Cleveland Indians up to No. 6 in ESPN power rankings

The Cleveland Indians finished off a successful first half Sunday night, and head into the All-Star break ranked as one of the top teams in the league.

A loss on Sunday Night Baseball wasn’t too exciting, but Cleveland Indians fans have plenty to be happy about as the team heads into the All-Star break.

The Indians are 47-40 and 2.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central, sitting in great position to run the table atop the division for the entire second half.

While most of the team will have a few days off, five Indians are heading to Miami for the All-Star Game, which will be a great sight for fans, especially when Jose Ramirez struts out onto the field as a starter.

The 47-40 first half has the Indians ranking among some of the best teams in baseball in the latest edition of ESPN’s MLB power rankings, with the Indians currently sitting at No. 6 overall.

From the article:

"The Indians are back in charge of their own fate thanks to a nice blend of old and new strengths. Corey Kluber looks like the AL’s ace of aces as he puts up his best year since his Cy season, while the bullpen has an MLB-best 2.84 ERA to help mute questions about the rest of the rotation. But the biggest story has to be the breakout of Jose Ramirez as the majors’ premier switch-hitter with a .988 OPS that puts him in MLB’s top 10 overall. — Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com"

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Kluber is a known star, while Ramirez is showing the world why he belongs in the MVP discussion in 2017. Imagine Kluber winning the Cy Young, Ramirez taking home MVP honors and the Indians winning a World Series. I know, a bit early for that talk. But it certainly is possible.

Ramirez’s breakout year is a surprise to those outside of Cleveland, but Indians fans were expecting great things out of him this year. We may not have expected this level of production, but it isn’t shocking.

The key will be for him to keep it up during the second half, and if he can’t, others like Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis need to step up to strengthen the top of the lineup.

Next: 5 Indians minor leaguers who are future All-Stars

But as of right now, the team is in a great place and on pace to take home another AL Central title.