MLB: Cleveland Indians 2007 Preview

The Cleveland Indians have quite possibly the best offensive catcher in Major League Baseball. There is a three man race going for it, Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Brian McCann. Martinez has the most game time logged right now though, giving him a distinct advantage.

Blake will be returning to the infield as a first baseman. Last year was his best season, statistically anyways. Unfortunately, he missed 53 games, but he came very close to matching his previous seasson's totals, even with 53 less games.

The Cleveland Indians will be keeping their same short stop this year. Johnny Peralta was the surprise of the 2005 lineup, but 2006 saw his demise. This year, we hope to see a lot better performance from him. Though 2006 wasn't that great for Peralta, the problems he had on defense were definitely overstated, seeing as how they were an improvement on his 2005 performance. The Indians should be happy if he can even prove to be an average offensive player though, with every single offensive category worsening from 2005 to 2006.

Grady Sizemore is a very exciting player. He had a fantastic season in 2005, and bettering that in 2006. If he can stay on the same trend, we could very well see another baseball hero in the making. Dave Dellucci is also on the teams outfield for this year, being only two years from his explosion when playing for the Texas Rangers, where he set career highs in all offensive categories except for stolen bases. He should be a very solid player in the 2007 season. Though with these two excellent players, Trot Nixon has been plagued by countless injuries, and we have all seen his productivity on offense go far down the drain. Unless healthy and rehabilitated, he will be looking for a new job by the time the All Star Break comes around.

The designated hitter for the 2007 season will be Travis Hafner, who has continually improved in every asset of the game, and all his numbers have gone up steadily, though he did miss the last month of the 2006 season because of a broken bone. T Hafner is probably one of the most dangerous hitters major league baseball has ever seen.

The one distinct advantage to be seen for the starting pitchers in 2007 is the removal of Jason Johnson. Last season, Sabathia set a career high in strikeouts, and a career low in walks, but still missed time due to injury. This year, the Indians will need him to be healthy and lively fot the pitching staff to succeed. Sowers should also be a huge improvement for the Indians, showing an excellent performance, and really no "bad seasons" since he's been playing the game, minor or major leagues.