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While outfielder Marlon Byrd wasn’t exactly a core player for the Cleveland Indians, losing him to a PED suspension this week was still quite a blow. At 38 years of age, the five home runs and 19 RBIs he contributed to the team were really seen as a bonus more than anything, as was his ability to platoon in the outfield while Michael Brantley was on the DL. Since Byrd won’t be suiting up again for the Indians and Brantley is still recovering from shoulder inflammation, the team was suddenly shallow in the outfield.
Unsurprisingly, Cleveland called on Tyler Naquin, who’s made the trip back and forth from the minors a few times already this season. However, based on the early returns, he might not be heading back down to Triple A anytime soon. Naquin has been on a tear this weekend and, with Byrd out of the picture, he might become a slightly more permanent member of the Tribe.
For what it’s worth, Naquin had been impressing a little bit during his first stint with the team earlier this year. An outstanding Spring Training earned him an Opening Day roster spot, and he continued to hit the ball well to start the season. In fact, his batting average has been .300 or above dating all the way back to April 13.
As you can see, there was certainly a reason for fans to be confused when someone with that stat-line continued getting sent back down or scratched due to pitching matchups. Naquin’s latest hiatus lasted from May 17 until this past Thursday, and you couldn’t help but wonder what he needed to do to get back to the majors.
Digging deeper, part of the reason for his send-downs was the amount of impact his hits were making, or lack thereof. Sure, he was getting on base a ton. Still, before returning this weekend he had 20 hits on the year, only four of which went for extra bases. He also only had two RBIs to his name.
So, while he was getting plenty of hits, they just weren’t the kind that made you think he was untouchable when it came to roster moves.
If the lack of impact hits is indeed why Naquin kept getting sent back to the minors, he certainly took the steps necessary to fix it in a hurry. The Kansas City Royals can’t wait to escape from this four-game set with the Indians, and he’s a big reason why.
Naquin has spent the past four days owning Royals pitchers. Over this weekend, Naquin has gone five-for-ten against Kansas City. Of those five hits, three of which left the stadium. Counting today, Naquin has homered in three straight games, helping him more than double his RBI tally for the season.
Overall, he’s looked like a completely different player. Naquin is seeing the ball just as well as he had earlier in the season, only now he’s doing more than just hitting dribbling singles. He also seems much more comfortable at the plate, perhaps due to no longer having to fight for his job as much as he did early on when the Indians had plenty of outfielders at their disposal.
Now, it could easily be chalked up as a hot streak against a specific team’s pitching. We saw the same from outfielder Rajai Davis last month when he destroyed the Cincinnati Reds for four straight games before coming back down to earth.
Still, Naquin has earned himself the chance to prove his worth. The Indians have to love what they’re seeing from him this series, and his impressive weekend should certainly help to extend his stay in Cleveland.
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