After being in first or second place in the AL Central for almost the entire season, and holding a wild-card playoff spot for just as long, the Cleveland Guardians have fallen from those comfortable positions. Entering play on Tuesday, the Guardians are now facing an uphill battle, sitting in fourth place in the division and sixth in the AL wild-card race.
Cleveland’s offense, which has been holding it back for much of the year, is not entirely to blame for this turn of events. The long-solid pitching staff has shown signs of cracks, especially in the bullpen. It was a big reason the Guardians lost two of three in a showdown series against the first-place Chicago White Sox over the weekend.
With just two wins in nine games this month, the Guardians made a big slide in Bleacher Report’s latest power rankings, falling from No. 11 all the way to No. 16.
“With a starting staff that ranks seventh in the majors with a 3.73 ERA on the year, the Guardians have the arms to win the AL Central if the offense pulls its weight. Top prospect Angel Genao (No. 34 on B/R Top 100) went 7-for-19 with a home run over his first five games in the majors last week, and he has a chance to provide a nice spark at the bottom of the lineup,” Joel Reuter wrote.
The Guardians may have fallen behind the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins in the AL Central standings, but they still lead them in these rankings. The other two teams are tied, one-half game ahead of Cleveland, but the Twins are No. 17 and the Tigers are No. 19 on this current list.
That could be because the Guardians are likely seen as still having more potential for a playoff push than those rivals this season, and they certainly have the recent history to back that up as the two-time defending division winner. Last year at this time, Cleveland was even further back in the standings, but it used a historic rally to overtake Detroit for the title.
While Genoa has provided a spark since being promoted to replace Gabriel Arias, other newcomers from the MLB trade deadline have not fared as well. Starter Foster Griffin has an ERA of 11.25, reliever Craig Yoho has an ERA of 18.90, and outfielder Jo Adell is batting .136.
The good news is the Guardians could be back in second place as soon as tonight, provided they defeat the Tigers at Comerica Park.
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