The Cleveland Indians did not exactly have a magical start to the 2021 MLB season.
But a 2-3 record is nothing to panic about.
The team initially opened up in the No. 18 spot in ESPN’s MLB power rankings this year.
ESPN has dropped its first official list during the regular season and the Indians got a nice boost up one spot to No. 17 in all of baseball.
Promotions are never a bad thing.
A Slight Jump in the Rankings
The lack of offense during the opening week was the glaring concern with this team.
The team’s only real outburst on offense came Sunday in Detroit to the tune of nine runs.
That was the first win of the season.
What followed was a terrible shutout loss Monday that spoiled the day for Logan Allen and all the fans at Progressive Field.
They did score four runs Wednesday, but Jose Ramirez drove in all four via home runs.
Getting a total of eight hits was still nice.
The pitching staff is why the Indians remain ranked where they do.
Shane Bieber looks like his normal self and the bullpen is dominant in the backend.
Emmanuel Clase blowing by the 100-mark on the radar gun is something fans can get used to on a regular basis.
The worst day the pitching staff has had so far came last Saturday in a 5-2 loss against the Detroit Tigers.
The staff allowed three runs in each of the other two losses this season.
Cold weather can only be used as an excuse for so long as the season rolls on.
The Week Ahead
The Indians are finally getting into more of a normal MLB schedule this week.
The next off-day is not until April 19.
A rematch with the Tigers gets going Friday night and the Indians will face another division rival during the week in the Chicago White Sox.
That four-game series may determine if the Indians are truly contenders in this competitive division.
The week ends with our first interleague action as the Indians head south to take on the Cincinnati Reds.
Tyler Naquin is absolutely raking for his new team and will hopefully cool off just for that weekend.
Looking shaky against the Tigers and Royals was not exactly a huge boost of confidence.
However, the pitching has been strong and that is how the team will succeed in 2021.
Can the Indians break into the top 10 of ESPN’s rankings soon?
Looking great against the White Sox can go a long way toward making that a reality.
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