Cleveland Indians: Jason Kipnis makes his 2017 home debut tonight

Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis returns to Progressive Field tonight for his first home game since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

Jason Kipnis has made his return to the Cleveland Indians and may be that veteran leader the team has been seeking since Mike Napoli left town.

He returned over the weekend in Chicago, but tonight marks Kipnis’ first game back at Progressive Field since Game 7 of last year’s World Series.

Kipnis has been batting sixth since his return, which is where he once again finds himself tonight.

This marks the first game at home this season when the team is featuring a healthy roster, which will hopefully lead to better results than the first homestand when the team went 2-4.

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Regardless, it is great to see Kipnis back and healthy at Progressive Field, as he is a fan favorite and clearly one of the faces of the franchise.

It is almost hard to believe that this is Kipnis’ sixth year of being a full-time player for the Indians.

Along with Michael Brantley and Corey Kluber, he serves as one of the pieces the team has built around in the recent past, so it is nice to see him remain a key part of the team’s foundation.

Tonight’s game not only marks a nice homecoming for Kipnis, but it is also a key early-season matchup against one of the top teams in the American League. And not only one of the best teams, but one of the best pitchers in Dallas Keuchel.

It is an early 6:10 p.m. start tonight, which is sure to draw a lot of hot takes. Josh Tomlin starting should also keep the take fire raging all night.

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But regardless of tonight’s result, fans will get to see one of the faces of the team back at home. While it is nice just to have him back, it would be even nicer if he could pick up a big hit to lead the team to victory and show the Astros that the Indians remain the favorites in the AL.