Cleveland Indians: Position Preview for 2021, Starting Pitching

Shane Bieber

Coming off winning the American League Cy Young Award following the 2020 season, Shane Bieber will be the anchor to the Indians’ best position group. Bieber has played just three seasons, but he’s made each one better than the last, which means we’re in for an incredibly historic performance in 2021 if the trend continues.

In his second season Bieber was selected to be an All-Star, taking home the MVP of the game at Progressive Field. From there, Bieber transitioned to the 2020 season where he made history in more ways than one.

For starters, the season culminated in Bieber becoming the first pitcher in major league history to average more than 14 strikeouts per nine inning, ending the year with a mark of 14.2. But that’s not where the stats end. He led the American League in eight statistics and all of baseball in six.

If Bieber can even get close to returning to his 2020 form in the upcoming season, the Cleveland Indians will be in good shape and have a strong shot to win every time he takes the mound. The key will be seeing how often he’s at the top of his game and if the offense will be able to supply run support. If not, he could fall into the realm of Jacob deGrom by being dominant, but lacking wins.

Aaron Civale

While the 2021 season will be the third in the career of Aaron Civale, it in many ways will be his first true major league season. Civale debuted during the 2019 season and appeared in 10 games before pitching in 12 during the 2020 season. He hasn’t had to endure the length of a full season yet and that will be the biggest test for him in the upcoming year.

While Civale hasn’t gone a full MLB season yet, he does have enough to be a bright light in what could be a dismal season in Cleveland. The question will be figuring out where he lands among his past seasons. His 2019 outing saw an ERA of 2.34 whereas his 2020 season saw that number jump to 4.74. He also allowed the most hits in the American League last season, giving up 82 over 74 innings pitched.

The potential for Civale is definitely there and having pitched just 22 games at the major league level, we can assume there’s plenty of room for growth for him. Turning 26-years old in June, Civale has a long career ahead of him, so if it takes a bit for him to settle in, that isn’t abnormal. If there’s anytime for these pitchers to experiment and find themselves on the mound, this year might be it while the Tribe prepare to reload with youth over the next couple seasons.

Zach Plesac

It’s hard to mention Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale without also mentioning Zach Plesac. The trio from the 2016 MLB Draft took the Indians’ rotation by storm and flipped it on its head, transitioning from Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger and Trevor Bauer to these three in what felt like a blink of an eye. In reality, the moves came over the course of about a year, but a quick change nonetheless.

During the 2019 season, Plesac was with the team for most of the season, starting 21 games. However, a bump in the road last year resulted in just eight appearances for him. Over those combined 29 starts, Plesac has registered a 3.32 ERA and 1.09 WHIP while striking out 145 batters over 171 innings. If those numbers carry over into a full 162-game season, then we should be in for about 170 strikeouts from Plesac.

The plus for Plesac that sets him apart from the rest of the rotation is really his fielding, even being a finalist among pitchers for the 2020 Gold Glove Award. He’s committed just two errors in his 29 games. In a year where the middle infield could be questionable, that reliability on the mound defensively could be huge.

Triston McKenzie

A first round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, Triston McKenzie has actually been a member of the Cleveland Indians organization the longest among the rotation, despite being the youngest at 23-years old. Still the No. 3 prospect in the organization, we were able to get a taste of McKenzie last season and he lived up to expectations.

His career began with an incredible outing where he struck out 10 batters against the Detroit Tigers and picked up the win. That sample continued through the remainder of the season as McKenzie tallied 42 strikeouts in just over 33 innings pitched, appearing in eight games and starting six. For comparison, if you translate those numbers to a full season, McKenzie would have tallied 204 strikeouts, finished 10-5 and managed a 3.24 ERA and 0.90 WHIP.

Now, in a full season those numbers might be hard to replicate for a pitcher in their first season, but regardless the future is bright with McKenzie, along with the other three mentioned before him. Each of them have strengths and fixable weaknesses that make for a positive outlook for the position unit. The only catch will be figuring out who will be the fifth starter in the rotation.

Who’s the fifth starter for the Cleveland Indians?

The fifth spot of the rotation will be the biggest question for the Cleveland Indians starting pitchers entering the 2021 season. Luckily, they have a strong track record of finding and producing starting pitchers, so hopefully they have someone in mind.

From looking at the 40-man roster there’s already a few names that stick out from the rest as potential candidates to claim the fifth spot. Logan Allen, Sam Hentges and Trevor Stephan might be the front runners entering Spring Training.

Beginning with Allen, he’s just 23-years old and was part of the Trevor Bauer deal. Allen started four games for the Padres in 2019, but most of his appearances have been in relief. A left-handed pitcher, he would be the only southpaw in the rotation for the Indians, and the first in quite some time as well. The downside is that his hits per nine are rather high, making him seem like a better fit in the bullpen.

Like Allen, Hentges would also be a lefty addition to the rotation. At 24-years old, Hentges has yet to make his MLB debut, or even pitch beyond Double-A for that matter. He has the potential to maybe take over the spot after knocking the rust off in Triple-A, but it’s hard to imagine giving this spot to someone who hasn’t pitched in over a year or beyond Double-A, at least from the get-go.

The third option is the one that makes the most sense to me, being Stephan. A Rule 5 Draft selection, Stephan will be in the majors anyway and has a history of starting. When the Indians took him it didn’t quite make sense, but now it seems like it was a move knowing that Carrasco wouldn’t start the season in Cleveland. Having started 69 of his 71 games in the minors, this seems like the best bet. However, he’s in the same boat as Hentges, last pitching in 2019 at Double-A.

There’s also the possibility that the Cleveland Indians could sign someone or even wait for a mid-to-late season call up. Really the possibilities are nearly endless for this fifth spot.