Cleveland Indians’ 2015 Season: By the Numbers

May 15, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Bruce Chen (52) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

25

The Indians have used 25 different pitchers this season – technically, they’ve used 27 but two of them were position players Ryan Raburn and David Murphy. This includes 11 different starters, even though they’ve had no major injuries to their first four pitchers.

The fifth starter role has been filled by Cody Anderson, Josh Tomlin, Shaun Marcum, T.J. House, and Zach McAllister. Also, remember when Bruce Chen posted a 12.79 ERA over his first two starts, and ended up retiring? How about the very-brief debut of Toru Murata (who, incidentally, just picked up a playoff win for the Clippers on Wednesday night)?

Certainly, Tomlin and Anderson have pitched the best out of the seven fifth starter candidates, which is probably why they’re still in the rotation.

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41

Francisco Lindor has knocked in 41 RBIs this season, which is especially good when considering he’s only played in 82 games. The Tribe’s hot-hitting shortstop was not expected to perform as well offensively as he has since his debut, but he’s certainly proved doubters wrong. Lindor is batting .317/.357/.478, with nine home runs and eight stolen bases. In addition to playing spectacular defense this season, he’s really shown that his bat can hold up at the major league level as well.

Thirty-one of his 102 hits have gone for extra-bases, and he’s walked 22 times. Sure, Lindor’s .352 BABIP is a bit high – but not so high that the rookie phenom is certain to cool down over the final two weeks. If he can keep up his success at the plate, Lindor will be hard to beat for American League MVP considerations.

Next: By the Numbers: 268 and .325