Cleveland Indians: 10 bold predictions for the 2017 season

Prediction #7: The Indians will not make a single trade-deadline trade.

The Tribe has traditionally made minimal moves at the trade deadline. Grabbing Andrew Miller last year was a pleasant surprise, but do not expect it to happen again. They have enough depth and enough talent that any upgrade might ruin their team atmosphere.

Plus, what area really needs to be improved? Even if Brantley or Kipnis are out for a while, they have plenty of guys waiting in the wings to take over. The Indians have no reason to make a move this trade deadline.

Prediction #8: Giovanny Urshela will push Jose Ramirez to the brink of being the everyday third baseman.

Even though he’s been around for a while, Jose Ramirez is still very young at 24 years old. He plays a good third base, and he broke out as a hitter last year, but Giovanny Urshela is the gold-glove third baseman waiting in the background.

Urshela will push Ramirez to either strive at third or find a new position. If Ramirez falters, he could get moved to the outfield or pop over to second base while Kipnis is out. It would be interesting if Ramirez loses his fielding job and how that would impact his hitting.

Prediction #9: Bradley Zimmer will not get called up until September, but he will make a huge impact in the playoffs.

Bradley Zimmer needs to stop striking out. Plain and simple. He cannot sustain such a high strikeout rate in the minor leagues, as it will get worse in the majors. He will figure it out, and he will get a September call-up.

As soon as he gets called up, he will start mashing homers and play amazing defense, pushing someone like Naquin or Chisenhall to the bench for the World Series push.