this is the second part of Michael Brantley's rehab information. it contains Michael's numbers and statistics from his rehab game appearances, spanning from March 17 - April 23, 2016, as well as what my expectations are for him for the 2016 regular season. if you're looking for a very thorough account of his daily progression during this time period and/or details about all his rehab game plate appearances, then please read this in conjunction with my previous blog:
Brantley's 2016 Spring Training & In-Season Rehab Details.
because Michael's rehabilitation took longer than expected due to a setback and a brief shutdown period between March 23 and April 11, the overall blog that i had originally planned on doing became far too lengthy. therefore, i cut it into two separate posts--one detailing his daily update information and this one, focusing solely on his rehab numbers and statistics. you're welcome.
now that Michael's rehab is finally done, i will go over how it went and break down all the numbers for you the best i can. please bear
with me, as this is not going to be one of my typical Brantley Spring
Training #s blogs. once the month of April is over, i can get back to
business and write a monthly blog like i normally would, excluding the
handful of regular season games he missed, of course.
this blog is divided into different sections comprised of:
1. an overview and break down of Michael's Cactus League Rehab games.*
2. overviews and break downs of Michael's In-Season Minor League Rehab Assignment games.*
3. Michael's daily game lines.
4. my expectations and predictions for Michael's 2016 regular season.
*i had not been counting on "splitting" his rehab games initially. i
figured once he started rehabbing in spring, he would just continue straight
through until he was done and then join the Tribe early on in April. due to the
circumstances, i am going to do separate rehab performance break downs
within this blog, including independent stats for his Cactus League numbers and In-Season Minor League numbers. i will be breaking down his minor league rehab numbers further by also separating his stats from his time with both the Columbus
Clippers and Akron RubberDucks. i will NOT be combining his Cactus League and In-Season Minor League Rehab stats, however, because those are two individual entities. i deeply apologize for the extra length
that is going to be added to this post because of this unique situation.
THERE ARE FOUR SECTIONS OF STATISTICAL BREAKDOWNS IN THIS BLOG. FEEL FREE TO SKIM THROUGH CERTAIN PARTS AND/OR JUST FOCUS ON WHAT YOU MOST WANT TO READ ABOUT.
also of note: there was one rehab game that Michael played
during spring with the minor leaguers, and i couldn't get all the usual
detailed game info for that. but after the regular season began,
and Michael was ready to play in rehab games with the minor league
affiliates, i had the ability to pull up all those GameDays and follow along
with his at bats, innings played in the field, etc., and get all the normal details. as a result, i was able to do an accurate break down of his rehab
game numbers with both the Clippers and RubberDucks in April before he was activated off the
DL and returned to the Indians.
Cactus League Rehab Overview
the Indians' spring training games began on March 1, and
Michael made his spring debut in a minor league game on March 17. most
of the Tribe regulars had appeared in between 9 and 12 games to that
point. so in a way, it was almost as though Michael hadn't really missed
out on very much game-wise, but he obviously did miss a lot of time swinging
the bat in the offseason when he was still healing from surgery.
Michael
appeared in three games over six days during spring, playing on March
17, 19, and 21. the latter two games were Tribe Cactus League games. i
fully expected the Indians to continue with the
every other day schedule for Michael for a little bit. and that's
probably what would have happened, if not for an unforeseen obstacle.
regrettably, Michael's playing time with the Major Leaguers didn't last long because when the lineup for March
23 came out, Michael was not in it. that's when news was revealed that his shoulder did not
respond the way they wanted, so they needed to give it (and him) more
days off to rest.
because the Indians didn't think Michael would require a long absence during the regular season, they made the decision to hold him out of Cactus
League games after March 25. in doing so, they left themselves open to
backdating his DL start time so that if he was ready to join the
ballclub after only one week of the 2016 season, he could.
spring
games concluded for the Tribe on April 2, but
Michael was still nowhere near ready for the regular season. he
definitely needed additional time to play in games before being
allowed to
play with the Indians. so the team officially placed him on the 15-day DL on April 3, retroactive to March 25 just like they planned.
once
the Tribe's spring was done and over with, Michael had only played in
two games (or three total if you count the minor league game he appeared
in). during his very short Cactus League Rehab, he had a .200 batting average. he went 1-for-5 overall with 1 home run, 2 RBI, and 1 walk.
the full spring training schedule for the Indians contained 34
games. ergo, Michael missed 32 games
with the Indians. BUT, there were two days when the team played two games
in a split squad affair. based on that, he truly only missed 30 possible games. not
to mention Terry Francona doesn't let his players play in back-to-back
games in the beginning of camp. thus, Michael really didn't miss as many games
as it might seem like he did.
i was honestly glad that
Michael only played in one spring rehab game
with the minor leaguers considering that i had no true access to watching or listening to it. fact: i haven't missed one
plate appearance of Michael's since August 29, 2010. so this was
unfamiliar
territory for me and quite tough to know that he would be playing and i
literally could not find out what he was doing as he was doing it.
there's no online option/GameDay to track and follow along with minor league spring games
pitch-by-pitch as they are happening. the only way to get info is if
media members decide to report about them.
being that Michael is very important
to the team, some reporters did watch him and provide live updates online during his game with the kids. so i was lucky enough to get most of the info i desired from
that one intrasquad game, but it wasn't nearly as detailed as i usually
am with his game stats. still i'm pleased things ended up the way they did, so
that i wouldn't totally have to step back and relinquish control over
what i could and could not discover (and document) about his rehab. cause i
admit, i would not have liked that. at least it was just spring,
and my in-season streak of not missing any of Michael's Major League PAs still
stands!
Cactus League Situational Statistics
**note: despite Michael playing in one minor league spring
game, i am NOT including that in my comprehensive Cactus League rehab
break down; i am only calculating Michael's total stats acquired from
his games with the Indians during spring training.
Michael had a hit in 1 of the 2 games he played in his Cactus League rehab
games and reached base safely in 2 games. he had 1
hitless game, but still reached base in it. Michael had no
multi-hit games, no three+ hit games, and 1 multi-RBI game. he had at least one RBI in 1 game. he also had no go-ahead hits
or go-ahead RBI. the Indians were 2-0 in games that Michael
played in and 16-12-4 in the games he missed.
in Cactus League play, Michael bat .200 (1-for-5) against right-handed pitchers and N/A (0-for-0)
against left-handed pitchers. he only faced one southpaw in
spring and drew a walk off him; therefore, he did not technically
register a batting average for that category.
Michael
bat .200 (1-for-5) with 2 RBI at home. he did not play any spring games away from Goodyear Ballpark. he hit safely in 1 of the 2 home games
he played in and safely got on base in both of them. he ended his Cactus League play with a 2-game on-base streak.
Michael
did not have any official at bats with runners in scoring position during his Cactus League rehab. he had one plate appearance and drew a walk, which came with RISP and 2 outs.
with 2 outs in an inning, Michael bat .500 (1-for-2). he hit 1 home run, had 2 RBI, and drew 1 walk.
additionally, he bat .500 (1-for-2) with 2 RBI with runners on base and .000 (0-for-3) with the bases empty. he did not come to bat at all with the bases loaded during his Cactus League rehab.
In The Field
Michael played a total of 10 innings in left field in
two Cactus League rehab games. he had 1 putout and 1 assist in 2 defensive chances, yielding him a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
Michael obtained his outfield
assist in Cactus League when he threw a runner out at home on March 19 in
the game versus the Chicago Cubs. there was 1 out in the top of the 3rd inning, and the bases were loaded when Kris Bryant came to bat against Corey Kluber. Bryant
hit a single to left field, which scored Pierce Johnson and gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Ben Zobrist also
tried to score from 2nd base, but Michael made a one-hop throw to catcher, Yan Gomes, and he applied the tag to nab Zobrist at
home plate.
but let me make a note that that wasn't his only assist.
when Michael saw his first game action of spring on March 17 with the
Double A and Triple A players, he threw out Mike Papi at 2nd base
from left field. regardless of Michael's surgically repaired shoulder
not being his throwing shoulder, it was still good to see that his
defense was as strong as ever. guess some things never change.
now i'm going to document Brantley's
Cactus League Rehab Game #s only.
Brantley's 2016 Cactus League Rehab #s are as follows:
batting average: .200
OBP: .333
SLG: .800
OPS: 1.133
Michael
played in 2 (of 34*) Cactus League games in spring training, none complete. he started and played
left in 2 games, completing none. he was subbed out of 2 games after 10 innings (5 innings/5 innings per game) while still trying to build up the volume of his rehab. he did not play in 32 games. he missed 19 games due to
rehabbing and 12 games due to a shoulder soreness setback. he got 1 scheduled day off.
Michael bat 3rd in 2 games.
Michael played left field in 2 games. (0 complete, 2 subbed out: 10 innings)
*on
two days in spring, there was a split squad, where the team played two
games in two separate ballparks. clearly Michael could not
play in both games, so if you wanna get technical, he really only had an
opportunity to play in 32 of the 34 total spring games.
in his Cactus League Rehab**, Michael had a total of 6 plate appearances and 5 at bats in 2 games. here is how he fared:
1 hit
1 extra base hit
1 home run
2 RBI
1 run
1 walk
4 total bases
1 left on base
1 putout
1 assist
10 innings, 2 games
Cactus League Rehab batting average: .200 (1-5) (2 games)
**these
numbers are also the same as his 3rd spot #s, left field #s, 3rd and
left field #s, and outfield #s. therefore, because there aren't
many numbers to begin with, i am not going to relist all those same
stats.
other/overall Cactus League Rehab
#s while playing left/outfield: 1 putout, 1 assist, 0 errors, 1.000
fielding percentage (10 innings, 2 games)
Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab Assignment Overview
when
the Indians' 2016 season got underway on April 4, Michael was in Cleveland and remained there throughout the first homestand to
work out with his teammates. but when the Tribe embarked on their first
road trip of the year, Michael was then sent down to Columbus (on April 8) to work
out and hit in the batting cages with the Clippers.
on April 12, Michael was allowed to start his minor league rehab
assignment. he began by playing one game with the Columbus Clippers
before moving on to playing four rehab games with the Akron RubberDucks. then he wrapped up his rehab with two more games in Columbus before getting clearance to come off the DL on April 25. that gave him a total of seven minor league rehab games, equaling a sum of 21 at bats.
the
goal for Michael's rehab schedule was to keep him playing near Cleveland in the home
ballparks of their close affiliates, because it just wasn't necessary to
be sending him away on minor league road trips for his rehabilitation. the medical staff started him out playing every other day for about a week, and then he advanced to playing one set of back-to-back games.
Michael's cumulative in-season minor league rehab ended with a .238 batting average, as he was 5-for-21 at the plate. two of his hits went for extra bases--doubles, to be precise--and he had two ribbies while leaving six men on base. Michael also had four 0-fer games. however, in three of the games that Michael could not muster a
hit, he still got on base, registering an 0-for-3
showing with a walk in each.
contrary to
popular belief, his numbers in rehab aren't the biggest issue. what did
concern me slightly was how Michael didn't hit many
balls in the air. he hit a
lot of grounders and liners. could it be that his shoulder surgery
negatively impacted his power and ability to hit fly balls and home
runs? is his daddy strength dwindling? or is this too small a sample
size? it's definitely something to keep an eye on during his return.
stay tuned. right now i'm hopeful that when he builds up his volume of play, things will even out and we will see the Michael that we're grown accustomed to again.
because both the Clippers and RubberDucks teams were currently playing their regular season games when Michael joined them, i DID
have access to minor league GameDays and audio. as a result, i was able
to get all the usual game details that i would had Michael been
playing with the Tribe. so these rehab break downs will be much like the monthly break downs you're used to seeing with plenty of information.
let's start with how Michael did in his OVERALL minor league rehab
assignment, with stats from both his appearances with the Clippers and
RubberDucks combined.
Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab Situational Statistics
Michael had a hit in 3 of the 7 games he played in his in-season minor league rehab
and reached base safely in all 7 games. he had 4
hitless games, but still reached base in all of those. Michael had 1 multi-hit game, 1 three+ hit game, and no multi-RBI games. he had at least one RBI in 2 games. he also had 1 go-ahead hit and 1 go-ahead RBI. the teams Michael was on went 6-1 in games that he played in.
in his cumulative in-season minor league rehab, Michael bat .263 (5-for-19) against right-handed pitchers and .000 (0-for-2)
against left-handed pitchers.
Michael
bat .238 (5-for-21) with 2 RBI at home (Huntington Park and Canal Park). he did not play any away games while on his minor league rehab assignment. he hit safely in 3 of the 7 home games
he played in and safely reached base in all 7 of them. however, his 6-game on-base streak ended during his final minor league rehab game.
Michael bat .000 (0-for-2) with runners in scoring position, manufacturing 1 RBI during his in-season rehab. more specifically, he bat .000 (0-for-1) with RISP and 1 out and .000 (0-for-1) with RISP and 2 outs. he did not come to bat at all with RISP and 0 outs while rehabbing.
with 2 outs in an inning, Michael bat .333 (3-for-9), clearly his best performance during rehab. he hit 1 double and had 1 RBI.
additionally, he bat .167 (1-for-6) with 2 RBI with runners on base and N/A (0-for-0) with the bases loaded with 1 RBI. he only
came to the plate once with bases loaded and hit a sacrifice fly, so he
technically did not register a batting average for that category.
lastly, Michael bat .267 (4-for-15) with the bases empty during his cumulative minor league rehab. he hit 1 double and drew 1 walk.
In The Field
defensively, Michael played a total of 50 innings in left field in seven in-season minor league games. he recorded 7 putouts and acquired 1 assist, finishing his rehab with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
overall, Michael played just two complete (9-inning) games in left. although, he did play a third 9-inning game that was not considered complete because the game went into extra innings and Michael was subbed out defensively after inning #9. Michael made one outstanding catch in particular during his rehab with the Akron RubberDucks and acquired one assist while playing for them as well. i go into more details about those in the RubberDucks section below. nothing of significance occurred during his time in left field with the Clippers.
now i'm going to
document Brantley's Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab Game #s.
Brantley's Cumulative 2016 In-Season Minor League Rehab #s are as follows:
batting average: .238
OBP: .320
SLG: .333
OPS: .653
Michael
played in 7 in-season minor league rehab games, 2 complete. he started and played
left in 7 games, completing 2 of those. he was subbed out of 5 games after 32 innings (4 innings/5 innings/7 innings/7 innings/9 innings per game) while still trying to build up the volume of his rehab.
Michael bat 2nd in 6 games.
Michael bat 3rd in 1 game.
Michael played left field in 7 games. (2 complete, 5 subbed out: 32 innings)
Michael played in 2 complete games.
in his Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab, Michael had a total of 25 plate appearances and 21 at bats in 7 games. here is how he fared:
5 hits
2 extra base hits
3 singles
2 doubles
2 RBI
1 sac fly
2 runs
3 walks
2 strikeouts swinging
2 first at bat hits
7 total bases
6 left on base
7 putouts
1 assist
50 innings, 7 games
(2 complete games)
Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab batting average: .238 (5-21) (7 games)
now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.
when Michael bat 2nd in his Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab, he had a total of 23 plate appearances and 19 at bats in 6 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
4 hits
2 extra base hits
2 singles
2 doubles
2 RBI
1 sac fly
2 runs
3 walks
2 strikeouts swinging
2 first at bat hits
6 total bases
6 left on base
6 putouts
1 assist
45 innings, 6 games
(2 complete games)
Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab batting average in the 2nd spot: .211 (4-19) (6 games)
Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab batting average in the 2nd spot while playing left: .211 (4-19) (6 games)
when Michael bat 3rd in his Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab, he had a total of 2 plate appearances and 2 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 hit
1 single
1 total base
1 putout
5 innings, 1 game
Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab batting average in the 3rd spot: .500 (1-2) (1 game)
Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab batting average in the 3rd spot while playing left: .500 (1-2) (1 game)
now let's break down his numbers specific to where he played in the outfield.
when Michael played left field in his Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab, he had a total of 25 plate appearances and 21 at bats in 7 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
5 hits
2 extra base hits
3 singles
2 doubles
2 RBI
1 sac fly
2 runs
3 walks
2 strikeouts swinging
2 first at bat hits
7 total bases
6 left on base
7 putouts
1 assist
50 innings, 7 games
(2 complete games)
Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab batting average while playing left: .238 (5-21) (7 games)
other/overall Cumulative In-Season Minor League Rehab #s while playing left/outfield: 7 putouts, 1 assist, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (50 innings, 7 games)
next i'm going to split Michael's rehab (numbers) between Columbus and Akron. Columbus is up first.
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Columbus Clippers Overview
Michael began his in-season rehab with the Columbus Clippers on April 12, but didn't play with them again until April 22 and 23, his first and only set of back-to-back rehab games. while with Columbus for three games, he faced three teams--the Louisville Bats (parent club: Cincinnati Reds), Toledo Mud Hens (parent club: Detroit Tigers), and Gwinnett Braves (parent club: Atlanta Braves).
in his first rehab game, he only got two at bats before being removed from the game, but he still went 1-for-2 with a double and run. then in his final two (consecutive) games, he went a combined 0-for-7 with an RBI sac fly, run, and walk. put it all together and Michael bat just .111 (1-for-9) in 11 plate appearances with Columbus.
Michael bat 2nd and played left field in every game. he was subbed out defensively in his first game with the Clippers after four innings, but played all nine innings in the last two games of his rehab assignment.
In-Season Minor League Rehab Situational Statistics with the Columbus Clippers
Michael had a hit in 1 of the 3 games he played with the Columbus Clippers
and reached base safely in all 3 games. he had 2
hitless games, but still reached base in both. Michael had no
multi-hit games, no three+ hit games, and no multi-RBI games. he had at least one RBI in 1 game. he also didn't have any go-ahead hits or go-ahead RBI. the Clippers were 3-0 in games that Michael
played in.
with Columbus, Michael bat .111 (1-for-9) against right-handed pitchers and N/A (0-for-0)
against left-handed pitchers. he only faced one southpaw in
Columbus and drew a walk off him; therefore, he did not technically
register a batting average for that category.
Michael
bat .111 (1-for-9) with 1 RBI at home. he did not play any rehab games away from Huntington Park. he hit safely in 1 of the 3 home games
he played in and safely reached base in all 3 of them.
Michael
bat .000 (0-for-2) with runners in scoring position, producing 1 RBI in Columbus. breaking it down, he bat .000 (0-for-1) with RISP and 1 out and .000 (0-for-1) with RISP and 2 outs. he did not come to bat at all with RISP and 0 outs while with Columbus.
with 2 outs in an inning, Michael bat .000 (0-for-2).
additionally, he bat .000 (0-for-4) with 1 RBI with runners on base and N/A (0-for-0) with the bases loaded with 1 RBI. he only came to the plate once with bases loaded and hit a sacrifice fly, so he technically did not register a batting average for that category.
lastly, Michael bat .200 (1-for-5) with the bases empty during his Columbus rehab. he hit 1 double and drew 1 walk.
In The Field
Michael played a total of 22 innings in left field in three games with the Columbus Clippers. he had only 1 defensive chance and recorded 1 putout, giving him a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. otherwise, there's really nothing of note to discuss here.
now i'm going to
document Brantley's Minor League Rehab Game #s with the Columbus Clippers.
Brantley's 2016 In-Season Minor League Rehab #s with the Columbus Clippers are as follows:
batting average: .111
OBP: .182
SLG: .222
OPS: .404
Michael
played in 3 minor league rehab games with the Columbus Clippers, 2 complete. he started and played
left in 3 games, completing 2 of those. he was subbed out of 1 game after 4 innings while still trying to build up the volume of his rehab.
Michael bat 2nd in 3 games.
Michael played left field in 3 games. (2 complete, 1 subbed out: 4 innings)
Michael played in 2 complete games.
in his In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Columbus Clippers**, Michael had a total of 11 plate appearances and 9 at bats in 3 games. here is how he fared:
1 hit
1 extra base hit
1 double
1 RBI
1 sac fly
2 runs
1 walk
1 strikeout swinging
1 first at bat hit
2 total bases
5 left on base
1 putout
22 innings, 3 games
(2 complete games)
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Columbus Clippers batting average: .111 (1-9) (3 games)
**these
numbers are also the same as his 2nd spot #s, left field #s, 2nd and
left field #s, and outfield #s. therefore, because there aren't
many numbers to begin with, i am not going to relist all those same
stats.
other/overall In-Season Minor
League Rehab #s with the Columbus Clippers while playing left/outfield: 1
putout, 0 assists, 0 errors, 1.000
fielding percentage (22 innings, 3 games)
now let's move on to Michael's rehab with Akron.
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks Overview
Michael played four games with the Akron RubberDucks, going every other day from April 14-20 during the first homestand of their season. he faced two Double A teams twice--the Bowie Baysox (affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) and the Binghamton Mets (affiliate of the New York Mets). when he wasn't scheduled to play games, Michael was able to spend his off days in Cleveland to work out with the team. despite the back and forth traveling, it was worth it to him to still be around the big league ballclub as much as possible.
offensively, Michael started off well enough going 1-for-2 in his first game. then he was held hitless in his next two Ducks games, going 0-for-3 with a walk in both. his fourth rehab appearance was a very good one, as he turned in a 3-for-4 performance with 2 singles and an RBI double. that really helped make his overall batting average with Akron look much better: .333 (4-for-12).
one area where things appeared to be business as usual for Michael was defensively. he began playing just five innings in left field in his
first game before being substituted out of the game. then he
played seven innings in his next two games, before playing a full nine
innings in his fourth and final game with the Ducks. that last game,
however, was not officially a "complete" game because the Ducks rallied
from behind in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie it up. consequently,
extra innings were necessary and there was no way Michael was going to be a part of that on a rehab assignment.
In-Season Minor League Rehab Situational Statistics with the Akron RubberDucks
Michael had a hit in 2 of the 4 games he played with the Akron RubberDucks
and reached base safely in all 4 games. he had 2
hitless games, but still reached base in both. Michael had 1
multi-hit game, 1 three+ hit game, and no multi-RBI games. he had at least one RBI in 1 game. he also had 1
go-ahead hit and 1 go-ahead RBI. the RubberDucks were 3-1 in games that
Michael
played in.
with Akron, Michael bat .400 (4-for-10) against right-handed pitchers and .000 (0-for-2)
against left-handed pitchers.
Michael
bat .333 (4-for-12) with 1 RBI at home. he did not play any rehab games away from Canal Park. he hit safely in 2 of the 4 home games
he played in and safely reached base in all 4 of them. he ended his Akron rehab with a 4-game on-base streak.
Michael
did not have any official at bats with runners in scoring position in Akron. he had one plate appearance and drew a walk, which came with RISP and 1 out.
with 2 outs in an inning, Michael bat .429 (3-for-7). he hit 1 double and had 1 RBI.
additionally, he bat .500 (1-for-2) with 1 RBI with runners on base and .300 (3-for-10) with the bases empty. he did not come to bat at all with the bases loaded during his Akron rehab.
In The Field
Michael played a total of 28 innings in left field in four games with the Akron RubberDucks. he had 6 putouts, 1 outfield assist, and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
when Michael played his second game with the Ducks on April 16 versus the Bowie Baysox, he acquired his first outfield assist since Cactus League play on March 19 (and second assist in his last five rehab appearances). the Ducks were down, 5-0, in the top of the 4th inning. Jeff Kemp was on 1st base when Corban Joseph came to the plate for the Baysox to face Rob Kaminsky with no outs. Joseph hit a line drive double to left field. after Michael got to the ball, Kemp was trying to score. Michael threw the ball in to the shortstop, Yhoxian
Medina, and he spun around and threw the ball to catcher Alex Monsalve. Monsalve then applied the tag on Kemp and he was out at the plate.
Michael also made an extraordinary catch in his third rehab game with the Ducks on April 18. it came with no outs in the top of the 3rd inning and the Ducks up, 1-0, versus the Binghamton Mets. Xorge Carrillo faced off against Adam Plutko and after a 2-1 count, he hit a fly ball to deep left field. Michael chased it and made an over-the-shoulder basket catch at the wall with his back to home plate to record the first out. Jim Clark, one of the radio announcers for Akron, did not initially think he would be able to make that catch, and several others present at the game expressed surprise and questioned how Michael made the catch as well. guess they're not used to that kind of spectacular defense down at the Double A level lol jk
next i'm going to
document Brantley's Minor League Rehab Game #s with the Akron RubberDucks.
Brantley's 2016 In-Season Minor League Rehab #s with the Akron RubberDucks are as follows:
batting average: .333
OBP: .429
SLG: .417
OPS: .845
Michael
played in 4 minor league rehab games with the Akron RubberDucks, none complete. he started and played
left in 4 games, completing none. he was subbed out of 4 games after 28 innings (5 innings/7 innings/7 innings/9 innings per game) while still trying to build up the volume of his rehab.
Michael bat 2nd in 3 games.
Michael bat 3rd in 1 game.
Michael played left field in 4 games. (0 complete, 4 subbed out: 28 innings)
in his In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks, Michael had a total of 14 plate appearances and 12 at bats in 4 games. here is how he fared:
4 hits
1 extra base hit
3 singles
1 double
1 RBI
2 walks
1 strikeout swinging
1 first at bat hit
5 total bases
1 left on base
6 putouts
1 assist
28 innings, 4 games
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks batting average: .333 (4-12) (4 games)
now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.
when Michael bat 2nd in his In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks, he had a total of 12 plate appearances and 10 at bats in 3 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
3 hits
1 extra base hit
2 singles
1 double
1 RBI
2 walks
1 strikeout swinging
1 first at bat hit
4 total bases
1 left on base
5 putouts
1 assist
23 innings, 3 games
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks batting average in the 2nd spot: .300 (3-10) (3 games)
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks batting average in the 2nd spot while playing left: .300 (3-10) (3 games)
when Michael bat 3rd in his In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks, he had a total of 2 plate appearances and 2 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 hit
1 single
1 total base
1 putout
5 innings, 1 game
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks batting average in the 3rd spot: .500 (1-2) (1 game)
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks batting average in the 3rd spot while playing left: .500 (1-2) (1 game)
now let's break down his numbers specific to where he played in the outfield.
when Michael played left field in his In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks, he had a total of 14 plate appearances and 12 at bats in 4 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
4 hits
1 extra base hit
3 singles
1 double
1 RBI
2 walks
1 strikeout swinging
1 first at bat hit
5 total bases
1 left on base
6 putouts
1 assist
28 innings, 4 games
In-Season Minor League Rehab with the Akron RubberDucks batting average while playing left: .333 (4-12) (4 games)
other/overall In-Season Minor
League Rehab #s with the Akron RubberDucks while playing left/outfield: 6
putouts, 1 assist, 0 errors, 1.000
fielding percentage (28 innings, 4 games)
now here are my daily game-by-game numbers and notes for Brantley's
2016 Cactus League & In-Season Minor League Rehab Assignment Games. this
portion of the blog consists of his game lines only. for detailed daily
game and postgame information, see the previous blog entitled Brantley's 2016 Spring Training & In-Season Rehab Details.
[Michael missed the first 17 games of spring because he was still
rehabbing and not cleared to play in any games yet. if you want a more specific description of what exactly he did in his rehab each day from March 1-16 before he began playing in games, see my Brantley's March 2016 Hitting Advancements blog. for simplicity's sake, i just wrote "still rehabbing"
next to each day he did not play.]
Game 0/1, March 1: still rehabbing.
Game 0/2, March 2: still rehabbing.
Game 0/3, March 3: still rehabbing.
Game 0/4, March 4: still rehabbing.
Game 0/5, March 5: still rehabbing.
Game 0/6, March 6: still rehabbing.
Game 0/7, March 7: still rehabbing.
Game 0/8, March 8: still rehabbing.
Game 0/9, March 9: still rehabbing.
Game 0/10, March 10: still rehabbing.
Game 0/11, March 11: still rehabbing.
Game 0/12, March 12: still rehabbing.
Game 0/14, March 13 (split squad): still rehabbing.
Game 0/15, March 14: still rehabbing.
Game 0/16, March 15: still rehabbing.
Game 0/17, March 16: still rehabbing.
**this
is when Michael began playing with the minor league players.
until he plays with the Indians in a Cactus League game, he won't have
any stats that count for spring training 2016, and so i continued to refer to days that the Indians played as "Game 0" for that reason. speaking of stats, i didn't
have access to a minor league GameDay, so i could only document what i
found out online as far as how/what Michael did in that game.**
Game 0/18, March 17: 0-2. AVG: .000
[LF/GS3]
^^he played in a minor league intrasquad game between Triple A and Double A players.^^
Game 0/19, March 18: off day.
**this is when Michael began playing in Cactus League games with the Indians.**
Game 1/20, March 19: 1-3, 2-run home run, run. AVG: .333
[3rd/LF/GS5]
Game /21, March 20: not in lineup, scheduled to play tomorrow.
Game 2/22, March 21: 0-2, walk. AVG: .200
[3rd/LF/GS5]
Game /23, March 23: not in lineup, getting 2 days off to rest his shoulder.
Game /24, March 24: not in lineup, getting tomorrow off too to rest his shoulder.
Game /25, March 25: not in lineup.
Game /26, March 26: will not play any Major League games this week.
Game /27, March 27: did not play. will take a couple more days off from hitting.
Game /28, March 28: did not play.
Game /30, March 29 (split squad): did not play.
Game /31, March 30: did not play.
Game /32, March 31: did not play.
Game /33, April 1: did not play.
Game /34, April 2: did not play.
**this
is when the Indians began their 2016 season. again, i had to
count games as "Game 0" until Michael is activated from the DL and back
playing with the big league team.**
April 4: Indians Home Opener game postponed due to snow/rain & cold, to be made up April 5 at 1:10 pm.
Game 0/1, April 5: still on DL.
Game 0/2, April 6: still on DL.
April 7: game postponed, to be made up August 15 at 1:10 pm.
Game 0/3, April 8: still on DL.
Game 0/4, April 9: still on DL.
April 10: game postponed, to be made up May 23 at 5:10 pm in a traditional DH.
**this is when Michael began his minor league rehab assignment. the usual game info about
his minor league rehab follows, but i still also used "Game 0" on the days the Indians played their own games. in addition, when calculating his AVG, the first one is his total BA with whichever minor league team he was playing with, and the second is his cumulative rehab BA through that point.**
Minor League Rehab Game 1 & Game 0/5, April 12: 1-2, double (first at bat), run. AVG: .500
[2nd/LF/GS4]
^^he played with the Clippers in Triple A Columbus.^^
Game 0/6, April 13: still on DL, scheduled off day.
Minor League Rehab Game 2 & Game 0/7, April 14: 1-2, single. AVG: .500/.500
[3rd/LF/GS5]
^^he played with the RubberDucks in Double A Akron.^^
Game 0/8, April 15: still on DL, scheduled off day.
Minor League Rehab Game 3 & Game 0/9, April 16: 0-3, walk. AVG: .200/.286
[2nd/LF/GS7]
^^he played with the RubberDucks in Double A Akron.^^
Game 0/10, April 17: still on DL, scheduled off day.
Minor League Rehab Game 4, April 18: 0-3, walk. AVG: .125/.200
[2nd/LF/GS7]
^^he played with the RubberDucks in Double A Akron.^^
Game 0/11, April 19: still on DL, scheduled off day.
Minor League Rehab Game 5 & Game 0/12, April 20: 3-4, single (first at bat), RBI double, single. AVG: .333/.358
[2nd/LF/GS9]
^^he played with the RubberDucks in Double A Akron.^^
Game 0/13, April 21: still on DL, scheduled off day.
Minor League Rehab Game 6 & Game 0/14, April 22: 0-3, walk. AVG: .200/.294
[2nd/LF/CG9]
^^he played with the Clippers in Triple A Columbus.^^
~~Michael's 6-game on-base streak ends~~
Minor League Rehab Game 7 & Game 0/15, April 23: 0-4, RBI sac fly, reached on fielder's choice. AVG: .111/.238
[2nd/LF/CG9]
^^he played with the Clippers in Triple A Columbus.^^
Game 0/16, April 24: still on DL, scheduled off day.
My Expectations/Predictions for Brantley's 2016 Season:
note:
i am making my predictions with the thinking that Michael will be full
healthy when he returns to play and won't have any setbacks. it would be
almost pointless if i made predictions while assuming he could
potentially be playing injured for any part of the 2016 season. that
said, i am taking into consideration the fact that Michael has
missed 16 games so far. losing out on all those opportunities to bat could
possibly keep him from setting new career highs or matching past career
highs, and i had to factor that into my expectations this year.
clearly Michael had an injury-riddled 2015 season, yet somehow he managed to push through his lower back strain
and left shoulder inflammation. he tried to continue playing after he
hurt his right shoulder in September, but it eventually did him in and
shut him down. i'd like to hope that after Michael spent so much time carefully
rehabbing, he can survive 2016 without any shoulder issues/setbacks and
that he won't have any other serious injuries to deal with this time
around. give the guy a break, health gods! good health please! knowing
Francona is assuredly going to give him days off here and there whenever he
feels like Michael needs a break, particularly when he first returns, i don't know that i can expect him to play more than 130 games this season.
Michael
may need to shake off some rust since he did not play a full spring
training, but he has shown he can hit whether he's completely healthy, like
in 2014, or battling injuries, like in 2015. at this point, i think he's
proven that he is a legit .300 hitter now, and i am so happy about that.
i never pick one solid number for his batting average, i usually go for a 5 point range, and this year i'm gonna predict a BA between .300-.305.
it would be higher, but because of the circumstances of his offseason,
i'm not comfortable predicting anything other than that. for the last 4
consecutive seasons, Michael has led all the qualifiers on the team in
batting average, which is no small feat. can he add to this record and
go for 5 straight years, or is this finally the season his reign ends?
let's talk about home runs next. i'm confident that Michael will hit at least 15 homers
this season, and if he's truly healthy, then he'll probably hit more
than that. his home runs went down last year compared to 2014 due to his
back troubles and then not being able to play that much in September. i
might be predicting towards the lower end of the spectrum, but even 15 isn't a bad number for him.
Michael has made a home
for himself batting in the 3rd spot of the order, which he's earned,
and that's a nice place to rack up the ribbies. since he's not playing a
full season, however, i have to predict a lower RBI total for him. i'm gonna go with a minimum of 70 and a maximum of 85.
this will be heavily dependent upon who's on base when Michael comes to
bat, but i think Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor batting 1 and 2 will work greatly in
his favor. (edit: Michael made his starting lineup debut for the Indians in the cleanup spot. i don't know that he will stay there all season, but i still believe my predictions could hold up despite the BOP change.)
other numbers i predict for Brantley in 2016:
doubles: 40
runs: 70 (it's so hard to judge this cause we don't know how the guys batting behind him will perform)
walks: 45
stolen bases: 18
total defensive errors: 1
outfield assists: 10
i'm
not going to make a prediction for triples because it's just not a
category to be concerned with. Michael does well enough hitting all his
doubles and home runs that going for 3-baggers would be purely for show.
i'm not saying he won't hit any, but if he doesn't, it's not a big deal
because for Michael they're not really paramount since he brings other
skills to the team that are much more imperative.
so yeah, as you may have noticed based on my predictions, i don't expect him to set any new career highs this year. having missed out on his routine offseason regimen and a regular spring training, plus not taking part in a whole lot of rehab games will probably have an effect on his stats, especially when he initially steps back into the batter's box with the Tribe. he might still need time to get his timing back at the plate and essentially need to use the last part of April and early part of May as the rest of his "spring training." for that reason, i can't make confident declarations that this will be Michael's best season personally. i don't think it's fair to put those kinds of hopes or that pressure on him. just let him play well!
something else to remember, too, is because Michael missed 16 games of the regular season, it's going to take him a while to become an official qualifying player in 2016. as a result, i don't expect him to finish the campaign with any team highs this year either. he's already behind in certain categories, some of which he normally leads (doubles, stolen bases, RBI, outfield assists), and it just might not be possible for him to accumulate, catch up with, and then pass the current team leaders, especially if his teammates continue to thrive. never underestimate the difference that three weeks can make for a player's statistics.
seeing Michael set records for himself and lead the team in categories is always something i love because it's so gratifying to witness his accomplishments. but the personal accolades are not what's important, not this year anyway. the only thing that matters now is that Michael's healthy again and able to play a mostly full season. after everything, i'd say that'd be a success in and of itself.
disagree with my predictions and thoughts? leave yours in a comment below!
let me conclude this blog by saying good luck
this year, Michael! you had a lot to get through over the past five months, but you made it, like i always knew you would. i am proud of your tenacity and
commitment to returning to game action as soon as possible. you're an
outstanding athlete, a tremendous leader, and an incredible teammate.
even if there are bumps in the road and things don't go exactly as you'd
hoped this season, i know you will play as hard as you can and give it
your all each and every day, and that's what makes you one of the best
players in the league. now go get 'em and kick some ass in 2016!
be sure to follow me on twitter @clevelandgirl23 for all the daily Michael news throughout the season! and thank you for reading this blog!
if you missed the first part of Michael's rehab information, check out my previous blog:
Brantley's 2016 Spring Training & In-Season Rehab Details
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