Despite early inconsistent play, the Cleveland Indians really aren’t in too bad of shape after finishing the past week with three wins and three losses. The Tribe, now at 5-5, has managed to forgo a disastrous start to begin the season so far, which isn’t too bad considering the team is missing two of its top outfielders.

Good news is on the way as Michael Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall are on track to join the team this week, with Chisenhall aiming for Wednesday and Brantley possibly for Saturday. It will be interesting to see what roster moves occur at that time. I would think that Collin Cowgill will be the first to go, then maybe a pitcher or someone put on the DL when another move needs to be made on the 25-man roster.

Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco have been impressive to start the year as was Josh Tomlin during his six innings on April 16.

On the other hand, Corey Kluber has not gotten off to the start that he would like posting an 0-3 record with a 6.16 ERA in his first three starts. Kluber talks about how he needs to execute his pitches and continue to put zeros on the scoreboard. But you have to think the lack of run support during his starts is getting to him, despite what he says publicly.

It’s pretty amazing that dating back to the beginning of the 2015 season that the Indians have scored three or fewer runs in 31 of his last 37 starts. I’m starting to wonder if it might be personal on some level for Kluber and/or his teammates because this sample size is too great to be coincidence.

Some other bright spots early this season include Mike Napoli who has two home runs, with six RBI and is hitting .256/.310/.482 while also playing spectacular defense at first base. Jose Ramirez is hitting .300 with a home run and three RBI in 30 at-bats in eight games, while manning the super utility role quite well and even earning his first outfield assist.

Coming up this week after an off-day on April 18 is a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field from April 19 through April 21. Then the Indians will travel to Comerica Park in Detroit to play a three-game series against the Tigers.

Carrasco (1-0, 3.46 ERA) takes the mound at 6:10 p.m. April 19 against the Mariners and has given up five runs in 13 innings while striking out 13. Lefty Wade Miley (0-1, 8.25 ERA) gets the start for Seattle. Wiley has been roughed up in his first two starts as he has given up 11 runs in 12 innings all against Texas.

Salazar (2-0, 0.79 ERA) gets the start at 6:10 p.m. April 20 and already has 16 strikeouts in 11.1 innings. The Mariners will counter with Taijuan Walker ( 0-0, 2.25 ERA) who has eight Ks during his two starts that season.

Salazar was dominating in his last start on April 14 against Tampa when he struck out nine and gave up only three hits and three walks in six innings to earn the victory. Walker was impressive in his last start on April 13 against Texas when he gave up just one run in six innings and struck out four while only giving up five hits.

Cody Anderson (0-1, 5.91 ERA) gets the start to wrap up the home stand at 12:10 p.m. on April 21 and looks to bounce back from a poor performance in his last appearance on April 15 when he gave up five runs including three home runs in 4.2 innings. The Indians will face Nate Karns (1-1, 4.50 ERA) who pitched five innings on April 15 and gave up one run, five hits and four walks during his appearance.

The Tribe heads to Detroit for a 7:10 p.m. start on April 22, and 1:10 p.m. starts on April 23 and April 24. Neither team has announced starting pitchers for the match-ups. It’s possible the Indians could skip Tomlin due to the off day on April 18 and then go with Kluber and Carrasco and Salazar for this series.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Jason Kipnis has gotten off to a solid start and is batting .297 (11-for-37) in 10 games. He’s also played respectable defense and continues to provide some pop in his bat with four doubles and one home run as part of his 11 hits. His OBP is .372 and he’s slugging .486, while stealing two bases.

I’ll also give a mention to rookie Tyler Naquin, who hasn’t gotten a ton of playing time but he’s been productive when in the bottom of the lineup hitting .333 (5-for-15) and he’s made some good catches in the outfield.

Carlos Santana has slumped lately is now only slashing .171/.286/.371. It’s still early, but hopefully he’s not in the typical early season funk that has defined the early parts of his last couple seasons.

Although Brian Shaw has appeared in only four games and pitched 3.1 innings, he’s been terrible. Shaw has given up nine runs, including three home runs and two walks during his appearances. The guy has been nails in the setup role for several seasons, but let’s hope we don’t see him lose his ability to be a good reliever like we saw Vinnie Pestano a few years ago.