Where Do The Indians Stand In the First MLB Power Rankings of 2021?

MLB.com is out with their first power rankings of 2021, and the Indians are right in the middle when it comes to how they are being looked at by their peers around Major League Baseball, coming in at 15 overall.

Spring training is in the air in Goodyear, Arizona and the Indians are looking for more of a sense of normalcy after last season's pandemic shut down camp a few weeks in.

The team has had a ton of changes over the last two seasons, and entering 2021 that's again no exception as the club looks to repeat as the AL Central Champions. 

Many think that this past offseason which saw the Indians trade away superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor and popular starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco is just going to be too much to overcome for this franchise. 

As always, don't tell that to manager Terry Francona, who is looking for a season in which he wants to try and return to health, or to team president Chris Antonetti who feels with AL Cy Young award winner Shane Bieber and potential AL MVP Jose Ramirez, this club can still compete. 

Nationally earning the respect around baseball is not going to be easy, as Monday MLB.com came out with their first "Power Rankings" of 2021, and the Indians are middle of the pack in the 30-team league. 

MLB has (to no surprise) the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers as number one, followed by the up and coming San Diego Padres at number two.

The New York Yankees are at three in their rankings, the Atlanta Braves come in at four, and the New York Mets at five. 

So where do the Indians stand in all this?

MLB has them right in the middle of the pack, starting them at 15 overall of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball.

The Tribe starting pitching along with two players in their pen in closer James Karinchak and setup man Emmanuel Clase are reasons why the team is ranked as high as they are.

Combine that with the pickup of Eddie Rosario who should play daily in the outfield somewhere, and the hopeful development of some young players and the Indians hopefully can quietly build a better season than already some are saying.

There's plenty of things that can happen between now and April 1st, which is opening day, but for now the the team has work to do and hopefully being healthy and making strides are two things that can happen to start what they hope will be a good start to 2021.