Cleveland Indians: Jose Ramirez putting final touches on standout season

You might not think of him as one of the game’s top players, but Cleveland Indians infielder Jose Ramirez is making his case for that distinction.

In the midst of a 13-game winning streak, there’s plenty of credit to go around the Cleveland Indians. But if there’s one member of the Tribe who doesn’t seem to get nearly enough national attention, it’s infielder Jose Ramirez. The 24-year-old has been a legitimate star this season, and a big reason why Cleveland looks poised to make another run at the Fall Classic.

This is by no means a surprise breakout: Ramirez enjoyed an impressive campaign last year as well. He slashed .312/.363/.462 with 11 home runs and 76 RBI in 152 games. In the Indians’ World Series loss to the Cubs, Ramirez hit .310 with a homer in Game Five. Not bad for the first season in which he played over 100 games.

Ramirez has been even better in 2017, building on last year’s momentum to earn a starting gig in his first All-Star Game. He’s batting .311/.363/.568 with 25 home runs and 69 RBI in 134 contests. During the Tribe’s current streak, Ramirez is slashing a ferocious .431/.453/1.039 with eight doubles, seven homers and 10 RBI in 12 contests. Yeah, really.

Obviously, one of the most noticeable differences for Ramirez is the increase in power. His isolated power (ISO) has jumped from .150 to .257 since last season. He’s more than doubled last year’s home output in 18 fewer games.

Far from being purely homer-happy, Ramirez has been collecting extra-base hits of all varieties, enough to lead the AL with 296 total bases. He’s legged out six triples after hitting three last season. He leads both leagues with 47 doubles, already one more than he accumulated a year ago. In fact, Ramirez has the chance to do something quite special as far as two-baggers are concerned.

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As Matt Snyder of CBSSports.com points out, Ramirez has a shot to become the first player since 1936 to hit 60 doubles in a season. The last to do it was Charlie Gehringer, and the single-season record is owned by Earl Webb with 67 in 1931. Ramirez is currently on track to finish with 55 doubles, so he’d have to pick up the pace to reach that rare plateau. But as Snyder mentions, he notched 13 doubles in June, so the precedent is there for him to have a big month.

Regardless of whether Ramirez puts that particular feather in his cap, he’s going to end the season as one of the game’s top players. At the moment he boasts a 5.2 fWAR, good for 10th in baseball. Just below him on the list is some guy named Bryce Harper (5.0).

Aside from his burgeoning offensive prowess, Ramirez also adds value with his glove. He’s legitimately versatile, appearing in 88 games at third base and 53 at second this year. He has five defensive runs saved at second base and owns a 7.7 UZR/150 at the hot corner. Last season he even logged 48 games in the outfield, although he hasn’t needed to make that journey this year.

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Corey Kluber is generating many of the headlines in Cleveland these days, and for good reason. If you’re thinking about the Indians’ young core, 23-year-old shortstop Francisco Lindor is probably the first to come to mind. However, Ramirez deserves his share of recognition too. That five-year, $26 million extension he signed before the season looks like an absolute bargain right now. And with a pair of team options that could keep him in Cleveland through 2023, Ramirez will have a lot to say about the Tribe’s future success.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs.