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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)
The Indians had a successful week, going 4-2 and keeping themselves on the outer edge of postseason contention, currently 4.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot. It was a week dominated by the team's offense, which hasn't been the norm this season, and this week's candidates don't include any pitchers.
The Candidates
Abraham Almonte
Almonte just continues to impress. He hit .400/.438/.600 last week, with a wRC+ of 191 in 16 PA. Thursday night against the Tigers he homered and stole a base. He stole another base during Sunday's first game, and also picked up a pair of hits. Despite playing in only four games, he scored a team-high five runs. All that and he continued to look good in center field.
Michael Brantley
Brantley hit .278/.316/.833 last week, with a wRC+ of 210 in 19 PA. He homered on Tuesday against the White Sox, but his big game was Thursday, when he hit a go-ahead home run in the 7th inning, and then (after the Tigers tied the game) hit another in the 8th. He drove in a team-high six runs for the week and just keeps being awesome.
Francisco Lindor
I keep thinking maybe I'm writing about Lindor too often, but he keeps coming up with more reasons to mention him. He hit .350/.381/.700 in 22 PA last week, good for a wRC+ of 195. He had three hits, including a triple and a home run, in Wednesday's victory, and drove in a pair of runs during Sunday's first game. He also continued to look great at shortstop.
Jose Ramirez
Ramirez hit .357/.400/.929 in 15 PA last week, with a wRC+ of 261. Slugging nearly 1.000... even in the small sample of one week, that's not something you really think you're going to see from Ramirez. He homered on Tuesday and Wednesday, doubling his 2015 HR total in the process. He also collected a pair of doubles during the Detroit series.
The Verdict
It's a tough week to call. Ramirez has the best offensive rate stats, but the least playing time. Brantley had the single best game, but provided probably the least help on defense. Lindor and Almonte both had very good weeks on offense and defense, and are pretty hard for me to separate. Lindor played a bit more though, meaning his success comes in a larger sample, and while I can't argue much with someone who chooses any of these four, I'm going with Lindor for the third time in five weeks. If the season ended right now, he probably wouldn't win the AL Rookie of the Year award, but he deserves it, having caught up to and passed everyone who might have been ahead of him a month ago.
Congratulations, Francisco!