The Cleveland Indians being their first season without Corey Kluber as their ace in some time, but Shane Bieber has stepped up nicely.
The Cleveland Indians traded Corey Kluber maybe a bit prematurely, which caused fans everywhere to go a little nuts. Considering the trade in return for Kluber hasn’t been widely received among fans, it’s still seen as a “bad” trade by those in the fanbase. Despite that, the Indians still have one of the five-best rotations in baseball, thanks in part to the new Ace of the staff, Shane Bieber.
Bieber started the season opener for the Indians and went just six innings. Yet, in that time he only gave up four hits, one walk, and recorded 14 strikeouts. Tying a team record of most strikeouts in six or fewer innings of work. He joins Sam McDowell who did it in 1966. Beiber also set the record for most strikeouts in six innings or less on an opening day.
This isn’t a flash-in-the-pan for the only 25-year-old pitcher. Bieber was an All-Star last year, who finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting while throwing 259 strikeouts for the year. This followed a solid rookie campaign where Beiber began to show his skillset against the best baseball had to offer.
Not bad for a guy taken in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
Bieber is going to have to continue this pace, but with only an estimated 12 starts in the regular season per starter, Bieber should have no problem keeping this going. It’s not like usual seasons where you’d expect a pitcher to go at least 30 times. The shortened season also allows for a less worked bullpen, ensuring that Bieber should be able to pitch fewer innings and not worry about losing the game if pulled.
Bieber’s performance on opening day is just a sign of things to come.