The Cleveland Guardians, as a team, are peaking at the right time. They have won their past five games and six of their past seven when it matters most, in September, to regain possession of the top spot in the AL Central.
We have said many times in this space that the Guardians are a flawed MLB team. Their rotation is suspect beyond Gavin Williams and Parker Messick, and they enter Monday ranked 26th among 30 teams in runs scored. However, there’s something about them that makes them extremely hard to beat. They are young, energetic, and talented.
With an 81-75 record heading into the final week, the Guardians are playing their best ball of the season. That, with the postseason around the corner, is promising and encouraging.
They are now, according to MLB.com, a top-10 squad in baseball. That’s what their final week power rankings say, anyway, and we agree. They checked in at No. 10.
“The Guardians’ fight back to the top of the AL Central wasn’t as dramatic as last year’s, but if they can end up atop the division when it’s all said and done, it won’t matter. And if they do … they might just get a first-round bye out of it,” Will Leitch wrote.
Only the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox are ranked ahead of the Guardians among American League teams. Despite that position, they might end up with the second seed in the playoffs.
The AL East-leading Rays are pretty much locked into the first seed, and because division winners are awarded the three best seeds and the Guardians currently have the second-best record among those teams, Cleveland could get a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the Division Series if it manages to hold off the Chicago White Sox and also finish with a better record than whoever claims the AL West.
With Jose Ramirez finally rounding into form and a quality young core comprised of Messick, Williams, Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana, and Cade Smith, Cleveland is one of the most in-form teams in the American League.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals One Trade Guardians Wish They Could Make
