Cleveland Indians: Three Players Ready for a Big July

Trevor Bauer

Trevor Bauer entered the season in quite a tough situation. Removed from the starting rotation last season, he started the year in the bullpen. His work there was uninspiring, but some injuries and poor performance opened up a spot in the rotation for him. Since he rejoined the starting five on the 30^th of April, he has resembled the pitcher the Indians thought they were acquiring a few years ago. 

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Armed with a rejuvenated fastball, he has pitched 79 innings to the tune of a 2.96 earned run average. While ERA estimators feel that his true talent level is a bit below that lofty mark, the transformation seems incredible.

To cast hope for future success, he has been elite in the month of June. During that time, he has posted an even better ERA; and this time, advanced metrics agree that he is truly elite. He has shown an ability to strike out batters while minimalizing the walks that plagued him in the past, and the occasional outings in which he gets shelled have gone by the wayside.

Given the changes he has made, it seems likely that the 25-year-old can continue to be successful into July. Certainly, he may regress a bit, but the talent and adjustments seem to cast a positive picture for the future. Even if he regresses back to having an earned run average in the mid-threes, he can still provide the Indians with some highly valuable starts.

Not only is it likely that he will continue to pitch well, but it as of the utmost importance that he perpetuates this recent success. The Cleveland Indians cannot afford to lose any of their starting pitchers, as they have the driving force behind this team’s success.

Next on our countdown is another starting pitcher with the potential to have an excellent July.

Next: Second on our countdown...