Mckenzie surges, Reyes awakens for Cleveland
Cleveland remains on the fringe of playoff contention, though a clear toptier of wild-card contenders has emerged.
Here is who has been hot and cold on the team:
3 up
Cal Quantrill, Triston Mckenzie
For much of the season, Cleveland's starting rotation has been viewed as the first three (Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale) and a group of several young guys who have rotated in and out of the final spots. Until something changes, those days are in the rear-view mirror — it's a clear top five.
Cal Quantrill and Triston Mckenzie haven't slowed down, continually building on respective hot streaks. In his past six starts, Quantrill has a 1.46 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 37 innings. In his past three starts, Mckenzie has a 1.29 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 21 innings.
Barring some drastic changes, Cleveland has a clear-cut top five moving forward with Bieber, Plesac, Civale, Quantrill and Mckenzie.
Franmil Reyes
The sleeping giant in the heart of Cleveland's lineup has seemingly awoken.
Franmil Reyes recently struggled through his first extended slump since the beginning of the 2020 season. Quickly, Reyes' production has shot back up. Until Tuesday, Reyes had reached base in seven consecutive games, including home runs on backto-back nights that featured a five-rbi game on Friday against the Angels, tying a career high.
Prior to that game, acting manager Demarlo Hale referenced the importance of smaller adjustments, which he had begun to see with Reyes just before the recent pick-up in power.
“I often say small adjustments are very good for the long haul of the season,” Hale said. “When you have to make big adjustments, I think it can become a little bit complicated because you're trying to do something totally different. I think it depends on each player, but I often realize that players, this is a hard game to play, so the success rate is not always on your side.”
2 down
Oscar Mercado, Harold Ramirez
Oscar Mercado is hitting .208 with a .627 OPS in the past four weeks, as he has again fallen into an extended slump while searching for the kind of success he found in 2019.
Harold Ramirez is still out with a strained right hamstring and could use the last several weeks to try to build a case for himself going into 2022. Ramirez has hit .263 with six home runs, 17 doubles and 31 RBIS in 77 games.