Cleveland Indians open 2017 at No. 2 in FanSided MLB power rankings

The Cleveland Indians enter the season as a World Series contender, but that is not good enough to earn the top overall spot in FanSided’s power rankings.

Cleveland Indians fans are already expecting a return to the World Series in 2017, but winning it all is no sure thing as long as the Chicago Cubs have a say in the matter.

The Cubs have been built to succeed for years, thanks to the genius of Theo Epstein. The Indians have been built in a similar manner, pitting the two teams against each other hopefully for years to come.

And when it comes to preseason power rankings, the Cubs continue to hold the top spot in FanSided’s rankings. That is fair given they are indeed the defending champs. But the Indians are not far off, coming in as the second overall team heading into the season.

Both teams enter as early favorites thanks to reaching the World Series a year ago, but it also helps that both teams only seem to have improved in the offseason. From Cleveland’s addition of Edwin Encarnacion to Chicago’s addition of Wade Davis, both clubs are primed to repeat their 2016 success. Add in another year of experience for the young players on both rosters and the two teams seem to be headed for a rematch.

But as fans know, an MLB season is a long journey. Being able to follow up one great season with another is no easy task, but that doesn’t mean the Indians and Cubs won’t remain World Series favorites, unless one has a horrible start to the year.

Next: A positional breakdown of the AL Central

But the beginning of the season is a time for optimism, and Indians fans should be happy coming into the year in the number two spot in these power rankings. The Indians have come a long way from the years of being a perennial .500 team.

The Cleveland Indians enter the season as a World Series contender, but that is not good enough to earn the top overall spot in FanSided’s power rankings.

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