Where does Rajai Davis rank among AL Central center fielders?

Heading into this offseason, the Tribe was likely going to give Abraham Almonte his shot at playing every day. But that plan has been suspended.

By talonk Mar 2, 2016, 1:29pm EST

Will Rajai Davis be the Tribe center fielder in 2016?

With the 80-game suspension of Abraham Almonte last week, the Tribe has been left with no significant option to patrol the heart of the outfield, center field. As it was, even if Almonte had the job, the Indians were going to have a tough time out projecting the rest of their rivals. Let's do one more tour of the AL Central.

Cleveland Indians

I have left what Almonte's original projections were slated to be below. But, obviously, that will not come to fruition. There is also a better than 50 percent chance that Almonte never reclaims this position. Right now, the MLB depth chart has Brantley penciled in as the starter here. That is no real surprise as he has played there often (356 games) in his career. But coming off that injury, I hope, dare say pray, that Tito Francona does not decide to make him the everyday center fielder this season.

According to MLB.com, Collin Cowgill is next in line, but I would rather pencil in Rajai Davis as the likely candidate, especially since he has a major league contract, and Tyler Naquin still has options. Naquin also has just 218 PAs in Triple-A so far, so it 's likely he opens at Columbus. The dark horse here is non-roster invite Will Venable.

Obviously, the jewel of the system is the hugely hyped Bradley Zimmer. Even though Clint Frazier is also a center fielder, I think Zimmer keeps this spot going forward. He is the No. 1 Indian prospect on MLB Pipeline, and #26 overall. He only has a half season at Double-A so far, so it is not likely he gets to Cleveland until 2017.

Abraham Almonte
(original)	PA	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	WAR
Steamer	343	6	247	308	371	297	87	0.8
ZIPS	533	10	247	307	384	307		1.0
Marcel	351	8	252	307	403
Rajai Davis
	PA	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	WAR
Steamer	354	5	249	295	378	294	84	0.6
ZIPS	389	7	258	302	402	305	92	1.6
Marcel	400	9	260	306	403

Chicago White Sox

Acquired in a three-team deal prior to the 2014 season, Adam Eaton has played very well for the White Sox. They thought enough of his performance in 2014 to buy out his arbitration years, signing him to a 5 year, $23.5 million deal through 2019 and two team options. He is also entering his "prime" age 27 season. As with left field, he will likely be backed up by J.B. Shuck and Jerry Sands.

The top prospect in the system is Adam Engel, who is No. 4 according to MLB Pipeline for the White Sox. He hit .251/.335/.369 in High-A ball last year.

Adam Eaton
	PA	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	WAR
Steamer	640	10	272	343	395	324	103	1.9
ZIPS	669	9	277	352	400	331	108	2.8
Marcel	598	9	284	351	413

Detroit Tigers

Cameron Maybin arrived this offseason as the Atlanta Braves continued their salary purge. Originally a first-round draft pick of the Tigers, he was dealt in the Miguel Cabrera deal. But while with both the Marlins and Padres, Maybin did not quite produce per that high pedigree. He did manage two 3.0 bWAR seasons in 20111 and 2012 but has been barely replacement level the past three years. This is his final year on his contract, but the Tigers do have a $9 million team option on him next year. Anthony Gose and Tyler Collins are the primary backups.

The top prospect in the system is Derek Hill (#3 Tiger by MLB Pipeline) who hit .238/.305/.314 in Single-A.

Cameron Maybin
	PA	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	WAR
Steamer	431	7	263	322	382	308	93	1.0
ZIPS	405	7	261	317	375	303	89	0.6
Marcel	505	9	255	314	368

Kansas City Royals

Lorenzo Cain just happened to be one of the targets by Mark Shapiro when C.C. Sabathia was dealt to Milwaukee, but the Royals ended up nabbing him for Zack Greinke instead. He has always been pretty steady with the glove, but last year the bat came alive and Cain finished with a 7.2 bWAR and finished third in the MVP voting. Cain signed a two-year deal for $17.5 million this spring, avoiding arbitration. Jarrod Dyson and Paulo Orlando are the backups.

Bubba Starling played in High-A and Double-A last year, posting a .269/.337/.448 line, making him No. 7 on the Royals MLB Pipeline list. So he should be ready when Cain leaves.

Lorenzo Cain
	PA	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	WAR
Steamer	585	11	283	334	417	325	104	3.9
ZIPS	549	9	284	332	416	323	103	3.6
Marcel	552	11	287	338	430

Minnesota Twins

Byron Buxton was the second overall pick in the 2012 draft. The scouting community loves this kid's tools and that has him being a Top 10 overall prospect for the fourth year in a row, but injuries have derailed him the past two years. He had just 137 PA in 2014 and 292 PA in 2015 in the minors. He did make his debut with the Twins in 2015, though, getting another 138 PA there. He is still just 22 years old.

Buxton is the Twins No. 1 prospect (again), and No. 1 overall by MLB's Pipeline. I won't look any further for another prospect.

Byron Buxton
	PA	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	fWAR
Steamer	469	10	258	308	398	307	92	1.3
ZIPS	408	9	266	310	405	311	94	2.8
Marcel	269	6	244	300	386

My take

Interestingly enough, the projections really prefer Rajai Davis over Almonte, so it could be a blessing that he got suspended. Cain is probably the top guy here, but I doubt he replicates 2015. Buxton has the tools to be the top guy, but I think he takes at least a year to figure it out, or at least a half season this year. Eaton is a bit underrated to me as well.

I'd rank them as follows: