Cleveland Indians: Get to know Myles Straw and Peyton Battenfield

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.