Are the Indians a Sleeping Giant in the American League? Three Reasons Why The Answer is 'Yes'

The Indians return home to Progressive Field to start a series with the Los Angeles Angles on Friday night holding a wide 10-game margin in the AL Central over the Minnesota Twins.

They are 11 games over .500, and while they lead the Central, they are 6th as far as the best team in the American League is concerned, trailing the Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Mariners and the A's.

Many think while the Indians did make a move the day of the deadline, acquiring Leonys Martin from the Detroit Tigers as well as minor league prospect Oscar Mercado from the Cardinals, they didn't make the 'big' move that some fans wanted them to make.

With all that said, many fans seem to feel that come October, the Indians are simply going to be fodder for another team in the American League to run over on the way to the American League Championship Series.

Sure the Indians have other ideas, and think they are good enough - but are they?

There's a number of reasons to think that while it's a longshot this team is going to finish on the run they did in 2017, they might just be in a better position this season and might just be the sleeping giant in the American League.

Here's a couple reasons as to why:

1. A Starting Five That Can Matchup with Anyone

Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber are five pitchers who have shown on any given night they can pitch on their own into a win for the Tribe.

Kluber is a two-time Cy Yong award winner who has had some ups and downs due to a lingering knee injury, but he looked like his old self in his last outing and looks like he might be ready to go on a run.

Carrasco is the pitcher no one seems to talk about, he's 13-5 and Wednesday against the Twins went 7.1 innings, not allowing a run on four hits with 10 K's with no walks. He's been as good as anyone for the most part this season.

You can argue that Bauer might be worthy of a Cy Young nomination after how good he's been this season, making quality start after quality start, going 10-6 with a 2.34 ERA, logging the most innings of any pitcher in the AL this season.

Clevinger and Bieber have both also been very good, Clev going 7-7 with a 3.43 ERA, and Biber in his rookie year going 5-2.

There's a number of other good staffs in the AL, but the Indians staff alone can win them a five-game series with their deepth and talent.

2. The Top Four in the Lineup

Led by MVP candidate Jose Ramirez, the Indians top three in their lineup along with number four power hitter Edwin Encarnacion can give a lot of teams trouble come October.

Ramirez, who had a rough ALDS a year ago, has been sensational this year, hitting .301 with an AL high 32 homers, an AL high 25 steals, and 78 runs batted in.

Francisco Lindor has a team-high 126 hits to go along with hitting .291 with 27 homers and 67 runs batted in.

Fellow All-Star Michael Brantley is hitting .295 with 12 homers and 57 RBI, and let's not forget he was not 100 percent for the playoffs last season.

Then there is Encarnacion, who also was hurt during the postseason against the Yankees in 2017, and the team missed him a great deal.

He's hitting .236, but has still blasted 24 homers and 76 RBI, and hopefully he can continue to find his swing and stay healthy for the postseason.

3. A Rejuvenated Bullpen

For good reasons fans blood pressure has spiked this season watching what has been an awful Indians bullpen try to close out games once the starter has been taken out of the game.

Night after night of giving up leads, and rotating arm after arm has been frustrating to say the least, but the good news is there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel for the bullpen.

Knowing just how bad the pen has been, Team President Chris Antonetti pulled the trigger on a big deal back on July 19th, dealing with San Diego for closer Brad Hand and rookie reliever Adam Cimber.

The two have come in and both to this point have done their job, Hand putting up two saves and a 1.29 ERA in six outings, and Cimber has thrown just 2.2 innings of situational ball, but has allowed just three hits and even better no runs.

Yes there's still going to be tough nights when the team has to go to unproven players like Neil Ramirez, Oliver Perez and even Dan Otero has had moments of struggle, but adding Hand and Cimber has given the pen new life, and if Andrew Miller is close to the pitcher Indians fans have come to know and love, this unit might just end up finally helping this team win tight games in October.

The Indians' bullpen might go from dumpster fire to unstoppable force, all in a matter of a few weeks.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) August 1, 2018