Cleveland Indians: A dark-horse division contender?

The Cleveland Indians dug themselves an early hole, but they’ve managed to put themselves into back into the picture in the American League Central.

After seeing the American League pennant winner come out of the American League Central last year in the Kansas City Royals, most fans have KC pegged to win the division again in 2015. If that’s not the case, the annual choice, the Detroit Tigers, seems to be the default favorite.

Despite a disappointing 10-14 record at home and an overall record of just 25-26, Terry Francona‘s club has plenty to be optimistic about heading toward the All-Star Break this summer.

Cleveland trails the first-place Minnesota Twins by just 5 1/2 games in the standings entering play on Wednesday, and just 2 1/2 games back of a wild-card spot in the American League. When you keep in mind that ace Corey Kluber did not notch his first win until May 13 and several pieces have struggled at the dish, their current situation looks all the better.

Kluber, who has allowed a total of five runs in his last four outings, seems to have figured something out in the last three weeks after seeing his earned run average peak at 5.04 in early May. His last time out, the right-hander struck out 13 batters–the fourth time in 11 starts he’s struck out at least 10 hitters.

The most impressive part of it all? He has not been alone in taking care of business on the mound.

As a staff, the Indians rank 10th in the AL in terms of ERA (3.96), which is hardly something to take note of. However, the fact that Cleveland hurlers lead all of Major League Baseball in strikeouts and rank eighth in opposing OBP offer a more optimistic look at things.

Behind Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar have all been solid, with Bauer showing exactly what made him such a high-value prospect in the past, pitching to a 2.96 ERA and 3.32 FIP in 63 2/3 innings of work spanning 10 starts.

Seven Indians pitchers are averaging more than 10 strikeouts-per-nine, with another three averaging at least one punch-out per nine – a testament to the arsenal Francona has at his disposal on a daily basis.

However, there’s much more to this Cleveland ball club than its pitching staff, which has received most of the attention so far this season. The offense, believe it or not, has put up more runs than any other team in the American League Central.

Four players–Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, Brandon Moss and Carlos Santana– have at least 25 runs batted in already. When you talk about the offensive capabilities of teams around the league, it’s no wonder so few people talk about the Indians.

There’s a major lack of star power in Cleveland, while cities like Detroit and Chicago have the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Jose Abreu leading the charge at the plate. As for the Indians, it’s up to the fan-favorite Kipnis and the ever-patient Brantley to lead a team that is still very much in the race for the AL Central crown.

The only team the Indians trail in the American League in terms of on-base percentage is the division-rival Tigers (.330 to .337), and while the club sits in the middle of the pack in batting average, home runs, and slugging percentage, they’ve shown the ability to manufacture runs–something that cannot be overstated during the long grind of the Major League Baseball season.

Look for this team to fly under the radar as summer approaches, quietly waiting in the wings to make a move and leap frog past the Tigers and Royals at the top of one of baseball’s most loaded divisions.

With one of the most balanced rotations in the game and an offense that works seamlessly as a series of cogs and gears, the Indians are poised for a run at the postseason.

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