Indians: 5 Tribe players who should be in the 2021 All-Star Game

James Karinchak

Part of the reason why Emmanuel Clase only has nine saves is that James Karinchak has seven saves of his own. While his ERA is nearly two full points higher than Clase’s, that’s not a sign that Karinchak is bad, only an example of how otherworldly Clase has been.

Karinchak’s 2.88 ERA out of the pen is a really good stat. He’s also shown to be quite the prolific strike-out artist, following in the steps of Shane Bieber. Karinchack has 44 strikeouts in just 25 innings.

That means his strikeouts per nine innings are higher than Biebers. Bieber is third among starters at 13.3 but Karinchak is at 15.8. Now, granted, that’s not a stat that would actually hold up against one another as Bieber has much better endurance in his arm, and Karinchak is a reliever for a reason. Bieber could actually pitch nine innings and strike out 13 if he had to. Karinchak, maybe not but who knows?

That doesn’t take away from Karinchak’s abilities, however. He’s one of the three best pitchers in the Tribe‘s bullpen and is a needed part of the team. The team has been wildly inconsistent at points this year but the bullpen has been able to bail them out of just about any situation they may find themselves in.

Karinchak is a big reason for that.