Before the season started, nobody gave anything for the Cleveland Guardians.
Every analyst, fan, and even the players knew and understood that the Chicago White Sox were, by far, the preseason favorites to run away with the AL Central division, like it happened in 2021.
But baseball games shall still be played, and the calendar has 162 games for a reason: to separate the bad from the good and the good from the great.
The Guardians may not be “great” yet, but they sure are the best team in the AL Central, against all odds.
They recently secured the division and, as a consequence, their return to the postseason.
That means they are making a sizable jump in everybody’s power rankings with a little over a week to go until the end of the regular season.
“We are 11 days away from postseason baseball. Here are @BenVerlander‘s Top 10 MLB Power Rankings,” Fox Sports MLB tweeted, along with the ranking.
We are 11 days away from postseason baseball‼️
Here are @BenVerlander's Top 10 MLB Power Rankings💪 pic.twitter.com/JSSaagxPkZ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 26, 2022
The Guardians were tenth in Verlander’s most recent update before today, which means they jumped three spots.
The Guards’ Young Studs Have Taken The Team To Another Level
As it turns out, the Guardians’ youth movement actually arrived before anticipated, and it has already delivered a playoff berth and a division crown.
The 86-67 Guardians are currently in possession of the third-seed in the AL playoff picture, which means they will face the sixth in the Wild Card round.
Right now, the Seattle Mariners own that sixth seed.
The series would be in Progressive Field, to the best of three games.
Cleveland fans are already sniffing October games, dreaming of their first championship since 1948.
Can Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Shane Bieber, Josh Naylor, and company deliver it?
NEXT: The Guardians Overcame Major Preseason Doubters
