2017 MLB Comeback Players
Will they live again?
American League:
Michael Brantley (Cleveland Indians) Outfielder:
Somehow the Cleveland Indians reached the World Series without their best player, Michael Brantley. Brantley was dealing with a shoulder injury that sidelined him for all but 7 games of the 2016 campaign. Last season, the Indians were the best team in the American League and, in the World Series, took the Chicago Cubs to Game 7 (only to lose after taking a page out of Golden State’s playbook). Brantley is finally back from his gruesome injury and will rejoin a team that now includes All-Star Edwin Encarnación. With him healthy, the Cleveland Indians are bound to make the World Series for a second straight season.
Lorenzo Cain (Kansas City Royals) Outfielder
The 2015 All-Star, Lorenzo Cain, started off last season dreadfully, hitting around .220 in the first month. Cain saw a nice spike in the following two months when he hit .351 and .287, respectively. But it went downhill from there. He missed most of July and all of September. His absence really took a toll on the Kansas City Royals, who didn’t make the playoffs after reaching consecutive World Series in 2014 and 2015. Cain ended the season hitting .287 in 103 games. Now that the Royals have Cain and many more players back from injuries, they will look to compete with a tough AL Central.
José Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays) Outfielder:
After failing to receive any multi-year contract offers this past offseason, Jose Bautista is back with the Toronto Blue Jays, out to prove a point. After playing only 116 games while hitting .234, Bautista was a real weak-link in the Blue Jays lineup. The only thing he offered to the offense was his power, but even that was inconsistent. With the 36 year old fully healthy and having a chip on his shoulder, don’t be surprised the dominant circa-2014 Bautista makes a return (unless he gets injured… again).
Honorable Mentions: Craig Kimbrel, Danny Salazar, Mike Moustakas, Dallas Keuchel, Chris Archer, Sonny Gray
National League:
Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh Pirates) Outfielder:
Poor Andrew McCutchen. The former MVP had a down year in 2016, was in trade rumors the whole off-season and was moved from center field (his regular position) to right field (he was not happy about it). Moving him is understandable: he’s old (30), and his teammate Starling Marte won two Gold Gloves these past two seasons in left field. Still, it’s not respectful to treat your franchise player like this (#FreeBoogie). McCutchen definitely has something to prove this season. He is a former MVP, 5 time All-Star, and 4 time Silver Slugger, his 2016 season was, more likely than not, an outlier. Expect McCutchen to bounce back and show the Pirates that he is still the leader of this team.
P.S. His downfall started when he shaved his dreadlocks… Just saying
Jacob deGrom (New York Mets) Starting Pitcher:
Everyone on the New York Mets starting rotation had some type of injury last year except the 42 year old Bartolo Colon. Noah Syndegaard only missed a few games so I can’t put him on here. But when deciding between Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, and Steven Matz to make a comeback, the obvious choice is deGrom. He’s an amazing pitcher and was seen as the ace of this stacked staff until his injury-ridden 2016. Despite being held to only 24 starts and suffering from a drop in velocity, he still managed to pull off a solid season. He had an ERA of 3.05 and struck out 143 batters but had a record of 7–8. With deGrom feeling 100% now, nothing will get in his way of him becoming the Mets’ number 2 pitcher.
Wade Davis (Chicago Cubs) Closer:
When Wade Davis would pitch, he was UNSTOPPABLE. Last season he had an ERA of 1.87, struck out 47 batters, and had 23 saves. He did all of this while being injured and missing many games. Honestly, 2016 could be seen as a down year for Davis. In 2015 and 2016 his ERA were 1.00 and 0.94. That’s just complete domination. With one year left on his contract, the Kansas City Royals traded him to the reigning champion (heavily favored to repeat) Chicago Cubs. With Chicago he will get an ample amount of save opportunities. I seriously doubt that the Cubs will miss Chapman and his $86 million price tag.
Honorable Mentions: Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, Matt Harvey, A.J. Pollock, Stephen Strasburg, Kyle Schwarber
