Cleveland Indians Clearly The Class Of AL Central

The Cleveland Indians enter the 2017 MLB seasons as favorites to win the AL Central, but nothing is given. Here’s how the in-division talent stacks up.

The Cleveland Indians are favorites to make their way back to the World Series, but it all starts by winning the AL Central. While the Tribe has made improvements and figures to be back to full strength, the rest of the division is trending in the wrong direction.

Let’s start at the bottom of the division with the Twins. Last season’s 59-103 club spent the entire winter trying to trade its best player, Brian Dozier. While the second baseman is among the best players in the division, the positive news stops there. Miguel Sano is still looking for a full-time position he can actually handle. Joe Mauer is a shell of himself, even playing first base. To top it off, there weren’t any significant additions to improve upon last year’s AL worst -167 run differential. Twins pitchers had the highest ERA in the AL by nearly a half run.

Minnesota figure to remain at the bottom of the standings, with a challenge from the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox were 6th in the AL in ERA, but that was with Chris Sale and Jose Quintana on the roster. Sale is now in Boston and Quintana has been the subject of almost as many trade rumors as Brian Dozier. While Quintana is an ace for the staff, the rest of the rotation will be hard pressed to keep up that 6th overall ranking in ERA, even if Carlos Rodon makes the leap.

Detroit is an enigma in the Central this year. When you glance at the depth chart, there is undeniable talent all over. Victor Martinez, Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton, Nick Castellanos, and the always formidable Miguel Cabrera are still in the lineup. The pitching staff is headlined by Jordan Zimmerman, Justin Verlander, and Michael Fulmer. Then how did this same group struggle so mightily at times in 2016? Hey, 86 wins is no small thing, but all that helped the Tigers do was finish 8.0 games back in the Central and out of the playoffs entirely.

The batting order is a little disjointed and is plauged by lumbering sluggers who strike out a lot and don’t offer the same dynamic offensive approach as in years past. When J.D. Martinez broke his elbow last season, there was a great deal of struggle to keep the offense going. On the mound, both Zimmerman and Verlander just couldn’t put a whole year together This is still a dangerous team, but who knows which team will be on the field in April as opposed to August or September.

Kansas City has the same mystery, but one that is more likely to lead them back to contending for an AL title. Lost seasons from Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas derailed the Royals early. Moustakas missed the majority of the season after tearing up his knee in a collision with Gordon. Gordon himself never got back to being the player he was before getting hurt. Lorenzo Cain is great and Salvador Perez is the best catcher in the AL. Eric Hosmer is good and widely considered a top first baseman, but did you know he was only a 1.0 WAR player last year?

What should concern Royals fans is the rotation. Danny Duffy is the “ace” of the staff, with the likes of Jason Hammel, Ian Kennedy, Jason Vargas, and Nate Karns taking the hill. This is a group that ranked in the bottom half of most pitching categories in the AL. After the tragic loss of flamethrower Yordano Ventura, the rotation is pieced together with aging vets and low ceiling younger arms. What will really hurt is the loss of Wade Davis, who was Andrew Miller in the AL Central before Andrew Miller was in the AL Central.

More from Factory of Sadness

As for the Indians, there is little reasons to believe they won’t finish atop the Central again. Like many of the teams above, the success of the team will be determined by the health of Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco. The Tribe staff was the class of the American League and features not just one, but three potential Cy Young contenders in Corey Kluber, Salazar, and Carrasco. Remember, all three were among the top pitchers in the league heading into the All-Star break before injuries derailed the latter two players.

Jose Ramirez and Tyler Naquin should both continue to improve. Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor form the best middle infield in the division. Edwin Encarnacion brings an MVP level bat to first base and all signs point towards a Michael Brantley return in left field.

Most importantly, don’t undervalue the fact that Terry Francona is the best manager in baseball. There’s little to NOT like about this club.

Home/Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland Indians Clearly The Class Of The AL Central

By Joe Russo | Mar 1, 2017

The Cleveland Indians enter the 2017 MLB seasons as favorites to win the AL Central, but nothing is given. Here’s how the in-division talent stacks up.

More from Factory of Sadness