Cleveland Indians: Top 3 players from 2017 and in 2018

Three Cleveland Indians players stood out as stars in 2017 and the same three will once again be the faces of the franchise in 2018.

The Cleveland Indians don’t just have one face of the franchise. Nor do they have two.

There are three players in town who stand out above the rest not only in the clubhouse, but in all of baseball. Those three are Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Corey Kluber.

We began the year with a countdown of the top 25 players from the 2017 season and made it up to Carlos Santana at No. 4. Then, honestly for no other reason than life getting in the way, the list stopped.

This post serves as the final three, with Lindor, Ramirez, and Kluber all coming in at the top spot. At the same time, all three serve as the top three players on the team heading into the 2018 season.

It is amazing that we look at two kids in their early 20s and place a world of expectations upon them, but that only happens because they are just so damn good at the game of baseball. The two make the amazing look effortless and form one of the more iconic infield duos in franchise history.

Then there is Kluber, who will go down as one of the best pitchers to ever wear an Indians uniform. Fans simply expect him to go out every five days and dominate, and that is the case most of the time.

At a time when there are so many competitions all throughout the roster, these three players can be looked to as constants the same way we looked at Yan Gomes, Michael Brantley and Jason Kipnis a few years ago.

One doesn’t even need to go into the stats, as these three players will be looked to for consistency all season long, and hopefully in the postseason.

While all three had their struggles in last year’s ALDS, the entire team lost it during those final three games. I’m not sure how much different things would have gone if only Lindor, Ramirez, and Kluber played better. It was a team effort and a team loss.

Baseball is a unique sport where players are under team control for quite some time, meaning this trio will be doing great things for at least a few more seasons. Kluber is under team control through 2021, Ramirez through 2023, and Lindor through 2021.

The shortstop’s status is one fans will keep a close eye on, but even if a long-term deal can’t be worked out, it’s not like he is leaving tomorrow. Indians fans still have several more years of Lindor before any thoughts of doom can settle in. And maybe he will even have an extension before long.

Next: 5 best first-round draft picks in club history

It is rare to have so many stars on one team, but Indians fans will tell you that this is nothing new after witnessing the great teams of the 90s. Hopefully that nostalgia will give way to a championship celebration.