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Cleveland Indians: Key Pitchers With Spring Struggles

By Joe Russo

Feb 17, 2017; Goodyear, AZ, USA; A baseball sits on the field as Cleveland Indians pitchers throw during a workout at the Goodyear Ballpark practice fields. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2017; Goodyear, AZ, USA; A baseball sits on the field as Cleveland Indians pitchers throw during a workout at the Goodyear Ballpark practice fields. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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Whether in the bullpen or with the starting pitchers, the Cleveland Indians need their pitchers to excel! For some, that is not the case yet.

While the likes of Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, and Dan Otero have had excellent camps, there are a few key Cleveland Indians pitchers that have struggled mightily this spring. For a unit that will be the primary driver of the team’s success or failure, it certainly sounds the alarm, even if it is a bit premature to do so.

Carlos Carrasco so far has been the worst offender of the bunch. According to the cleveland.indians.mlb.com, in eight innings of work in Goodyear, Arizona, Carrasco has given up 14 earned runs and a staggering five home runs.

Those numbers are not typos. Those runs have not come from missing the strike zone either, as Carrasco has only allowed one walk so far. What has caused the high amount of runs is the fact that opposing hitters are batting .425 against Carrasco.

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It could be that Carrasco is still finding his grip after Detroit Tigers’ Ian Kinsler hit a line drive that broke his pitching hand. It could be that the long layoff has meant shaking off more rust than usual this offseason.

In any event, a top flight starter cannot carry this kind of spring into April when the games actually matter. “Cookie” isn’t the only starter that appears to be having a hard time finding his groove. The following statistics for the following pitchers are also from cleveland.indians.mlb.com:

  • Staff ace Corey Kluber has not looked like himself either. Kluber has allowed batters to hit .448 in spring training while giving up 8 earned runs in 6.1 innings. That equates to an 11.37 ERA.
  • Bryan Shaw has given up 5 runs over 3 innings while surrendering an .438 batting average. That won’t endear Tribe fans back to Shaw after an up and down 2016 and two late runs in Game 7 of the World Series.
  • Andrew Miller has given up 3 runs in 4 innings, a very un-“Miller Time” line for the versatile lefty. More concerning is that in the World Baseball Classic, Miller was the pitcher on the mound for the Dominican Republic’s big come back victory. In that game, he only went 2/3 of an inning while giving up 4 runs via a pair of home runs. Those games matter and are against generally big league hitters. Yikes.
  • Boone Logan, the other lefty in the pen, has not fared well either in spring training. A key offseason signing, Logan has given up 5 runs over 3 innings and has given up 4 walks over that stretch. Before Miller, the only lefties in the pen were one out specialist. Logan has been good enough over his career to provide more innings than a LOOGY type, but not with the start to the Spring we’ve seen thus far.

Is it too early to tell? Probably.

Carrasco will get his groove back and pitchers routinely identify one or two things to focus on in these outings. Remember, pitching coach Mickey Callloway does know what he is doing.

Next: Kipnis To Miss Start Of Season

Kluber will be Kluber when it comes down to it. But that doesn’t mean you cannot point out there are issues with the current pitchers. Maybe it’s the “dry heat” in Arizona. Either way, opening day can’t come soon enough for these guys.

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