Cleveland Indians: Corey Kluber receives another honor

Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber was recognized for his dominance in June in what was one of the better months an Indians pitcher has ever had.

The Cleveland Indians have a true ace in Corey Kluber. He has been that guy for years but may be reaching a whole new level of dominance in 2017.

Even though he missed nearly all of May, he was selected as one of the pitchers for the American League squad in next week’s All-Star Game. But the honors kept rolling in today as he was named the AL Pitcher of the Month.

Is 64 strikeouts to just seven walks considered good?

Kluber has a legendary month, making six starts after returning from the disabled list. The time off clearly worked.

Kluber struck out at least 10 batters in five of his starts, and logged at least six innings in all six starts. His start on June 19 against Baltimore saw him throw a three-hit shutout in what was a 12-0 victory for the Indians.

Jordan Bastian shared some stats showing how well Kluber matches up to some of the greats.

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The impressive thing is that while the month is over, it’s not like Kluber’s routine is any different. He has still struck out 10+ batters in his last four starts and is going up a San Diego Padres team on Tuesday that has the second-most strikeouts in the National League this season.

So while us mere mortals recognize the new month, the Klubot has shown no signs of slowing down just because we declare it to be July.

But it is fair to look back at the month to pick out the crazy details. The 64 walks compared to seven walks stands out, while the six earned runs 43 innings is just unfair for opposing teams.

Next: 5 Indians minor leaguers who are future All-Stars

Kluber is back on the mound Tuesday and will get another start Sunday, meaning he won’t be pitching in this year’s All-Star Game. But with him getting two starts early in July riding this great streak, we may be back here in a month talking about another Pitcher of the Month award.