Cleveland Guardians remain near top of MLB Power Rankings

Another week of the 2024 season is in the books, and the Cleveland Guardians continue to build on their strong start. At 22-12, the Guardians have the second-best record in the American League and third-best in all of baseball. Winners of seven of their last 10 games, Cleveland holds a 2.5-game lead in the American League Central. With the Guardians winning at this rate, it is no surprise to see them ranked among the best teams in baseball in a recent MLB Power Ranking appearing on Bleacher Report.

Coming in at number five in author Joel Reuter's ranking are the Guardians.This is actually down two spots from their previous ranking, but considering they dropped a series in Houston to the Astros and just lost Steven Kwan for an undetermined amount of time with a hamstring injury, it is still a pretty good spot to find themselves in. Both appeared to have played a factor in Reuter placing the Guardians at five, and it is hard to argue with either point. The Astros have stumbled out of the gate and have not been playing their best baseball, and having one of the best leadoff men in the game land on the injured list in Kwan is something that is going to be difficult to overcome.

The Guardians appear to have a very favorable schedule this week, which should help them remain ranked among the best teams in the game. Cleveland will play host to the Detroit Tigers for three games before heading out on a seven-game road trip that begins with four games in Chicago to take on the White Sox to close the week. While overlooking a team can be dangerous, especially two teams in the division, these are games that the Guardians should be able to win. Taking four out of seven against Detroit and Chicago is the bare minimum expectation here, while aiming higher should be their goal for this upcoming stretch.