Weekly Wroundtable: Debating Shaun Marcum’s Future As the Cleveland Indians’ Fifth Starter

Katrina Hamrick

May 25, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shaun Marcum (38) delivers in the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Shaun Marcum is the Cleveland Indians’ fifth starter now, for better or for worse. The veteran right-hander has posted a 6.28 ERA at 16 strikeouts in 14.1 innings, which include two starts and a relief appearance. Marcum appeared out of bullpen in mid-April and was stellar, but a roster crunch meant he was designated for assignment. Luckily for the Tribe, he cleared waivers and was able to pitch in Columbus until the team needed him in Cleveland.

His first start was brilliant, and Marcum looked exactly like the fifth pitcher the Indians needed. After T.J. House struggled, Zach McAllister went to the bullpen, and Bruce Chen retired, the Tribe’s fifth spot was in need of a quick makeover. But Marcum’s outing on Monday wasn’t nearly as brilliant, as the Rangers crushed him easily. With such contrasting outings, it’s hard to tell exactly which is the “real” Marcum. He’d been pitching well in Triple-A, but then again, so had Bruce Chen.

With that in mind, the Wahoo’s on First team tackled this question:

After watching his first two starts, do you think Shaun Marcum will last as the fifth starter?

Everyone knows that two starts are not enough to make a decision, but because of his veteran status, Marcum has a lengthy pitching history that makes it easier to guess how he might perform going forward.

First up, those who are wondering what other options the Indians have.

Next: Marcum Needs Time, Because There's No One Else

June 19, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Shaun Marcum (38) pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Marcum Needs Time, Because There’s No One Else

Cody Norman: Two starts is really such a small sample size to determine whether or not Marcum will be successful as the Tribe’s fifth starter. Remember, he now has three appearances on the season — two of which were absolutely lights out — as he also threw five strong innings out of the bullpen against the Tigers back in mid-April. Marcum certainly deserves a few more starts before we jump to any conclusions and, if he makes his pitches, the veteran right-hander is obviously capable of getting outs and putting the Indians in position to win. Ultimately, this spot in the rotation belongs to T.J. House, but it will be up to House to pitch himself back into the rotation. If neither asserts himself as the best viable option, what option does Francona have? He’s left with either House or Marcum trotting out there every fifth day to get lit up. Neither option is a good one at this point.

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Nick Blazek: Whether he does or doesn’t, he deserves a few more starts. Monday’s game was simply atrocious for all pitching, and that can’t be pegged on Marcum. He has a propensity to give up the long ball, but yesterday was bad for anyone on the hill. I’d say give Marcum three more starts and reevaluate then. There aren’t really better options, so I’d go with him for the time being.

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Next, some of the staff wondered if Marcum was more of a temporary measure…

Next: Marcum Is Simply a Short-term Placeholder

Marcum Is Simply a Short-term Placeholder

Matt Bretz: It’s only been two starts, but I do not believe that Shaun Marcum will last as the number five starter. Yes, his first start was good, but at the end of the day, he’s at best a stop-gap until T.J. House can return. Sure, House struggled before his DL stint, but I’m a big believer in him. I’m very confident that once he gets a full start under his belt in Triple-A, he’ll show he belongs in the bigs and will reclaim his rightful spot in the Tribe rotation. House and his near-.400 BABIP were bound to come down, whereas Marcum and his sub-.200 BABIP are bound to rise (a lot). I can definitely see Marcum lasting a few more starts, but come July (at the latest) to see House back in the rotation.

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Joe Gerberry: Judging over two starts in definitely a small sample size, but I don’t think Marcum has a very long lease for the fifth starter spot. House is healthy and, supposedly, ready in Triple-A. Even Jhouyls Chacin is pitching very well down in Columbus. Marcum needs to have a good start against Seattle on Saturday to keep his spot, because the troops are coming back around.

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Another theory is that the Tribe will replace Marcum with an upgrade…

Next: Indians Will Upgrade from Marcum In July

Jul 1, 2013; Flushing, NY,USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Shaun Marcum (38) pitches during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Indians Will Upgrade from Marcum In July

Brian Brochetti: I think Marcum will be a rotation fixture until July. If the Indians are in contention in July, and assuming Marcum is not lighting the world on fire, I can fully see the Tribe trying to scoop up a veteran starter with a bit more success on the season and designating Marcum for assignment. If the Tribe is out of contention, I believe Marcum will have played well enough to get a sniff from a contender for bullpen help or long relief down the stretch, and then he is a trade chip, for at least cash or a player to be named later. Now, this theory falls apart if Marcum falls apart, but based on his first start and some of the most recent successes with veteran retreads (i.e., Kazmir), I believe Marcum will do what he needs to do to stay in the rotation until July.

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Andrew Schmid: It’s pretty difficult to judge how Marcum will perform in the starting rotation right now, as his results so far have been pretty terrible. He has managed to strikeout a lot of batters, but he has also walked a lot of batters. While his strikeout and walk numbers will probably regress more towards his career average, his home run to fly ball ratio is astronomically high. One of the nice things about xFIP is that it normalizes this ratio, and it suggests that a 3.80 ERA is more accurate than his current ERA of 6.28. All this said, I’d image that he will be replaced or gone by late July, as his fastball averages only 85.5 miles per hour, and he has never really been a great pitcher. Maybe the Indians will be in contention and upgrade, or they could very well just unload him and evaluate House more before entering the off-season.

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And last but not least…

Next: Marcum's Rotation Spot is His To Lose

Marcum’s Rotation Spot is His To Lose

Katrina Putnam: I think we’ll be seeing Marcum until he forces himself out. If he has many starts like Monday, he’ll be gone nearly as quickly as Bruce Chen was. But if he can hold his own and put up some solid numbers throughout June, I think the Tribe will stick with him. House is in Columbus because he cost himself the spot. Similarly, Chen lost the fifth starter’s job with his poor performance. As long as Marcum continues to pitch like he did in his first two outings (with some minor regression to the mean, obviously), he’ll be able to hang on to the job. Right now, no one in Columbus is beating down the door. It’s not like the shortstop situation, where there is a nearly-ready prospect to replace a struggling major leaguer. House would have to do something phenomenal to force Marcum out, even once he’s back to throwing strikes and pitching like himself. Since House is not exactly known for flashy stuff, it seems much more likely that Marcum will be in charge of his own fate. The question is, can he do it? That’s not easy to answer in two starts, but the Tribe should definitely give him three more to find out if he’s ready for the big leagues again.

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Will Marcum make it through the season as the fifth starter? While no one knows exactly how well he’ll pitch, it’s certainly a possibility. And if not, hopefully whoever they replace him with will be the starter the Tribe needs.

Katrina Hamrick

Katrina is a communications major who loves baseball - especially the Cleveland Indians - more than just about anything. She would someday love to work in media relations for a professional team. In the meantime, she writes for Call to the Pen and works as a legal records coordinator in Indianapolis.