Indians: 3 players from the Detroit Tigers to keep an eye on

The Cleveland Indians will begin the regular season by opening up in Detroit against the Tigers on April Fool’s Day. This writer thinks the Indians are poised to shock the Majors, but if a bad outing on April 1 happens, then who knows what this team will be like, mentally speaking.

The Tigers are, on paper, the worst team in the AL Central and they’re throwing one of their more beatable pitchers at the Indians. If the Indians struggle against him, then any hope for a successful season will be much harder to find.

Three players for fans to keep an eye on.

C Wilson Ramos

Wilson Ramos is making his regular-season debut for the Tigers on Thursday after two years with the New York Mets.  Ramos is a good power-hitting catcher who has got to call games for some of the Major’s best and brightest. For the Indians, Ramos isn’t just going to be an issue at the plate, (.755 OPS), but catching as well. The former two-time All-Star is hoping to make a big dent with this young Tigers squad.

SP Matthew Boyd

While not the most talented pitcher the Tigers have, Matthew Boyd, will toe the rubber for the first game of the year. Opening Day really does set the tone for the first few weeks of the season and if Boyd can manhandle Cleveland’s lineup, then imagine how demoralizing it’ll be that a guy with a career 5.08 ERA controlled the Indians. It’d be even worse if it’s done on Opening Day. The Tribe need to show the MLB and the Cleveland fanbase that this lineup isn’t going to be pushovers.

CP Bryan Garcia

The new closer for the Detroit Tigers (he saved just four games last year) is Brian Garcia and he’s looking to build off of a solid 2020 season. He pitched in 26 games, finished 12, saved four, and didn’t give up one home run. Garcia isn’t a flamethrower, and strikeouts aren’t his forte. He’s a sinker/slider ground ball guy and he’s been very efficient. He’ll be a problem for the Indians if they get into a situation where his number is called.