Cleveland Indians: Shane Bieber makes history on Sunday

Shane Bieber has emerged as an ace for the Cleveland Indians over the past few years. His development allowed the team to be able to move on from such pitchers as Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger without missing a beat, as he has become one of the more dominant pitchers in the majors.

That dominance continued on Sunday. He allowed three runs on six hits and two walks in his eight innings of work, striking out 13 batters. That strikeout total was significant, as he gave Bieber 48 strikeouts in his first four games, tying the record set by Nolan Ryan.

Shane Bieber makes history for Cleveland Indians

Bieber had a solid 2019 campaign, making the All Star Game and finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting, but he truly burst onto the scene last year. He posted a 1.63 ERA and a 0.866 WHiP, striking out 122 batters with 21 walks in his 77.1 innings. He led the majors in wins, ERA, strikeouts, K/9, and FIP en route to being the unanimous AL Cy Young winner in 2020.

His transformation to being one of the best pitchers in the game is rather remarkable. He does not have the most overpowering stuff, with a fastball that sits in the mid 90s. However, he added a cutter last season that made his fastball even better. Bieber also possesses one of the best curves in the game, a pitch that has an incredible amount of drop and generates plenty of swings and misses. Those offerings allow his changeup to play up as well as he spots it in different counts with incredible efficiency.

Bieber was never a top prospect for the Indians. He was never named to any top 100 prospect lists, and was expected to be a middle of the rotation arm at best. In fact, while his curve was a solid offering, his greatest attribute was his command. The idea that he would be able to replace the likes of Bauer and Clevinger would be laughable.

But sometimes, those players are able to flip a switch. That is what happened with Bieber, as he continued to work on his arsenal and improve dramatically. That effort has led to his becoming one of the best pitchers in the game, and in pitching himself into the record books.

Shane Bieber tied Nolan Ryan for the most strikeouts over the first four starts of the season. The Cleveland Indians pitcher is in some impressive company.