Cleveland Indians: 94.5 wins
- Baseball Prospectus: 96 wins
- FanGraphs: 93 wins
The Indians led the big leagues with 102 wins last year, propelled by a 33-4 finish to the year that included a record-breaking 22-game winning streak. Expectations will be just as high for Cleveland in 2018. The Indians return virtually every hitter and starting pitcher from last year and may get even more from Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger, who both dominated down the stretch.
Cleveland did lose Carlos Santana, but replaced him with Yonder Alonso, who found his power stroke last year. If Alonso is able to maintain the swing that allowed him to set a new career-high with 28 home runs and a .501 slugging percentage, the Indians offense will not skip a beat.
What can you say about a rotation that features two-time Cy Young Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar at the top? The Indians have no weaknesses and quality depth on the bench to boot. Playing in a smaller market, the Tribe can get overlooked, and that’s just fine with them.
Conclusion: Topping 95 wins again won’t be a problem for the Indians, and this is one of the best overs to bet. The AL Central could be historically weak this year, and the Indians should win at least 40 of their 57 games against Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City. That leaves them needing to go just 55-50 against the rest of the league to hit the over. Easy money.