ESPN Chalk's Joe Peta is sharing his season win total projections for every MLB team, including a reason for optimism and pessimism.
Plus, he recommends an over/under play, or a pass. This is the entry for the Cleveland Indians.
Cleveland Indians
Reason for optimism: Cleveland's rotation is one of the best in the majors.
Reason for pessimism: The Indians' defense did an incredible job of neutralizing that advantage in 2014.
The pitching staffs of the Indians and the Tampa Bay Rays comfortably led the majors in strikeout rate in 2014, whiffing 23.4 percent of the batters they faced (the Dodgers were third at 22.6 percent). Yet compared to the Rays, Indians hurlers allowed 77 more balls hit into the field of play (excluding home runs). Even more striking, Indians fielders saw only nine fewer balls hit at them than the Padres, whose staff struck out batters at a materially lower rate (21.4 percent). Why was that?
