MLB's Unknown Surprise Division Leader

There have been a lot of surprises with teams leading their divisions or on the top of their divisions. The Dodgers, Nationals, and Orioles have been getting a lot of notice for doing this. However, there is another team that is leading their division that is surprising to many. The Cleveland Indians for the 2nd year in a row have had an unexpected head start. They are up 2 games on the Detroit Tigers and 4 up on the Chicago White Sox. Their quick start has been a result of many factors.


One reason for the good start, the Cleveland Indians have done very well after starting off slow in the 1st few games. They were 1-4 after 5 games, including losing 2 heartfelt games in extra inning to the Toronto Blue Jays. After that, they have gone 16-8 since and have played really well. 

Chris Perez has been great this year
Theron W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Indians have also gotten great production from Chris Perez, Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis. Perez, the closer, has 11 saves on the year. He has only given up 3 runs since giving up 3 in the 1st game of the year and only 9 hits in total. He has been very efficient in the clutch, which is exactly what he needs to continue to do. The up-the-middle duo of Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kapnis has been outstanding. Cabrera has an average of .340 and Kapnis .288. Cabrera also has an OBP of .426 and .958 OPS. Kapnis has had a lot of power at plate this year. He has 5 homer and 20 RBIs to date. Cabrera has 9 doubles to add to his 3 homers. Kipnis also has 3 doubles and 3 triples. They also have very high fielding percentages.




The Tribe have been very patient at the plate. They are tops in the majors in walks with 136. Thats 20 more then the next team, Tampa Bay. They have 7 players in the top 40 in walks in the AL. These include Carlos Santana (23), Travis Hafner (19), Shelley Duncan (15), Shin-Shoo Choo (13), Cabrera (13) Jack Hannahan (12), and Kapnis (12). That is definitely a sign of a team that can make pitchers throw pitches and strikes


The Cleveland Indians are really rolling, just like last year. Last year, however, they struggled down the stretch. That led to their demise at the end of the year. This team looks to be better fit then last year. They have more experience, especially their young stars. like Cabrera and Justin Masterson. This may be the year that the Indians return to the playoffs.