Can strong finish carry over to big season for Indians' rotation?
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- When can a team's greatest strength also be its biggest question mark going into the season? In the case of the Indians' rotation, it certainly applies.
With four starters, including a Cy Young winner, returning from a dominant rotation down the stretch, normally that wouldn't be the case. But doing it for a short amount of time is one thing, an entire season is another. The concerns further multiply when one considers that three of the five haven't spent an entire season in an MLB rotation.
"We don't have the track record that some of these other staffs have and until we do, you have to go out and do it for a full year," said manager Terry Francona. "That doesn't mean we don't have confidence in our guys but you can't go out and make proclamations."
Over the final 55 games, the rotation led the majors in strikeouts (358), had the second-lowest ERA (2.76) and held opposing hitters to the third-lowest average (.235). For the first two-thirds of the season though, it was ugly. Due to injuries, youth and inconsistency, Tribe starters had the fifth-worst ERA (4.40) as opposing hitters batted .270, which was fourth-highest.
"There were guys in and out (the first half) but when the second half came around, guys understood their roles, what they were supposed to do and the whole thing of trying too hard was out of the way," catcher Yan Gomes said. "They came in, pitched and saw how good they were. It is something I'm looking forward to this year."
It has also been a bit of a rough spring for starters, which has added to the questions. Gavin Floyd, who was supposed to be second or third in the rotation, was lost for the season after fracturing his right elbow, and Danny Salazar is in Triple-A Columbus after being inconsistent. Josh Tomlin, who was also in the mix for the final rotation spot before being sent to Columbus, is out for 3-4 months due to inflammation in his right shoulder.
Without the luxury of veterans like Floyd and Tomlin, pitching coach Mickey Callaway has one of the youngest rotations in the majors with Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, TJ House and Zach McAllister. Of the five, only Carrasco has three or more years of MLB service time and two (Bauer and House) have less than a year.
"All are very young in their major-league careers but they don't go about their business like that. They are very mature in the way they work," Callaway said. "Knowing that I have faith and confidence they can handle what is in front of them."
The only constant throughout last season was how well Kluber performed. En route to becoming the fourth Cy Young winner in team history, he was third in the American League in ERA (2.44) and had 21 starts of eight or more strikeouts.
A Cy Young encore for Kluber would be a bit too much to ask, but big things are expected. In his next-to-last start of spring training, he threw 108 pitches against Arizona and allowed only one run while striking out nine.
"I'm happy where I'm at both physically and mentally," Kluber said. "I think we're excited about the group we have. Again, the potential is one thing but going out and doing it is another. We have to be accountable to living up to our expectations. Ideally we'd like to have all five guys on a roll."
Carrasco excelled once he returned to being a starter and thrived following Kluber. Over those 10 starts he was 5-3 with a major-league low 1.30 ERA and 78 strikeouts.
Besides an increased work ethic, Carrasco took the same aggressiveness he had in the bullpen and applied it to his starts. In order to get back to that same level again this season, the right-hander arrived early to spring training and had 10 bullpen sessions before his first Cactus League game. Whether Carrasco can continue to do that through 30-plus starts in a season remains to be seen.
"When we talked about aggressiveness and not backing off I was scared that on day one he was going to be throwing 97 (miles per hour) but he has been building up to it," Callaway said. "He has been solid the whole spring. There has been life to every pitch."
The starter who could be on the cusp on a big breakthrough this season is Bauer, who has appeared to be the most at ease he has been in his three years with the organization. With his spot in the rotation already secured before spring training, Bauer has been working more on honing his fastball.
Getting more into game mode this past week, where he was using all his pitches, Bauer went seven innings Monday against the White Sox and struck out eight.
"He knows that he has the ability to throw over the plate (where) he wants to. For him to throw where he wants to with all his pitches is good," Callaway said.
The big key for Bauer will be avoiding slow starts. He had a first-inning ERA of 5.54 last season, which was 18th in the majors.
Added Gomes: "Bauer is still a young pitcher, and he is learning a lot. Our communication level and the game plan has improved a lot, and that is going to help us this year."
McAllister had the best spring of a Tribe hurler as he regained a rotation spot. Like Carrasco, McAllister has been able to take the same aggressive mentality from the bullpen and transfer it into starts.
The right-hander will pitch the home opener on April 10 against Detroit but is considered more like the fifth starter, especially with four off days the first three weeks of the season. That means McAllister is likely to return to the bullpen for a little bit.
"He's got a good four-pitch mix at the moment," Callaway said. "He's made a great transition from being too pitchy to coming out and throwing aggressive as long as he can. He's been unbelievable this spring."
McAllister started off well last season, winning his first three starts before not getting another win until a relief appearance in September.
House, the only left-hander in the rotation, was one of the most underrated pitchers last year as he went 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA in his last seven starts. He got stronger as the season went on, especially the second time he faced teams.
Like the other starters, House has to prove he can do it an entire season, especially with teams starting to see him a third time.
"He can handle information and go out with a game plan and use it. The best things he has thrown have been in the majors," Callaway said.
Should the rotation run into injuries or trouble, there is plenty of depth in Columbus with Salazar, Shaun Marcum and Bruce Chen.
"I think guys feed off each other. Anytime they are getting you to the point where you think you can manage it (with your bullpen) you should be OK," Francona said. "There are games where someone leaves in the third inning, and you win, but you are asking a lot.
"You don't push a button and have it happen again. The potential is in there, but they have to get on a roll and stay on it."
