Touch ‘em All Time: The Lindor-Ramirez power race continues

Season results thus far:

• Week 1: Edwin Encarnacion v. Matt Bush
• Week 2: Francisco Lindor v. Sam Dyson
• Week 3: Jose Ramirez v. Justin Verlander
• Week 4: Edwin Encarnacion v. Mike Pelfrey

Welcome back to Touch ‘em All Time, our weekly look at the home runs of the Cleveland Indians. In last week’s poll, while I personally voted for Michael Brantley’s home run against Michael Ynoa, the people voted and awarded the honors to Edwin Encarnacion and his dinger against Mike Pelfrey. Congratulations, Edwin! And now for this week’s candidates!

Edwin Encarnacion (4/27/17 v. Mike Fiers, WPA .108)

It’s been said ad nauseam on this site and others that Edwin Encarnacion is a notoriously slow starter. His slash line for the past month was a lowly .200/.343/.353. As the calendar turns to May, many are hoping that Edwin can heat up and start driving the ball with authority. Last week against Mike Fiers and the Houston Astros, we got a glimpse of what Encarnacion can do as he lined a bullet over the wall in left.

Abraham Almonte (4/27/17 v. Mike Fiers, WPA .127)

Abraham Almonte, on the other hand, has been off to a great start this season, slashing .298/.420/.439 in the first month of the season. It took him until the 21st game of the season, but Almonte finally got his first home run with an absolute moonshot to the bullpen in right field to make it a one run game.

Francisco Lindor (4/27/17 v. Chris Devenski, WPA .445)

Who else but Francisco Lindor would give the Tribe the lead with a late inning home run? At this point, Lindor doing amazing things should surprise no one. With the Tribe down a run in the bottom of the seventh, Lindor golfed a pitch from elite reliever Chris Devenski over the bullpen in right to give Cleveland a lead that they would not relinquish.

Jose Ramirez (4/28/17 v. Ariel Miranda, WPA .116)

The two-headed hydra that is Lindoramirez seems to always operate in pairs; whenever one half does something incredible, the other is sure to follow. Last week was no different when, on the day after Francisco Lindor hit his sixth home run of the year, Ramirez floated his sixth home run of the season to the bleachers in left. This one took an official review to confirm, but at the end of the day, it was touch ‘em all time for Jose Ramirez.

Francisco Lindor (4/30/17 v. Chris De Jong, WPA .100)

Not to be outdone by his partner, Francisco Lindor decided that he had to reclaim the sole home run lead for the Cleveland Indians after Jose Ramirez matched him two days prior. Before the wacky third inning where the Indians scored eight runs, Lindor wrapped his seventh home run of the season around the foul pole in right to give the Indians an early 1-0 lead.

Michael Brantley (4/30/17 v. Casey Fien, WPA .027)

We’re getting better here, Twitter. Sure, you don’t have a video of Brantley’s home run by itself, but at least it exists this time within this compilation video. The third inning of this game against the Mariners was extended by some questionable defensive plays on Seattle’s end. This allowed Cleveland to send eleven men to the plate, and the scoring was capped by Michael Brantley’s two run shot to right field.

Verdict

I’m starting to see a pattern here. Thus far, our winners each week have been Encarnacion, Lindor, Ramirez, and then Encarnacion again. This week’s victor seems like a clear cut victory to me. Lindor’s home run against Chris Devenski was electric. Not only did it come off of an incredible relief pitcher, but it also shifted the momentum of the game in Cleveland’s favor. With the lead now intact, Tito was able to deploy his Shaw/Allen combo in the final two innings to lock down the victory. Without Lindor’s home run, this game may not have been a victory for Cleveland. So for that, congratulations Francisco!

P.S. My money is on Jose Ramirez to be victorious in next week’s poll.