Cleveland Indians

Are the Cleveland Indians contenders or pretenders?

It's an impossible question to answer, with the club hanging around the outskirts of the playoff race despite having a losing record and a negative run differential, which makes the Indians one of the more intriguing teams to follow as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline draws near.

The Cleveland Indians Systems Check video offers a quick overview of the team's farm system, addressing its strengths and weaknesses and how it can improve moving forward.

The video also provides a breakdown of the Tribe’s top prospects for 2014, shortstop Francisco Lindor and outfielders Clint Frazier and Tyler Naquin, including each player's ETA in the major leagues and potential long-term role within the organization.

Lack of Bench Depth

The Indians' lack of bench depth is becoming a rather big problem for the club. Though they're not faced with the same types of pinch-hitting decisions that National League teams face, the level of production the Tribe have received from their bench has been deplorable.

The Cleveland Indians have won four of their five meetings against the Detroit Tigers this season, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Friday, as the two teams prepare to meet at Progressive Field.

Sports bettors will find that the Indians are minus-125 home favorites in the pro baseball odds, with the betting total sitting at 8.5 in the market.

The 2014 MLB draft has come and gone, and it's time to re-rank the Indians' top prospects.

The team made one of the best selections in the entire draft when University of San Francisco outfielder Kyle Zimmer fell to it at No. 21 overall. The Tribe followed that up with two more solid selections in lefty Justus Sheffield and University of Virginia outfielder Mike Papi.

Cleveland Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall hit three home runs and knocked in nine runs during Monday night's game against the Texas Rangers, as the Indians cruised to a 17-7 victory. The nine runs batted in match an Indians franchise record for most in a single game, per MLB.com.

There is perhaps no franchise outside of the Chicago Cubs that is more cursed than the Cleveland Indians. Most would agree that Cleveland as a sports city is the most cursed in the entire country. While the city has had small amounts of time in the spotlight, such as when LeBron James came to town for just under a decade. Before LeBron was even born, something much more important to Cleveland sports was brewing. 

The Cleveland Indians haven't gotten off to the best of starts here in 2014. Over the first quarter of the season, the team boasts an 18-20 record, good for third place in the American League Central.

The team's pitching staff has been decent, but the bullpen has done most of the heavy lifting. The starting staff on the other hand, has been wildly inconsistent.

Michael Bourn could be headed back to the disabled list after starting the season there. His repaired left hamstring is acting up again, a big problem so closely after surgery.

The Cleveland Indians made a few minor moves this offseason, but nothing that would be considered scale-tipping.