Four Players the Indians Need to Step Up in the Second Half of the Regular Season

The Indians enter the All-Star break at seven games over .500, sitting at 47-40, which is five games below where they were last year at this very point. The

The Indians enter the All-Star break at seven games over .500, sitting at 47-40, which is five games below where they were last year at this very point.

The team is still very much the odds on favorite to win the American League Central, and with the Tigers and White Sox both looking like sellers, it looks like the competition in the division will be the Twins and Royals.

Thus far in 2017 the Indians have gotten huge first halves from the likes of Jose Ramirez, Corey Kluber and Michael Brantley, but they also have plenty of question marks from a number of players considered key to the teams' success.

Today we take a look at four such players, their outlook for the second half, and what we can expect from those players and if they will indeed have a big impact on the Indians drive to a second straight AL Central crown and hopeful defense of their American League title.

4. Danny Salazar

It's been no secret that Salazar hasn't been the same since he was so good last year in the first half, going 10-3 at one point before a number of issues got him shut down, making just 10 starts the last three months of the regular season.

This season has been a difficult one to say the least for the Tribe pitcher, as he's gone just 3-5 with a 5.40 ERA this season to date.

The team has sent him to the pen, the minors, and now injuries have set him back to the point where he's trying to work his way back to the big league roster.

He had a terrible outing last time out in AAA Columbus, allowing three solo homers in 3.1 innings, walking two and striking out four.

He's scheduled to start in Mahoning Valley on Tuesday night, and right now anything positive would be a good sign for Salazar, who the team still has hopes of contributing in 2017.

3. Jason Kipnis

The Indians starting second basemen has had a tough 2017 so far, staring the year hurt, and now on the 10-day DL hurt again with a hamstring strain.

Last season was a huge year for Kip, who hit .275 with 23 homers and 82 RBI, and had a number of huge hits in games to help the team to victory.

It's been a 180 this year, as he's struggled to get going at any point, hitting just .232 with 8 homers and 26 runs batted in.

He's been in the leadoff spot, and it seems like when he hits the teams offense tends to have big games, but too often this season his slumping has hurt the top of the Indians lineup.

Once he returns from his hamstring issue, Kip really needs to pick it up like he did a season ago and help this offense get on track.

2. Josh Tomlin

The 'Little Cowboy' has had a rough first half of 2017, going 5-9 with an ERA of 5.90. He started the season 1-3, and in his 17 starts this season he's gone five innings or less eight times.

Three times he's gone less than three innings, putting a major strain on the teams' pen, which has had to do a lot in the first half of the season.

The team seems to always be patient with Tomlin, and even after a disaster last season in the month of August they allowed him to work through it, and eventually it paid off as he was very good in the postseason.

He's allowed 17 homers in 93 innings thus far, but on a positive note he's entering the break on a high note, winning his last start after going 7 innings, allowing two runs on four hits in a win last Thursday over the Padres.

With Danny Salazar's role already in question and Trevor Bauer very up and down, the team really needs Tomlin to get right and stay right in the second half.

1. Yan Gomes

This can be basically the Indians catcher spot in general, as Roberto Perez isn't carrying his weight with the team in the first half either.

But let's start with Gomes, who is hitting just .222 with five homers and 22 RBI at the break. His defense has been fine, but the fact he's struck out 55 times in 189 AB thus far is alarming to say the least.

The thing that's so frustrating is Gomes always seems to come up in key spots or with players in scoring position, and the fact he's got so many strikeouts is hurting the team in a big way.

The rotation still loves to have him as their backstop, but just having him get some key hits would add so much to his value to this team.

He was hitting just .176 after April, but at one point in May lifted his average to .267 after going 2-for-3 against Houston on May 21st.

Since then though he's been in a major slump, hitting 2 homers, losing 45 points off his average, and striking out 37 times.

Perez is hitting just .178, and these two combined is why the team likely will keep their eyes open if any catchers are available on the trade market.