The Cleveland Guardians are a team that does not get the kind of respect they deserve. While not quite in the Rodney Dangerfield category, they are usually described as an overachieving team that plays in a weak division.

However, the good sons of Terry Francona are a lot more than just an ordinary team playing with some lousy opponents. The Guardians play the game the right way, as they are excellent in the game's fundamentals and they regularly eschew the home run or nothing attitude that is so prevalent in the game today.

The Guardians had the lowest strikeout rate in the Major Leagues, fanning just 18.2 percent of the time. Partly as a result of their ability to put the bat on the ball, the Guardians demonstrated the skills to win games late. They were 17-7 last year in games that were tied as the 9th inning started.

Cleveland will be successful once again this year, as they are led by Jose Ramirez, one of the best clutch hitters in the game. While he does not have the recognition of Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts or Nolan Arenado, he does not have to take a back seat to any of the superstars. He is a do-it-all player who has the consistency and confidence to help drive the Guardians back to the top of the division.

Guardians will win the AL Central

This may not seem like much of a prediction if you believe the critics who downgrade the division, but the Guardians are not just going to win because the other teams are below par.

The Chicago White Sox were awful last year, but they have a new manager this year in Pedro Grifol, and that should result in a tremendous upgrade from sleepy Tony LaRussa. Grifol will have the White Sox playing sharp, hustling baseball and they should be able to push the Guardians all year long.

The Twins also have the big names in Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa to to push the Guardians hard. Both the White Sox and Twins should have winning records in 2023.

However, the Guardians should have more than enough to hold off both of those teams. Look for a huge year from Andres Gimenez, who made the All-Star team a year ago. Gimenez slashed .297/.371/.466 last year while hitting 17 home runs and driving in 69 runs. He also scored 66 runs and stole 20 bases.

Gimenez is the player who can take pressure off of Ramirez and help the Guardians play consistently and avoid slumps

Big power year for Jose Ramirez

A look at the numbers indicated Ramirez had a tremendous year with a slash line of .280/.355/.514 with a league-leading 44 doubles, 29 home runs and 126 RBI.

If not for Judge, Ramirez very easily could have commanded the American League MVP Award. However, he had no chance to do that since Judge broke the league's home run record, previously owned by Roger Maris.

As good as Ramirez was last year, he was not at 100 percent. He had a thumb injury that impacted him in the second half of the year. He hit 19 home runs before the All-Star break and just 10 after.

Ramirez hit 36 home runs in the 2021 season, and the belief here is that he will hit at least that many in 2023.

Guardians will take advantage of new rules more than any other team

This is a team that does not strike out and takes advantage of solid fundamentals. The Guardians are a team that comes to the plate ready to hit and will not get caught trying to work opposing pitchers as they look for walks.

This is not to say the Guardians will swing at bad pitches, but they are aggressive within the strike zone. Pitchers have to be ready to get rid of the ball quickly, and Cleveland's hitters will attack.

This team can also run well, so look for the Guardians to add to their stolen base total.

It will be a solid year in Cleveland and this team should get better as the year progresses. They will be one of the most dangerous teams in the American League by the time the season concludes