Cleveland Indians: The 3 best teams Tribe will face in 2018

The schedule for the 2018 season has been out for awhile. The Cleveland Indians may be playing in a relatively weak AL Central, but they will have plenty of tough opponents.

There are several quality teams that the Tribe will have to face this season, including five playoff teams from a year ago. In interleague play, the Indians and the rest of the AL Central will have to face off against a tough NL Central, which includes teams like the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and St. Louis Cardinals.

The AL as a whole is not very strong. In the Central division, the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Kansas City Royals are all embarking on rebuilds. The Rays, Blue Jays, and Orioles are all projected to be mediocre in the East division. In the West, everyone finished over 20 games behind the Astros and no team besides Houston is a World Series threat.

So who are the best teams the Cleveland Indians will have to face in 2018? There are a few that should make for a must-watch series.

Honorable Mentions

Minnesota Twins

The Twins made a surprising run for the Wild Card in 2017. They were originally buyers at the July trade deadline, but then sold off recently acquired Jaime Garcia. Miraculously, they were able to rebound and make it to the Wild Card game. With a rebuilt bullpen, the Twins should improve this season. If they can sign one of the top free agent pitchers, they will have a solid rotation.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox won the AL East outright in 2017 but were unable to defeat the Astros in the ALDS, leading to an early elimination. Boston, like Cleveland, holds a formidable rotation headed by Chris Sale and David Price. If they can add a power bat to the lineup in someone like J.D. Martinez, who the Tribe have been connected to, they will be even better.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers fell short of the playoffs in 2017, but teams should not underestimate them, even after their second half meltdown. They are a young team that now has one more year of experience under their belt. The NL Central could be one of the most competitive in baseball, along with the NL West. With two games against the Crew in May and two more in June, the Tribe should get a good view of this up and coming team.

3. Chicago Cubs

Like the Brewers, the Cubs come from the NL Central. The Cubs have one of the best lineups in baseball. With Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and Addison Russell making up the heart of their order, they will be tough for the Cleveland Indians pitchers to beat. Of course, everyone already knows how tough they are to beat after going to seven games against them in the 2016 World Series.

This will be the first time the two clubs have matched up since that World Series, and you can bet this Indians team will come out to play with a vengeance. The first two games against the Cubs will be April 24th and 25th at home. The two play each other again in May, this time at Wrigley Field.

2. New York Yankees

The Yankees surprised everyone with their run to the ALCS last year. The “rebuild” that the Yankees went through went much faster than anyone anticipated. The Indians were the unlucky team that fell to the Yankees in the ALDS, and the task will not be any easier in 2018. Why is that? That’s because the Yankees went out and traded for this guy named Giancarlo Stanton, who hit a mere 59 home runs last year.

Pairing Stanton with Aaron Judge, will create quite the headache for this Indians pitching staff. The Cleveland Indians will head to Yankee Stadium in May, while the Bronx Bombers will come to Progressive Field for four games right before the All Star Break in July.

1. Houston Astros

The Astros proved themselves to be the best team in baseball last season by winning the World Series in a thrilling seven game series. And the Astros have only gotten better since then. They’ve signed former Indian Joe Smith to pitch out of their bullpen, and also acquired Gerrit Cole for their starting rotation from the Pirates.

Now their rotation includes Cole, Dallas Keuchel, Justin Verlander, and Lance McCullers. The Astros are a scary team to play against. The Tribe will play two series against them in May, sandwiching the Cubs series in between.

The month of May will be a difficult stretch for this Indians club. They have to go on the road against the Yankees, Brewers, Astros, and Cubs in a 20 day span. That includes 10 games against those four teams. That 20 day stretch has only three home games against the Royals in the middle. After the road series in Chicago, the Tribe comes home to face the Astros for another four.

If the Tribe can get through the gauntlet of a schedule in May, they should be just fine the rest of the season. Facing the three toughest teams on their schedule in one month is a daunting task, but if anyone can get through it, it’s the Cleveland Indians.

Next: Tribe has interest in Peter Moylan

Thankfully, the toughest part of the schedule happens in May and not September. If the team struggles in May, there’s still plenty of time to recover. But if they struggle against tough teams in September, it can be hard to bounce back.