In this installment I'll look at the pitching staff, an area of real strength for the Indians in recent years.
Bullpen Just Got Better
When you have a guy like Andrew Miller in your pen, then you're already looking pretty good. But when you add a proven arm like Boone Logan, then things are looking downright unfair for opposition hitters. Pair those guys with the likes of Cody Allen, Dan Otero and Bryan Shaw, and you've got the makings of an elite bullpen.
When the Indians confirmed the signing of Logan on 7th February to a 1 year deal rumored to be worth $5.5 million, the team upgraded in a big way. Logan has a superb record against left handers, with lefties batting just .139 against him in 2016, with a brilliant .222 on-base percentage too. And this is from a guy who pitched in Colorado, a notorious hitter's haven with that mile-high air they have. With Miller planning to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, we might see Logan used a bit more this spring, although I'd rather he be saved for the season ahead ideally.
Ultimately there isn't a lot of competition in the bullpen this spring, not for key contributors at least. A couple of fringe pitchers will be hoping to catch on with the team when they fly to Texas for Opening Day. Guys like Zach McAllister, Ryan Merritt, Nicky Goody, Shawn Armstrong and Carlos Frias (plus a few more) will be battling it out for the final spot or two, depending on how many arms Francona wants to break camp with. Despite Merritt's postseason heroics I think the skipper will opt for the veteran McAllister, provided Zach doesn't self-destruct in Arizona, plus he's just been paid handsomely by avoiding arbitration. However I would like to see Merritt in particular have a great spring, as I'm keen to see him pitch some meaningful innings this season. Start and you mean to go on and all that.
Rotation: Steady As A Rock
The Indians return the entirety of their rotation for 2017 and there's not going to be a great deal of competition here, provided everyone stays healthy. The group is led by ace Corey Kluber, who narrowly missed out on winning the 2016 AL Cy Young award. Kluber had a stellar season, pitching 215 innings over 32 starts to a 3.14 ERA for an AL leading 149 ERA+ and 3.26 FIP.
Kluber is flanked by Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, both exciting and valuable pitchers who suffered from health issues in 2016, yet still provided meaningful innings. They'll both be out to prove their health and abilities are back to 100%.
Backing up the rotation are current incumbents Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin, who had decent if not spectacular campaigns last year. Despite Bauer's notorious drone issues (and dubious political views), he actually had a solid 2016; his walks were down to a career low 3.32 BB/9, a nice trend for any pitcher to continue going forward, and his groundball rate increased to 48,7%, which was nice to see from Bauer considering his past history of giving up homers. Tomlin had a very impressive start to 2016, going undefeated until the end of May, but when the dog days of summer took hold Tomlin fell off a cliff; he lost 5 straight in August and his ERA and home runs rocketed.
The challengers to Bauer and Tomlin are likely to be Mike Clevinger, Cody Anderson and Ryan Merritt. I rate Clevinger a lot and would really enjoy seeing him push for a spot in the rotation. The 26 year-old Jacksonville native had mixed results in Cleveland last year, compiling a 5.26 ERA in 17 appearances, 10 of which were starts. He found a lot more success in Columbus, with a 3.00 ERA in 17 starts, with an 11-1 record over that span. A hot spring in 2017 would earn him another look at cracking the big league roster but he'll have to be lights-out to get there.
Whereas Anderson is very much on the outside looking in. This time last year he was a shoe-in for a rotation spot after a breakout 2015 campaign (3.05 ERA in 15 starts, for a 141 ERA+). However a sub-par 2016 followed and now his future looks cloudy. Is he better off aiming for a bullpen spot or biding his time in Columbus as a starter? Anderson had off-season elbow surgery so hopefully he's put his 2016 demons to rest and he can return to that 2015 form that made him so effective. He'll need some impressive spring showings to prove his best days are still ahead of him.
I've mentioned Merritt before but honestly I don't see him making the rotation until later in the year, even if he has a quality spring. Ideally he can impress over the next couple of months and turn that momentum into a June/July call-up with an aim to stick around permanently.
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That's a wrap, and just in time too as pitchers and catchers reported yesterday, the first sign that baseball is officially back. We've got just under 2 months of exhibition baseball to enjoy/endure before the Indians start their work for real. It's a pleasure to have them back.
Thanks for reading.
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