Cleveland Indians ranked No. 10 overall in ESPN power rankings

The Cleveland Indians are still playing inconsistent baseball but are doing enough to remain in the top ten of ESPN’s MLB power rankings.

It was another interesting week for the Cleveland Indians.

The team went 3-4 over the past seven days, picking up wins on Monday, Thursday and Sunday. The other days weren’t too fun for Indians fans. However, the team is still doing well enough to show up at No. 10 overall in the latest edition of ESPN’s MLB power rankings.

The Indians struggled against the White Sox and the Twins and now enter this week with only a 2.5-game lead over the surging Tigers, who have won five straight. This upcoming weekend’s series against the Tigers could potentially be a battle for first place. Oh, what a season.

Carlos Carrasco hit the disabled list last week and Corey Kluber had himself a bad start for the first time in over a calendar year. While there were plenty of negatives, a 3-4 week isn’t terrible when considering how this season has gone.

Fans are still waiting for the team to put away the weak AL Central competition but must remember that it was not until July of last year when the team began to pull away from the rest of the division. The team fell to 48-45 before finishing 102-60.

I am not declaring this 2018 team to be on track to win 102 games, but it is important to remember that a relatively slow start doesn’t forecast doom just yet. I would be surprised if the front office doesn’t make a few moves before the trade deadline, some of which can help solve the holes on the roster. Specifically, in the bullpen.

Next: Carlos Carrasco officially headed to the DL

A bright spot from the past week is that Shane Bieber picked up his first win and appears to be set to receive a longer look with the big league club now that Carrasco is out. This won’t make the four losses any better, but it is something to smile about after the 3-4 week.