Cleveland Indians Option Anderson; Set to Recall Clevinger

Cleveland Indians Option Anderson; Set to Recall Clevinger

The unofficial news is now official news as the Cleveland Indians will, in fact, be calling up pitching prospect Mike Clevinger to take Cody Anderson‘s spot in the rotation. The Indians have officially activated outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall from the Bereavement List and optioned Anderson to Triple-A Columbus.  They’ve also announced that Clevinger will make his debut tomorrow versus the Reds when the team heads to Cincinnati.

Speculation of a Clevinger call-up first started this morning when he was a (very) late scratch before the Columbus Clippers 11:05 am game in Indianapolis this morning.  Ross Detwiler, scheduled to start the next game, was instead bumped up and got the start. 

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On the season, Clevinger had a 3.03 ERA and 3.30 FIP (fielding independent pitching) with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.  He was also 5-0 and was striking out just over a batter an inning (9.08 K/9).  International League hitters were batting just .219 off Clevinger while striking out nearly a quarter of the time.

Clevinger first burst onto the prospect scene last year when he had a phenomenal year with the Double-A Akron Rubberducks before finishing the year pitching in the International League playoffs for the Clippers.  In 2015, he threw 158 regular season innings at Double-A, posting a 2.73 ERA and 3.02 FIP while striking out nearly 23% of hitters.

His only major flaw this season has been some control issues. After walking less than three per nine innings last season (2.28 BB/9), he’s been walking 4.29 per nine innings this year, quite the jump.  It’s something he’ll have to watch as he goes up against big league hitters for the first time.  Regardless, Clevinger has proven to be quite the pickup by the Indians, having been stolen from the Los Angeles Angels for reliever Vinnie Pestano.

Next: Indians Top Prospects: No. 8 Mike Clevinger

The Indians will still need to make another roster move before tomorrow’s game in Cincinnati to clear a 25-man spot for Clevinger. The two most likely candidates are outfielder Tyler Naquin and utility man Michael Martinez, though a relief pitcher is also a possibility.