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.