Cleveland Indians: Three in-house prospects who could be the fifth starter

Three in-house prospects who could be the fifth starter for the Cleveland Indians

After the Cleveland Indians traded away Carlos Carrasco as part of the Francisco Lindor trade questions started coming up about the fifth starter in the rotation. Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac and Triston McKenzie were the presumed top four of the rotation, but the fifth spot came into question with the trade.

The Tribe have already tried two in-house options and there have mixed results from both. Logan Allen got the first shot out of Spring Training and started five games in April. He allowed at least one run in each start and never pitched beyond the fifth inning, which he reached in only his first two starts. Allen’s ERA ballooned to 9.19 before he was sent down to Columbus and the next pitcher on the list was called up.

That pitcher was Sam Hentges who first pitched out of the bullpen before being eased into a starting role. While Hentges has had better results than Allen, his roller coaster of outings paired with his recent six-run outburst against the Angels could push the front office to consider other options.

We’ve already talked about ways to address the problem externally, whether it be a trade or a free agent addition, but what about internal solutions. Admittedly, the options are few and far between, but for a team that is set on not spending money that might be the way things go.

Not including Allen, there’s only five pitchers on the 40-man roster that are in the minors and they aren’t all starting pitchers. However, the ones that are might get a chance to crack the starting rotation in Cleveland if Hentges can’t find consistency. While they won’t have the initial firepower of Bieber, Civale, Plesac or McKenzie, they could be diamonds in the rough just waiting for a shot.