Indians hitting coach gushes about Brantley: 'Dr. Smooth is back'

With roughly five weeks left until Opening Day, it's still unclear when Michael Brantley, gradually working his way back from August biceps surgery, will be ready to go full-out, but Cleveland Indians hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo was encouraged to see the 29-year-old operating confidently in the indoor cage Friday morning.

"Dr. Smooth is back," Van Burkleo quipped to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. "He looks good. And the ball's coming off his bat nice."

Brantley, who appeared in only 11 games in 2016 before biceps tendinitis ended his season in May, is now up to 120 swings per day, and though there's no timetable for his return, the one-time All-Star is ahead of where he was at this time last year when he was recovering from shoulder surgery.

"He looks real good," Van Burkleo added. "If you didn't know he was rehabbing, you'd think he was just getting ready for the day."

Glowing assessments notwithstanding, Brantley isn't expected to make his Cactus League debut for some time, but when he is ready for game action, he should slot into the middle of an increasingly potent lineup that now features Edwin Encarnacion.

"He's worked his (rear) off from the beginning to get where he is now," Van Burkleo said. "We just hope there's no setbacks. Right now, he's feeling real good and there's not any issues. Hopefully, it stays that way."