Cleveland Indians

After a slow start the Indians were as hot as anyone down the stretch and narrowly missed the playoffs with a 93-69 record.

Pitching

The Indians staff lead the Majors in ERA last year and even though they lost league leader Kevin Millwood they still return with a strong group. Once again much will be expected of 25 year old lefty CC Sabathia who should be coming into his prime and the club has waited patiently for him to realise his potential.

Perhaps the biggest surprise last year was the emergence of Cliff Lee who lead the team with 18 wins and along with Sabathia gives the team two quality left handers to stagger the rotation around Jake Westbrook who continues to log quality innings and if not for a slow start by the Indian hitters could easily have won more than the 15 games he did.

The bullpen has received a minor overhaul but should still remain strong. Bob Wickman returns as closer after saving 45 games and will be set up by the clubs closer in waiting Fernando Cabrera whose 1.47 ERA in his 15 game audition gave good portents to his future with the club.

The rest of the pen includes dominant set-up men Rafael Betancourt, Guillermo Mota and lefthander Scott Sauerbeck.

Defence

Victor Martinez is not the strongest defensive catcher with below average tools but newly acquired Kelly Shoppach should offer plenty of respite. Shoppach had long been groomed as Varitek’s replacement in Boston and displays many of the same tools including good mechanics, a strong arm and great presence on the field.

The infield is flat out average with only first baseman Ben Broussard displaying above average tools. Jhonny Peralta (I wonder about that spelling some times) and Ronnie Belliard aren’t the most dynamic double play partnership although neither can be described as poor fielders. Andy Marte completes the infield and has some potential in the field and could provide the infield with a boost.

A very good outfield will be anchored by Grady Sizemore whose first full year garnered him MVP consideration (on this site at least). He is a smart outfielder who might not have the greatest speed but still covers ground.

Offence

The Indians bats just weren’t ready at the start of the year and that’s the only reason they didn’t make the playoffs. The clearest example of this was Victor Martinez who hit close to .200 for the first few months miraculously ended the year with a .305 after going on a tare down the stretch and best hitting catcher in baseball is ready to explode.
Backing him up will be Travis Hafner who is as consistent as they come and should be counted on for 30 HR, 100 RBI and a .300 average.

Further production can be expected from a steady group of professional hitters. Jhonny Peralta, Ronnie Belliard, Ben Broussard, Casey Blake and Jason Michaels are all solid hitters with occasional power.

The fortunes of the team turned around almost as soon as Grady Sizemore was placed at the top of the order. The 23 year old had a 20/20 year and combined that with a .348 OBP that should rise.

Rookie Watch

Fernando Cabrera mixes a lively mid-90’s fastball with a good splitter and has a slider when he needs it. He has dominated at all levels and has ice in his veins and could close games if Wickman gets injured.

Kelly Shoppach will allow Martinez to DH more and go easy on his body. Shoppach has all the tools you would want in a catcher and is a solid hitter to boot with occasional power and Boston could well rue the day they let him go. Similarly Marte who was also acquired in the Crisp deal and could emerge as one of the top third basemen in the league. He has growing tools defensively and has an advanced approach to hitting which boosts his power potential.

Management

Eric Wedge got a lot of praise last year but you still have to remember that he had a very talented side last year that failed to make the post-season because it was poorly prepared at the beginning of the year. If they hadn’t spotted Chicago such a head start who knows what might have happened? Now its obvious how good they could be there will be less forgiveness if they don’t play hard right out of the blocks.

Cleveland last went to the post-season in 2001 and that was the year they purged the payroll and went into a rebuilding mode. Since then Mark Shapiro has done an exceptional job rebuilding the team from the grass roots up and has come up with a young and talented unit capable of emulating those great sides of the late 90’s. This team is already a contender and with the core being so young there is still room for internal growth and a position amongst MLB’s best for a fair few years.

Outlook

Once they did got going last year Cleveland had to dig themselves out of a deep hole and the fact they made it close showed just how good a team they really had and if they had been better prepared it might have been them in the Fall Classic. If they hit the ground running this year they should be strong contenders for the pennant and beyond.