The Cleveland Indians enter the 2017 season with a loaded roster. Selecting from the abundance of talent, which players are most likely to win an MLB award?
In recent years, the Cleveland Indians have had great individual talent. Last season, those individual talents joined together as one, propelling the Tribe just one win away from a World Series title. Although the Indians were not able to finish the job, the individual performances throughout the year didn’t go unnoticed.
Corey Kluber finished third in the Cy Young voting behind Boston’s Rick Porcello and Detroit’s Justin Verlander. If not for a slow start, many believe Kluber would have won the award. As for MVP, shortstop Francisco Lindor finished ninth, in front of Jose Ramirez (17th) and Corey Kluber (19th).
Although no Cleveland player took home a MLB award, manager Terry Francona won the AL Manager of the Year. Francona beat out skippers Jeff Banister, John Farrell and Buck Showalter. This was Francona’s second time winning the award in four years.
Nevertheless, the 2017 MLB season is under two weeks away. The slate has been wiped clean, and each player has an equal opportunity to make their case. Let’s take a look at which Indians have the potential to take one of these awards home.