Cleveland Indians: Previewing the 2017 starting rotation

3. Danny Salazar

Danny Salazar has a lot in common with Carlos Carrasco.

Like Carrasco, an injury stopped the Indians from using Salazar during most of September and the postseason in 2016, except for two relief appearances in the World Series.

Also, Salazar seems ready to have a breakout season. He was an All-Star in 2016, but it wasn’t a great year, as he finished with an 11-6 record and a 3.87 ERA.

This is Salazar’s year to put it together. He is coming off a very strong spring training, where he showcased his skills, while doing the thing the Indians needed him to do most: improve his workload.

He made his final start of the spring on March 27. It was an outing against the Cubs when he struck out nine men in 5.2 innings, allowing only two runs. It’s a promising sign of things to come.

Cleveland is not going to push Salazar early on. They need him to come out of the gate strong, but he only needs to be capable of giving them five or six good innings for the first month or two.

If Salazar pulls that off without a hitch, then Terry Francona will be able to turn him loose when he sends him to the mound in the second half of the season. It will be like they added a top-flight starting pitcher without even having to make a move. He’s going to be a key to Cleveland’s success down the stretch.