Brantley's June 2017 #s

hey there, Brantley fans! it's time for another blog recounting Michael's performance over the past month. but let me first thank everyone who read my Brantley's May 2017 #s blog and Brantley's 2017 #s Through May blog. i did notice some new views from Nepal and Kazakhstan in June, so i also have to give a special welcome to my audience in South and Central Asia!👋 if anyone else is a fairly new reader here, tell me where you're from by shouting out your city/state/country/continent in the comments!

now without further ado, here is everything you need to know about Michael's month of June.


June Overview

if you thought May wasn't Michael's greatest performance, then you might be indifferent to his June. he started the month out kind of slow, missed some time due to the birth of his child, and then was placed on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain immediately following his paternity leave. upon his return, he had some early struggles, but then seemingly got back on a roll. when it was all said and done, Michael missed almost half the games on the Tribe's June schedule, playing just 13 of 27. so it's a small sample size that we're working with to critique and,

Brantley Ranked 81st in MLBRank's Top 100 Players Right Now

let me start this off by saying i am shocked that a list of this nature is coming out now when we are approaching the midway point of baseball season. i waited for Baseball Tonight's Top 100 to be released during spring training for weeks, to no avail. apparently, MLBRank's list is the replacement and i was not expecting it. out with the old, in with the new i guess. in any case, i apologize for the lateness of this post.

photo courtesy of ESPN.com

MLBRank's Top 100 countdown commenced today and will run through June 30. each morning, 20 players will be posted on ESPN.com, starting with #100-81 and going all the way down to #20-1. (previously, players were

Brantley Activated from 10-Day DL (w/ Right Ankle Updates)

today, on June 26, the Cleveland Indians activated Michael Brantley from the 10-Day DL. Brandon Guyer, who's been on the 10-Day DL since May 14 with a left wrist sprain, was activated as well. in order to clear spaces on the roster for both outfielders, Daniel Robertson and Shawn Armstrong were optioned to the Triple A Columbus Clippers.

Michael has been away from the club since June 15, when his wife gave birth to their newest baby, a boy named Maxwell. he was placed on the Paternity List on June 16 and was supposed to return to the team on June 19.

well, Michael did return on June 19, in a sense. he met up with the Tribe in Baltimore, but was placed on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain (backdated to June 16), which stemmed from an injury he sustained in Kansas City while playing the Royals. however, it's not completely clear if his ankle never stopped barking after the initial sprain on May 7, or if he re-injured the ankle during the early June Kansas City series. if you read my aforementioned DL blog, then you understand the confusion. not only that, but on June 23, there was some conflicting information as to

Brantley Moved from Paternity List to 10-Day DL with Right Ankle Sprain

today, on June 19, the Cleveland Indians announced that Michael Brantley was removed from the Paternity List and placed on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain, retroactive to June 16. he is eligible to return on June 26, as long as he receives clearance from the medical staff. this is Michael's first DL stint of the year.

screenshot cropped from a video on indians.com

Michael originally suffered a sprained right ankle in the game on

Brantley Placed on Paternity List

today, on June 16, the Cleveland Indians placed Michael Brantley on the Paternity List and recalled right-handed pitcher Adam Plutko from the Triple A Columbus Clippers to take his roster spot. a player can be absent from the team for up to three days once he's officially placed on this list.

Michael was not with the Tribe for their afternoon home game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday on June 15 because his wife, Melissa, began having contractions during the night. Terry Francona told the story of what happened in his postgame presser via a video on the FOX Sports Ohio youtube channel. "he had tried to line it up where she was gonna, whatever, at 4:30, however, induce i guess. but last night in the middle of the night, things started happening. so he texted me and i told him, i said, 'get, get over there with her.' you never want to miss something like that. or even go bat to at bat here and run over there. my goodness. he kinda deserves the right to be with his family and do that so... so we'll miss him for the weekend."

that means Michael will be gone for all four road games, including a doubleheader, against the Minnesota Twins. he is expected to rejoin the club on Monday, June 19 in Baltimore for the second leg of their trip, so said WTAM 1100 radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton.

Melissa gave birth to the new Brantley baby yesterday, a

Brantley's First Career Two-Assist Game

for the first time in his career, Michael Brantley threw out two baserunners in one game. the feat occurred on June 10, 2017, in the contest versus the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. the last Indians player to acquire two outfield assists in the same game was Rajai Davis, and he did it almost exactly one year ago, on June 9, 2016, as the left fielder at Safeco Field in Seattle against the Mariners.

Michael's triumph began with the Indians already down, 4-0, in the top of the 2nd inning. Jose Abreu came to the plate to face Josh Tomlin with 2 outs and Melky Cabrera at 1st base. after a 1-1 count, Abreu sent a line drive double into left field. Michael retrieved the ball out of the corner, quickly spun around, and threw a laser to the cutoff man, shortstop Francisco Lindor. because Lindor knew Cabrera was on his way home, he made a relay throw to catcher Yan Gomes, who applied the tag on Cabrera to end the top half of the inning and also give Michael what would be his

Brantley's 2017 #s Through May (+ All Star Ballot Results)

as promised, this is the blog containing Michael's total numbers so far this year. not everyone is curious about a baseball player's statistics within a month, i get that, but most fans are typically interested in current overall numbers, and that is why i now will be writing two blogs at the end of every month. these types of posts feature Michael's 2017 regular season numbers up to the point in the year that we're at. this particular blog covers April 3 to May 31. the format is the same as in my monthlies, except certain sections have been eliminated because they're just not all necessary here.

the main difference between my two blogs is this: the cumulative season blogs focus solely on Michael's numbers, while the monthlies provide stats as well as detailed information that i feel is important to document in regards to each month.

in case you're new or need a refresher, let me quickly give a rundown of what you can expect to find in my 2017 #s Through... blogs this season:
--current overall #s recap
--batting average competition
--team leads and career highs
--HR:RBI ratio, LOB, K Rate, and Outs
--reached base vs. left stranded (new section this year!)
--streaks and situational statistics
--#s versus AL Central Division teams
--interleague play #s
--league rankings

Brantley's May 2017 #s

hi again, Brantley fans! let me begin by thanking everyone who read my Brantley's April 2017 #s blog. i know it was long, but i hope you at least found some of the stuff in there interesting! also, while i have no new viewers from the past month to acknowledge, i did notice an abundance of views from people in France. so i want to express my gratitude that you all took the time to check out my writing and read about Dr. Smooth! n'hésitez pas à partager mes publications si vous les aimez!😉

this blog contains Michael's numbers and additional pertinent information from the month of May. if you want season stats and details about his overall numbers so far in 2017, that separate post is linked at the bottom of this one.

and don't forget: if you haven't done so yet, please vote for Michael and your other favorite Cleveland Indians to go to the 2017 All Star Game this July 11. click here for all the voting rules and tips on how to ensure that your ballots are being submitted correctly.

now let's get into Michael's May!


May Overview

for Michael, the month of May was an anomaly. sure there were some definite highlights, but it was not