2026 Indians Future Franchise

[Funkycorm]

Game 29:



Current Record: 22-7

This was an interesting game. I was down 10-4 in the 5th and we got it back to 10-9. I had bases loaded with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and grounded out to end to near comeback. Chavez got rocked through his short outing but Ethan Hankins came in from the bullpen and pitched 4 scoreless innings to give us the chance to come back.

[Funkycorm]

Game 30:



Current Record: 23-7

We redeemed ourselves with the combined shut out.

[Funkycorm]

Game 31:



Current Record: 24-7

Another solid effort gives us the 2-1 series lead. Our offense continues to leave runners on in scoring position.

[Funkycorm]

Game 32:



Current Record: 25-7

The was a close game. Nowak came in with a 4-2 lead in the 9th and gave up a solo home run with 2 outs but was able to close out the game and keep the save intact. He is now a perfect 14 for 14 for save opportunities this season.

The next post will be our April Recap.

[Funkycorm]

April 2026 Recap


As a team we have played very well.

Offense:

Our offense has struggled at times to put up runs, especially in clutch situations, but our pitching has really kept us where we are at through the first month of the season. We have had a few great performances but also some players that are struggling. Both Aaron Judge and Francisco Lindor have struggled early but have started to come on, especially Lindor. About 10 games ago, I moved Judge to the 5th spot because he was struggling. I have decided to move him back to the cleanup spot as he has been starting to hit better. With Huerta struggling at that spot, I will move him down the lineup and bring the surging Nolan Jones to hit 5th for us.


Defense:

Our fielding has been top notch and we are near the top of the league in fewest errors.


Starting Rotation:

Wow, Doyle Bauman is all I have to say. Top voter getter in the rookie of the year voting, AL Cy Young voting, and top pitcher votes in the all-star game selection after only 1 month of the season. We have the number 2 prospect in baseball in Andy MacDougal, a 23 year old right handed starting pitcher, waiting in the wings. He is already 80 overall and has a strong 4 pitch arsenal with a stamina rating of 97. When he comes up to the big-league level, he will eat a ton of innings for us. Our rotation has pitched well but also been shelled a few times.


Bullpen:

Our bullpen has been lights out from the get go and from top of the pen to the closer. Our Indians bullpen is now the new Bullpen Mafia.


Player Performances:

HOT:

Scott Lindsey: .333, 1 HR, 6 RBI, on a 16-game hitting streak
Juan Cedeno: .333, 12 HR, 32 RBI
Francisco Lindor: .297, 6 HR, 22 RBI
Nolan Jones: .349, 7 HR, 16 RBI
Doyle Bauman: 5-1, 1.09 ERA, 0.80 WIP, 43K


NOT:

Robert Pauson: .191, 2 HR, 14 RBI
Chad Harley: .224, 3 HR, 7 RBI


Team Leaders (designates league rank):

R: Cedeno, Lindsey – 21
H: Cedeno – 42 (1)
HR: Cedeno – 12 (1)
RBI: Cedeno -32 (2)
SB: Lindsey – 21 (1)
BA: Jones - .49 (3)
OPS: Cedeno – 1.090
2B: Lindor – 13 (1)
WAR: Cedeno – 2.0 (2)
W: Hamilton – 6 (1)
SV: Nowak – 14 (1)
IP: Hamilton – 46.0
K: Hamilton – 44
ERA: Bauman – 1.09 (1)
WHIP: Bauman – 0.8 (1)
Pitching WAR: Bauman – 1.8 (1)


Team Stats (League Ranking):

BA: .285 (1)
R: 148 (6)
2B: 81 (1)
HR: 49 (4)
SB: 52 (1)
SB%: .881% (1)
Fielding: 0.994 (2)
ERA: 2.82 (2)
SV: 18 (1)
RA: 94 (1)
K: 252 (21)


Lineup Changes:

When Judge was struggling in the 4th spot, we moved him to 5th and Huerta to cleanup. Well, Huerta has struggled at cleanup so we have made a few more changes. Along with Harley struggling and Jones crushing it, we have a new look to our starting lineup. Our rotation and bullpen remain unchanged. When Lindor is out of the lineup we move Jones to the 3 spot and Huerta to the 5 spot.

CF Lindsey
LF Cedeno
SS Lindor
RF Judge
3B Jones
C Huerta
DH Prather
1B Harley
2B Pauson


We will check out standings and results next.

[Funkycorm]

Results Recap






Standings

My pictures for the NL got deleted before I saved them so I will just share the AL Rankings this month.









Difficulty Assessment:

As can be seen, I am rolling through the league on All-Star difficulty. I am still debating on if I am going to increase that. I may give it another month before I do. I feel like my hitting is still on par with my skill level and don’t really want to change it. I did increase pitch speed by 1 to help with some of that. I still have a lot of games where I don’t score many runs but at the same time, I am near the top in batting average. I will give this another month before I decide.

My pitching is strong and that may need some tweaking as well. There are times when I rock out on the mound and some times where I struggle. I may tweak a slider or two here as well but will wait another month in game before I change the difficulty.

I am hesitant to change the difficulty as when I have previously gone to hall of fame, I have struggled mightily and I do not want to deal with the dynamic difficulty on all-star+ and have it randomly reset on me. One more thing I have to consider in this, honestly, is that the Indians are the highest rated team in the league, both on pitching and hitting.

I will update any difficulty/slider settings as they happen.


Let’s get to the month of May!

[Funkycorm]

Game 33:



Current Record: 26-7

What a performance by McKenzie yet again. He threw our teams first complete game of the year and first complete game shutout of the year. After struggling early on, he has really come on strong the last few outings. Since getting rocked by the Red Sox in Fenway 2 outing ago, he has thrown 17 scoreless innings.

[Funkycorm]

Game 34:



Current Record: 27-7

A solid inning gave us the win. Our team drew 5 walks, including Nolan Jones drawing 3 walks himself.