Cleveland Indians: Get to know Myles Straw and Peyton Battenfield

Get to know Cleveland Indians additions Myles Straw and Peyton Battenfield

The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone for the 2021 season and the Cleveland Indians made a quartet of deals over the last two days of the deadline. While the trades have come with mixed reviews, depending on which trade you’re looking at, Cleveland did manage to add a trio of players that will play into the club’s plans of the future.

Being sellers, Cleveland was never going to target players who were going to help immediately. With that being said, some of the acquired players could be contributors this season, but the moves weren’t made for the Tribe in 2021. They were made to improve the outlook of 2022 and beyond.

In reality, the Cleveland Indians received four players at the deadline, but one of them was already let go. Coming to the Tribe as part of the Eddie Rosario deal, Pablo Sandoval was cut by Cleveland before he could even put on a uniform. This should really come as no surprise as he struggled through the season thus far and there isn’t a spot for him in Cleveland.

In case you missed it, the players that made their way out of Cleveland and onto other rosters at the deadline included Cesar Hernandez going to Chicago, Eddie Rosario to Atlanta, Phil Maton and Yanier Diaz to Houston and Jordan Luplow and D.J. Johnson going to Tampa Bay.

As for the players that will log innings as part of the Cleveland organization, we’ve already previewed one. Konnor Pilkington, the return in the Hernandez deal from Chicago, will join the Tribe’s Pitching Factory that is their minor league system. With a WHIP below 1.00 and an ERA of 3.48 over 62 innings, there’s clear upside with Pilkington.

While Cleveland sent away a total of six players and really only returned three, the three that were receiving should all have a shot to be on the big league roster in the near future. While we’ve already previewed Pilkington, what about the other two?

New Cleveland Indians RHP Peyton Battenfield

In case you didn’t think the Tribe got enough pitchers in the 2021 MLB Draft, don’t worry they selected plenty, the team went and added two more at the deadline. Now, when you produce pitchers the way Cleveland’s farm system does, it makes sense to add to the pool and create the chance for value and talent down the road.

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Anyway, coming to Cleveland from Tampa Bay in the Luplow deal was Peyton Battenfield. A ninth round pick by Houston in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma State, Battenfield has worked to raise his value. While he has predominantly been a starter, he’s served the role of both starter and reliever, leaving plenty of options open for his future with the Cleveland organization.

This year, he’s split time between High-A and Double-A, combining for a 5-0 record over 14 games, including 12 starts. In fact, in his entire minor league career, Battenfield has just one loss with a 7-1 record. Small sample size, but still an intriguing stat.

As for the rest of his line, he’s working an ERA of 2.72 at the Double-A level over 36.1 innings pitched. He’s also averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine while keeping the walks down at 1.7 per nine.

This is nearly identical to what Pilkington’s line looks like. It’s clear that the front office is adding a certain type of framework here. High strikeouts per nine, low walks per nine and a reasonable ERA. That surely seems like a good recipe for success.