Cleveland Indians: 5 most important players in 2017

The Cleveland Indians enter the season as World Series favorites, but there are several players who stand out as the most important to the team’s success.

The Cleveland Indians surprised the city in 2016 with an unforgettable postseason run. Diehard fans may say they saw it coming, but the countless ups and downs throughout the season seemed to spell doom for the young team.

Yet when injuries occurred, the team seemed to grow stronger. Terry Francona continued to field a starting lineup capable of continuing the team’s winning ways, while he was helped by some great work done by the front office. It’s a bit easier to close out a game when Andrew Miller is waiting in the bullpen.

Nearly every player on the roster stepped up, but there was still that dominant core holding it all together while other pieces came and went. From the dominance of Corey Kluber, to the dazzling defense of Francisco Lindor, the Indians were in great hands a year ago.

But baseball is the one sport where things can drastically change from year to year, so it is up to this core to keep the team in line whenever setbacks arise during the season. An early injury to Jason Kipnis is a perfect example of something the team must overcome, and there are both new and old faces ready to keep fans calm by simply winning baseball games.

Let’s now take a look at five players who are the most important to the Indians’ overall success during the upcoming season.

Carlos Carrasco is a great pitcher who has never been able to prove himself on a big stage. 2016 was supposed to give him that chance, but a line drive to the hand in September ended that possibility.

But Carrasco is now back and healthy and ready to serve as a complement to Corey Kluber in the rotation. Along with Danny Salazar, Carrasco and Kluber combine to form one of the most dominant trios in all of baseball. Factor in solid seasons from Josh Tomlin and Trevor Bauer, and opposing teams will have a tough time against the Indians all season.

The Indians lacked that dominant No. 2 starter in the 2016 postseason, which may have been the ultimate difference between winning it all and simply coming close.

With Carrasco now healthy, Indians fans are hoping he can be the solution to last season’s problem.

Before he went out, Carrasco was 11-8 with a 3.32 ERA in 146.1 innings pitched. His 150 strikeouts saw him finish fourth among Indians pitchers, although that number could have been much higher if he had three more starts.

What fans want out of Carrasco, besides staying healthy, is consistency. Once Carrasco and Salazar went out in 2016, Indians fans could only rely on Kluber for a dominant start. Other starters like Bauer, Tomlin, and even Ryan Merritt had fans worried with each pitch.

But having Carrasco following Kluber all season should mean fans can expect long, successful outings in back-to-back games throughout the year. Fans will also expect this of Salazar, but Carrasco has set himself up as a worthy successor to Kluber’s role as the team’s ace.

This is not to say the Indians need Carrasco to be great to win a World Series, but his presence in the postseason would make things much easier on Kluber and the rest of the pitching staff.

He may only be 23 years old, but Francisco Lindor has cemented himself as one of the faces of the Cleveland Indians.

The young shortstop has only played one full MLB season, but made the most of it by being named an All-Star, finishing ninth in AL MVP voting and winning a Gold Glove award.

This sets him up with high expectations for 2017, but there is no need to worry about how he will perform. His dominance at the World Baseball Classic showed he is ready to surprise fans once again.

With Jason Kipnis out and Jose Ramirez potentially shifting to second base for the first month of the season, Lindor will be the most important part of the infield. He will have to work with whoever is at third, along with Ramirez, to keep the group playing at a high rate.

Lindor’s offense is also important for the team, as he will look to improve upon his .301 average from last season. With questions surrounding Ramirez and his ability to repeat his high offensive marks from last season, Lindor will be looked to as someone who can be relied upon in any situation.

He doesn’t need to win any postseason awards to help this team, although it will be hard for voters to not hand him hardware if he plays how he did last season. His natural ability to make plays in the field may mesmerize fans, but it is just how he plays.

He hasn’t even hit his prime yet, so it will be fun to see just how great Lindor becomes in only his second full season with the Indians.

Indians fans were happy with the 2016 season, but it was clear the team could use another piece to help bring home that elusive title. Edwin Encarnacion could be that piece.

Encarnacion’s signing was an early Christmas present for fans, as the team added an elite bat at the end of the 2016 calendar year.

He effectively replaces Mike Napoli, who was still a solid player for the Indians in his only year with the team. However, Encarnacion is a clear upgrade over Napoli.

The former Blue Jay is coming off a career year in which he hit 42 home runs, drove in 127 runs and played in 160 games. He is entering the year as the team’s primary designated hitter, which will hopefully keep him fresh throughout the season, and able to focus on his offense.

The key will be keeping his strikeouts down, as he had 138 in 2016, but that did come in nearly a full season’s worth of games. And if he can keep up the power numbers, and keep his average around the .270 mark, fans won’t get bogged down in talk of strikeouts.

As with Miller, Encarnacion is here for more than just a single season. He is at the tail end of his career, but he is still an elite player who has a few more great seasons left. Adding him not only makes the team a title contender in 2017, but it sets the Indians up to be one of the most dominant teams in all of baseball for years to come.

When injuries took down several key pitchers at the end of the 2016 regular season, Corey Kluber was there to make things better.

In his first glimpse of postseason play, Kluber ended up throwing 34.1 innings and starting six of the team’s 15 games, including three starts in the World Series.

Kluber clearly ran out of gas at the end of the year, but it was hardly his fault. He gave it all he had and proved why he is the unquestioned ace of the club.

He will be relied upon to be just as dominant in 2017, although a stronger bullpen and a healthy rotation should help take some of the pressure off him.

Related: Players who can start the year at second base

The Indians need quality starts out of the ace all season, and this doesn’t mean he has to go seven or eight innings deep. He can go five or six and turn it over to the bullpen, allowing him to keep his innings down in preparation for what could be another long October.

Given the offense is performing at an elite level and helps erase his history of run-support problems, five or six solid innings from Kluber should be enough to give the team a great chance at victory.

His key, as is true with the rest of the team, is to stay healthy. The Indians were able to manage without some top talent a season ago, but losing Kluber may be too much to overcome.

Next: 10 bold predictions for the Indians in 2017

Yet it is still March and optimism is running high, so no need to worry about such things right now. Kluber is the ace, and will prove why all season. Let’s just hope his influence rubs off on the rest of the rotation, which may turn out to be the best in all of baseball.