Going into the 2023 Major League Baseball season, the Cleveland Guardians find themselves in an interesting position. Coming off of an American League Central division title last season, the Guardians are tasked with defending their division crown, while simultaneously trying to improve to catch up to the rest of the American League’s elite. With the bulk of their work in the offseason being done to retain their existing pitching staff, it will be interesting to see if this team can make a leap forward in 2023.
Check out MyBookie’s Guardians betting odds and predictions for 2023 MLB Season.
Cleveland Guardians: 2023 Season Prediction
Team Names: Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Naps, Cleveland Bronchos, Cleveland Blues
2022 Season: 92-70 – Home: 46-35 / Away: 46-35
Conference: American League
Division: Central Division
2023 MLB Regular Season: Mar. 30 – Oct. 1
Incredible Pitching Staff
The one thing that jumps out about the roster of the Cleveland Guardians is their pitching staff, as it looks incredible going into this year. A top-three on the mound of Shane Bieber, Tristan McKenzie, and Cal Quantrill makes them formidable in any playoff series, even if their bats are not at their best. Add in Aaron Civale as the fourth starter, and this rotation has the makings of one of the best in the American League from top to bottom.
There to help the starting rotation is Emmanuel Clase at the closer spot, who was a huge positive for the Guardians last season. He led the league in saves last year with 42, and will be called upon again to close games out for Cleveland. With a great rotation and the best closer in the league right now, the Guardians’ pitching staff will be called upon to lead them to any success that they have this year.
Questionable at the Plate
The big question for the Guardians this season is whether or not they can deliver at the plate when they need to. In last year’s postseason, the Guardians scored more than two runs in just two of their seven games, despite going a combined 4-3 in those contests. That lack of scoring put way too much pressure on the pitching staff of the Guardians, who will need some run support in games that matter this year.
Last season, Cleveland finished 15th in runs scored, despite having the seventh-highest team batting average and finishing third in the league in stolen bases. They owe that to hitting the second-fewest home runs in the league as a team last year, finishing ahead of only the Detroit Tigers in that department. Cleveland will need to find some sort of power this year to improve their offensive output.
Cleveland Guardians Season Prediction: AL Central Champions
Right now, the Cleveland Guardians’ roster shapes up to be the best in the AL Central, with the strength of their pitching staff setting them apart from the rest of their division. While the Minnesota Twins should give the Guardians a run for their money in this division, expect the arms of the Guardians to hold them off at the very end. The real questions for the Guardians lie beyond the race for the division, though.
Specifically, will the Guardians be able to generate enough offense to compete with the Yankees, Astros, and other top American League teams? Right now, there is no reason to believe they can, and the Guardians should get cut down by the Division Series round in October.
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Cleveland Guardians 2023 Season
Cleveland Guardians Record
2022 record:
92-70, 1st in AL Central | 46-35: Home / 46-35: Road
2023 projections:
92-70 (FanGraphs), 88-74 (PECOTA)
Guardians Offseason Transactions
- RHP Sergio Morillo assigned to Cleveland Guardians.
- Cleveland Guardians optioned SS Tyler Freeman to Columbus Clippers.
- CF Angel Mendoza assigned to Cleveland Guardians.
- RHP Shane McCarthy assigned to Cleveland Guardians.
- SS Marcos Gonzalez assigned to Cleveland Guardians.
- SS Pedro Hernandez assigned to Cleveland Guardians.
- Cleveland Guardians optioned C Bryan Lavastida to Columbus Clippers.
- SS Maick Collado assigned to Cleveland Guardians.
- Cleveland Guardians signed free agent RHP Jhon Romero to a minor league contract.
- RHP Braunny Munoz assigned to Cleveland Guardians.
- SS Yanki Baptiste assigned to Cleveland Guardians.
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Team
Projected Roster
Lineup
1. Emmanuel Clase – RHP
2. Trevor Stephan – RHP
3. Sam Hentges – LHP
4. Eli Morgan – RHP
5. James Karinchak – RHP
Rotation
Shane Bieber – RHP
Aaron Civale – RHP
Zach Plesac – RHP
Eli Morgan – RHP
Cal Quantrill – LHP
Triston McKenzie – RHP
Cody Morris – RHP
Bullpen
Edwin Diaz – RHP
Zach Greene – RHP
Elieser Hernandez – RHP
Stephen Nogosek – RHP
Adam Ottavino – RHP
Brooks Raley – RHP
David Robertson – RHP
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