Cleveland Indians: Identifying three building blocks for the Tribe’s season

Starting Pitching

Like I said, some of these will not be a surprise whatsoever. Heading into the 2021 season we knew that the starting pitching for the Cleveland Indians would need to be a strength and overall it has been. There’s been a few hiccups, or rather implosions, but that’s going to happen to any team, especially one with all five starting pitchers under the age of 26.

Shane Bieber has been electric once again and is on pace to not only repeat last season, but possibility improve upon it. With 48 strikeouts through his first four starts, Bieber has placed his name among the likes of Nolan Ryan in the records books and is averaging 14.7 strikeouts per nine. Keep in mind that somehow that is an improvement over last year’s 14.2 mark that was the first time ever anyone averaged over 14 strikeouts per nine over the course of a single season.

Aaron Civale has also been able to right his ship early this season after a rocky 2020, being 3-0 in his first three starts. A completely different approach than Bieber, Civale is averaging only seven strikeouts per nine and has relied on the defense behind him. He’s also been able to maintain a 0.73 WHIP which has played a major role in his early success.

Triston McKenzie has also been a stable arm and despite the early exits for both Zach Plesac and Logan Allen, all five of the starters in the Tribe’s rotation have kept their ERA under 5.30 through the first 15 games of the season. You, of course, would hope that number would be lower, but given what’s transpired, that number could very easily much higher. Luckily, steady starts surrounding the early exits have brought that mark down.

As a unit, the starting pitching has kept the Tribe in the win column this season. The ability to win when scoring just two or three runs is a big plus and this group presents that chance most nights. If they can sustain the success the starting pitching for the Cleveland Indians will be the core of the 2021 season.