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This post is part of a series allowing the LGT community to weigh in with their predictions for projected starters and key bench players for the 2016 season. As usual, there will be two separate contests, one for hitters and one for pitchers. Following last year's scoring model, the points system will work relative to the stats - the closer to final number in each category, the more points you can earn, despite what other participants predict. You need not submit predictions for every single player in order to win, but doing so will increase your chances to win.
For position players, you'll be asked to predict each player's plate appearances (PA), home runs (HR), stolen bases (SB), batting average (AVG), on-base percentage (OBP), and slugging percentage (SLG).
Comments for each post will remain active until the night of Sunday, April 3rd, 2015.
Michael Brantley
The good Doctor didn't duplicate 2014's performance, but he still put together a 2015 campaign that no Indians fan should be complaining about. His skill set largely continued to progress how you might have expected, more walks, fewer strikeouts, even though the end result wasn't as valuable as '14. His BABIP fell back down again which seems like a positive indicator that even with some luck stripped away, Michael Brantley is for real.
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Courtesy of FanGraphs
My Prediction
The only major concern I have with Brantley is what percentage of full strength he'll be operating on when he starts his first game this year. It seems like it's even a possibility that he opens the season with the rest of the team, but I hope Francona and the rest of the staff aren't afraid to hold off a week or two if it feels right.
Last year Michael took his otherworldly ability to make contact and decided to couple it with an improved batting eye. The powers numbers fell a bit and the BABIP regressed, but all showing that, really, duplicating 2015 shouldn't be too hard for him. But that won't be good enough, he's going to be hungry for 2014.
PA: 610
HR: 16
SB: 13
AVG: .319
OBP: .390
SLG: .491
Your Turn
You can just totally make up random numbers but if you'd rather a more statistically accurate approach, you can use these calculators to help you get there:
To submit your entry, simply copy and paste the text below into a new comment and fill in your predictions!
PA:
HR:
SB:
AVG:
OBP:
SLG: