Cleveland Indians: ALDS preview vs. the Houston Astros

The time for talking is over. As Ken Griffey Jr. said in the playoff promo, its time to “let the kids play.” Here is our preview of the Cleveland Indians ALDS matchup with the Houston Astros.

It’s officially playoff time for the Clevland Indians. Today is the first of a best of five series against the Houston Astros to determine who will advance to the ALCS. The pressure is in full effect for fans of the Tribe, as losing this series means the end of their season and perhaps the end of their championship window. With a lot of their high-end contracts coming to an end this winter, the Indians may not have a shot like this in a long time.

But let’s save the negative thoughts for another time. The point is the Indians stack up pretty well against the Astros as far as rosters go. The Astros won 12 more games than the Tribe but as we know all too well, the records go out the window in the playoffs.

Houston will look to start their back-to-back title run in their own stadium, Minute Maid Park. two games will be played in H-Town, followed by two games at Progressive Field in Cleveland before the series returns to Houston for game 5. That is, of course, if one of these teams don’t win in three or four games.

These are two star-studded lineups loaded with All-Stars. For the Cleveland Indians, everyone in their starting lineup has received an All-Star nod at some point. Let’s see how these lineups project to look

Projected Lineups

Cleveland Indians (91-71) vs. Houston Astros (103-59)

Cleveland Indians: SS Francisco Lindor, LF Michael Brantley, 2B Jose Ramirez, DH Edwin Encarnacion, 3B Josh Donaldson, 1B Yonder Alonso, RF Melky Cabrera, CF Jason Kipnis, C Yan Gomes

Houston Astros: CF George Springer, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Carlos Correa, 1B Yuli Gurriel, DH Evan Gattis, RF Josh Reddick, LF Marwin Gonzalez, C Brian McCann

It’s important to note the advantages each team has. The Indians have a loaded infield to match the Astros stacked infield. Lindor and Correa are both studs at shortstop. Donaldson and Bregman are also big-time players at their positions. The most notable advantage for the Astros is their outfield. While Cleveland’s isn’t bad, the Astros is simply remarkable with their trio. That will be the case for most teams the Indians face in the playoffs. But their big bats come from the infield.