5 Cleveland Indians whose stock is up after first 20 games of 2021

The Cleveland Indians have put 20 games into the books during 2020, and for as bad as the offense has been, the Tribe is still hanging around, 4.0 games behind the Royals.

With a mark of 9-11, things could be worse. Things could better to if Josh Naylor fielded a ground ball or if Yu Chang didn’t hit a base runner in the back, but third place is where the Tribe finds itself.

I thought Cleveland would be able to contend for a Wild Card spot entering the season, and my expectations have cooled slightly. Eighty-five to 86 wins was my preseason expectations, but after watching the first month, I think 78 wins is more likely.

They just don’t score enough and as we’re finding out, the starting rotation is too young to lean on as the club has done in recent years. Sure,  Shane Bieber will be great, and Aaron Civale will be very good, but Zach Plesac, Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen will have hiccups, as they’ve already shown us in the early going.

Don’t get me wrong, those pitchers will have heir moments too, but inconsistency on the bump paired with an anemic offense will lead to losses.

This stock up report spotlights the players who are up. I was going to publish the stock down column first, but coming off a victory, I wanted to send some positive vibes to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Here’s five Indians who’ve seen their stocks go up in a month that’s mostly left the fan base shaking their heads.