Cleveland Indians Player of the Week: April 3 - April 8

The cheap thrills of Opening Day are gone — we are officially in the baseball grind. In this abbreviated first week of the season, the Cleveland Indians were showered with outstanding performances offensively, even if the pitching was lacking, to say the least.

Look, I know most of you already skipped these words and slamed that Lindor button, as you probably should, but this post takes some time to put together and this is my first time taking over Player of the Week duties from Jason. I’d like you to at least humor the other selections and pretend like the information I’m giving you is leading to an informed decision.

Now, let’s get on to it.

Francisco Lindor: 6-19, 1 2B, 3 HR, 5 BB

Honestly, what more could you want out of a player than Francisco Lindor? And I mean that in both in what he did this last week, and as a player in general. Lindor hit home runs in three straights at-bats in this first week of the season, including one of the most exciting April home runs in the history of April home runs. He did have an uncharacteristic error, but other than that his defense has been as stellar as always.

Carlos Santana: 7-21, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB

With Edwin Encarnacion manning first base and the National League still playing baseball in the stone age, Carlos Santana has gotten some playing time in right field this weekend. He was fine there for the most part, only missing one diving catch that even a seasoned outfielder would find difficult. Offensively his bat has been stellar. He led all Indians in hits last week.

Jose Ramirez: 4-18, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB

Jose Ramirez’s weekly stat line doesn’t look all that impressive on the surface, but it’s the clutchitutde that makes him worthy of making this list. He batted in five runs over the last week, including a couple two-out RBI that made us fall in love with him last year.

Andrew Miller: 2.0 IP, 2 SO, 0 ER, 0 H

One of Andrew Miller’s relief appearances lasted approximately 60 seconds when he mowed down the Texas Rangers late in the second game of the season. His slider is still a national treasure.

Corey Kluber: 6.0 IP, 6 SO

The Indians starters... haven’t been great so far. Corey Kluber is no exception, but at least he sat down 10-straight batters while battling a blister on his throwing hand. And he still managed to pitch well enough for the Indians to get a win. If that counts for something for you, maybe he’ll still a vote or two away from Lindor. I kind of doubt it, though.