The Cleveland Indians Have the Best Starting Rotation

I’ll Keep it Short, the Cleveland Indians has the Best Starting Rotation Even Without Mike Clevinger

When three of the five starting pitchers have sub-two ERA’s, I think you automatically are considered the best rotation.

The Cleveland Indians starting rotation was ranked relatively high before the season started, but they were not considered in the top five for many. Going into the season, people were looking at the trio of Shane Bieber, Carlos Carrasco, and Mike Clevinger.

The trio was no doubt a force to be reckoned with, but now that the season has started, they have outshined and had some unexpected contributors.

The Cleveland Indians are currently sitting atop the AL Central competing closely with the White Sox, and Twins for first place. The team is 23-14, and much of the credit goes to the starting rotation.

Clevinger, the 29-year old quirky stud was recently traded to the Padres. Many were baffled by the move since the Indians will be competitors in the playoffs. The move says a lot about the Indians’ depth and trust in the names that will be discussed in the next few pages.

Let’s meet the starting pitchers, starting with my favorite for the 2020 American League Cy Young award.

Cleveland Indians veteran starter Carlos”Cookie” Carrasco is back!

Carlos Carrasco is one of those players you cannot hate. Someone that has earned the respect of the entire MLB, sort of like a Derek Jeter.

Carrasco has had some really tough battles but he has competed every time, and he is back, pitching strong. He has battled through some injuries, including a line drive to his face, and the biggest headline of battling leukemia.

He did pitch in 2019 when he returned but he did not have the same stuff. He posted a 5.29 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, but did still maintain his high K/9 ratio.

Carrasco was one of the top pitchers during his prime. His best season was in 2017 where he finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting with a 3.29 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 10.2 K/9 ratio. And he pitched well from 2014 all the way to 2018.

2019 was a rough year for Carrasco in terms of pitching and health, but he is back in 2020 and is showing promise.

So far, he holds a 3.75 ERA, 2-3 record, 1.31 WHIP, and 11.3 K/9. He is walking quite a bit of batters and that is what is hurting his WHIP. But overall, from a rough 2019 season, he has bounced back nicely.

His stuff is good, represented by his high strikeout ratio much like Bieber. Although Carrasco could be considered the Indians’ #2 or #3 starter, in terms of performance I rank him at the back end.

When thinking about a #4 or #5 starting pitcher, Carrasco’s stats a great and what any team would dream of. Again, the Indians would have loved a 2018 Carrasco but you can’t get what you always asked for.

But if you are an Indians fan, you have to love the bounce back Carrasco has made and being a key contributor for the team especially with the loss of Clevinger. I tip my hat to Carrasco.

Clevland Indians: Aaron Civale, how do you pronounce his last name?

I wish I knew the answer to my own question, but I don’t watch enough Indians baseball to be honest. But, Aaron Civale has been another steady contributor for the Indians.

Civale is not one of the pitchers you would draft high, or even draft at all in fantasy baseball leagues. Those kinds of pitchers can make or break a team’s season, and Civale has stepped up.

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What is crazy to think is Civale is 25 years old. Bieber is also 25, and another pitcher that I will talk about is 25. The Indians starting rotation is so young with the exception of Carrasco.

One of the main reasons you have never heard of Civale before this season is because 2020 is sophomore year. He started 10 games last year for the Indians and played very well when he did.

He finished 3-4, with a great 2.34 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 7.2 K/9. Civale has settled in as a nice middle of the rotation anchor for the Indians.

It is funny to mention, Bieber was selected in the round after Civale was selected in the 2016 draft. Civale was the third-round pick out of Northeastern University, while Bieber was the fourth-round pick by the Indians.

The Indians have really hit big on drafting pitchers apparently, and he has paid off now. As mentioned before, Clevinger was dealt to the Padres, and he was a part of the trio. Civale was not even in the picture in preseason starting rotation rankings. It was all about Clev, Bieber, and Cookie.

Civale has snuck himself in quietly, and the other two pitchers are performing even better, to make the argument that the Indians have the best starting rotation, the best one through five, not just three.

Cleveland Indians: One bad decision can hurt you, just like one bad pitch

I honestly hope Zach Plesac reads this article. I watched him pitch during the summer camp and he had electric stuff and was mowing down batters. My reaction was who is this guy?

So, I took a chance on him and picked him up from waivers onto my fantasy team when I dropped one of my players before the season started.

And man, he did not disappoint. I watched his first start of 2020 against the good hitting White Sox. He threw eight innings of scoreless baseball with 11 strikeouts. He only gave up three hits, and zero walks. In my head, I thought he would win me the fantasy baseball league this year because I had drafted a good amount of starting pitchers.

His second start he threw seven innings and gave up three runs, with six strikeouts. In Plesac’s third start, he went six innings scoreless, and seven strikeouts.

For a while, I thought Plesac could have been in Cy Young considerations. He was just fun to watch as a pitcher and his breaking balls are nasty.

But, Plesac ruined my dreams when he broke COVID protocols. Plesac is 25 years old, and he is young, which sometimes means they are reckless. He is the other Indian drafted in the 2016 draft alongside Civale and Bieber, which is crazy to think. Plesac was drafted in the 12th round.

Plesac left the team hotel and did not notify the team so all hell broke loose, as it should have. The team was not happy with Plesac for putting his teammates at risk. And to make matters worse, Mike Clevinger went out with Plesac and also stayed quiet about the outing.

So, both players were punished. Plesac was sent to the alternate training site. This hurt my fantasy team just having a player sit on my bench, not as an IL player, so it just took a roster spot.

I could no longer be patient about Plesac so I dropped him. And of course, he gets picked up by someone in my league when Clevinger gets traded. But the moral of the story is outside of my own fantasy baseball world, Plesac put his teammates at risk.

Clevinger is also a culprit, and the Indians thought it was more than enough of a reason to ship him away to another team to get rid of the baggage. Both players are so talented and they really made a bad decision.

I do not know what the Indians have in mind for the young 25-year-old, but he has a 1.33 ERA right now, with a .667 WHIP and 10 K/9 ratio. It is a shame that I have to despise Plesac for this one action because he is so talented.

Like the title says, one bad action can hurt you, just like one mistake fastball left right down the middle.

Cleveland Indians: Next man up, or should I say next star up.

I seriously do not know how the Indians have put together such an impressive group of young pitchers. And by the way, if you don’t think the Indians have the best starting rotation by now, this should settle it.

Triston McKenzie was drafted in 2015, the year before Bieber, Civale, and Plesac were drafted. But, McKenzie was drafted out of high school unlike the three. He was the first-round pick out of Royal Palm Beach High School in Florida, and he has been on the Indian’s prospect list ever since.

McKenzie is currently the tenth-ranked Indians prospect at age 23. In four years in the minor league system, he holds a 2.68 ERA, .997 WHIP, and 10.8 K/9.

No wonder why the scouts were raving about him and could not wait for him to break into the league. The tall and lanky starter got called up midseason and has made three starts.

McKenzie got called up when Plesac was sent down to the training site. So maybe the Indians should thank Plesac’s bogus decision because it allowed McKenzie to shine.

In his three starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA. I find it mind-blowing that a 23-year-old rookie has only given up three runs in 16 innings. Oh, by the way, he has also struck out 19 batters, and only walked four.

In addition, a few weeks later Clevinger was traded. So Plesac was recalled and you now have three sub-two ERA pitchers in the rotation, McKenzie, Bieber, and Plesac.

Not only will the Indians starting rotation be good this year, but four of the five starters are also 25 or younger. Carrasco is the only outlier at 33 years old. The Indians have a bright starting rotation ahead of them, that has already proven that they are ready for the big leagues.

Again, as a reminder, they are doing this without Clevinger. The Indians made a gamble by trading Clev, but it allowed for McKenzie’s consistent playing time and Plesac’s chance to redeem himself.

After reading this article, if you still do not think the Indians have the best starting rotation, I literally do not know what to say. You must really hate Cleveland or something.