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Each week I select someone as the Cleveland Indians' top player of the previous week. Then, because this is a dictatorship, but not a totalitarian one, I let you all have your say as well. Some weeks it's a no-brainer, while other weeks there are multiple guys with a strong case. (Occasionally there are weeks when no one has a strong case.)
Previous winners:
- April 6-12: Carlos Santana (my choice, and by a single vote, winner of the voting)
- April 13-19: Corey Kluber
- April 20-26: Brandon Moss (my choice), Michael Brantley (reader vote)
- April 27-May 3: Jason Kipnis (with 91% of the vote)
- May 4-10: Danny Salazar (my choice), Jason Kipnis (reader vote)
- May 11-17: Corey Kluber (my choice, and by a single vote, winner of the voting)
- May 18-24: Corey Kluber
- May 25-31: Jason Kipnis
- June 1-7: Brandon Moss
- June 8-14: Shaun Marcum
- June 15-21: Jason Kipnis
- June 22-28: Roberto Perez
- June 29-July 5: Carlos Carrasco (my choice), Cody Anderson (reader vote)
- July 6-12: Carlos Santana
- July 13-19: Michael Brantley
- July 20-26: Michael Brantley
- July 27-August 2: Lonnie Chisenhall
- August 3-9: Michael Brantley (my choice), Abraham Almonte (reader vote)
- August 10-16: Francisco Lindor
- August 17-23: Lonnie Chisenhall
- August 24-30: Francisco Lindor
- August 31-September 6: Cody Anderson (my choice), Josh Tomlin (reader vote)
- September 7-13: Francisco Lindor
- September 14-20: Francisco Lindor
- September 21-27: Carlos Carrasco
The Indians finished the season on a high note, sweeping Boston to finish with a winning record for the third season in a row. It's not an easy week to single out one player for, but the choices include a couple guys expected to lead the team, and a couple of guys who've done much more than expected.
The Candidates
Abraham Almonte
Almonte hit .348/.400/.435 in 25 plate appearances last week, with a wRC+ of 135, tops on the team among the guy who batted at least a dozen times. His big game was the second one from Wednesday's doubleheader, when Almonte had three hits, including a pair of doubles.
Corey Kluber
Kluber gave up three runs in his first inning of work last week, against the Twins on Monday. He was coming off a couple bad starts, and I wondered if maybe they should just let him call it a season. He recovered instead, allowing only one additional run in another five innings that game, then came out on Saturday and pitched eight shutout innings, with nine strikeouts, giving him a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings on the week.
Francisco Lindor
Lindor hit .222/.300/.481 in a team-high 30 plate appearances, with a wRC+ of 114. That's far from his best batting line of the season, but he homered twice, giving him a dozen long balls on the year, and also stole three bases, giving him a dozen of those as well. Additionally, he played more of the top-notch defense I hope we never take for granted.
Roberto Perez
Perez only appeared in two games last week, but he made them count. He had two hits, including a home run, in Thursday's game against the Twins, and in Sunday's season finale he doubled and scored the game-tying run after the Tribe fell behind early. His line for the week was .429/.429/1.000.
The Verdict
I find myself drawn to the two stars, Kluber and Lindor, but it's a very tough call from there. If you eliminate Kluber's 1st inning from Monday, he's the easy choice. If you add a couple hits to Lindor's line, he's the easy choice. Lindor won four of the previous six weeks, and has certainly been the team's best player since he was called up. It's tempting to give him one more... but I think Kluber's final masterpiece of the season is enough to push him over the top for me,