Cleveland Indians: Viewing Yonder Alonso independent of Carlos Santana in 2018

Cleveland Indians fans should not plan to directly compare Yonder Alonso’s 2018 performance to that of Carlos Santana.

It is incredibly easy for Cleveland Indians fans to see Yonder Alonso as Carlos Santana‘s replacement and expect similar results.

Yet while Alonso will indeed be replacing Santana at first base in 2018, he is not the same type of player.

Indians fans saw Santana do so much for the team, both on offense and defense, since making his major league debut in 2010. He was a catcher, a first baseman, and even an outfielder who could also hit anywhere in the lineup and produce.

He was the rare player who could walk a lot, with his 88 walks in 2018 being a new low, who could also hit for power. Santana hit at least 18 home runs in every season since 2011.

Alonso, on the other hand, is mainly a first baseman, starting 647 games there in 668 total starts. His 28 home runs in 2017 were the most in his career by far, with the next closest mark being the nine home runs he hit in 2012. His career-high in walks is also just 68, which he had a season ago.

But the good news is that Alonso owns a .340 on-base percentage throughout his career, compared to Santana’s mark of .365. He also strikes out at a much lower clip, owning a 162 game average of 91 strikeouts, while Santana owns a mark of 118 in that same average.

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The main question for Alonso will be his home runs, as fans are left wondering if last season was simply an anomaly. His six home runs in 42 games with the Seattle Mariners after being traded there is a cause for concern.

But even if his home runs go down, he is still able to provide Santana-like slash numbers, just in a different manner. He may walk less but get more singles, which is just as good. And this is if his home run totals do indeed go down, which may not even happen.

It depends on whether his personal adjustments to his swing can counter those made by pitchers, which was detailed nicely in an article by Mike Hattery of WFNY.

The key for fans is not to expect Alonso to be the same type of player as Santana, but he could still put up similar offensive numbers.

He won’t be put in the leadoff spot and may not put up similar power numbers, but as long as he gets on base and keeps his strikeout total below 100, which Santana only did twice since 2011, he can be a solid addition to this team.

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Fans must also realize that Alonso is considered somewhat of a downgrade on paper. It is why the Indians were able to get him for cheaper than Santana, and it is up to the entire lineup to make up for Santana’s absence.