Brantley's Cactus League 2018 Rehab #s and My Predictions

hi again, Brantley fans! welcome to my Part 2 blog of Michael Brantley's Cactus League 2018 Rehab information. i kept the emphasis in this one on the numbers, rather than detailed daily updates. here you will find statistics, number breakdowns, and game lines from Michael's rehab game appearances with the Cleveland Indians. in addition, there's a section at the bottom of this post containing some predictions i made about his 2018 regular season. if you're looking for all the specifics of Michael's running progressions and rehab game at bats and plate appearances from spring training, then you'll want to read my previous Part 1 blog: Brantley's Cactus League 2018 Rehab & Game Details. (should you be so inclined, may i recommend having both blogs open in two separate tabs to easily and conveniently compare the game line information with Michael's rehab details per date.💁)


note: i like to lead off my Cactus League #s post by reminding everyone that it can be quite difficult to get a "full" game experience during spring. what i mean by that is, when i do my in-season documentation, i have access to all the info i like/want during a game because i have my MLB Gameday open on the computer and Gameday audio subscription playing. in spring training, those are not always options/reliable. not every game has someone providing play-by-play and color commentary of the contest. when that happens, i'm stuck

Brantley's Cactus League 2017 Rehab #s and My Predictions

this is the second part of Michael Brantley's Cactus League Rehab information. this blog contains Michael's numbers, statistics, and game lines from his rehab game appearances. i've also included a section at the end with my predictions for his 2017 regular season. the main focus here is on the spring numbers, but if you're interested in all of the details of Michael's daily hitting progressions during spring, or more specific information about his individual rehab game at bats and plate appearances, or pictures and videos of him, then please read my previous blog: Brantley's Cactus League 2017 Rehab & Game Details.

the format of this post will be easily recognizable to those of you who are longtime readers of my blogs. i've basically set this up like a monthly post by sectioning it into an overview, situational stats, fielding information, number breakdowns, and game lines. on the other hand, if you're new and unfamiliar with my typical layout, you can now begin to get accustomed to how i write my Brantley blogs.

note: Michael played in two minor league rehab games during spring and, just like last year, i could not get all the usual details and data that i like to document. for games of this kind, fans have no access to what's going on unless they physically go to the field that the games are played on. there's no way to watch them on TV or online, there's no way to follow along pitch-by-pitch on a Gameday, and there's no way to listen to Gameday audio because it doesn't exist. the only avenue to get info, if you're not in Arizona, is by

Brantley's Overall 2016 Minor League Rehab #s

as promised, here is the blog featuring Michael Brantley's overall 2016 minor league rehab numbers. if only i was posting this because he was back in the big leagues again. sigh. unfortunately, Michael just had season-ending surgery on August 15. therefore, there is no more wondering about when he will resume his rehab, cause it's done.

this blog combines Michael's rehab numbers from April with his rehab numbers from July. (oddly enough, Michael played as many rehab games this year as he did regular season games with the Cleveland Indians.) he spent time rehabbing with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Lake County Captains, Akron RubberDucks, and Columbus Clippers. i have done a cumulative breakdown of Michael's overall numbers as well as broken down his total numbers from each minor league team he played with.

THERE ARE FIVE 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.


i'm beginning with how Michael did in his OVERALL 2016 minor league rehab assignment, which incorporates stats from his appearances with the Scrappers, Captains, RubberDucks, and Clippers all together.

Brantley's July 2016 Minor League Rehab #s (2nd DL Stint)

this is the second part of Michael Brantley's rehab information accumulated during his second DL stint in 2016. it contains Michael's numbers and statistics from his second minor league rehab assignment of the year, spanning between July 11 and 17. if you're looking for a very thorough account of his daily hitting progressions and the details about all his rehab game plate appearances, then please read this in conjunction with my previous blog: Brantley's May - August 2016 DL Stint Updates & Rehab Game Details.

note: if you are wondering why i didn't post Michael's July rehab numbers at the end of July, here's why. initially, i anticipated Michael would be continuing with his rehab assignment sometime in August. and, since it would have occurred while he was on the same DL stint (stemming from May 14), i planned on combining his rehab numbers from both July and August, as i saw no reason to split the July and August numbers. but because Michael recently had surgery and is not going to resume his rehab this season, i can now post his rehab stats from his second DL stint, consisting of games in the month of July only.


like earlier this season, i'm first going to break down Michael's overall July rehab numbers, and then separately break down his stats from

Brantley's July 2016 (w/ Rehab Game Details)

hello all! thanks to everyone who read my Brantley's June 2016 blog and Brantley's 2016 #s Through June blog. i know there wasn't much going on there, so i greatly appreciate the views. i also appreciate my new readers. i get new visitors from different countries almost every month, and i love that! so let me give a special welcome to the people in Lithuania, Mauritius, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia! in addition, i've seen a large spike in views from Russia over the past week and would like to thank those readers as well!

this blog is going to be a lot like the June blog in that many sections are bare or have been omitted because Michael did not play in any July games, at least not in the big leagues. most of what you're about to read is simply DL updates and rehab game performances. boy i can't wait until Michael rejoins the Tribe so things can get back to normal 'round here lol


July Overview

i thought this was going to be a good month for Michael because when i flipped my 2016 Cleveland Indians calendar over to July, i saw it was Michael Brantley month. i took that as a sign he was destined to return, but apparently, destiny had other plans for Dr. Smooth.

the Indians played a total of 24 games in July. Michael played zero. sound familiar? yeah, only this time the Indians went

Brantley's April 2016 #s

Michael Brantley spent most of the month of April on the DL, as he was still trying to make his way back from offseason right shoulder surgery. during his rehab, he played seven games with minor league teams in advance of finally being activated by the Indians on April 25. despite him not playing very much with the big league team this month, the blog must go on. this one will be shorter than usual though, something i think everyone will appreciate after the previous two LONG blogs i posted about his rehabilitation. (if you have not read those yet, they can be found here and here.)

before i get into Michael's April, let me provide a quick rundown of how i do these monthly blogs, just in case you're a new or recent reader of my blogspot. last year, i began sectioning out specific topics of discussion so they'd be easier to see and allow you the option to skim through certain parts or skip to the sections you were most interested in. i'm going to continue doing that, and the divisions generally include:

--a monthly overview
--areas of concern
--lineup changes
--health ailments affecting Michael's performance
--team batting title competition
--HR:RBI ratio, LOB, K Rate, and Outs
--streaks and situational statistics (ie. hit in/reached in, RHP/LHP, home/away, RISP, runners on, bases loaded, bases empty, multi-hit games, multi-RBI games, go-ahead hits/RBI)

Brantley's 2016 Cactus League & Minor League Rehab #s and My Expectations

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:

Brantley's 2016 Spring Training & In-Season Rehab Details

he's baaaaaaaack! yes, it's true. at long last, today, on April 25, Michael Brantley was cleared to come off the DL and has joined his teammates in Minneapolis as an active roster member! despite not being in tonight's starting lineup against the Minnesota Twins, i'm still very excited for him and i know he's gotta be over the moon ecstatic. he'll either make his 2016 regular season debut tomorrow, or perhaps tonight in one of the later innings as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement.

let me begin with a brief recap to explain how he got here. Michael had surgery on November 9, 2015 to repair a slight labral tear in his right shoulder. he suffered this shoulder impairment on September 22 in the game against the Minnesota Twins, and that eventually led to an early 2015 shut down. Michael attempted to resolve the issue without going under the knife, but he soon realized that that could not be avoided. he spent most of his offseason in Cleveland before flying out to Arizona on February 1 to carry on with his rehab there.

Michael tried his best to be ready in time for Indians Opening Day, because that was his goal all along, and he came really close to achieving that feat. he worked very hard in his rehab, so hard that he found himself weeks ahead of his initially projected post-surgery workout schedule. while he was not able to play in spring training games when the Indians first started on March 1, he was