While Carlos Santana certainly has not been the player Cleveland though he would be when he made his debut as a catcher in 2010, he has been the receiver of a lot of unfair criticism. He may not have traditional stat line of a player that jumps out at you, but it is in the lesser considered stat lines that his true value comes out. While his .231 batting average over the past two seasons wouldn't reflect it, Santana is one of the smartest hitters in baseball that can beat you in a number of ways. While yes, he is an inconsistent player, what he can do is consistently play in 150+ games, consistently draw as many walks as players like Joey Votto (539 career walks,resulting in a .365 on base percentage), provide a decent power threat (Career high 27 HR in 2011 and 2014, career low 18 in 2012), and has quietly become one of the games better clutch hitters (.261 with 68 RBI with runners in scoring position last season). However, what people like to jump on with Santana is the poor defense, the inconsistency, the low average, etc. and often fail to realize that he has been the one true power hitter in Cleveland throughout his career, and has been asked to do the majority of the heavy lifting in a sub-par Cleveland lineup. The truth is he is the kind of player that can carry an offense, but the kind of guy who compliments a solid lineup very nicely and that is when his best production will show. The pressure of being the player to carry the offense when you're not that type of player along with pitchers ability to pitch around you and let you take the walk rather than hit a homerun can really zap your offensive numbers. In 2014, Santana was 1st in all of baseball in walks (113) yet he was tied for 82nd in runs scored with 68, followed by 2015 where he was 5th in walks (108) and tied for 75th in runs scored (72). These numbers point to pitchers taking advantage of a weak lineup behind a guy they know can hurt them with his bat, and allowing him to walk and get stranded on the bases.
This Winter, Cleveland did not necessarily make the big move to improve their lineup that everybody was thinking they would, but they quietly did an incredible job of improving their lineup. Cleveland added veterans Mike Napoli, Juan Uribe, Marlon Byrd, and Rajai Davis, players like Kipnis and Brantley turning into stars, Lindor on the rise, and the expected bounceback from catcher Yan Gomes all make the Indians lineup a very deep one. While it may not be the most dangerous lineup out there, it is a much deeper lineup than we have seen in Cleveland in a long time. The lineup depth will help Sanatana see more good pitches to hit as pitchers start to consider the other hitters around him more, and that could lead to a jump in production. With Napoli and Byrd around, Santana also does not have to worry about being the teams big slugging cleanup hitter as much anymore. As if the relieved pressure on Carlos isn't already enough to point towards a better season, he worked out with Miguel Cabrera all winter, the best hitter on the planet. While working out with a star doesn't make you one, you have to think he picked up something that will help him out along the way. While often criticized by Cleveland fans, Santana has the potential to really change the way Cleveland fans view him in 2016, and maybe, just maybe, finally reach that 30 HR plateau.
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