The Cleveland Guardians continue to rise.
They endured a dreadful month of June and looked like a long shot to make the playoffs.
Fortunately, they’ve straightened the course of the ship over the past month and are back in the playoff picture.
That’s why Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report moved them up again in his MLB Power Rankings, all the way to No. 15.
“The Guardians traded injured pitchers Shane Bieber and Paul Sewald, and that was the extent of their trade deadline activity, bringing back a Top 100-caliber pitching prospect in Khal Stephen in the Bieber deal. Losing closer Emmanuel Clase to a gambling investigation was a major blow, but they still have Cade Smith at the back of the bullpen, and recently promoted C.J. Kayfus (No. 70 on B/R Top 100) has a chance to give the offense a nice in-house boost,” Reuter wrote.
Of course, being in the middle of the pack isn’t where you want to be at this point of the season.
Nevertheless, watching the team go up the board weekly is an encouraging sign.
The Guardians are peaking at the right time, playing their best baseball of the season when it matters most.
Granted, there’s no margin for error at this point, and not having Clase potentially for the remainder of the season is a massive blow to their aspirations.
However, the schedule for the remainder of the season is forgiving, and with the offense finally finding its stride, they should be in the mix for an AL Wild Card until the very end.
The Guardians looked like they would be out of contention by now, but this team is resilient and continues to prove that you can never count it out.
NEXT: Carlos Baerga Believes 2 Guardians Could Anchor The Infield
