I don't get a great deal of time to write on here anymore but I wanted to start a series of posts that I can bash out whenever I get the chance. I'll do that by looking at players, often one individual but maybe more than one at a time, who have been particularly impactful recently, be that in a positive or negative way.
And so begins the 'Impact Indians' series here at England Tribe.
Now I know seven games is a minuscule sample size of data to look at and garner any quality meaning from but Danny Salazar's first two games of the season are worth a closer look, mostly because he's been so darned impressive.
Salazar, our maiden Impact Indian on the blog, has gotten off to a strong start in his first two games, pitching well against the White Sox and the Rays, taking home the win in both starts.
On April 8th in winter-conditions (including snow) at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Salazar pitched 5.1 innings allowing just 2 hits and 1 run (a Todd Frazier homer in the 4th inning), with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. The frigid temperature of south Chicago couldn't cool down Salazar's sizzling fastball as he repeatedly hit 95-mph, sometimes ratcheting it up to 98-mph. Salazar has a great slider and an impressive sinker but he got through the White Sox almost exclusively on his heater. The offense backed him and the Tribe were victorious as 7-1 winners to spoil Chicago's home opener.
Last night Salazar made his second start of the year at Tropicana Field as the Indians looked to win their three-game series against the Rays and he was even better against Tampa, allowing 3 hits over 6 innings, with 0 runs allowed, plus 3 walks and 9 strikeouts. He out-dueled Rays ace Chris Archer and got some help from the Tribe new boys, with Marlon Byrd making an outstanding catch in deep right field as well as clubbing his first home run of the year, as the Tribe held on for the shutout, winning 6-0. Salazar picked up his second win also.
So far through two games the 26 year-old right-hander has pitched a total of 11.1 innings with 16 strikeouts, 6 walks, all to the tune of a 0.79 ERA and a 2-0 record. Now I'm not stupid enough to think a couple of games is indicative of what the rest of the year holds in store for Salazar. I'm not trying to predict the future here anyway. Instead I am merely celebrating what a solid start Danny has gotten off to, and I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come for the rest of 2016.
The thing is, I don't think Salazar has gotten close to his best form yet, and understandably so given we're not even two full weeks into the season. The 6 walks over his two starts are a minor concern but this is probably down to him feeling his way into his pitches this early on. Plus pitchers walk betters, this is a fact of life, so I'm not expecting perfection from Danny every start he makes (hell, even the ridiculously accurate Corey Kluber has 4 walks so far). Salazar's fastball has never been in doubt, that much was evident when he blazed onto the scene in 2013, but his breaking stuff, albeit very impressive, can be a bit unpredictable at times. You saw that last night at times, as a few pitches got away from him, slipping out of his hand wrong, just a little wild.
Nevertheless, Salazar is off to a nice start in 2016 and if he can continue to remain this consistent, he could have a very good year indeed. Danny's next start will likely be at home to the Mariners on Wednesday April 20th. So congratulations to Mr Salazar on winning the very first Impact Indian award.
Thanks for reading.
