DETROIT _ The Indians' three-year, $60 million investment in slugger Edwin Encarnacion hasn't gotten off to the best start, as he's begun his tenure in Cleveland with a slow April.
However, looking at Encarnacion's career, that isn't a particularly new development. For the most part, Encarnacion has been a slow starter.
That can be evidenced by his career wRC+ _ which measures a hitter's total value and weighs it against the league and other factors, with 100 being average _ by month. As the season progresses, there's a general incline.
His career wRC+ by month, per FanGraphs, from April through September: 103, 118, 152, 138, 130, 120. His 152 wRC+ in June means that he was 52 percent better than the average hitter. April on average has been his toughest month, with the middle of the season being when he's traditionally been at his strongest.
"It seems like things don't go so well for me in April, but then they get better," Encarnacion said. "I'm confident that I'll be able to find my swing and continue doing the work I need to do to improve and do what I need to do to get better."
Encarnacion in April hit .200 with a .343 on-base percentage, four home runs and nine RBI. He had a wRC+ of 102, just one point off his career average. It's one of the reasons the Indians aren't yet overly concerned. Still, it certainly hasn't been the production the Indians envisioned out of the No. 4 hitter in a potent lineup.
"He's been a typically slow starter," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "I'm telling you, and I get it, he's hitting .200, but as cold as he got, he'll get just as hot. He's healthy and he's really good. It's just not been his best month. A lot of Aprils are like that for him."
The biggest issue has been the strikeouts. Encarnacion had some positive indicators, like his hard-hit ball percentage, which was actually up to 47.1 percent this season from 36.1 last year. But he also led the majors in April with 35 strikeouts. His strikeout percentage of 33 in April was up from 24 percent last year.
"I think there's been times early on, kind of like pitch recognition," Francona said. "Sometimes you're ahead of the breaking ball, behind the fastball. Then, I think he was maybe getting started a little bit late, so then everything has to hurry.
"I think he's had periods where he looks like he's starting to kind of get it, and then he's fallen back."
