Five Reasons Indians SS Francisco Lindor Should Win AL Rookie of the Year

By Adrienne Goehler

They had an eye on him for years.

They sat back and quietly watched the progress the young player was making as he continued to get promoted from single A ball to triple A in Columbus. The fans who knew all about him were patiently waiting for his number to be called as he continued to thrive down in the minor leagues.

At the time, the struggling 29-32 Indians were still looking for their next shortstop and the position was up for grabs for someone to step in and take it. They couldn’t ignore him anymore; it was time to see if the kid could play.

On June 14, 2015, Francisco Lindor made his debut with the Cleveland Indians in Detroit, and recorded his first hit. Since then, Lindor has made quite some noise in not only Cleveland, but around the league for the argument of AL Rookie of the Year.

Here’s five reasons why Lindor is your 2015 winner.

1. Lindor has the highest WAR (3.4) among AL rookie position players beating out Carlos Correa (3.2), Devon Travis (2.5), Billy Burns (2.0), and Miguel Sano (1.9).

2. His star studded defense can leave you shaking your head as he flashes the leather out at short with diving stops and impressive hurried throws. Lindor sports 7 defensive runs saved on the year, and his 97% fielding percentage puts him right at league average amongst shortstops.

3. His bat hasn’t cooled off since he came up. At first, like any rookie would, Lindor struggled a bit at the plate and had a hard time catching up to the ball. That’s no longer the case. In August, he put up a .370/.413/.500 line and currently sits at .309/.351/.462 with 97 hits (18 doubles, 3 triples), 37 RBI, and 8 home runs in 356 plate appearances. Not bad for a guy who's only played three months in the bigs. Although Correra looks to be leading the conversation, his slash line is .276/.345/.502 on the season, with just a bit more pop on the bat than Lindor but he's not far behind.

4. Don’t worry about the fact Lindor has only clocked in on 80 games during the year. Correa has played in 81, Travis 62, and Sano 61. Burns is the exception with 111.

5. Finally, Lindor has been one of the driving forces for the Indians resurgence who are now back to .500 and 4.5 games out of the second wild card spot with a 71-71 record. With runners in scoring position he has a slash line of .339/.380/.525 for the much needed Indians who were struggling to push runs across the plate. It’s hard to say who will be the winner, but with the high energy and hard play the 21 year old provides, he is making a case for himself. No matter what happens, it looks like the Indians have penciled #12 in their lineup for many seasons to come.