Cleveland Indians: Three things that went wrong in April

Walks will kill ya

Since 2016, the Cleveland Indians pitching has allowed the fewest walks in all of baseball. Former pitching coach, Mickey Callaway, installed a pitching philosophy that focused on efficiency with pitching counts by working from in front and peppering the strike zone. When Carl Willis returned to the club as pitching coach in 2018 following Callaway’s departure, that attitude carried over.

But after one month of baseball in 2021, the Indians sit in the middle of the pack, 16th in Major League Baseball, in walks allowed (89). The worst offenders have been the two pitchers at the back-end of the rotation. Triston McKenzie is averaging nearly nine (NINE!) walks per nine innings. His wayward command has tarnished his, at times, spectacular pitching. In 18 2/3 innings this season, he has given up 18 free passes, but has struck out 29.

As for the other transgressor of one of pitching’s cardinal sins, Logan Allen, it likely was one of the main contributors to him losing his spot on the roster after a disastrous outing on April 26 when he allowed six runs in 1 1/3 innings versus the Twins.

Not only have the walks, and poor command led to a deluge of run-scoring by opposing teams –  McKenzie and Allen own ERAs of 6.27 and 9.19, respectively – but the short outings have put immense strain on the bullpen who have racked up innings trying to complete nine innings. Neither starter has made it past the fifth inning in any of their major league starts this season.

Putting runners on base via the walk is always a recipe for disaster for young pitchers. If the Indians are to clinch a playoff berth this season, the back-end of the rotation will need to cut down on the walks not only to limit the opportunities opposing batter shave to drive in runs, but to also pitch deeper into games and take pressure off the relievers.