Look past the stats for these AL Central players

Maybe he got off to a rough start, or the expectations going into the season were unreasonably high. Whatever the case, the initial impression -- often a lasting one -- was made that the season wasn't going the way this player, and the team and its fans, thought it would. It happens every year.

But baseball is a long, long season, and sometimes we don't realize when that player has gone about starting to live up to the expectations or change that first impression. With that in mind as the dog days of August set in upon us, we take a look at one player on each team in the American League Central who just might be having a better season than the numbers say, or you may think.

Indians: Roberto Pérez, C

There was a collective groan in Cleveland last offseason, when the team traded catcher Yan Gomes to the Nationals and received only Minor Leaguers in return. But what the Indians believed is that they had an elite catcher waiting in the wings for his opportunity to arrive. They were right. While Perez's batting average has been below .240 for most of the season, he has delivered legitimate power, trailing only Gary Sanchez and Mitch Garver in home runs among catchers in the AL. And he's not just a hacker, having drawn enough walks to have an OBP more than 80 points above his batting average.

But it's behind the dish where he is elite, with an MLB-best 17 defensive runs saved, nearly double the next best catcher. He controls the running game, too, with only Philadelphia's J.T. Realmuto ahead of him in stolen base percentage among starting catchers. There has been a general appreciation for how Perez has performed, but with his combination of power, patience and defensive prowess, there is a legitimate argument to be made that Berto is the most valuable catcher in the AL at this moment.

Royals: Brad Keller, SP

Keller was a surprise breakout pitcher last season, going from a Rule 5 pick, to earning a spot in the Opening Day bullpen, to emerging as the Royals' best starting pitcher by going 8-5 with a 3.28 ERA in 20 starts from May to the end of the season. And so it was with great anticipation that he was named the Royals' Opening Day starter this season. He was stellar in the opener, but -- as often happens -- he then entered the learning curve portion of his professional development, struggling to 4.47 ERA in the first half, due in large part to 55 walks and nine HBP in 110 2/3 innings (1.45 WHIP).

Since the All-Star Game, however, the light has gone on for Keller. In five starts, he has gone 3-2 with a 2.29 ERA. Most importantly, he has walked only four batters in 35 1/3 innings, helping drop his WHIP to 0.96, while also increasing his K/9 from 6.26 to 7.39. He's never going to be a big strikeout guy, relying instead on command and heavy pitches down in the zone to generate weak contact, but the good news is that he's doing just that once again.

Tigers: Niko Goodrum, UTIL

The Tigers are having the kind of season where looking for silver linings is the best you can do, and if you look close enough you'll find that Goodrum fits the bill. The overall numbers (.252/.328/.415, 10 HRs) are not eye-popping, but they don't tell the whole story, either.

Over the past 30 days, Goodrum has batted .306/.366/.506 in 21 games, with three home runs and a team-best 13 RBIs, much better than his overall numbers. And there is quite a bit of value in his versatility, too, as he has started 18 games at first base, 15 games at second, one at third, 35 at shortstop, 20 in left field, seven in center and another five in right. Those kinds of players are extremely valuable in today's game, when managers prefer to carry 12- and 13-man pitching staffs.

And it also benefits the development of younger players, who when called up can slot into the position they're most comfortable playing while Goodrum moves around the diamond filling gaps. That doesn't show up in the box score, but it matters a great deal all the same.

Twins: Michael Pineda, SP

The ERA (4.15) is inflated -- and was much more so at the start of the season, when Pineda threw some clunkers and struggled with the long ball (13 HR allowed through his first nine starts). That start didn't exactly endear him to Twins fans, who had waited patiently all last season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery and were now seeing him for the first time.

Since those initial struggles, however, he's allowed only five homers in his last 12 starts. As he's struggled to find a feel for his slider through the season, he still has posted the classic low Pineda walk rate (4.8 percent, second-lowest among qualified starters in the AL) and a 1.19 WHIP, good for 12th among qualified starters in the league. In 15 starts since the beginning of May, he's allowed more than three earned runs exactly once and has completed five innings in every one of those starts, which will work more often than not with the Twins' offense, dropping his ERA from 6.21 to 4.15.

White Sox: Reynaldo López, SP

The big question regarding Lopez is not whether he's good enough to stick in the big leagues -- his electric stuff has answered that question -- it's whether he has the arsenal to stick as a starting pitcher. The White Sox are determined to find out and are giving him every opportunity to show them what he can do. Last season, he answered any questions about durability by logging 32 starts, and he showed enough flashes (3.91 ERA, two or fewer ER in 20 starts) to generate optimism heading into this season. But in the first half of this season, Lopez did not meet those expectations.

After allowing seven runs over 5 1/3 innings against Detroit on July 4 to complete his first half with a 6.34 ERA, Lopez promised to be better in the season’s second half -- and he has kept that promise. Over five starts and 31 2/3 innings since the All-Star break, Lopez has posted a 2.56 ERA with 34 strikeouts, 11 walks and only one home run allowed. The right-hander, who finished last season with a 1.38 ERA over his final seven starts, has commanded his fastball better and has featured a more aggressive mound approach during this improved stretch.

How he performs the rest of the way likely will determine whether he sticks in the rotation in the future -- with other promising young pitchers like Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease emerging and Carlos Rodon and Michael Kopech due to return from injury -- but for the last month, he's been doing all he can to be in the mix.