Cleveland Indians: Is Corey Kluber Still The Ace?
By Ryan Rosko
There Is No Doubt Kluber Leads The Pitching Staff
Joe Russo
The better question is how is Corey Kluber not the ace of the Cleveland Indians pitching staff? Aside from being picked the third most likely to win the AL Cy Young while already having one of those awards in his trophy case, Kluber’s performance last year is far better than it looks on paper.
Sure, a 3.49 ERA in 2015 is not exactly Cy Young worthy, but when you dig deeper, Kluber was just as great as 2014. He struck out 245 batters proving that his stuff was just as electric.
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Additionally, Kluber posted a 4.2 WAR, still one of the top numbers in the AL, and actually improved his numbers for WHIP (walks and hit per inning pitched), strikeout to walk ratio, and complete games. The 2015 Cy Young voters did not seem to mind the uptick in ERA, giving Kluber a ninth place finish for the award.
A more telling stat of how well Kluber pitched was his FIP, or Fielding Independent Pitching, which assesses a pitcher’s effectiveness at limiting home runs and walks and how well they generate strikeouts. It is basically a better indicator of a pitcher’s success when defense is taken out of the picture.
Kluber’s FIP last year was a stellar 2.97, more than half a run better than his ERA. The Klubot is absolutely still the ace of the Tribe staff.
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