Cleveland Indians up to No. 1 overall in ESPN power rankings

The Cleveland Indians haven’t lost in nearly three weeks and have now climbed to the top in the latest edition of ESPN’s MLB power rankings.

The Cleveland Indians have won 11 games in 10 days this month, and find themselves atop the American League. An 18-game winning streak will do that.

Just a month ago the Los Angeles Dodgers were considered the best team in baseball, but a recent collapse coupled with this historical streak from the Indians means Cleveland baseball fans are seeing arguably the best team in the game.

Don’t just take my word for it, as the Indians are now ranked No. 1 overall in ESPN’s MLB power rankings.

From the article:

"If someone had told you in April that Jason Kipnis put up arguably his worst year while getting hurt repeatedly, that Michael Brantley would get hurt and so would Andrew Miller, that they’d have to send Danny Salazar to the bullpen at two different points of the season, and that the Indians would go on their best tear of the season after all of that had happened to catch up to the Astros for the league’s best record, you’d be forgiven for a lack of imagination for how all that might be so. Now we’re asking whether the Indians will do a better job of sustaining their hot streak into the postseason. — Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com"

The point about all the injuries makes sense, but after the 2016 season, Indians fans know not to doubt the possibility of anything happening. Not even another franchise-record winning streak.

The stats from the streak are mind-blowing, and it will be interesting to get the final tallies once the streak ends. But hopefully that won’t be soon.

The Indians are chasing that famous 20-game streak achieved by the 2002 Oakland Athletics, along with Chris Pratt and Brad Pitt, and have a great shot to get there as the Detroit Tigers are in town for three games. Carlos Carrasco pitches tonight and Corey Kluber in on the mound Tuesday, while Mike Clevinger takes the mound Wednesday after not allowing a single run in his last three starts.

Even with the injuries, this team doesn’t appear to have any weak spots. The pitching has been phenomenal and the lineup comes through when it matters. This was evident Sunday night when Francisco Lindor hit what was ultimately the game-winning home run, and did so with a smile on his face.

Next: Evaluating Kipnis' future in Cleveland

This team has been fun to watch all year, but what matters most is keeping up the winning ways in October. And with the way this team is playing now with all the other contenders facing adversity, it’s hard not to be confident in another trip to the World Series.