Wesner: Tyler Naquin being wasted by Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are allowing outfielder Tyler Naquin to rot in Triple-A Columbus.

Eighty-seven games into their pursuit of redemption, the Cleveland Indians sit atop the very competitive American League Central with a 2.5 game lead. They possess the third-best record in the AL, despite manager Terry Francona and President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti failing to utilize Cleveland’s 25 best players. In fact, one of the organization’s most talented weapons has been buried in Triple-A.

And without him, the Indians stand no chance of winning the pennant.

In an unjust transaction, Tyler Naquin, who placed third in AL Rookie of the Year voting last season, was optioned after a measly 17 at-bats.

Sure, the 26-year old was only able to get four hits and struck out five times in six games; yet, Cleveland couldn’t give him more than a week of plate appearances? Why?

In 2016, Naquin batted .296 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI for the Indians. He was productive in many facets, enduring just two defensive errors in 820.2 innings and hitting over .338 in April, June and July. In fact, the only area in which the Texas A&M product struggled significantly was with runners in scoring position.

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But, in just 138 Triple-A plate appearances, he has improved.

“Anytime I walk to the plate from on deck I analyze the situation,” Naquin told Call to the Pen in June. “If there is less than two outs and a man on third base, I’m trying to elevate the baseball and hit something hard.

“You just have to trust you can do it.”

Entering the All-Star break, Naquin is batting .381 with 12 RBI when runners are in scoring position — an 181-point increase from his time with Cleveland last year. Additionally, his plaguing inefficiencies that cost him a starting job are nowhere to be found. He is hitting a healthy .309 with 5 home runs, 17 runs scored and 16 RBI.

“There were times that I scuffled. I had a bad month, but it’s just always about making adjustments,” he said. “You got to realize all the work you’ve put in and how much success that you’ve had.”

The Cleveland Indians have five outfielders on their active roster. Veterans Michael Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall completed impressive first halves on Sunday — Chisenhall is pushing for career-highs in all three Triple Crown categories. Though, highly-touted rookie Bradley Zimmer has cooled off drastically.

Zimmer, dating back to the end of June, has been a shell of himself. The University of San Francisco product has watched his .308 batting average from June 23 dip 23 points in 16 days.

Add Zimmer to a pair of MLB veterans, Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte, who possess career averages under .260 and Naquin is a great option to platoon, if not start four-to-five games a week.

So, why is he still in Columbus?

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His demotion was, clearly, not disciplinary and he has seemingly righted all issues at the plate. As a bonus, he is free of injuries and 100 percent healthy. Thus, what more does Tyler Naquin need to prove to play in the Major Leagues, as he rightfully deserves?

I have no answer, but instead friendly advice: Mr. Antonetti, if you will not utilize Naquin, trade him to a team that will.

After all, the same situation led to Ben Gamel being dealt to Seattle. The change of scenery worked pretty well for him, didn’t it?

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