It might not be time yet to anoint a new king of the American League Central Division, but the Cleveland Indians made a strong statement last week that they aren’t backing down from the fight to win the crown from the defending World Series champions. After finishing a 5-2 week that included an impressive four-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, the Tribe has moved back into first place and leads the division by 1.5 games.

Cleveland (31-24) is now a season-high seven games above the .500 mark and has a five-game winning streak, which is the longest currently in MLB. As has been the case most of the year, the Indians won each game this past week against the Royals and Texas when they scored four or more runs. During the four-game series against Kansas City, the Tribe outscored the Royals 25-6 and have gotten a spark during the post Marlon Byrd era with the promotion of Tyler Naquin back to the 25-man roster.

Naquin has hit three home runs since his return to Cleveland and they haven’t exactly been the sneak-over-the-fence kind. He just seems more comfortable at the plate and perhaps in his age 25 season, Naquin is starting to develop some power and confidence that often comes naturally as a player physically matures and enters his athletic prime.

He’s now slashing .351/.392/.568 (.960 OPS) with three home runs and seven RBI in 74 at-bats. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but when Naquin has had opportunities he has made the most of them this season and likely has earned additional playing time. Perhaps his commute between Cleveland and Columbus can stop now.

Jose Ramirez also has made the most of his chances this season and even has started to get some mentions about a potential All-Star bid. At the least, Ramirez needs to be in the everyday lineup with a slash of .317/.387/.460 (.846 OPS) in 161 at bats and settling in nicely in the fifth spot in the batting order.

Once Michael Brantley is back on the active roster, it might be time to say thanks and goodbye to veteran Juan Uribe and install Ramirez as the everyday third baseman. He’s not needed in the utility role with Michael Martinez on the roster.

Shortstop Francisco Lindor continues to dazzle in the field and at the plate while making his own push for the All-Star team. Every night Lindor makes the amazing play seem routine, kind of like another shortstop the Indians had in the 1990s and early 2000s. The biggest difference is Lindor’s ability at the plate and he’s slashing .313/.367/.456 (.823 OPS) while providing key hits to win ballgames.

Let’s not forget the roll that Mike Napoli has been on lately, proving his free agent signing was a smart move by the Indians front office. Napoli has 14 home runs and 42 RBI. He’s tied for fifth in the American League in home runs and ranks sixth in RBI. He’s slashing .239/.311/.513 (.823 OPS) in 197 at-bats. Not bad for a guy who some thought might not be able to handle playing every day or getting more than 400 at-bats in a season any more.

The Indians also received a boost to the rotation when Carlos Carrasco returned June 2 and pitched five innings and gave up nine hits and three runs in a no-decision. He looked fine and should be good to go moving forward after recovering from a hamstring injury. Joba Chamberlain is also expected to be activated from the disabled list on June 6 as the team embarks on a 10-game road that begins with four games in Seattle and then three games against the Los Angeles Angels.

Each game from June 6 through June 9 in Seattle is scheduled to start at 10:10 p.m. and the June 10-11 games against Los Angeles are scheduled for 10:05 p.m. The June 12 game is scheduled for 3:35 p.m.

Trevor Bauer (3-2, 4.27 ERA) gets the start on June 6 while the Mariners counter with lefty James Paxton (0-1, 7.36 ERA). For Paxton, it makes his second start of the season after giving up eight runs (three earned) and 10 hits in 3.2 innings on June 1 against San Diego. Bauer pitched seven innings in his last start on June 1 against Texas and gave up three runs, three walks and four hits while striking out six in a no-decision.

Carrasco (2-0, 3.00 ERA) takes the mound on June 7. Lefty Wade Miley (5-2, 5.85 ERA) takes the mound for Seattle. Miley gave up nine runs and 12 hits in 4.2 innings in his last start on June 2 against the Padres.

Danny Salazar (6-3, 2.24 ERA) will take the mound on June 8, while the Mariners will counter with Taijuan Walker (2-6, 3.94 ERA). Walker took the loss in his last start on June 3 against Texas when he lasted five innings and gave up nine hits and six runs while walking four and striking out two. Salazar, on the other hand, was brilliant in his last start on June 3 against the Royals when he pitched eight innings and gave up three hits and one run while walking five and striking out nine. He’s also making a case for an All-Star selection.

Josh Tomlin (8-1, 3.54 ERA) gets the start on June 9, while Nate Karns (5-2, 4.23 ERA) will take the mound for the Mariners. Karns pitched four innings in his last start against Texas on June 4 and gave up eight hits and seven runs while walking five and striking out five. Tomlin also pitched well in his last start on June 4 against the Royals when he pitched 6.1 innings and gave up seven hits and one run and one walk while striking out four to earn the victory.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Rajai Davis has 10 hits in his last 22 at-bats (.455 average) in his last seven game and has provided a spark lately in the bottom part of the order. He’s bumped his season batting average up to .256.

Lonnie Chisenhall also has played well recently with 8 hits in his last 21 at-bats in his last seven games. He also hit his first home run of the season and had four RBI during that span.

Carlos Santana hopefully has broken out of his slump after a 2-for-4 performance including a home run on June 5. He has just four hits in his last 29 at-bats (.138 average) in his last seven games.

The career of Byrd is most likely over as he received a 162-game suspension for testing positive for banned substances. At age 38, he’s probably not going to get another contract to play in MLB after his second suspension for breaking the rule.