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MLB 2016 Season: 5 Bold Predictions

By Parker Hurley

Apr 13, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) against the Philadelphia Phillies during opening day at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) against the Philadelphia Phillies during opening day at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 17, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) delivers in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) delivers in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Indians will win the World Series

The City of Cleveland has yet to win any sports championship since 1964, and the Indians have not won a World Series since 1948. Brace yourselves Cleveland because it isn’t Lebron James coming to break the curse, but Corey Kluber.

To start, there is a chance the Indians can have the best rotation in baseball. In 2014, the Indians dealt with some shuffling in their roster, specifically defensively and it got them out to a slow start. Yan Gomes, their emerging young catcher went down to injury, and he is one of the keys to the pitching staff.

It got some of their guys off to a slow start, namely Kluber, and while it wasn’t his 2014 Cy Young season it was a respectable year. Kluber, Carlos Carassco, and Danny Salazar all pitched 180 innings this season, and all showed that in 2016 they could take a step forward and give the Indians a dominant rotation.

Carassco and Kluber ranked fifth and sixth respectively in strikeouts, and Salazar ranked 12th in K/9 for pitchers that threw 180 innings. Only Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer had a lower BB/9 than Carassco and Kluber, while having a higher K/9. In total, Kluber is 11th in the league in BB/9, Carassco is 23rd and Salazar ranked 30th. With major strikeout potential and control, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see all three put in a strong season in 2016.

They will start the year without Michael Brantley but with him back soon, their lineup should be solid. Jason Kipnis and Fransisco Lindor at the top provide a combo of speed and average with a bit of power out of Kipnis, and they have a hard hitter behind Brantley in Carlos Santana with 20 home run potential and a solid average.

They also went out and added this year to fill their core with the additions of Mike Napoli, Juan Uribe and Marlon Byrd. Between Uribe and Napoli you have three World Series rings, and all three made the playoffs last year, with Uribe going to the World Series.

The overall thought is that the rotation is deadly, especially in a playoff scenario. The lineup with a healthy Brantley can produce. They have a veteran core, but a 22-year old Lindor who is expected to have a strong year, and the thought is with a full season of Lindor, and a healthy Gomes for a strong pitching staff this team may have what it takes to make a run at not only the division, but the World Series.

Next: The Royals will miss the playoffs

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