Ben Lively proving to be stable presence in Cleveland Guardians starting rotation

When it comes to who would be providing the Cleveland Guardians with their most consistent and productive starts through the first month-plus of the season, very few, if anyone, would have picked Ben Lively. But anyone who was brave enough to do so would have been right.

The 33-year-old veteran has been a stable presence in Cleveland's rotation so far this season, with a 3.46 ERA and 1.200 WHIP. Lively's ERA and WHIP are the best marks of any Guardians starter through their 37 games played, and that has helped them navigate the early part of this season's schedule with a little more ease.

What Lively has been able to provide has allowed the Guardians to ride out the underwhelming starts of a few other arms in their rotation. Tanner Bibee (4.26 ERA, 1.316 WHIP), Gavin Williams (5.06 ERA, 1.750 WHIP), and Luis Ortiz (5.30 ERA, 1.420 WHIP) have not performed as expected, and that has put some pressure on other members of their pitching staff, specifically the bullpen.

With the exception of his second start of the year that only saw him last 4.1 innings, Lively has pitched at least 5 innings each time his turn in the rotation comes up. 5 innings may not seem like a lot or even anything remotely close to being impressive, but getting that much once every five days or so has been incredibly valuable for Cleveland. The almost constant rotation shuffles of previous seasons has been avoided with Lively being the rotation's anchor in the early parts of this season.

Hopefully, the above-mentioned others who have not yet hit their stride begin to do so sooner rather than later, which should result in an increased winning frequency and a better general feeling about what this team can accomplish this season. But for now, the Guardians know they can count on Lively to deliver a solid outing when called upon.