behind Asdrubal Cabrera) on the Indians and has produced this year, no matter what people think.

Carlos Santana absolutely deserves to be hitting in the third spot in the lineup where he can best help break our offensive slump. 

4. Travis Hafner, DH

2011 Stats: 7 HR, 29 RBI, 0 SB, 30:16 SO:BB, .338/.412/.569 slash line, .981 OPS (176 OPS+), 1.4 oWAR

As if anyone else should be hitting cleanup for the Tribe.

Travis Hafner has looked good when healthy this year and is hitting well. As long as he's healthy, he should be hitting here.

Just look at the stats—this one's a no-brainer.  

5. Shin-Soo Choo, RF

2011 Stats: 5 HR, 28 RBI, 11 SB, 65:31 SO:BB, .245/.332/.355 slash line, .687 OPS (96 OPS+), 0.8 oWAR

It hasn't been a banner year for Shin-Soo Choo, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been doing an adequate job on offense.

His OPS is slightly below average and his OBP is slightly above average. If Choo could limit his strikeouts and get his SLG up (his previous full-season low was .484), he'd be right back to the Shin-Soo Choo of old.

He's been very consistent from 2008-2010, so I still believe that we'll see Choo regain his form this year.

6. Grady Sizemore, CF

2011 Stats: 7 HR, 20 RBI, 0 SB, 54:12 SO:BB, .235/.308/.470 slash line, .778 OPS (118 OPS+), 0.8 oWAR

Grady Sizemore looks good on the surface, but let's dig a little deeper.

The SO:BB ratio is horrendous, the OBP is too low and he has no stolen bases this year.

The hard truth is that Grady's not all the way back from microfracture surgery yet.

As he continues to recover, the Tribe would be best served hitting him lower, especially when Michael Brantley is such a natural fit at the top of the order.

7. Jack Hannahan, 3B

2011 Stats: 5 HR, 19 RBI, 2 SB, 50:27 SO:BB, .218/.310/.342 slash line, .652 OPS (85 OPS+), 0.5 oWAR

Hannahan's 2011 season started off great, but his offense has faded as the weather has warmed up.

With the Tribe's offense still slumping, why don't we try splitting the third base job between Hannahan and Lonnie Chisenhall? Check out these splits:

Chisenhall (vs. righties): 3 HR, 26 RBI, 30:20 SO:BB, .293/.385/.449 slash line, .835 OPS

Hannahan (vs. lefties): 2 HR, 8 RBI, 15:8 SO:BB, .300/.397/.500 slash line, .897 OPS

Seems simple enough for me. Which means it'll never happen. Nothing can happen easily for Cleveland. 

8. Cord Phelps, 2B

2011 Stats: 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB, 8:4 SO:BB, .212/.297/.394 slash line, .691 OPS (95 OPS+), 0.1 oWAR

Cord Phelps hasn't been bad since his recent callup, but just indulge my Jason Kipnis man-crush for a second:

Kipnis (At AAA): 8 HR, 42 RBI, 10 SB, 49:33 SO:BB, .291/.372/.496 slash line, .869 OPS, .327 BABIP

Phelps (At AAA): 7 HR, 40 RBI, 2 SB, 55:33 SO:BB, .299/.391/.488 slash line, .879 OPS, .368 BABIP

So they're basically the same (Kipnis has more speed, Phelps a slightly higher OBP, practically equal OPS), but Phelps was luckier at AAA. 

I'd love to see Kipnis (who was just named to the U.S. Futures team, by the way) called up soon, but until that happens, I'd hit Cord Phelps eighth. 

9. Lou Marson, C

2011 Stats: 0 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB, 18:5 SO:BB, .235/.276/.321 slash line, .597 OPS (69 OPS+), -0.1 oWAR

As if I need to tell you those stats are horrible.

Lou Marson is a great defensive catcher, but he should only be a backup.

But with Matt LaPorta on the shelf and the current roster the constructed the way it is, it only makes sense to move Carlos Santana to first and let Marson catch.

However, what if the Indians called up Nick Johnson?

Johnson has never been able to stay healthy long, but we'd only need him to cover first base for a few weeks until LaPorta returns.

Sure, his minor league stats this year don't look great (.233/.353/.256 slash line, .609 OPS), but he owns a career .401 OBP.

At this point, anything would be better than Marson's offense.

If the Indians continue to tweak the things that aren't working, they could easily take the AL Central this year. It's within our reach.

The key is to not get complacent.

Making these changes to the lineup, in my opinion, give the Tribe the best chance to win now and in the future.