Josh Tomlin
Josh Tomlin enters 2018 in the last year of his contract at a very reasonable $3 million. At this price, Tomlin does not have to do much to be valuable to the club. However, the projections are not in love with Tomlin and don’t expect much from him this season. The combined forecast above only has him as primarily a replacement level player.
Tomlin doesn’t strike a lot of batters out which limits his ceiling, but he also doesn’t walk many guys which raises his floor. Tomlin’s biggest issue is his struggle with limiting home runs. Tomlin doesn’t have premium stuff and lives around the plate, giving hitters the opportunity to square up on the ball and hit more pitches out of the park.
All of the projections see Tomlin as a below average starter in 2018. However, if he can eat some innings throughout the season and provide good depth, the Indians will be fine. The Indians shouldn’t have much trouble with winning the division this season so it will be vital for them to prepare themselves for another postseason run. As long as the more talented pitchers on the roster are healthy and ready to go come October, Tomlin shouldn’t have to provide any meaningful innings in the playoffs.
Danny Salazar
Danny Salazar is the real wild card of this rotation. When he is healthy, and at his best, he is nearly as good as Carrasco and Bauer. However, health and consistency have been quite the bugaboos in his career to this point. After being delayed in spring training due to shoulder inflammation, Salazar is going to begin the season on the DL.
With Salazar’s health already in question, it’s hard to predict how much he will be able to contribute. Salazar is only projected for 128 innings this season, and that may even be optimistic at this point. The team’s first priority will be to get him on the field, then they can worry about his production.