Inside the Numbers: Indians lineup could be strong in 2012

The Indians acquisition of Casey Kotchman gives an answer (unsatisfactory to some) to the off-season-long question: Who’s on first?

But what does this move spell out for the rest of the roster? Presumably, Kotchman will be given the chance to play 1B on an everyday basis and Matt LaPorta (proud owner of one remaining option) will be asked to compete in Columbus for ABs (Mills and Canzler will be part of that curious logjam, too).

Let’s assume that Casey Kotchman is two things: (A): Good enough to stay at 1B, and (B): Healthy enough to play around 130 games given (A).

Now that we have the disclaimers out of the way, let’s move on to the fun part: what will the Indians roster actually look like? (Note: using wOBA which takes into account both OBP and SLG but doesn’t overweight SLG like OPS and accounts for all offensive actions appropriately (i.e. a 1B is worth more than a walk because runners can advance more than one base, and reaching base on an error does have some offensive value, etc. please go here for a more complete explanation)

*Projections are based on average of ZIPS, Marcel and Bill James projections at www.fangraphs.com

All things considered, this is a pretty darn good lineup. After adjusting for approximately 35% of PA’s going to replacement level players and other back-ups, the team could accumulate a wOBA of around .326. In 2011, this would have placed them 7th overall in MLB (ahead of the Royals, behind the Cardinals, Brewers, Tigers, Yankees, Rangers and Red Sox). Furthermore, when we look at the projections going into 2012, we can be somewhat optimistic of getting close to a repeat aggregate performance.

However, there are a few big things to temper our optimism:

1. Bounce back seasons are being counted on by Sizemore, Choo and Santana (Santana had abnormal K% and low AVG).
2. Kotchman (career-year) and Kipnis are expected to perform at last-year’s levels. It is likely that Kotchman will regress.
3. Youth: Kipnis, Santana, Brantley are unknowns and could just flat-out struggle, more likely for Kipnis, less so for Santana and Brantley who have longer track records.
4. Old Age/Health/Regression: Hafner, Sizemore, and Choo are either old or injury-prone or both. It is unlikely all remain healthy and productive for 400-500 PA each.

There are a couple reasons to have a positive outlook as well:

1. Prospects: Chisenhall and Brantley could easily outperform their projections (.312 and .315 resepctively).
2. Sizemore is still relatively young (29) and if he actually is healthy, could exceed the projections which naturally hedge for injury and deterioration. He seems tobe boom/bust: if he is healthy he will perform at a high-level most of the season, and if not: more of 2010 and 2011.

The overall team has some reason for optimism and, as an aggregate unit, the Indians have an outside shot at getting a bunch of breaks (health and prospect maturation) to compete with the Tigers.

Up next, I’ll take a look at possible lineup construction and how an under appreciated player could be a very valuable piece if used correctly.