Where Do the Indians Stand in the Latest SI MLB Power Rankings?

The Indians have been on a roll lately, having won 6 of 9 and 13 of 18 despite the loss on Friday night. The baseball experts at Sports Illustrated have taken notice, and this week the team has taken a solid jump in the latest SI MLB Power Rankings.

The Indians have been playing solid baseball as of late despite still having issues on offense, as well as trading number two starter in their rotation, Mike Clevinger, this past week to the San Diego Padres.

The Tribe has won six of their last nine, 13 of 18 and 18 of their last 27 games as they get set for the last four weeks of the regular season.

Right now as it stands, the Tribe has a 99.9% chance to make postseason, and an 8.3% to win the World Series.

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As the team moves forward, the baseball experts at Sports Illustrated have taken notice, and this week the club has taken another step forward in the site's weekly MLB Power Rankings.

The jump is from the 8th spot to number five, as the site has the Indians as the third best team in the American League behind the Tampa Bay Rays (#2 on the list) and the Oakland A's (#3 on the list).

Here's what SI had to say about the Tribe:

César Hernández has been his usual, consistent self in his first season with Cleveland, providing much-needed reliability for an offense that’s gone through long dry spells in 2020. He still doesn’t hit for much power, and his strikeouts have risen a bit, but he gets on base at a solid clip and ranks third among the team’s hitters in fWAR (1.1).

The Tribe is hopeful with the infusion of a couple young Padres acquired in Monday's deal like Josh Naylor, Cal Quantrill and Austin Hedges can help out the Major League roster.

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The team is also hoping for a boost when manager Terry Francona is able to return to the club following his procedure two weeks ago at the Cleveland Clinic.

If you'd like the see the entire power rankings list - click HERE.

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For more from Matt Loede, follow him on Twitter @MattLoede. Follow CBI on Twitter @IndiansonSI