Cleveland Indians: Projecting the three-man Wild Card round rotation

There’s little doubt that the Indians will hand the ball off to Shane Bieber in game one of their Wild Card series.

Bieber is the front-runner to take home the AL Cy Young Award and may even receive MVP consideration as he leads baseball in ERA (1.74), strikeouts (112) and wins (8).

He is also perfectly lined up to get the ball in game one of the Wild Card Round, which is slated to begin on September 29, as his next start is scheduled for Tuesday against the White Sox, which would give him seven days of rest before taking the ball in game one.

Despite an anemic offense, Bieber has proved he can lead the Indians to a win no matter how much run support he is given and by throwing him Game 1, Cleveland will have a chance to jump ahead of any team 1-0 and push them against the wall in a do-or-die Game 2 which with Cleveland’s rotation may be impossible to beat.

The one knock on Bieber entering October is that he has never pitched in a postseason game, but there’s no reason to believe the right-hander can’t handle the pressure, especially given the Indians felt comfortable trading away Mike Clevinger in large part due to the trust they have in Bieber and the rest of their starting staff.

2020 has been a roller-coaster season for young right-hander Zach Plesac, but with the way he’s pitched, he is likely in-line to get the ball in Game 2 of a best-of-three Wild Card series.

Plesac started the season in the Indians’ rotation, making three strong starts, but after earning a victory over the Chicago White Sox on August 8, he made a poor decision as he broke COVID-19 protocols to attend a social gathering with friends.

As punishment, he was optioned to the teams’ alternate site in Lake County and was not recalled until August 31 after Clevinger, who was also optioned for attending the same gathering, was dealt to San Diego at the trade deadline.

Since rejoining the Indians, Plesac has made four starts and is 3-1, has lowered his season ERA to an outstanding 1.85 and even threw the fourth immaculate inning in Cleveland’s history.

While some may still be angry with the right-hander, the numbers prove he is the Indians’ second most effective pitcher behind Bieber and is deserving of a Game 2 start that could either send Cleveland to the ALDS in California or set-up a winner take all Game 3.

With there being no days off, if the Indians Wild Card series extends to a third game there, best option would be to go their most experienced arm in Carlos Carrasco.

Carrasco missed the Indians’ 2016 World Series run due to a fractured the fifth metacarpal bone but has made two career postseason starts in which he has posted a stellar 1.64 ERA in 11 innings of work with 10 strikeouts and just four walks.

The 33-year-old’s 2020 season got off to a rough start, but he has started to settle in of late as he’s lowered his season ERA to 2.90 after seeing it north of four earlier in the season.

While Carrasco would make the most sense in a Game 3 for the Indians, they’ll also have options if he seems to be off his game early.

As long as they’re not used in the first two games of the series, Aaron Civale and Triston McKenzie who both have had strong seasons’ should be available out of relief and with the season on the line, there’s even a chance the Indians could go to Bieber for an inning of relief.

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In a win or go home game, however, the Indians need to give the ball to someone who has experienced postseason play and in this case, Cleveland can give to a veteran who has excelled in October.