No. 18 Rays | No. 16 Angels | Nos. 20-11
No. 19: CLEVELAND INDIANS
Last Season: 81-80
Projected record: 84-78 (first in AL Central)
BBTN video preview: AL Central | Betting guide
The Indians put up their third consecutive winning season on skipper Terry Francona's watch in 2015, but just barely (they were 81-80). They've dropped from 92 wins to 85 to 81, so you might expect them to keep losing ground in the absence of major reinforcements -- which, to be sure, they did not add, settling for veterans Mike Napoli, Juan Uribe and Rajai Davis to shore up an offense that dropped to 11th in runs in the American League last year. So why keep them in the middle of the pack? Because the Tribe kept their young rotation together rather than acting on trade rumors about potentially dealing righty Carlos Carrasco for offensive help. And whereas the Indians were handicapped by terribly slow starts on defense each of the past two seasons -- forcing them to shake things up both years -- in 2016, they should get the benefit of a full season from franchise shortstop Francisco Lindor.
How bright is Francisco Lindor's future? Projections see him ending up as one of the best players in the history of the Indians. -- ESPN.com (graphic from Dan Szymborski)
Pitching and Lindor. The rotation has a chance to coalesce into one of baseball's best. Carrasco put up a big year in 2015 and could be on his way to achieving ace status; he's on my list of picks to click in 2016 after posting the third-highest strikeout rate in the second half last year, behind two guys named Kershaw and Strasburg. Add in former Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, hard-throwing Danny Salazar, a full season from a now-healed Josh Tomlin and the long-expected upside Trevor Bauer might yet deliver on, and that's a fearsome front five, ably supported by a late-game trio of Cody Allen, Zach McAllister and Bryan Shaw.
The offense remains a major question mark. Catcher Yan Gomes never got on track last year after an early-season knee sprain, and outfielder Michael Brantley is trying to recover from an offseason shoulder surgery. ... Will they be OK in 2016? And will second baseman Jason Kipnis finally deliver top-shelf offense in consecutive seasons? Who's going to get the playing time in right field, or third base? Can Napoli turn back the clock -- especially against right-handed pitching -- after seeing his OPS drop more than 100 points since he helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2013? If the Indians get happy answers to all of those questions, they'll contend.
No. 16 Angels | No. 18 Rays | Nos. 20-11
