It will take a huge amount of on-field success for Indians catcher Carlos Santana to gain more fame than the iconic Latin guitarist that shares his name, but Cleveland hopes he'll soon be household name. Meanwhile, Miguel Cabrera is already a big name for the Tigers, but they want to see his surname among the AL's league leaders rather than in the police blotter.
Why Santana is a Franchise Player
Entering this season Carlos Santana had appeared in just 46 major-league games. He hit .260 in 150 at-bats, but impressed with a .401 on-base percentage. He drew 37 walks, while striking out eight fewer times. He nearly walked once a game for the Indians.
The switch-hitter also hit for power, clubbing six home runs in limited action. Nearly 50% of his hits went for extra bases in 2010. His OPS (.868) wasn't all that far behind that of the AL leader, Josh Hamilton (1.044). In fact, had he qualified to appear among the leaders, Santana would have ranked just outside the top ten, a few points behind Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria.
A strong-hitting catcher is a must for a contending team in the AL, yet another reason why Santana is expected to be a fixture in Cleveland's present and future.
Why Cabrera is a Franchise Player
In many ways, it's hard to believe that Miguel Cabrera will turn 28 in just a few days (April 18). He's in his prime, having reached the 250-home run plateau in the early part of the 2011 season. He hits for average and power, with a career batting average of .313 and 26 homers in each of the last seven seasons.
He doesn't walk a lot for a slugger of his caliber, but he still gets on-base at a tremendous rate. He led the AL with an OPS of .420 in 2010 and ranked in the top 10 in that category three other times during his time with the Marlins and Tigers.
Cabrera has been invaluable to Detroit in recent seasons and the entire league has noticed. He finished second in the AL MVP voting last season, which came after a fourth place finish in 2009. He is coming off the highest Offensive WAR (7.4) in the AL and he flirted with the Triple Crown as well.
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Andrew Perna writes on the MLB and NBA for RealGM.
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