Beating Vegas: The Cleveland Indians

Vegas’ Line: 84.5 wins

What The Line Is Saying

"We believe what we saw the second half of last year.”

They’ll Beat Vegas If…

They find some offense. Lindor should help, provided he doesn’t take a step backward in his sophomore season. The Tribe hopes new first baseman Mike Napoli, who Cleveland signed during the offseason, will help too. They’ll also need 29-year-old Carlos Santana’s power to bounce back a bit.

They’ll Lose To Vegas If…

Cleveland is relying on their starting pitching to keep them consistently competitive. It’s not a bad bet. They had the best ERA in the AL Central last year, which is amazing considering the name recognition the Tigers had in their rotation: Justin Verlander, David Price, and Anibal Sanchez. But Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar could repeat that feat this year, and there is the potential for some other young pitchers to also contribute.

I’ll Bet The….

OVER

But just barely. They are relying on their lineup to stitch together an average offensive season to truly challenge for a postseason spot. That seems like a tall order, but I trust I Terry Francona to keep them on track, and 85 wins seems about right.