Tribe Pitching: Talented, But Lack Experience.

Last week, we took a look at the questions regarding the everyday players for the Cleveland Indians, a group that ranked 13th in the AL in runs scored and has substracted Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana.

This week, we look at the team’s strength, the pitching staff, which led the league in ERA in the shortened 2020 season, led by Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber. Still, there are questions for the Indians on the pitching mound.

Really, when you think about it, why shouldn’t there be? In the past two seasons, the front office has traded Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer, as well as Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger. That the Tribe still has a solid staff speaks to the way the organization develops pitching.

Outside of Bieber, the most innings thrown in the big leagues by the candidates to join him in the rotation are the 217 thrown by Adam Plutko, who if he makes the team out of spring training will likely be either the fifth starter or working out of the bullpen.

The other spots behind Bieber figure to be Zach Plesac (171 big league innings), Aaron Civale (131), Triston McKenzie (31), and Cal Quantrill (135). That’s a lot of inexperience. None of that quartet have pitched the number of innings a regular rotation starter throws in a normal 162 game schedule.

While we like Plesac a lot, and McKenzie and Quantrill have electric stuff, we do have concerns about Civale, who faded last season after a complete game win over Pittsburgh. In his last 40 innings in 2020, he gave up 28 earned runs, a 6.30 ERA.

They do have some depth in this area, but it is young, unproven depth. Left-hander Logan Allen, who came over in the Bauer deal in ’19, has had a couple of cups of coffee in the bigs, but has thrown just 38 innings with a 5.40 ERA. He will be 24 in May.

Another lefty who came in that deal, 26-year-old Scott Moss, has yet to make his debut, and has only four AAA starts, but did have a 2.96 ERA for three teams in 2019. And yet another southpaw is Sam Hentges, who suffered through a 2-13, 5.11 ERA at Akron in 2019, but is well regarded by the organization.

You also have righty Eli Morgan, 24, who had a 3.39 ERA across three levels in 2019, making one AAA start.

Our bet is Plutko opens the season as the fifth starter, with McKenzie. Moss, and Allen getting some starts in Columbus to open the year. Plutko is out of options, so this delays the decision the organization has to make on him.

In the bullpen, closer Brad Hand left via free agency, so it appears James Karinchak will assume that role in 2021. The rookie fanned 53 in 27 innings in 2020, and even earned his first big league save. He did walk 16, but when he can throw strikes, he is basically unhittable.

A PED suspension in spring training did not allow us to see the other young Tribe arm with electric stuff out of the bullpen in Emmanuel Clase. The right-hander had a 2.31 ERA with Texas in 2019, and reportedly throws a 100 MPH cutter. Frankie Lindor said he was nasty when the Indians faced the Rangers in ’19.

The rest of the bullpen will include veteran reliable Nick Wittgren, Cam Hill, Phil Maton, and perhaps some of the guys who don’t make the rotation.

Wittgren has pitched to a 2.99 ERA in two years with 88 strikeouts in 81 innings with the Indians. Hill was solid as a rookie in ’20, although he ended the year with a couple of rocky outings, and Maton became Sandy Alomar’s go to guy late in the season, and probably got overused.

There is also Kyle Nelson, a rookie lefty who made just one bad appearance a year ago, but has fanned 176 hitters in 122 minor league innings.

We would like to see the organization bring in one more veteran arm (we always like Tijuan Walker), to take some pressure off of the youngsters.

We know that won’t happen because of the financial limitations the ownership has put on the front office.

The rotation could be among the league’s best, but there are a lot of questions in terms of experience. That’s a big worry for us in evaluating the 2021 Cleveland Indians.

Who’s Tribe’s #2? Might Just Be Plesac.

Prior to the Major League Baseball trade deadline, there seemed to be a clear pecking order to the Cleveland Indians’ starting rotation.

Shane Bieber, who is the favorite for the American League Cy Young Award in this COVID shortened season is the clear ace, and would start Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs if and when Cleveland qualifies, unless he was needed to start a game so the Tribe could qualify for the post-season.

Right now, by our calculations, the magic number is 15 to clinch a berth in the eight team field.

Before the megadeal with San Diego, it would have figured that Mike Clevinger would pitch game two.

After all, Clevinger was 26-12 over the past two full seasons, and a 2.90 ERA and 376 strikeouts in 326 innings. And in his lone playoff start, he pitched five innings in Game 3 vs. Houston in the 2018 Division Series, allowing just one run, striking out nine.

So, although we don’t want to put the cart ahead of the horse, who takes the ball in the second game, and perhaps most pivotal game of the first round best of three series, a game in which the Tribe could advance or have to win to force a deciding game.

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron Civale would have been the odds on favorite, but since his complete game win against Pittsburgh, he hasn’t pitched as well.

Prior to that start, Civale pitched 25 innings to a 3.60 ERA, allowing 25 hits. Four of the ten earned runs he allowed came in a game against the Tigers, where he gave up three runs early before settling down.

In his last three starts, he’s allowed 10 runs in 18 frames, a 5.00 ERA. His usual impeccable control has been reduced as well. Before the Pirates start, the right-handers had struck out 26 hitters, walking just three.

The last three starts have yielded 17 whiffs against six walks, and 20 hits allowed. There has been a lot of traffic on the basepaths.

Terry Francona could also pick veteran Carlos Carrasco, who has rebounded from a tough three start stretch by allowing just a single run in his last two starts, spanning 12 innings, with 13 strikeouts and five walks.

Carrasco has made two very good post-season starts, the first in game three of the ’17 Division Series vs. the Yankees (5-2/3 scoreless innings, seven whiffs), and the other in game two of the ’18 ALDS against Houston (5-1/3 innings, two runs) where he left the game with the lead.

However, the guy we would consider is Zach Plesac, who stuffwise might rank right behind Bieber. The second year right-hander, who missed time because of his ill advised night on the town in Chicago, has a 3-1 record and a 1.32 ERA.

He’s allowed just 23 hits in 34 innings, striking out 34 hitters, while walking just two. He’s faced the White Sox, one of the league’s best hitting attacks twice, pitching 14 scoreless innings, fanning 18 batters, while walking just one.

He is scheduled to start in Minneapolis this weekend, so we may have a clearer picture of what he can do after that start. If he can control the Twins bats, he could emerge as the game two starter once the post-season starts.

That’s amazing because when the season started, Plesac was the #5 guy in the rotation. But starting with his first start against the White Sox, an eight scoreless inning performance with 11 strikeouts, he’s shown a great improvement from his rookie year.

Obviously, there will be 3-4 starts remaining for the rotation depending on how Francona, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Carl Willis want to line it up for the playoffs. However, Plesac has thrown his hat into the ring for the second spot in the rotation.

Just another surprise in this crazy 2020 season.

Winning A Series Is Always A Good Thing For Tribe

While we are all happy that baseball has returned, even in a shortened 60 game season, three games is still the definition of a small sample size.

That said, it is always better to win than lose, and winning a series is a good thing, and the Cleveland Indians did just that, taking two out of three against the Kansas City Royals.

The Tribe’s starting rotation got superlative grades in the opening series, but you have to remember no one has the Royals even making the expanded playoffs, let alone the regular post-season, so it will be interesting to see how Cleveland does against the high potent offenses of the White Sox and Twins this week.

The Indians’ pitching recorded 40 strikeouts in the series, the most in the AL, and walked just five KC batters, the least in the AL. Of the teams coming up on the schedule, Chicago ranks 4th in the junior circuit in fanning, 29 times, while the Twins are in the lower half, with just 21 punchouts.

A majority of the strikeouts by Sox hitters came against the Minnesota bullpen, so we wonder how Aaron Civale, Adam Plutko, and Zach Plesac will fare against a group of mostly young, aggressive hitters for the Pale Hose.

So, we will use restraint on the pitching side of things for the Tribe. The Royals have some good hitters, but there was a lot of swing and miss on breaking stuff in the series, and will that continue against better hitters, or will they make the Indians’ pitchers get into the strike zone more often.

We have heard consternation about Francisco Lindor’s start to the season, but again, it’s just three games. The star shortstop looks a tad anxious at the plate, especially on breaking balls, but we are confident he will make the adjustment and be fine.

Lindor struggled with runners in scoring position last season, and we feel he wants to succeed so bad that he doesn’t put the pressure on the pitching staff.

On the other hand, the only Tribe starter who is still hitless has been patient at the dish, although that’s hardly a shock. Carlos Santana is off to an 0 for 8 start, but has drawn four walks with just one strikeout.

The new leadoff hitter, Cesar Hernandez, looks impressive in person. The switch-hitter has drawn just one walk, but has made opposing pitchers work, and looks to hit the ball where it is pitched. His double down the left field line in the Opener was a beautiful display of hitting.

And catcher Roberto Perez has shown way he received the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2019. He threw out two would be base stealers in the series, and blocked umpteen pitches in the dirt. He even went from first to third on a single to centerfield.

Terry Francona has got all of his position players in a game so far, and the only four on the roster who haven’t been in are starters Civale and Plesac, and relievers Phil Maton and Adam Plutko. The skipper likes to get everyone in as soon as possible, and he will likely get the bullpen guys an inning against Chicago.

By the way, the bullpen performed well in the first series, although in each game, no one was brought in during an inning. Everyone was used after the starters went at least six innings, and each started with a clean inning.

We know that will not always be the case.

We will have a better view of the 2020 edition of the Indians following these next two series, against the teams who figured to battle Cleveland for the AL Central lead.

Tribe Depending On Some Young Players Continuing To Progress

Many people, including us, feel the Cleveland Indians will be a contender for a playoff spot this season, and to us, it wouldn’t have mattered if the season were 162 games or just 60.

However, much of those good vibes are based on some players with very little major league experience coming through in 2020.

For us, until a player establishes a track record, they have to be viewed with a jaundiced eye. And no doubt, the Tribe has their fair share of these players.

First is centerfielder Oscar Mercado. Remember, the Cardinals gave up on the former second round pick in 2013, trading him to the Indians for a couple of lower tiered prospects in 2018.

Mercado had a solid rookie season, hitting .269 with 15 HR and a 761 OPS, but walked just 28 times vs. 84 strikeouts. However, he thrived at Progressive Field, hitting .289 with 11 dingers (844 OPS) vs. .250 (679 OPS) on the road.

He struggled mightily in August, before having a good September.

If he regresses, Terry Francona does have some alternatives. Delino DeShields can fill the bill defensively for sure, but he’s never really hit well in the big leagues, and if Bradley Zimmer continues on the torrid pace he has set since summer camp started, he could wind up there.

It is worth keeping an eye on though.

The other area where much is counted on from young players is in the starting rotation, where Cleveland needs Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac to be solid starters right away.

The recently turned 25-years-old Civale pitches like a veteran, but has only thrown 58 innings at the big league level, and have less than 400 innings in the minor leagues.

He’s made 10 starts with the Indians, and in only two of them did he see the 7th inning.

His numbers last year were excellent, 44 hits allowed, striking out 46 while walking just 16, and he reminded many people of Corey Kluber in his manner and the way he attacked hitters, but he’s slated as the fourth starter, and the front office is counting on him to be the guy he was a year ago.

Plesac, who is also 25, is barely more experienced at the major league level than Civale, making 21 starts, firing 115 innings.

He actually threw less in the minors though, pitching just 259 innings because he had Tommy John surgery in college and the Tribe brought him back slowly.

After six starts at Akron, compiling an 0.96 ERA, he was on the fast track to Cleveland, and injuries had him with the big club for his debut in Fenway Park on May 28th.

The short season actually helps both Civale and Plesac because they won’t have deal with an innings increase threshold this season.

As for alternatives? Adam Plutko would be the first option should either falter, and the organization has Logan Allen, Scott Moss, and if he is healthy, Jefry Rodriguez as options. However, the latter group doesn’t have a real track record of success in the bigs either.

And then there is James Karinchak, counted on to be a set up man for Brad Hand.

We all know about Karinchak’s gaudy strikeout feats, his high octane fastball, and his knee buckling curve.

However, he has walked a lot of people in his minor league career, which only spans three seasons and a little over 100 innings (82 games). His walk ratio per nine innings is 5.5, and that’s probably why Francona hasn’t fallen in love with the soon to be 24-year-old.

Relievers who don’t throw strikes aren’t any manager’s friend, and Tito is no different.

The biggest problem is Francona doesn’t have a lot of alternatives if Karinchak isn’t effective. He would have to turn to prospects Kyle Nelson or Cam Hill or maybe veterans Phil Maton or Hunter Wood, but none have the filthy stuff Karinchak has.

It’s a bit of a high wire act for the organization, but the safety net is how these players performed last season. But, no doubt the Tribe needs progress from this quartet of young players.

Tribe Killing It In Simulated Seasons

With baseball still on the shelf, the only way you can get the feeling of following a team day by day is by checking out the various simulations of the 2020 season out there.

In April, we checked out a couple such games, the Out Of The Park simulation being conducted on BaseballReference.com and the other being played out on StratOMatic.com.

According to both of these sites, baseball fans in northeast Ohio and missing one helluva season.

BaseballReference.com: The Tribe leads the AL Central with a 48-27 record and holds a seven game bulge on the second place Minnesota Twins. That mark is the best in the American League, and third best in baseball, behind the Dodgers and Cardinals.

Offensively, the Indians are being paced by Carlos Santana (.315, 14 HR, 54 RBI, 932 OPS), Francisco Lindor (.288, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 887 OPS), and Jose Ramirez (.274, 16 HR, 46 RBI, 867 OPS).

Franmil Reyes has belted 20 long balls, and Tyler Naquin returned to the active roster in May and is hitting .323. Jordan Luplow is getting steady playing time and has 10 homers to go along with a .283 batting average.

Newcomers Cesar Hernandez (.301, 6 HR, 34 RBI, .370 OBP) and Domingo Santana (.256, 10 HR) and fit in quite well to the lineup.

As we noted in April, this game has been playing Greg Allen at the everyday CF, and he’s done well, batting .280 with a .347 on base percentage.

Pitching wise, Shane Bieber has fit the profile as a staff ace with an 11-4 mark and a 2.98 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 114 innings. Aaron Civale is 7-3 with a 3.75 ERA, and though Carlos Carrasco (4-4, 4.30) and Mike Clevinger (3-3, 5.37) have struggled a bit, rookie lefty Scott Moss has picked up the slack, going 7-1 with a 4.48 ERA.

Brad Hand has 17 saves, and James Karinchak has a 1.98 ERA in 13 innings, but has fanned 24 hitters in that span.

The game had the Tribe picking up veteran relievers John Axford, Jim Johnson, and Daniel Stumpf as well.

One bone to pick–they had Cleveland dealing Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, and Juan Carlos Mejia to Texas for catcher Robinson Chirinos, a deal the Indians’ front office would never make.

StratOMatic.com: This simulation also has the Tribe sitting with a 48-27 record and an 8 game lead over the Twins in the Central. Cleveland has the second best mark in the AL (behind Houston) and third in MLB overall (Dodgers).

Reyes is the offensive machine for the Indians, batting .334 with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs, Lindor leads the team in ribbies with 55, along with 19 bombs and a .271 batting average.

Ramirez checks in at .259 with 14 homers and 45 runs knocked in.

They also have Luplow getting more playing time, and he’s responded with 7 HR, 26 RBI, and a .290 batting average.

Hernandez has had a fine season to date here as well, batting .295 with 8 dingers. And Carlos Santana is batting .300 and is third in the AL in walks with 50. His power is down so far with just 6 homers.

They have used Delino DeShields as the primary CF, hitting .258 although Bradley Zimmer has just been recalled. Oscar Mercado is on the team, but batting just .232.

Clevinger has been the best pitcher, going 5-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 74 punchouts in 73 innings, while Bieber has been solid, with an 8-5 mark, 3.59 ERA and 114 whiffs in 100 frames.

Zach Plesac is 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA.

Brad Hand has struggled. He has 21 saves, but a 5.73 ERA, but the relievers have been buoyed by strong performances from Phil Maton (1.44 ERA), James Hoyt (1.26 ERA in just 14 innings).

Karinchak has a 3.20 ERA in 25.1 innings with 32 strikeouts, and he has been joined by rookies Cam Hill and Kyle Nelson.

If these games are even close to realism, we are missing a great season to date by the Indians. Guess that should make everyone even more sad about what is going on in The National Pastime.

Bradley and Chang: Forgotten Indian Prospects?

When talking about the young players on the roster of the Cleveland Indians, the conversation usually is about guys like Oscar Mercado, presumed to be the starting centerfielder, or slugger Franmil Reyes, who many figured could have hit 40 home runs in a full season.

Or people talk about the young arms the Tribe has on the cusp of being quality big league starters, namely Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac, and perhaps Triston McKenzie, who missed all of last year with injuries.

Maybe people will bring up the flame throwers in the bullpen, James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase, and depending how “in the know” they are, Cam Hill and Kyle Nelson.

However, two players who signed and were developed by the organization seem to be forgotten. Both are 24 years old right now, but it doesn’t feel like the Indians have plans for them any more.

We are talking about Yu Chang and Bobby Bradley.

A right-handed hitter shortstop, Chang debuted in the organization in 2014 in the Arizona Rookie League, and made his mark hitting .346 with 6 HR and a 986 OPS at age 18.

He played in Lake County as a 19 year old and struggled at the plate batting .232 with 9 dingers, and struggled with strike zone judgment, fanning 103 times in 440 plate appearances with just 27 walks.

He rebounded a bit at Lynchburg in 2016 (.259, 13 HR, 70 RBI, 795 OPS, increased walk rate) and had a good stint in the Arizona Fall League, batting .304.

However, in the AFL, he fanned 21 times and walked just 3 times.

Moving to AA in ’17, Chang did belt 24 homers, but hit just .220 and struck out 134 times in 504 plate appearances. In his first year at AAA in 2018, he batted .256 and followed that hitting .253, with a combined total of 22 homers.

In our eyes, you need to have the ability to get on base and/or drive the ball to be a big league hitter. Since his stint in rookie ball, Chang’s high in on base percentage is .332 and his minor league slugging percentage is just .436.

In 84 big league at bats, he hit .186 with one homer and whiffed 22 times in 84 PA.

The lack of ability to make contact or have good strike zone judgment is the reason the Tribe signed Cesar Hernandez as a free agent and traded for Christian Arroyo late last season.

And it’s going to be tough for infielder to show anything without a true minor league season in 2020.

As for Bradley, he might be able to get a spot on a 30 man daily roster, but it appears he’s not in their long range plans as an everyday player.

The left-handed hitter was a third round pick in ’14 and dominated the Arizona Rookie League, hitting .361 with 8 HR and 50 RBI (1.078 OPS). The following year, he started at Lake County, where he belted 27 long balls, hit .269, but fanned 148 times in 465 plate appearances.

He moved to high A Lynchburg for eight hitless at bats, and stayed there in 2016, hitting 29 homers, but his batting average dipped to .239, and although he drew 75 walks, which is good, he whiffed 175 times.

He had a 890 OPS at Lake County, and dropped to 810 at Lynchburg.

That figure fell further at Akron in 2017 to 796, as he hit .251 with 23 dingers. The strikeouts dropped to 122, which is good, but so did the walks (55).

He started the next season at Akron, hitting .214 with 24 bombs. His slugging percentage went up slightly, but his on base percentage dropped. He was promoted to Columbus later that season, hitting .254 with three homers in 32 games.

He seemed to change his approach last year, and didn’t care as much about cutting down on the strikeouts, accumulating 153 at AAA, but hit 33 homers, and had a 912 OPS.

Bradley had a cup of coffee with the big club, hitting one homer in 49 PA’s, but batted just .178 and struck out 20 times.

He’s only 24, and sometimes it takes awhile for these power hitters to find their niche in the big leagues, but trading for Reyes during the ’19 season and for Jake Bauers before last season, shows us, the contact problem concerns the Indians’ brass.

Again, the lack of a minor league season retards the development of both Chang and Bradley, as the duo need regular at bats to develop.

However, it does seem like the front office lost some of their enthusiasm for these two prospects. On the other hand, sometimes players get one shot, and they have to take advantage of that chance.

Improve Offense? Tribe Should Deal From Strength

The Cleveland Indians still have too many holes in their lineup for our liking. As the roster currently stands, they have three “for sure” very good offensive players.

Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez are the studs. Lindor has finished in the top 15 in the American League MVP voting each of the last four seasons, and has had an OPS over 800 in four of the five years he has worn a Cleveland uniform.

Ramirez is working on a streak of four straight seasons with an OPS over 800, although many doubted he could get there in 2019 after his extremely slow start.

The other is Carlos Santana, who even if his average drops from the career high .281 last season, still has pop and can get on base so much as anybody in the game. He has a career .367 on base percentage.

There are some players who we expect will be solid, most notably Franmil Reyes, who will be just 24 next season, and should hit a ton of home runs, but can he draw more walks and cut down on strikeouts.

We would also hope for progression from Oscar Mercado, who will be 25 and should still be getting better.

There are a lot of ifs offensively with this group, and there will probably be a regression for Roberto Perez at the dish. Perez hit a career high 24 homers in 2019.

So, how do the Indians improve themselves offensively? Luckily they have depth in a category most of the major league teams are looking for, and that would be starting pitching.

With the return to good health for Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, the Cleveland front office has depth in this area.

Shane Bieber made the All Star team (won the game’s MVP) and finished 4th in the American League Cy Young Award voting. And Mike Clevinger went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts after missing two months early in the season.

So, when Kluber and Carrasco are back, they really are the 3rd and 4th starters coming into 2020 with Clevinger and Bieber being the aces.

You can’t forget Aaron Civale, who had a 2.34 ERA in 10 starts late in the season, and had people reminded of a younger Kluber.

Of course, you need depth in the rotation to get through a 162 game season, especially when two of the starters are over 30 years old, and the Tribe has that too.

Zach Plesac (25 next year) made 21 starts and had a 3.81 ERA, allowing less hits than innings pitched and striking out twice as many batters as he walked. And Adam Plutko emerged as a serviceable fifth starter, making 20 starts.

And don’t forget Jefry Rodriguez, who made eight starts for the Indians a year ago, and southpaw Logan Allen, who came over in the three way trade at the deadline and was ranked as a top 100 prospect.

Triston McKenzie, another top 100 arm, is also now on the 40 man roster, although he missed all of last year with an injury.

So, the Indians can afford to move a starting pitcher to get some offense, and still have depth to sustain an injury or a performance not up to the expectations the organization would have.

And that might be a more palatable way to improve the hitting rather than spending big money on a free agent.

The best trades in baseball are always made from organizational depth. The Indians have what other teams want. It’s time to reap something they need for it.

Revivals And Rookies Key Tribe Hot Streak

No matter when you think it started, there is no question the Cleveland Indians have been blistering hot for over two months to climb back into the American League Central Division race.

We like to point to May 28th, when the Tribe was trailing Boston in the ninth inning 5-2, heading to their 8th loss in nine games, when they rallied for five runs and won 7-5. Cleveland is 43-20 since.

Others point to the first game after the White Sox series, where they lost three of four. Looking at a homestand where they were playing the Twins, Yankees, and Reds, they took two of three vs. first place Minnesota. They are 41-17 in that span.

It doesn’t matter what date you start, there is no question the revival can be traced to the renaissance of some veteran players and the emergence of some rookies.

Oscar Mercado made his major league debut on May 14th after a strong spring training and great start in AAA. He hit his first home run on May 26th, and became an everyday player when the team went to Boston, which was the 27th.

The rook is currently in a 2 for 18 slide, which happens to rookies, but overall has hit .277 (768 OPS) and has fit nicely into the #2 hole in the lineup between Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana.

This is a gigantic upgrade from the 619 OPS they were getting from Leonys Martin.

Zach Plesac made his major league debut that turn around game in Boston, and has proved to be a reliable starter since, going 6-3 with a 3.13 ERA.

He’s allowed more than three runs just three times in 13 starts, and one of those resulted in a win vs. Houston. He pitched at least five innings in 11 of those appearances, and one of those was because of a rain delay situation.

While Mercado helped the offense, the hitting still needed help and a couple of veterans got it going.

Jason Kipnis, who on June 6th was hitting .206 with a 565 OPS, starting hitting like he did in 2016. Since June 1st, he’s hit .281 with 9 home runs and 43 RBI.

That helped lengthen the lineup.

It also was helped when a player who has finished in the top three in the MVP voting the past two seasons, emerged from a slump that dated back to mid August of 2018.

On June 12th, Jose Ramirez was batting .198 with a 586 OPS. Since then, Ramirez has played like one of the best hitters in the game, batting .319 with 12 HR and 43 RBI.

His revival has made a huge difference and with the deal that brought Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes to Cleveland at the deadline, the Indians should have an offense which measures up to the other contenders in the American League.

Another rookie, Aaron Civale, has given Terry Francona and his staff two solid starts and will be counted on to do the same until Corey Kluber, who should return to the rotation by the end of the month, is ready.

And let’s not overlook the contributions of Nick Goody (1.30 ERA), the OF platoon of Tyler Naquin and Jordan Luplow, and Greg Allen (.293).

A team needs the contributions of many to be this hot for this long. The Indians have had that and will continue to need it over the last month and a half of this season.

Overcoming an 11.5 game lead to tie for the division lead is one thing. But you have to finish the job and they are still 45 games remaining.

If the rookies can keep performing and Kipnis and Ramirez can stay hot, the AL Central title can be achieved.