Indians Win-Total Prediction
After falling just shy of the World Series in 2016, can the Cleveland Indians follow it up with a better year in 2017?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Indians over/under for wins in 2017 has been set at 93.5. The over ad under both carry a money line of -115. Their odds to win the 2017 World Series are listed at 7/1 currently, while their odds to win the ALCS are at 5/2.
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Cleveland is coming off a 94-67 in 2016, which was followed by an ALCS title and a loss in 7 games in the World Series to the Chicago Cubs. Terry Francona is back to lead the Indians for his fifth season with the team. He has gone 352-294 in his time with the team, including a 10-6 record in the postseason. Last year was his highest win-total while with Cleveland.
The strength of Cleveland last season was its defense and pitching. The Indians allowed just 676 runs last season, which was the second fewest in the AL. Corey Kluber had another great year in a starting role, going 18-9 on the season with a 3.14 ERA and 227 strikeouts. Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar also won double-digit games on the mound. All are back this season for Cleveland, as are key relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Allen had 32 saves last season with a 2.51 ERA while Miller had a 1.45 ERA over last season with 26 holds and 12 saves. Miller had 123 strikeouts in 74.1 innings and also had just nine walks.
Cleveland also had a pretty good lineup, putting up 777 runs, which also ranked second in the AL. Mike Napoli led the team in 2016 with 34 HR and 101 RBI. He has gone back to his old team in the Texas Rangers during the offseason. Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis, who each had over 80 RBI last season, are back to lead the lineup while Francisco Lindor, who batted .301, is also back. In the offseason, the team added big free agent Edwin Encarnacion. Last season he hit .263 with 42 HR and 127 RBI. He has had five straight season with at least 34 HR.
Cleveland had a great year last season and the Indians should be motivated to do it again after coming up just short of a World Series. All of the strengths that the Indians had a year ago should still be present this year, as their lineup is strong and their pitching is even stronger. The AL Central didn’t do much to improve, as the Detroit Tigers are a year older the Kansas City Royals didn’t add enough talent. Expecting a team to win 94 games is dangerous, because injuries and luck can play a role, but the Indians have the team to make this happen.
2017 MLB SEASON WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: CLEVELAND INDIANS OVER 93.5