Rotation
Justin Masterson A-
First time All Star Justin has rediscovered some of the magic he had in 2011 and has been the undisputed leader on the Tribe rotation. The biggest surprise has been his ability to get strikeouts, with 137 K's in 135.1 innings, good enough for 6th overall in the entire league, 4th in the AL. Not bad for a groundball pitcher huh? He's run into a bit of trouble lately, especially with his control (54 walks, 4th highest in the league), but he continues to pitch well every 5 days and has become the most reliable pitcher on the staff. Hopefully he can remain this good in the second half, maybe even get close to 20 wins. That would be fantastic.
Room for Improvement: Limit the walks.
Corey Kluber B+
A revelation this year and continuing to get better as the season progresses. Kluber has cemented himself as a solid number 2 behind Masterson since Zach McAllister got hurt in June. He has flourished with the added responsibility. Brilliant so far.
Room for Improvement: Keep doing what you're doing,
Zach McAllister B+
Zach started the year wonderfully before a finger injury at the beginning of June halted his progress. Showed enough of his supreme talent in his 11 starts though and can hopefully return to that level of effectiveness when he comes off the DL later this month. His introduction back into the rotation could be like a new signing and could just be what the rotation needs for the playoff-push in the second half.
Room for Improvement: Get healthy and pitch exactly the same as you did before.
Ubaldo Jimenez C-
Just when everyone had given up on him, Ubaldo somehow managed to sort himself out. We have finally begun to see flashes of the player we thought we were acquiring in the 2011 trade. It's not been all roses though. Jimenez's pitch counts are astronomical, hitters are nearly always pushing him to 3-2, and as a result he barely makes it past the 5th inning anymore. Some of that is luck and some of it is down to the defense, but Ubaldo has to find a way to pitch deeper into games if he is to have a future in Cleveland after 2013. At the moment, most people don't imagine him as part of the 2014 rotation. He has to prove them wrong in the second half.
Room for Improvement: Get at least 6 innings in the majority of your starts. Must pitch longer.
Scott Kazmir B-
We should all be celebrating the fact Kazmir even made it out of Spring Training, let alone to the half way point of the season. He's not the star he was in Tampa Bay anymore but we realise that, so expectations were low to begin with. Still, Scott has been a solid back-of-the-rotation starter, eating innings and has become one of the feel-good stories of 2013. A pleasant surprise all in all.
Room for Improvement: Keep contributing like you have. Limit the hits.
Trevor Bauer D
In the handful of spot-starts Bauer made in the first half, he's shown he's still not quite MLB-ready. Not yet anyway. Trevor is still struggling with his control, walking 16 batters in just 17 major league innings. The problem is, he's hardly setting AAA alight either. His numbers in Columbus aren't exactly mouth-watering, a 4.06 ERA in 14 starts, 76 hits and 9 HRs in 77.2 innings. I think Bauer could benefit from spending the majority of the second half in Columbus, and only join the big club in September. The elite talent is still obvious, he has possibly the best stuff on the roster, but a bit more seasoning at the AAA level is necessary to harness that potential.
Room for Improvement: Work on that control, have to limit those walks. Be patient, your chance will come.
Carlos Carrasco F
Carrasco's 6 starts with the big club can be considered a train-wreck by all accounts. He only pitched 1 quality start, against the Royals on June 17th, when he pitched 7.1 innings of 1 run ball and deserved a victory his team-mates couldn't provide. Aside from that single game he's been hideous. 47 hits and 29 earned runs in just 28.2 innings leaves him with a sky-high 9.10 ERA at the All Star break. The centre-piece of the 2009 Cliff Lee trade has failed to rebound successfully from the Tommy John surgery that kept him sidelined in 2012. It's not all doom and gloom for Carrasco though; he's been lighting up Columbus, with 60 strikeouts in 54.2 innings, with an impressive 3.29 ERA. He just hasn't put it all together at the major league level yet. There's still time, but he has to prove it to the big club, and the fans, sooner rather than later.
Room for Improvement: Transfer dominance from AAA level to major leagues. Avoid controversy.
Bullpen
Chris Perez D+
What a roller-coaster of a season so far for Perez, but he's actually been very good since his return from the disabled list. With expectations at an all time low, Perez seems to be pitching better than ever before, with 4 relatively incident-free saves within a period of 5 days in the run-in to the All Star break. He now needs to carry this consistency into the second half and become the closer he was in 2011 and 2012.
Room for Improvement: Keep your mouth shut and pitch. Stay healthy.
Vinnie Pestano D
Oh Vinnie, what happened man? Pestano has not been the same pitcher we've been accustomed to seeing so far in 2013. He's been struggling, the life in his fastball just doesn't seem right, and it's led to questions about his health and/or mental approach. Whatever the problem is, Vinnie needs to take these few days of rest to re-focus and fix himself. If its a physical problem, hopefully the club can give him the time he needs to recuperate. Pestano at 100% takes our bullpen to another level.
Room for Improvement: Fix what's ailing you and return to the Pestano we all know and love.
Joe Smith C
Normally one of our best bullpen guys but even Smith has struggled at times this year, especially lately (could be to due to being over-worked). Like Pestano, Joe needs to re-energise himself during the break and prepare himself for the second half. We're gonna need him at full health for the run-in.
Room for Improvement: Embrace the responsibility of carrying the load when the rest of the bullpen is failing.
Cody Allen B+
Arguably the lone bright spot in this year's bullpen, Cody Allen has established himself as a very good relief pitcher, maybe even a future closer (his strikeout rate of 11.80 K/9 is astounding). I've been extremely impressed with his composure and ability to handle the high-pressure situations that Francona throws him into. Excellent so far.
Room for Improvement: Keep it up.
Matt Albers C
Albers has been better than I thought he would be during the first half but like so many others he needs to cut down his walks if he wants to be an effective reliever in this bullpen. To his credit he has given up the least amount of home runs (2) amongst the bullpen staff with 10+ appearances.
Room for Improvement: Work on your control.
Bryan Shaw C
Shaw gets a bad rap from some fans but he's largely been effective in his 39 appearances thus far. Nothing spectacular but he's got the job done. I'd prefer if Francona left him out of some of the more volatile situations though. Shaw should strictly be used in emergencies during tight games, as I'd prefer to see Allen or Smith.
Room for Improvement: Limit the walks and hits.
Rich Hill D-
After starting the season so well, Hill has been a disaster ever since, with a lot of fans expecting the news of his release weeks ago. Rich is still capable of getting outs and there's been signs of him turning things around lately, but the fan's confidence in him is still pretty low. I'm a big fan of that sweeping curve ball though, the way it leaves hitters completely frozen at the plate. Hill needs to pitch better in the second half, like he did to end the first, or he won't last the year in Cleveland.
Room for Improvement: Cannot afford to keep walking the first batter you face or your days are numbered.
Nick Hagadone D
The once-promising left hander has had his fair share of troubles like the rest of the bullpen and needs to make the most of his next opportunity with the big club when his name is called again. Like Hill he needs to work on his control and limit the walks, or the Tribe will look elsewhere for left handed relief.
Room for Improvement: Cut down those walks and be prepared next time you make it to the bigs.
Not applicable for grading: Brett Myers, Scott Barnes, Matt Langwell, Joe Martinez, Danny Salazar, David Huff, Preston Guilmet, CC Lee
Myers was one of the off-season signings acquired to help shore up the rotation but injury has ruled him out of having any effect on the Indians in the first half. Danny Salazar is the highlight of this bunch, his impressive debut last week causing a quite a stir.
So there you have it, my review of each player as the first half has come to an end. The second half will reveal whether the Indians pitching staff are pretenders, like the previous 2 years, or contenders; can the Tribe actually make a real push for a playoff spot? Our hopes will lie largely with the rotation and the bullpen, and their collective performances will determine just how far these 2013 Indians will go.
Thanks for reading, enjoy the All Star Game tonight.
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