Cleveland Indians: Bold Predictions for final 10 regular season games

With just 10 games remaining in the 2020 regular season, here are three bold predictions for what the final leg of this wild year may hold for the Cleveland Indians.

Perhaps the strangest regular season in Cleveland Indians history is just 10 games away from coming to a close.

The Indians are 50 games into the 60 game sprint in front of no fans that is the 2020 regular season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, Cleveland is 27-23 on the year and in line to clinch the seventh seed in the American League playoffs but Thursday, finally broke an eight-game losing streak that saw them go from atop the AL Central to third place with nearly no hope of winning the division remaining.

Cleveland currently sits six games behind the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead and three games behind the Minnesota Twins for second place. If the Indians were to at least catch the Twins, they’d find themselves locked into the fourth, fifth or sixth seed but instead appear destined for the seventh or eighth spot.

The Indians lead the Toronto Blue Jays for the final AL Wild Card spot but are still five games up on the Seattle Mariners from falling out of the postseason. Thus, despite a late-season skid, Cleveland will almost surely be playing in October for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

What will happen the Indians’ final 10 regular season games of 2020? Here are three bold predictions.

A year after being named the starting first basemen in the All-Star game, Indians’ first baseman Carlos Santana has struggled mightily.

Santana is slashing just .199/.361/.310 with five home runs and 23 RBI’s. This comes after he slashed .281/.397/.515 with 34 home runs and 93 RBI’s. In his last 15 games, the veteran is slashing a woeful .170/.302/.264 with just one homer and six RBI’s.

While Santana’s on-base percentage is still respectful, this is due to his always impressive ability to draw walks at a high rate as he ranks first in the majors with 43 base on balls.

However, Santana’s power and run production has taken a clear drop off. With the Indians offense needing someone to step up during their final playoff push, the 34-year old veteran seems like the perfect candidate to breakthrough.

As a veteran player who has played in the postseason three times, including in the World Series, Santana has experience of playing in a pennant race and rising up to the occasion when needed.

Santana has also been through the highs and lows of an MLB season and, when on his game, gets on base and knocks the ball out of the ballpark as much as anyone in the majors.

Thus, look for the veteran to breakthrough and help get the Indians offense into a rhythm over the final 10 games.

The Indians’ final 10 games of the 2020 season will feature three on the road and seven from Progressive Field.

Cleveland will finish off a four-game road series against the Tigers at Comerica Park and then home for four games against the White Sox and three with the MLB worst Pittsburgh Pirates.

Despite the Indians’ struggles of late, this schedule is quite manageable outside of the big four-game series with Chicago.

The Indians will not have Bieber for the rest of the Detroit series, but still have more than enough quality pitching to take care of the rebuilding Tigers; thus, look for them to take two out three this weekend and clinch a series win over their division foe.

Then, things could get ugly as they face a motivated White Sox team. That series will likely go in Chicago’s favor with the Sox winning three of four. However, the Indians should finish off the year on a high note when they take on a Pirates team looking to clinch the first pick in the 2021 MLB Draft for the rights to select Vanderbilt superstar Kumar Rocker. Thus, that series easily could be a momentum builder for the Indians with a sweep heading into the playoffs.

These predictions would see the Indians go 6-4 in their final 10 games which would put them at a final record of 33-27 on the season.

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Thirty-three wins is more than enough to clinch a playoff birth with the eight-team postseason but likely not enough to jump the Twins for second place. Thus, Cleveland will likely end up as the seventh seed only ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, where a trip to the Sunshine State for a three-game wild card series with the Tampa Bay Rays could await.