in 2017, Michael had 375 plate appearances and 338 at bats in 90 games (731.0 innings). in total, he had 101 hits, 30 extra base hits, 71 singles, 20 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 52 RBI, 4 sac flies, 47 runs, 31 walks, 3 intentional walks, 2 hit by pitches, 11 stolen bases (9 - 2nd, 2 - 3rd), 1 caught stealing (2nd), 8 GIDP, 50 strikeouts (40 swinging, 10 looking), 24 first at bat hits, 150 total bases, 139 left on base, 135 putouts, 8 assists, 1 error, and 1 double play.
2017 batting average:
.299 (101-338)
OBP: .357
SLG: .444
OPS: .801
Michael's .299 batting average did not rank among his teammates because he did not play enough in 2017 to be considered a qualifying player, averaging 2.3 plate appearances per game, or 0.8 points below the requirement. this marks the second straight season that Michael's BA did not qualify, after leading the Tribe in batting average for four consecutive years from 2012-2015.
also for the second straight season, Jose Ramirez ended up with the highest batting average (.318) on the team out of all the qualifiers. Francisco Lindor once again came in second, batting .273.
Season Overview
Michael began this season on the active roster and ready to go, even though his Cactus League debut was delayed due to his continued rehab from biceps tenodesis (surgery) in August 2016. he did not get the usual amount of spring at bats that he would have had he not been behind at the start of camp.
collectively, April seemed to be Michael's strongest overall month of the year. he put up excellent numbers in pretty much every situational category, had some high league rankings, and set career highs with his five home runs and .308 batting average. Michael also put together a 10-game hitting streak over the course of the month, too. the sole negative was his high strikeout rate, occurring as a result of him needing to find his timing at the plate. that aside, it appeared as though Michael was back and on his way to having an incredible campaign.
when the calendar flipped to May, he struggled in some areas compared to April and was not nearly as productive. in fact, Michael went through an 0-for-17 slump with RISP. also for the whole month, he totaled a mere five RBI and hit zero home runs. he did, however, have a season high and team high 14-game hitting streak between May 15-30 and significantly lowered his K rate as well, which was encouraging. he had a minor scare on May 7 when he awkwardly stepped on 1st base and sprained his right ankle. luckily, he only missed three games, but looking back, he probably should have gone on the disabled list and gotten more time off to heal.😕
Michael's stats in June mirrored those of April--he did well in just about all of the situational categories across the board, except for having another uncharacteristically high strikeout rate. it must also be noted that he was not a qualifying player, and so the sample size was not as large as normal because he missed almost half of the month. why's that? first, he was absent for a couple days while on the Paternity List after his wife gave birth to who he claimed was the last Brantley baby they'd be having lol following that leave, the Indians opted to place him on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain. that's when they opened up and told us that his ankle had been bothering him again, but he was trying to play through it. once he went out on Paternity Leave for three days, the Indians figured it would be a golden opportunity to just give Michael another week off to rest that ankle in the hopes that his pain would go away and it would be a non-issue for the rest of 2017. if only.
two days into July, it was announced that Michael had been selected to the 2017 All Star Game as an AL outfield reserve by his peers. he was very appreciative that players around the league recognized and respected all the hard work he put in to not only get back to the Major League level but also perform at a high level. he played a full month in July and collected his 1,000th career hit shortly after the break on July 19, but his total July statistics were a mixed bag; he excelled in areas like righties, runners on, and at home, but really labored on the road, with RISP, with the bases loaded, and with 2 outs in an inning. conversely, he set career highs with 19 RBI and three outfield assists. despite the inconsistencies, it looked like Michael was still going to be a favorable candidate for the 2017 AL Comeback Player of the Year award. what happened next was unprecedented.
Michael played in just six games in August before suffering an ankle sprain again, this one more serious than his previous. he sustained the injury on August 8 when running in the outfield to back up a play in center and was put on the 10-Day DL on August 9. what was initially described as a mild sprain turned out to be a deltoid ligament sprain and ankle synovitis, something that wouldn't come to light until September 19. Michael sought a second opinion on August 11, with no additional news, and spent the month in his walking boot.
it took weeks of not being able to advance to on-field running from an AlterG (anti-gravity) treadmill before Michael and the Indians medical staff spoke with a doctor in Utah, on September 14, seeking advice on how to get Michael "over the hump." finally, Michael went to see an ankle specialist in Vail, Colorado on the 19th, who then ordered him to shut down all running activity for 7-10 days to see if that would alleviate the pain that would not subside when he tried to run unassisted.
after one week passed, Michael got out of the walking boot and was cleared to run in the outfield. he went through a short running progression program that included sprints, cuts, lateral running, and running the bases, and then came off the DL with two regular season games left. upon his DL activation on September 30, Michael got a pinch hit appearance and had a 10-pitch at bat that resulted in a single. some called it vintage Brantley, but it simply did not make up for all the time lost to injury (50 games) between August and September. he got two more ABs in the finale game on October 1, but hit two groundouts. any stats he acquired during September/October can't be fairly analyzed.
so that's your wordy summary of Michael's season. now here are all his comprehensive situational numbers and statistics for the 2017 campaign.
in 2017, Michael did not have any team leads offensively.
however, defensively, he led the outfielders with 731.0 innings and 86 games started. he was tied for 1st with 8 assists and 1 double play. he was also 2nd with 135 putouts and 87 games played.
Michael did not set any career highs in 2017.
HR:RBI Ratio, K Rate, LOB, and Outs
Michael wrapped up 2017 with 9 home runs. right off the bat (lol), he hit five long balls in April and then went through a 54-game homer drought before hitting his final four in his last 16 games. it's inexplicable how he had all that power at the beginning and then lost it. many people commented that the home run rate increase early on came from all the extra conditioning he did while he was recovering and rehabbing from surgery. how it disappeared for a while after that is a mystery. this year, the team leader in home runs was Edwin Encarnacion with 38. Francisco Lindor finished with 33, Jose Ramirez had 29, and Carlos Santana ended up with 23. Michael's nine ranked 8th behind Yan Gomes (14), Lonnie Chisenhall (12), and Jason Kipnis (12).
Michael tallied 52 RBI vs. 139 men left on base. he had an abundance of opportunities to drive home more runners but, as i will detail below, he really had a tough time in critical situations, ie. with runners in scoring position this season. even in just 90 games, i think that ribbie total should have been higher. the team leader in RBI this season was Encarnacion with 107. like i pointed out last year with Mike Napoli, i think EE should give Michael a thank you for missing all the time that he did. because otherwise, Michael is taking some of those RBI and Encarnacion most likely doesn't wind up in triple digits. just saying. second behind EE, Lindor had 89 RBI, Ramirez had 83, and Santana had 79. there was a significant drop off after that, as Gomes had 56 and Chiz had 53 RBI. Michael was next, ranking 7th.
time for the final HR:RBI ratio, which remains unchanged from the end of August. six of Michael's 9 home runs were solo and the other three were 2-run bombs. therefore, 11.5% of his 52 RBI came from his solo homers, while 23.1% of his 52 RBI came from all 9 of his home runs.
Michael's K rate in 2017 was 13.3% (50 K/375 PA). he averaged 1 strikeout for every 7.5 plate appearances. this is certainly higher than usual but the reason for it is clear--Michael was swinging and missing at balls outside the strike zone quite a bit as he was trying to get re-acclimated to big league pitching. that went on for a large portion of the season and had an ill-effect on his overall strikeout rate, especially because he only played in 90 games.
for the year, Michael had 103 groundouts, 38 flyouts, 31 lineouts, and 19 pop outs versus 50 strikeouts. the massive contrast between his number of grounders and fly balls proves he was having trouble getting balls up in the air and instead hitting most of them on the ground. this is not quite what we're used to seeing from Michael. the flip side of this though is that the majority of his outs came as a result of making contact with pitches, which is classic Dr. Smooth.
Reached Base vs. Left Stranded
in 2017, Michael reached base a total of 143 times via hits, walks, hit by pitches, fielder's choices, forceouts, throwing errors, and fielding errors. he scored 47 runs total, nine of which came from his own home runs. he was driven in 38 times by other players and left stranded 95 times. (once he was lifted for a PR, so i didn't count that here.) i absolutely believe that with the players batting behind him--namely Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Ramirez--Michael should have scored more runs than he did. it was the strangest thing how EE and Josey would hit more when Michael was not on base or not playing this season...🤔
leave your thoughts on this in a comment down below!
Streaks & Situational Statistics
Michael had a hit in 70 of the 90 games he played in 2017 and reached base safely in 78 games. he had 20 hitless games, but still reached base in 8 of those. Michael had 29 multi-hit games, 2 three+ hit games, and 10 multi-RBI games. he had at least 1 RBI in 38 games. in addition, he had 10 go-ahead hits and 12 go-ahead RBI. the Indians were 50-40 in games that Michael played in and 52-20 in the games he sat out/missed.
Michael had several noteworthy streaks in 2017, including:
--a modest 6-game hitting streak on the road between April 8-22. it began on April 8, then continued from April 17-22.
--a 10-game hitting streak, in which he bat .381 (16-for-42), between April 13-27 (over 15 days).
--a 10-game on-base streak between April 13-27.
--a 10-game on-base streak on the road between April 7 - May 3. it spanned over April 7-8, April 17-22, and May 1-3.
--a 14-game hitting streak, in which he bat .345 (19-for-55), between May 15-30.
--a 21-game reached base streak between May 12 - June 3 (over 23 days).
--an 18-game on-base streak between May 15 - June 3.
--a 7-game hitting streak on the road between May 19 - June 3. it spanned over May 19-23 and June 2-3.
--an 18-game reached base streak at home between April 29 - June 10. it spanned over April 29-30, May 12-17, May 24 - June 1, and June 9-10.
--an 8-game hitting streak between June 13 - July 2. it spanned over June 13-14, June 27-29, and July 1-2.
--an 8-game on-base streak between June 13 - July 2.
--a 17-game on-base streak between July 5-26. it spanned over July 5-9 and July 14-26.
--an 11-game on-base streak at home between July 5-26. it spanned over July 5-9 and July 21-26.
--a still active 13-game on-base streak on the road between July 1 - August 1. it spans over July 1-2, July 14-19, July 28-29, and July 31 - August 1.
--a still active 9-game hitting streak on the road between July 15 - August 1. it spans over July 15-19, July 28-29, and July 31 - August 1.
--an 8-game on-base streak between July 28 - August 6.
in 2017, Michael bat .305 (67-for-220) against right-handed pitchers and .288 (34-for-118) against left-handed pitchers. both of these averages are a little lower than they should be, especially the southpaws BA. had he played more, i think we'd be seeing very different results here.
Michael hit .319 (61-for-191) with 36 RBI at home on the season. he totaled 13 doubles, 1 triple, and 6 home runs (20 extra base hits) at Progressive Field, along with 3 sac flies, 30 runs, 19 walks (3 intentional), 1 hit by pitch, 4 stolen bases (3 - 2nd, 1 - 3rd), 7 GIDP, 30 strikeouts (23 swinging, 7 looking), and 94 total bases while playing 52 out of 81 total home games. he hit safely in 40 of the 52 home games he played in and safely reached base in 45 of them. he had 12 hitless games at home, reaching base in 5.
Michael hit .272 (40-for-147) with 16 RBI away from Progressive Field. i know he played less on the road than at home in 2017, but still, this is not up to par with his norm. he totaled 7 doubles and 3 home runs (10 extra base hits) on the road, along with 1 sac fly, 17 runs, 12 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 7 stolen bases (6 - 2nd, 1 - 3rd), 1 caught stealing (2nd), 1 GIDP, 20 strikeouts (17 swinging, 3 looking), and 56 total bases while playing 38 out of 81 total road games. he hit safely in 30 of the 38 road games he played in and safely reached base in 33 of them. he had 8 hitless games away from home, reaching base in 3.
for the year, Michael bat .277 (26-for-94) with runners in scoring position and produced 39 RBI. breaking it down, he hit .375 (9-for-24) with RISP and 0 outs, .250 (9-for-36) with RISP and 1 out, and .235 (8-for-34) with RISP and 2 outs. this was definitely not one of his best years in terms of being clutch at the plate. not only that, but it's pretty apparent that his 2-out RISP difficulties have now become a very real problem, as he's had trouble in these situations since 2015.😟
let's do some past comparisons of Michael's overall BA with runners in scoring position. going back to 2013, he finished with a .375 batting average with RISP, which ranked 3rd in the American League. in 2014, his .376 batting average was the highest on the Indians and ranked 1st in the AL. in 2015, he concluded the season with a .324 batting average, which ranked just 10th in the AL. if you recall, however, Michael was dealing with a shoulder ailment towards the end of that year and it soured his production. in 2016, Michael's .385 batting average was from a very small sample size and yet it seemed like an accurate representation of his typical abilities. based on all these performances, there is definite disappointment this season. but keep in mind, he did not play a full year so he may have improved with more ABs. the main takeaway from this is that when Michael is healthy and not fighting any issues, he's one of the best clutch hitters in baseball. hopefully he can get back to that in 2018.
Michael ended his 2017 campaign batting .248 (33-for-133) with 2 outs in an inning. he tallied 8 doubles, 4 home runs, 14 RBI, 15 walks, and 17 strikeouts (15 swinging, 2 looking). Michael has not done well with 2 outs since 2014, so that's three straight years of being an inning-ender. i don't know what it's gonna take to fix this, but he's got to turn it around somehow.
additionally, Michael bat .317 (51-for-161) with 46 RBI with runners on base and .167 (1-for-6) with 4 RBI with the bases loaded for the season. it's almost mind-boggling how Michael can be a good hitter with runners on, but not so much when runners are in scoring position (on 2nd and 3rd base). as for his stats with the bases loaded, he could have done more.
furthermore, Michael hit .282 (50-for-177) with the bases empty in 2017. he acquired 10 doubles, 6 home runs, 6 RBI, 14 walks, and 28 strikeouts (24 swinging, 4 looking) when nobody was on base this season. it's an average showing, yet still better than his RISP results.
finally, Michael's 2017 season resulted in a 1.6 fWAR (wins above replacement), a 111 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus--the ability to create runs compared to the league average), a 4.1 BsR (baserunning runs above average with stolen bases and caught stealings), and a -2.2 UZR (ultimate zone rating). despite not playing the field in September/October, his UZR went down 0.4 from the end of August due to the league average of that stat having changed. these numbers do not rank among the 13 qualifying AL left fielders because Michael did not finish as a qualifier this year. [these stats all came courtesy of fangraphs.com.]
have any opinions on his situational numbers? sound off in the comments!
Versus AL Central Division Teams
vs. the Detroit Tigers, Michael bat .275 (11-for-40) in 11 games--5 of the 9 at home and 6 of the 10 on the road--in 2017. (he had 1 scheduled day off during one April home series. he missed 7 games/2 series against this team. he missed all 4 games in one September/October road series because he was still on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time this year, but had begun running on the AlterG (non-weight bearing) treadmill. he missed all 3 games in one September/October home series because he was still on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time, and still running on the AlterG treadmill.) the Indians went 6-5 in the games he played in and 7-1 in the games he did not play in. overall, Michael had 9 singles, 2 extra base hits--doubles, 6 RBI, 1 sac fly, 6 runs, 5 walks (1 intentional), 2 stolen bases (3rd), 1 first at bat hit, and 13 total bases. he also grounded into 2 double plays, struck out 4 times (3 swinging, 1 looking), and left 19 men on base. furthermore, he had a .348 OBP, .325 SLG, and .673 OPS. defensively, he played 92 innings, but only 10 complete games in left field because he was subbed out defensively after 5 innings in 1 game in July because the Indians were winning a blowout. he also totaled 18 putouts.
final thoughts: Michael ordinarily dominates Detroit and even though he missed eight games of this matchup, i think he could have done better hitting-wise, like he did against his other AL Central opponents. he stranded a lot of runners as well, otherwise his RBI total would've been higher.
vs. the Kansas City Royals, Michael bat .375 (12-for-32) in 8 games--5 of the 9 on the road and 3 of the 10 at home--in 2017. (he had 1 scheduled day off during one June road series. he missed 10 games/3 series against this team. he missed all 3 games in one August road series because he was still on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time this year, wearing a walking boot for most of the time, but doing some light baseball activities; he missed all 3 games in one August home series because he was still on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time, out of the boot, back throwing and hitting, but not cleared to resume running; and he missed all 4 games in one September/October home series because he was still on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time, still running on the AlterG treadmill, but unable to run unassisted.) the Indians went 3-5 in the games he played in and 9-2 in the games he did not play in. overall, Michael had 11 singles, 1 extra base hit--a double, 2 RBI, 2 runs, 1 walk, 2 stolen bases (2nd), 2 first at bat hits, and 13 total bases. besides that, he grounded into 1 double play, struck out 6 times (5 swinging, 1 looking), and left 7 runners on base. furthermore, he had a .394 OBP, .406 SLG, and .800 OPS. as the left fielder, he played 62 innings, but only 6 complete games because he left 1 game early after 3 innings in May following spraining his right ankle, and he was lifted for a pinch runner in the top of the 8th inning in 1 game in June because the Indians were losing a blowout and Terry Francona wanted to give him some extra rest. he totaled 15 putouts as well.
final thoughts: he hit for a high batting average against Royals' pitching, which is very typical of Michael. however, of his dozen hits, 11 were singles. he also only drove in two runners; had he not missed 11 games, i'm sure he would have racked up more ribbies than that.
vs. the Minnesota Twins, Michael bat .333 (8-for-24) in 6 games--3 of the 10 on the road and 3 of the 9 at home--in 2017. (he missed 13 games/4 series against this team. he missed all 4 games in one June road series because he was with his wife following the birth of their child and on the Paternity List; he missed all 3 games in one June home series because he was on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain, but had just begun running on the treadmill/drills in the outfield; he missed all 3 games in one August road series because he was on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time this year, wearing a walking boot and still in the healing stages at this time; and he missed all 3 games in one September/October home series because he was still on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time, or more specifically diagnosed deltoid ligament sprain and ankle synovitis, but had just started some light running in the outfield.) the Indians went 4-2 in the games he played in and 8-5 in the games he did not play in. overall, Michael had 6 singles and 2 extra base hits, including 1 double and 1 home run, to go along with 3 RBI, 4 runs, 3 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 3 first at bat hits, and 12 total bases. additionally, he had 2 strikeouts (1 swinging, 1 looking) and 14 runners left stranded. furthermore, he had a .429 OBP, .500 SLG, and .929 OPS. he played 52 innings in left field, but only 4 complete games because he was subbed out defensively after 8 innings in 1 game in April following getting hit on the right shin, and he was lifted for a pinch runner in the bottom of the 8th inning in 1 game in May. he also recorded 13 putouts.
final thoughts: of all the teams in the division, this is the one Michael faced the least. but in his limited time, he did okay--had eight hits, drew some walks, and kept the strikeouts down. his OBP, SLG, and OPS were satisfactory, too. i just wish he brought more guys home because the chances were there.
vs. the Chicago White Sox, Michael bat .289 (13-for-45) in 12 games--8 of the 9 at home and 4 of the 10 on the road--in 2017. (he had 2 scheduled days off: one during an April road series and one during a July road series. he missed all 4 games in one September/October road series because because he was still on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time this year, but had begun running on the AlterG (non-weight bearing) treadmill; and he missed 1 game in one September/October home series because he was still on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time, or more specifically diagnosed deltoid ligament sprain and ankle synovitis, but was doing lateral running on the field, outfield drills, and took part in BP on the field.) the Indians went 8-4 in the games he played in and 5-2 in the games he did not play in. overall, Michael had 6 singles and 7 extra base hits, including 4 doubles and 3 home runs, as well as 8 RBI, 1 sac fly, 5 runs, 2 walks (1 intentional), 1 stolen base (2nd), 1 caught stealing (2nd), 6 first at bat hits, and 26 total bases. he also had 9 strikeouts (8 swinging, 1 looking) and 22 men left on base. furthermore, he had a .313 OBP, .578 SLG, and .890 OPS. while playing left field, Michael recorded 16 putouts, 3 assists, and 1 error in 89 innings, but only 9 complete games because he was subbed out defensively after 7 innings in 1 game in July because the Indians were winning a blowout. he was a PH in 2 games. he came in to PH in the bottom of the 5th inning in 1 game in September and then was subbed out defensively. he came in to PH in the bottom of the 5th inning in 1 game in October and then stayed in the game as the DH, which also made him the PH for DH in the game.
final thoughts: despite having one of the lower batting averages in this group, as well as a high amount of strikeouts and men left on base, this is the team that Michael was most productive against, what with his seven extra base hits and eight RBI. he gets a thumbs up from me here for sure.👍
i don't really feel like there was one team that Michael struggled immensely against in the AL Central this season, but what are your final thoughts on Michael's divisional play? let me know in a comment below!
Interleague Play
the Indians played a total of 20 games against six National League teams this year. Michael played in 17 of those games. the Indians went 5-12 in the games he played in and 1-2 in the games he did not play in. overall, Michael bat .267 (16-for-60) in Interleague Play in 2017. altogether, this is one of the better performances of his career when facing NL opponents, so i'm not going to complain.
vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .167 (1-for-6) in 2 of the 3 road games in April. (he had 1 scheduled day off during the series.) the Indians went 0-2 in the games he played in and lost the game he did not play in as well. Michael's lone hit was a single, but he also had 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 stolen base (2nd), and 1 total base. in addition, he struck out swinging once and left 3 men on base. furthermore, he had a .286 OBP, .167 SLG, and .452 OPS. in the field, Michael played 16 innings/2 complete games in left and recorded 3 putouts. (note: he was subbed out offensively in the top of the 9th inning in 1 game, depriving him of one more plate appearance.)
vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park (no designated hitter allowed) and Progressive Field, Michael bat .286 (4-for-14) in 4 games--2 road games and 1 home game in May, and 1 home (makeup) game in July. the Indians went 2-2 in the games he played in. overall, he had 3 singles, 1 extra base hit--a double, 2 RBI, 1 sac fly, 2 runs, 3 walks, and 5 total bases. he also had 3 strikeouts swinging and left 7 runners on base. furthermore, he had a .389 OBP, .357 SLG, and .746 OPS. in the field, Michael played 35 innings/4 complete games in left and recorded 11 putouts.
vs. the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field (no designated hitter allowed) and Progressive Field, Michael bat .000 (0-for-10) in 3 games--2 road games in June, and 1 of the 2 home games in August. (he missed 1 game because he was just placed on the 10-Day DL with a right ankle sprain for the second time this year.) the Indians went 1-2 in the games he played in and lost the game he did not play in. overall, he had 2 strikeouts swinging and 4 men left on base. furthermore, his OBP, SLG, and OPS were all .000. in the field, Michael played 20.1 innings, but only 2 complete games in left because he left 1 game early in August after 4.1 innings following spraining his right ankle. he recorded 4 putouts as well.
vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Progressive Field, Michael bat .600 (3-for-5) in 2 of the 3 home games in June. (he missed the final game of the series when he was away from the team to be with his wife, who was about to give birth.) the Indians went 0-2 in the games he played in and won the game he did not play in. overall, he had 1 single, 2 extra base hits--doubles, 3 RBI, 1 sac fly, 1 run, 2 walks, 1 first at bat hit, and 5 total bases. he also stranded 1 runner. furthermore, he had a .625 OBP, 1.000 SLG, and 1.625 OPS. in the field, Michael played 18 innings/2 complete games in left and recorded 1 putout.
vs. the San Diego Padres at Progressive Field, Michael bat .333 (4-for-12) in 3 home games in July. the Indians went 1-2 in the games he played in. overall, he had 3 singles, 1 extra base hit--a triple, 1 RBI, 3 runs, 1 walk, 1 first at bat hit, and 6 total bases. he also had 1 GIDP, 2 strikeouts (1 swinging, 1 looking), and 7 men left. furthermore, he had a .385 OBP, .500 SLG, and .885 OPS. in the field, Michael played 18 innings/2 complete games in left and recorded 2 putouts. he was the DH for 1 game.
vs. the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park (no designated hitter allowed), Michael bat .308 (4-for-13) in 3 road games in July. the Indians went 1-2 in the games he played in. overall, he had 3 singles, 1 extra base hit--a double, 1 RBI, 2 runs, 1 walk, and 5 total bases. he also had 1 strikeout swinging and 4 left on base. furthermore, he had a .357 OBP, .385 SLG, and .742 OPS. in the field, Michael played 26 innings/3 complete games in left and recorded 4 putouts.
how do you think Michael performed against the National League this year? leave your thoughts in the comment section!
League Rankings
as i revealed at the beginning of this blog, Michael did not acquire enough plate appearances to be considered a qualifying player in 2017. therefore, i cannot compare his batting average with that of the qualifiers, nor can i rank the likes of his OBP, SLG, OPS, or strikeouts with players around the league either. aside from those stats, everything else can be measured against other ballplayers, so let's see which of Michael's final numbers fall in the Top 10 among left fielders and outfielders in the American League and MLB.
among left fielders in the American League, Michael ranked tied for 4th in intentional walks (3), tied for 5th in sac flies (4), 8th in stolen bases (11), 10th in RBI (52), and tied for 10th in hits (101) and total bases (150).
among outfielders in the American League, Michael did not have any stats that ranked in the Top 10.
among players in the American League, Michael did not have any stats that ranked in the Top 10.
among all left fielders in the Major Leagues, Michael ranked tied for 6th in sac flies and tied for 8th in intentional walks.
among all outfielders in the Major Leagues, Michael did not have any stats that ranked in the Top 10.
among all players in the Major Leagues, Michael did not have any stats that ranked in the Top 10.
In Indians History📕
on July 19, Michael became the 36th Indians player in franchise history to acquire 1,000 hits, per Jordan Bastian. also at that time, he was one of just 87 active MLB players with 1,000 career hits as was noted in Bastian and Jonathan Hawthorne's article on indians.com. Michael reached this benchmark after hitting a line drive double in a game against the San Francisco Giants. you can read more details about the momentous occasion in my separate Brantley Reaches Milestone with 1,000th Career Hit! blog post.
In The Field & League Rankings
when Michael played in the outfield this season, he was a fixture in left field only. overall, he had 135 putouts, 8 assists, 1 error, and 1 double play in 144 total chances. he finished 2017 with a .993 fielding percentage in 87 games and 731.0 innings played. many people were skeptical that Michael would be able to play left after his multiple right shoulder issues that held him out of most of the 2016 campaign. well, he not only made several fantastic catches, but he also took a couple dives to make some plays. so despite his lone (fielding) error, it was business as usual for Michael in his corner outfield position.
speaking of errors, Michael will begin 2018 with 36-game errorless streak in the outfield. his franchise record of 247 consecutive errorless games in the outfield from 2014 still stands, and with his future as an Indian currently unsettled, he may not get the chance to try and break it.😟
now here are the league rankings of Michael's defensive stats for 2017:
among AL left fielders, Michael's 8 assists in 2017 ranked tied for 5th with Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals. Andrew Benintendi of the Boston Red Sox had the most assists with 11.
also, Michael's 1 double play ranked tied for 5th with 17 other players. Delino DeShields of the Texas Rangers, Corey Dickerson of the Tampa Bay Rays, Ben Gamel of the Seattle Mariners, and Trey Mancini of the Baltimore Orioles had the most with 2.
among all MLB left fielders, Michael's 8 assists ranked tied for 7th with Gordon and Gerardo Parra of the Colorado Rockies.
among all AL outfielders, Michael's 8 assists ranked tied for 11th (with 5 other players, including his Indians teammate, Bradley Zimmer).
among all MLB outfielders, Michael's 8 assists ranked tied for 18th (with 9 other players).
the 2017 MLB OF assist leader is Adam Duvall of the Cincinnati Reds with 15.
coming up next:
Wrapping Up Brantley's 2017 Season
ICYMI, Parts 1 & 2 of my wrap up series:
Brantley's 2017 Game-by-Game Numbers & Notes
Brantley's 2017 Batting Order Position & LF/PH/DH #s
if you're not already, then be sure to follow me on twitter @clevelandgirl23 for offseason updates on Michael and whether or not the Indians pick up his 2018 club option. that news should be breaking around the beginning of November. and if you'd like to receive email notifications whenever i post new blogs, you can sign up to be on my subscription list by entering your email address in the box underneath the Blog Archive sidebar over on the upper right side of this page!📧
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