Can the Back of the Cleveland Indians Rotation Produce Wins?
Coming out of spring training, the Cleveland Indians should have one of the best pitching staff in the AL. Heading up the rotation are Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Danny Salazar will provide the Indians with a chance to win every night they pitch. The next three potential starters are Trevor Bauer, Cody Anderson, and Josh Tomlin.
Trevor Bauer, the 25-year-old right-handed thrower out of UCLA, put on an 11 win season last year striking out 170 batters. Bauer has shown signs of greatness but ended the season with a 4.55 ERA in the 31 games started and 179.0 innings pitch. Trevor is a great athlete (check out his foul pole to foul pole long toss) and also has a great clubhouse presence; while batting in a game against the National League’s, Pittsburgh Pirates on July 4th, 2015, Trevor imitated Mike Aviles, Jason Kipnis, and Ryan Raburn‘s batting stances. A young teammate with a sense of humor, the hope is Bauer can win 15 games for the Cleveland Indians this year.
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26-year-old Cody Anderson, out of Feather River College, looked unbelievable in his first 4 starts with a 0.89 ERA. He cooled off a bit, and in 15 games started for the Tribe last year, managed a 7-3 season, with a 1.106 WHIP and one complete game pitched. Anderson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an oblique strain on August 8, 2015. He wasn’t reactivated until August 26th, yet went on to be named the AL Pitcher of the Month in September. Over the winter, Anderson underwent an emergency appendectomy. Since then he has returned to camp healthy and raring to go, recently winning the Indians 2016 spring training endurance race. I think the future is bright for this young Tribe pitcher.
Josh Tomlin, is a 31-year-old product from Texas Tech. In his 6 seasons, all with the Tribe, Josh has put up some decent numbers. His greatest stat is his walk per 9 inning average, which is 1.5. Josh has seen his share of injuries. On August 21, 2012, he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the majority of the 2013 season. In April 2015, Josh underwent right shoulder surgery. He was finally recalled back to the Indians on August 15, 2015, after rehab assignments with the Arkon RubberDucks, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, and the Columbus Clippers. He finished the season 7-3 and was a spark to close out the season with the Tribe.
Next: Tomlin to Throw First for Tribe
Healthy, locked and loaded, the Cleveland Indians are ready for a strong 2016 season.