East of Ehlo

SF, Cavaliers | OP: 10, LR: 10, NR: 10, M: 10 | Twitter Followers: 13.6M| Previous Rank: --

When the first Cleveland Power Rankings debuted in 2011, the top 3 spots belonged to flash-in-the-pan Peyton Hillis, kick returner Josh Cribbs, and an over-the-hill Jim Thome back for a final bow. Let us never speak of those dark times again.

PG, Cavaliers | OP: 8.5, LR: 9.5, NR: 9, M: 9 | Twitter: 1.4M | Previous Rank: #2

He's dominated the #1 spot for the greater part of three years, but Kyrie's deserved stardom still hasn't resulted in a single postseason game. Needless to say, that issue and his entire career were massively impacted by the return of the King. And we figure Irving won't mind the mild side effect of being second banana for a while.

Quarterback, Browns | OP: 6, LR: 10, NR: 10, M: 9.5 | Twitter: 1.07M | Previous: #1

Johnny Football stormed into the rankings in May, briefly robbing the top spot from Irving thanks to an almost unprecedented national hype machine. Reality has offered at least a little levity, as Manziel's partying and the likelihood of Brian Hoyer winning the starting QB job-- not to mention the spotlight stealing arrival of James-- pushes the kid down to a less stressful #3.

CB, Browns | OP: 7.5, LR: 9, NR: 7.5, M: 8 | Twitter: 173,000 | Previous: #4

Haden doesn't have the "hometown" gimmick here that LeBron, Hoyer, or even Bro-Hio Nick Swisher do. But in many ways, he's embraced Cleveland as much as any other athlete, capped off by a big contract extension this spring.

LF, Indians | OP: 8.5, LR: 9, NR: 7, M: 7.5 | Twitter: -- | Previous: #9

Dr. Smooth is far from a "token Tribe representative" at the Midsummer Classic. He's hitting over .320 with a .900 OPS and a career high 15 homers. He is a legit, no-doubt all-star and the hands-down MVP of an otherwise disappointing Tribe club.

WR, Browns | OP: 9.5, LR: 9, NR: 8, M: 4.5 | Twitter: 81,400 | Previous: #3

With just a couple of better decisions, Gordon is breathing down Kyrie's neck for the #2 spot rather than slowly sliding down the board. Once an official suspension announcement comes down, the Browns' best player will likely leave the Top 25 entirely.

SG, Cavaliers | OP: 5, LR: 8.5, NR: 8.5, M: 8.5 | Twitter: 242,000 | Previous: --

For now, the Cavs' latest #1 overall pick is still here, and according to Davids Blatt and Griffin, there are no plans to change that situation. Of course, if we want the "Four #1 picks" and "Three Canadians" dynamic on this roster, Tristan Thompson and Anthony Bennett will need to survive the Kevin Love rumor mill, too.

OT, Browns | OP: 9, LR: 8, NR: 8, M: 5 | Twitter: -- | Previous: #6

He was just named one of the top 20 players in the league by NFL Network, but Joe Thomas-- unlike the LeBrons and Manziels of the world-- remains refreshingly boring.

QB, Browns | OP: 7, LR: 9, NR: 6, M: 7.5 | Twitter: 60,800 | Previous: #10

The hometown story and brief glimpse of success last season could be enough to help Hoyer avoid the sort of aggressive Johnny Football clamoring the national media seems to be anticipating. Plus, as of yet, Hoyer has not been seen rollin' bills, drinkin' on inflatable swans, or hangin' with the Biebs this summer.

LF, Indians | OP: 9, LR: 8.5, NR: 6, M: 6 | Twitter: 14,100 | Previous: --

The #VoteKluber campaign obnoxiously took over social media before failing miserably. The bright side is that the Indians undisputed new ace is finally getting the wider attention he deserves (meanwhile, Justin Masterson has entirely dropped out of the rankings for the first time).

Manager, Indians | OP: 6, LR: 8, NR: 8, M: 7.5 | Twitter: -- | Previous: #7

Despite a disappointing .500 record at the All-Star break, the Indians manager remains seemingly above criticism. Maybe it's the playoff appaearance last year, or the two rings with Boston, or just that Tito charisma.

Owner, Cavaliers | OP: 6, LR: 9, NR: 9, M: 5 | Twitter: 132,000 | Previous: #25

Give credit where it's due. No matter how much LeBron loved Akron, Gilbert still could have ruined the fairy tale by blowing that secret meeting in Miami. We highly doubt he actually ever regretted "The Letter," but he pretended he did when it suited his needs. And I guess we're grateful for that.

2B, Indians | OP: 5.5, LR: 8, NR: 6.5, M: 8.5 | Twitter: 94,900 | Previous: #5

It's been a rough year for Kip. Missed a month to injury, and his power has virtually vanished (just 3 HR in 263 at-bats). Still, we're far from panic mode, and the JK Kid's personality has kept him a fan favorite.

Coach, Cavaliers | OP: 7, LR: 7.5, NR: 7.5, M: 6.5 | Twitter: 79,600 | Previous: --

Much has been written of Blatt's "good fortune" for taking a toad-level job and watching it turn into a prince-- or King, as the case may be. Even before The Return, though, Blatt was winning a lot of support for his Euro track record. And in a world where the Spurs are the NBA blueprint du jour and the World Cup gets record ratings, that Euro-ness is all the more appealing.

3B, Indians | OP: 8.5, LR: 7.5, NR: 6, M: 5.5 | Twitter: 18,400 | Previous: --

We tried to make a trending topic out of #LonnieQualifies, as the emerging Chiz is now officially 4th in the AL in batting at .328. LeBron kinda stole that Twitter thunder, though, so let's just say we hope Lonnie Baseball overcomes his recent struggles and stays in that race a while.

C, Cavaliers | OP: 6.5, LR: 8, NR: 5.5, M: 7 | Twitter: 65,000 | Previous: #18

DH, Indians | OP: 4, LR: 8, NR: 6, M: 9 | Twitter: 1.71M | Previous: #12

Swisher has generally had a horrible season in any measurable way, hovering around the Mendoza line with a sub-Laporta .636 OPS. He remains on the rankings solely because people still kind of dig when he does that Buckeye shit after a (rare) hit.

SG, Cavaliers | OP: 7.5, LR: 7.5, NR: 5.5,.5 M: 6 | Twitter: 102,000 | Previous: #8

It's been amazing to see just how little the national media knows or respects Dion's game. He averaged 16 PPG last season and improved from his rookie campaign in virtually every category. He's only sitting this low on our list because-- despite LeBron's interest in "elevating" Dion's game-- #3 is still a 50/50 to get dealt before the season starts.

TE, Browns | OP: 8, LR: 7, NR: 5.5, M: 6 | Twitter: 24,300 | Previous: #14

After seeing what went down with Jimmy Graham's contract, Jordan promptly adjusted his Twitter profile to cease identifying himself as a "Tight End." This might work out for him, too, because with Josh Gordon likely gone for the year, Cameron may line up as a WR more times than we'd have liked.

RB, Browns | OP: 7.5, LR: 6.5, NR: 6.5, M: 6 | Twitter: 111,000 | Previous: #16

It's easy to forget that Tate is actually a Brown now, since there were whispers about his potential arrival as early as last fall. Come late Sepember, it's a fair bet he'll either rocket up these rankings or bid them a quick adieu. What's it gonna be, Ben?

PF, Cavaliers | OP: 7, LR: 7, NR: 5, M: 7 | Twitter: 92,500 | Previous: #20

Like Waiters, Thompson's talents seem to have been greatly underrated by a national media that hasn't actually seen a Cavs game in four years. Also like Waiters, he may be traded away before having the chance to reflect any of the James starlight.

S, Browns | OP: 7, LR: 7, NR: 6, M: 6 | Twitter: 133,000 | Previous: #17

There's excitement about the Cleveland native leading the Browns defense, but it's also tempered a bit by the loss of the guy he replaced, T.J. Ward. To stay in the Dawg Pound's good graces, Whitner will need to make an impact early and often.

GM, Cavaliers | OP: 8, LR: 8, NR: 6, M: 3 | Twitter: -- | Previous: --

The first time GM certainly has a bright spotlight shining on him all the sudden, as arguably the league's most disfunctional franchise has instantly become its most celebrated. Griffin won't get much credit for the James signing (despite paving the way for him), but the subsequent moves he makes-- and doesn't make-- will be analyzed through next summer.

C, Indians | OP: 8, LR: 6.5, NR: 4.5, M: 6 | Twitter: 39,900 | Previous: --

The second Brazilian on our list edges out the better known, more accomplished Indian he replaced at the catcher position, Carlos Santana. Santana has bounced back of late, but Gomes has really solidified himself as a genuine revelation-- not only as a talented backstop, but arguably the third most productive bat in the line-up this season behind Brantley and Chisenhall.

Owner, Browns | OP: 4.5, LR: 9, NR: 7, M: 4.5 | Twitter: -- | Previous: #13

With Dan Gilbert improbably back in Cleveland's embrace for a hot minute, the city's other high profile owner has briefly stepped into the shadows. Did he really force the Manziel pick on Ray Farmer? Did he also really force his employees to sell bogus deals to various truck drivers? Hero or villain, Jimmy? We grow weary of the grey area.