Cleveland Indians: 5 players who surprised in April

These five Cleveland Indians surprised with their high performances in April.

The Cleveland Indians got off to a fairly slow start. While many have picked them to return back to the World Series in 2017, they have struggled to get out of the gates in the month of April and hope to be much better in May.

Slow starts don’t go without bright spots. This team has had their share, notably superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor and utility infielder Jose Ramirez. Lindor and Ramirez have carried the team to where they are, despite the struggling pitching staff and short-manned offense.

Still, two men don’t make a baseball team. While Lindor and Ramirez have shined as Cleveland’s best players, they have had some surprising players step up to fill the void.

Injuries can strike at any given time, and Cleveland has shown an ability to rise above those injuries moving forward, thanks to their depth at multiple positions.

Moving forward, the Indians will look for their starting pitching to get itself going, along with some members of the offense, like Edwin Encarnacion. Jason Kipnis needs to get himself back in the groove of playing every day after coming off the DL. If they can do all that, while keeping their pleasant surprises playing at a high level, they will have no problem getting back into the playoffs.

Some of the surprises are coming off injuries of their own, while others are guys who have just never put together big years in the past. It’s only April, but success has to start somewhere and these guys are getting off on the right foot.