Cleveland Indians: A look at the first 2018 ESPN MLB power rankings

The Cleveland Indians will enter the 2018 MLB season ranked among the best in baseball, with the same ultimate goal in mind.

2017 still isn’t over, but that doesn’t mean it is too early for Cleveland Indians fans to begin thinking about the 2018 season.

Car companies start years early, so why can’t we?

The most important thing right now is trying to retain Carlos Santana, with others like Jay Bruce, Bryan Shaw, and Austin Jackson also remaining as potential players to return in 2018.

Regardless of the team’s free agents, the core is returning for 2018, which is why a similar regular season result is expected.

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

We tracked the ESPN MLB power rankings throughout the 2017 season and saw the Indians begin at the top, fall a bit during the summer struggles, and rise back to the top spot at the end of the season.

The first 2018 edition of the power rankings is out and the Indians are back near the top, coming in at No. 3 overall. The Houston Astros hold the top spot and the Los Angeles Dodgers are second.

Power rankings are meaningless to fans who just want a World Series title, but this 2018 edition offers up hope that next season will see the Indians right back in the hunt.

It is a nice change from the days when a playoff berth came as a surprise.

The American League Central remains a weak division and the hope is that the Indians can roll through it once again, with perhaps a bit more success seen early in the season. The 22-game win streak was amazing and no one will ever forget it, but that shouldn’t be needed to bail out a slow start. There is too much talent on the roster for that to be the case.

Next: Two decisions to be made

The 2018 season is months away, but fans can rest easy this winter knowing the optimism will return once the team reports to Goodyear.