2013 MLB Team Preview: Cleveland Indians
The Indians were just horrible last season. The team had few high calibre players and the ones they did have turned in poor seasons. This team was especially sparse on pitching and unfortunately it remains so heading into this season.
- American League Central Odds from Bovada
- Odds to win AL Central: +900
- Odds to win AL Pennant: +3300
- Odds to win World Series: +6600
Key Additions:
Michael Bourn (OF), Nick Swisher, (1B/OF), Brett Myers (P), Drew Stubbs (OF), Mark Reynolds (1B), Trevor Bauer (P).
Key Subtractions:
- Shin-Soo Choo (OF)
Things are a little more promising this year as I like the moves they have made in the offseason, especially to bolster the lineup which should have a lot more clout this season. A lack of arms will again be their doom but they are inching toward being competitive.
Offense
I love all of the moves the Indians made to improve their offense. Michael Bourn is one of the better leadoff hitters around and a pure burner who could easily lead the AL in steals.
They also may have added 100+ homers form the combination of Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds and Drew Stubbs.
There are a lot of strikeouts there too but the ball will leave the yard more frequently. The rest of the lineup are filled with young players with significant room to grow. Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis are a fantastic offensive keystone combo.
Projected Lineup:
- CF – Michael Bourn
- LF – Michael Brantley
- 2B – Jason Kipnis
- 1B – Nick Swisher
- DH – Mark Reynolds
- C – Carlos Santana
- SS – Asdrubal Cabrera
- 3B – Lonnie Chisenhall
- RF – Drew Stubbs
Pitching
While the lineup should be much improved the pitching is only marginally so. I have always been a fan of Brett Myers but to be fair I am not sure how much they are going to get out of him in the rotation. The best thing that could happen to this staff of for Ubaldo Jimenez to find the stuff that made him so successful in Colorado – it is amazing how far he has falle over the last couple of seasons. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
The rest of the rotation is mainly filler. Rumours are that Scott Kamir (remember him) could earn a spot and there is some hope that prospect Trevor Bauer could emerge – he was a high draft pick acquired from Arizona.
The bullpen is in about the same shape as the rotation. Closer Chris Perez has proven to be effective but not special as the primary closer. Vinnie Pestano seems to have more electric stuff but hasn’t really performed all that well when given the job and thus remains primarily a setup guy.
The rest of the arms are nothing to get all that excited about.
Projected Rotation:
- Justin Masterson
- Ubaldo Jimenez
- Brett Myers
- Carlos Carrasco
- Zach McAllister
- Projected Bullpen:
- Chris Perez
- Vinnie Pestano
- Joe Smith
- David Huff
Projection: 3rd Place American League Central
The Tigers will finish first and the Twins will finish last in the AL Central but other than that you can shake up the teams any which way you like and probably be right. I think Cleveland’s newfound slugging will enable the Indians to win about 10-12 more games than they did last year. It doesn’t make them a challenger, even with that extra Wild Card slot, but it does make them more interesting.
This will be a hard team to get behind though because I am not sure it will be easy to identify when they are in a good situation to play on.
Last year the Indians were money in close games, winning 2/3 of the one run games they were in. That is a surprising stat for a team that was not good at all overall. If things even out they could be worse, not better this season. I think their offense will mean less games they have to win by the skin of their teeth.
The best bets on Cleveland this year may be on the over, especially when they play against weaker teams.
