Cleveland Indians at No. 7 spot in FanSided’s MLB power rankings

The Cleveland Indians have done enough to remain in first place and have moved up to the No. 7 spot in FanSided’s recent MLB power rankings.

The Cleveland Indians are struggling to piece together a great stretch of baseball, but an 18-15 record heading into Thursday night has the team in first place in the American League Central.

The most recent series in Toronto ended on a sour note, but the last week of play has seen the Indians rise to the No. 7 spot in FanSided’s most recent MLB power rankings.

From the article:

"Encarnacion has been ugly so far in his age-34 season, but the Indians have to feel great about Carlos Carrasco who now has a 1.86 ERA in seven starts and 48.1 innings. He has shown an ability to get deep into games while also showing exceptional command. That Andrew Miller guy we got so excited about in the playoffs last year? Yup — still hasn’t allowed an earned run this year and has 22 strikeouts against four walks."

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

Carlos Carrasco has indeed been the ace thus far, while the bullpen has been dominant. The issue has been the offense, on most nights, with Edwin Encarnacion standing out for his lack of production to this point.

But the 18-15 record helps the frustrations from building up too much, as a losing record would have some fans calling for lineup changes.

The good news from the past week is that Yan Gomes is beginning to heat up, while Yandy Diaz is back up to prove he deserves a full-time spot on the roster.

The upcoming week should bring the return of Michael Brantley and Corey Kluber, so hopefully there is a spark brought back by the stars.

Next: 3 takeaways from the series in Toronto

The Indians are off tonight, but a weekend series at home against the Minnesota Twins is an early test between the top two teams in the division. So fans will get to see if the Twins are for real, or if the Indians are ready to begin a great week at home with an easy series victory.