Cleveland Indians: Previewing the 2017 starting rotation

Predicting what’s to come for the five pitchers in the Cleveland Indians starting rotation in the 2017 season, coming off a World Series run.

The 2017 Cleveland Indians come into the new season with a lot of hope. They are coming off an appearance in the World Series, where they took the Chicago Cubs to seven games, before falling to the new champions. Their pitching was stellar in 2016, and they have a chance to be even better in 2017.

Cleveland made some additions to bolster their offense, but it’s pitching that’s going to drive this team.

It was the pitching in 2016, as well. Cleveland’s starters pitched to a 66-47 record and a 4.08 ERA. Those numbers were enough to put the Indians’ starters at the top of the league.

With the belief that they will get more run support in 2017, those numbers could easily rise (or fall), giving the team a great chance to repeat as AL Central champions.

The entire rotation is stacked from top to bottom. They easily have the best rotation in the AL, with them ranking right at the top with the New York Mets for best across the entire league.

Their big problem is staying healthy. Getting all five guys to start in five consecutive games isn’t something that comes with any consistency. If that changes in 2017, the Indians could walk all over the league, on their way to winning over 100 games.

As stated above, the offense is bolstered and the team plays good defense, which should allow them to get the most out of these five pitchers.

Amongst those pitchers,is a perennial Cy Young-candidate and a group of determined pitchers who are ready to turn themselves into household names, on a team that has a legitimate chance to win a World Series.

1. Corey Kluber

The ace. The Opening Day starter. The 2014 AL CY Young Award winner. The guy who, I think, will win the AL Cy Young Award in 2017.

Corey Kluber is a strikeout pitcher who has wonderful control of his pitches and knows very well how to use them.

He is coming off a strong 2016 season. He finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting, earning 18 wins, while pitching to a 3.14 ERA. It was his third consecutive season that he struck out over 200 batters, and he became an All-Star for the first time.

Kluber is the workhorse for the Indians’ staff, as he has started over 30 games each of the last three seasons.

The big thing that hurts Kluber is the long ball. Over the past two years, he has given up 44 home runs. That is not a huge concern, since a lot of power pitchers give up a lot of home runs, but if he can find a way to keep the ball in the yard a little bit more often, his numbers will get a lot better very quickly.

2017 is going to be Kluber’s age-31 season, and his blend of experience and skill could provide him with his best season yet. Good timing for an Indians team with very high expectations.

2. Carlos Carrasco

There are few members of this Indians team that are more interesting than Carlos Carrasco.

After getting off to a rocky start earlier in his career, the Indians took a step back with him. They’ve seen returns on that time investment, but as Carrasco has become a better starting pitcher, he’s dealt with a lot of injury problems.

Carrasco fell to an injury in 2016 and missed the postseason. He was on his way to the best year of his career, but two injuries derailed that. After all the success the team had without him, he will surely be ready to go when 2017 kicks off.

Again, there are injury concerns with Carrasco, as he deals with an issue in his elbow, but the optimism still rides high.

The Indians seem to think his elbow is not an issue, but I’m not so sure. He might start the season, but he will land on the DL sooner or later. Anytime a pitcher complains about his elbow, there’s a reason behind it and Carrasco will be no different.

That said, if Carrasco can avoid significant time on the DL, he can have himself a career year. He has shown signs that he has finally put it all together, and it’s important to remember that he only just turned 30 in March.

The Indians proved they can do it without him, but his presence would certainly provide a big boost to an already stacked 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.

4. Trevor Bauer

The wild card of the rotation, in more ways than one.

Trevor Bauer is overflowing with potential, but inconsistency is holding him back from being a top-flight starter for this Indians staff.

He’s also a little wacky off the field. Case in point: him being forced to miss a start in the ALCS due to a drone accident that badly cut a finger on his pitching hand.

Bauer is full of surprises. Hopefully, the biggest surprise he brings is consistency that allows him to take a big step forward in his age-26 season.

Related: Indians opening the season with a healthy starting rotation

That said, he is not having a good spring. It’s hard to put a lot into performance in March, but he has given up five home runs. It’s easy to look past the 4.74 ERA on its own, but the home run number is very high. The Indians hope that won’t continue when the regular season begins next week.

Bauer also had a rough postseason, so expectations are lower for him than they are for Carrasco and Salazar. If those two guys perform, then the weight is lifted off Bauer’s shoulders. If they don’t, the pressure could fall squarely on Bauer.