Weekly Wroundtable: Cleveland Indians’ Spring Training Surprises

Shaun Marcum and Trevor Bauer Prove Their Value

Mar 10, 2015; Goodyear, AZ, USA; Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer throws against the Chicago Cubs during a spring training baseball game at Goodyear Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Blazek: Shaun Marcum. He hasn’t pitched in the Bigs since a disastrous year with the Mets in 2012, which was followed by surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He’s been as good as they’ve had this spring, and I think he should be considered for one of the remaining rotation spots. He was a solid starter prior to injury, and could be very valuable as a veteran starter on a young staff. Editor’s note: Now this is a surprise to me he’s not staying with the big league club. With Salazar’s struggles, they would be smart to keep him. If he takes a minor league assignment, the Tribe will be VERY lucky.

Andrew Schmid: My biggest surprise has been Trevor Bauer. Over 15 innings, he has allowed no walks while striking out 11. He has thrown two wild pitches, but only allowing two free passes across 72 batters is an incredible improvement for a pitcher who walked almost 10 percent of batters last year. The dip in his strikeouts is also a surprise, but I’m not too concerned, as this happens in Spring Training. A final surprising thing is how hard he has been hit, with almost a quarter of the hits he has allowed being home runs.

Next: C.C. Lee and Nick Hagadone Achieve Opposite Results