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Cleveland Indians 2011: A Recap of The Season and 2012 Preview
Sunday October 2, 2011
Jeff P (Guest Writer – MLB reports): This was a long year for Cleveland Indians fans: From the acquisitions of Ubaldo Jimenez and Kosuke Fukudome, to falling in and out of playoff contention. The truth is that this whole year can be seen as one large accomplishment for the tribe.
The beginning of the year started with a bright future. The fans waited until June 27th, when the team decided to bring up one of their most hyped prospect, Lonnie Chisenhall. A little less than a month later, Jason Kipnis was added to the mix and the Indians started to receive even greater enthusiasm from their fans. The prospects were a large bright spot for the tribe, as 2011 was considered the hopeful end of the Indians slide of mediocrity (which lasted from 2008-2010).
Kipnis was a bright spot in the clubhouse, as August 10th represented the exclamation point in his career on the “Road to the Big Leagues.” Kipnis had a huge day, smashing five hits, including a home run and scoring 4 runs, leading the Indians to a 10-3 win.
The trade deadline in 2011 included a massive deal for the Indians as buyers rather than sellers, leading to controversy throughout Cleveland. Many fans weren’t familiar with the prospects which had been traded in the deal which sent Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians. Here is a scouting report of each dealt prospect:
Joe Gardner: Gardner is a left-handed pitcher, who is still currently in the minors. Gardner, 23, is known for his hard throwing sinker, clocking at 94 MPH. Left-handers are a true dread for him, as in AA, they have hit well over .300 facing him. His secondary pitches are inconsistent, leading to trouble, as hitters get used to his hard throwing sinker. Currently he is a reliever, though it’s expected for him to switch to a starter by the time he gets to the “Show”.
Alex White: White’s development has been strong to date. Some say his hard throwing sinking fastball, as well as his splitter as an out-pitch, could lead him to become a future ace. White, 23, throws not only pitch a nice fastball and splitter, but he can also throw a un-hittable slider across the plate. White is an innings eater, which is a huge part of his development. Start getting to know his name, because he has the potential to be a star.
Drew Pomeranz: Pomeranz has a nice speed fastball, which often leaves batters confused, with swings straight through the pitch. His command is usually very good, as he has a terrific arm. Pomeranz though needs more decisive pitches, as his only dominant pitch is his fastball. His fastball should lead him to become a successful number two starter, although likely in a few seasons from now. He also has a decent breaking ball, but not major league ready. With his performance to-date and size, there is no doubt that he will be exciting to watch.
Matt McBribe: McBribe is most likely the least-hyped prospect of the bunch. McBribe is a right-handed batter who hits for contact, with a decent power stroke. The former second-rounder can play multiple positions, and is developing at a decent pace. McBribe is only 20, but his future remains unclear at this point.
Ubaldo Jimenez: Ubaldo Jimenez came into the year as an all-star, a first half monster, a dominator. Is it so? Ubaldo Jimenez was looking like a perennial Cy Young candidate at the beginning of the 2010 season. However, all of a sudden, a breakdown occurred post all-star break. 2011 was considered a season of despair for Ubaldo, as his ERA ended at 4.68, and his win/loss ratio was poor. He still had a golden arm though and scorches his fastball right across the plate. Jimenez, is still a dangerous pitcher, which causes batters to continue to dread facing him. Even though his stats may seem poor, overall as a pitcher, he is far from a nightmare and a lost cause. With a full season coming up in the AL, expect a strong rebound.
Trade Overview: The trade was at first controversial, and still is, though to many it’s a clear win for the Rockies. The Rockies acquired four dominant prospects, who have great potential. The Indians acquired a hyped pitcher, whose dominance lasted for a few months in his peak. Now the Rockies have a robust farm system, as the Indians are left with an average farm, and a bad to decent number two starter. Ubaldo had been called in the past the next Roy Halladay, though many experts expected him to come back down to earth.
Looking at the Indians 2011 campaign: After the first half of the season, when the Indians seemed unstoppable, they started slumping. Once a slump comes, it’s hard to get out of it. The Indians were fighting to stay in contention, but as of September 17th, they were officially eliminated from the playoffs. A huge part of their success was Justin Masterson, who has emerged into the tribe’s ace. The Indians did struggle though during the year with injuries, which turned out to be a killer. At one point of the season, the Indians could barely find 4 pitchers to fill a rotation. For some time the team had pitchers starting with four days rest. Vinnie Pestano was a pleasant surprise in the bullpen, as his ERA maintained below 3.00. Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera were among the contributors in the hitting department. The Indians were in contention for much of the year, but poor performances from expected contributors including Ubaldo Jimenez, injuries, and long-lasting slumps, ended their season a few weeks earlier than the team hoped.
2012 Preview: A bright spot in the Indians organization is that their farm is filled with hard-hitting prospects. Michael Brantley, Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana, Matt LaPorta, Lonnie Chisenhall, Nick Weglarz, and Shin Soo Choo, can leave Indians fans with smiles on their faces heading towards next season.
The pitching staff of the Indians is less certain, though they have potential in some strong arms. Zach McCallister, along with Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, Carlos Carrasco, and Josh Tomlin, provide the team with a rotation built on youth, that could develop into an above average rotation in the wild central. The team also announced right at the end of the season that manager Manny Acta’s option for 2013 was picked up. Although pitching coach Tim Belcher will not return (deciding to spend more time with family), having the stability that Acta brings to the table as a manager is a great start for the team heading into next year. A lot of excitement is in store for Indians fans, and with a great deal of talented youth in the organization, can bring also hope among tribe fans.
***Today’s feature was prepared by Jeff P, Guest Writer to MLB reports. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Jeff on Twitter.***
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Pitching Keeps Tribe Alive
Sunday May 22, 2011
On the Reports, we will be occasionally featuring an up-and-coming baseball writer that has come to our attention and share their work with you, the readers. Part of our mandate at MLB reports is to provide the best baseball coverage and analysis in the business. MLB reports ultimately is designed to expose our readers to the world of baseball and the stories, facts, insights and profiles behind it. In order to meet this goal, we would like to give exciting young writers the chance to showcase their talents and provide a fresh pool of ideas to our site. In today’s premier feature, we are excited to have Shane Miller as our first guest writer with his post on the Cleveland Indians. Shane’s topic was to discuss the start of the Indians season and to review the success behind it. The direction and focus of the story was up to our writer and in today’s feature, Shane takes a look at the Indians and the pitching that has been the core of the team’s success in 2011. Enjoy!
Shane Miller (Guest Writer for MLB Reports): As the second month of the Major League baseball season is coming to an end, the Cleveland Indians to many baseball fans surprise still sit atop the American League Central division.
Well today I am here to discuss how the Indians have managed to lead the AL Central for the first two months of the season. My observation has been that pitching has been the main component to their early season success. As part of this article, I will be discussing the Indians pitching staff and how they have led their team to success beyond the wildest dreams of most baseball observers.
Pitching without a doubt has been the ultimate key to the Tribe’s early season success. The Indians pitching staff has the second best ERA in the American League at 3.45 and have managed to keep the ball in the park by giving up the third fewest home runs in the AL by only giving up 28 home runs on the season. Also the Indians have also been successful in keeping runners off the base paths giving up the second fewest walks in the AL at 127. A pitching staff that manages to keeps its walks and runs down will in most cases be successful and the Indians pitching staff of 2011 is proof that good pitching is the backbone of a winning baseball club.
A great deal of credit is due to manager Manny Acta, who has done a wonderful job with all the young pitchers he manages on the Indians. Cleveland also happens to boast one of the youngest, if not the youngest starting rotations in major league baseball.
Fausto Carmona, Carlos Carrasco, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and rookie Alex White make up the Cleveland Indians starting rotation. On paper, not much was expected of the Indians starting five going into the season. But success is contagious and as the season has progressed, the pitchers that few in baseball gave much credit have proven that they are for real. The fans in Cleveland are getting excited about their Indians and the team starts and ends with its rotation.
As the newly anointed staff ace, 26-year-old Justin Masterson is enjoying a break out season. So far Masterson is 5-2 with a 2.52 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 48 strike outs and 19 walks in 60.2 innings pitched. Masterson has done an excellent job this season in keeping the free passes to a minimum and keeping the ball in the park by only allowing one home run all year. At his current pace, Masterson is a likely 2011 all-star candidate and is finally fulfilling the hype that surrounded him from the time he came up with Boston as a rookie.
Tomlin is another pitcher who is not getting enough recognition for the amazing season he has put together so far in Cleveland. Looking at Tomlin’s stats, he is 5-1 with a 2.56 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, with 27 strike outs and nine walks in 52.2 innings pitched. The only red flag that I could find with Tomlin is that he has given up eight home runs this season. The number of long balls needs to go down as he only gave up 10 home runs in 73 innings pitched last season.
Another starter of note, the rookie White has pitched very good so far this season in the three games that he has started. White has compiled a record of 1-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 13 strike outs and nine walks in 15 innings pitched. Like I indicated with Tomlin, White also has an issue with long balls by giving up three home runs in 15 innings pitched so far. This means that White is averaging a home run every five innings pitched. In my opinion, if White can keep the ball in the park he will one day become an outstanding pitcher. (*Editor’s note: at time of publishing White has been placed on the DL by the Indians with a finger injury. While the severity is unknown, White could be lost for the season by the Indians. As adversity tests character, the Indians rotation will be put to the test if White is lost to the team for any kind of extended period.*)
With two of the five starting pitchers for the Indians enjoying breakout seasons and a rookie putting up great numbers in three starts, no wonder the Indians are in first place and have a record of 27-15. The Indians bullpen has also been another source of strength of the Indians team overall. The Indians bullpen is made up of Frank Herrmann, Joe Smith, Vinne Pestano, Tony Sipp, Chad Durbin, Rafael Perez and closer Chris Perez. While again unimpressive on paper to start the year, the Indians relief corps has been lights out all year and one of the best in the game.
The closer, Chris Perez has been very good for the Tribe this season, going 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 11 saves, 11 strike outs and 10 walks in 18 innings pitched. The walk totals are very high and if Perez wishes to remain a closer long-term he needs to cut down on those walks. He is currently averaging six walks per nine innings and that needs to be at least cut in half for him to be able to remain successful.
The setup man Rafael Perez has been astounding this season with a record of 2-1 with a 1.20 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 11 strike outs and six walks in 15 innings pitched. Rafael is one of the reasons why Cleveland has one of the best bullpens in the MLB and is sneaking up behind Chris Perez to one day take the closers role away from him. If Rafael can continue pitching like he has this season, he could definitely be the closer by season’s end if and when Chris falters. Rookie middle reliever Pestano is also having a great year in the Indians pen with a 1-0 record, 1.65 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 18 strike outs and six walks in 16.1 innings pitched. Pestano has been amazing this year with a very strong 9.9 strike outs per nine innings.
Pestano has done an excellent job in limiting walks and home runs given up and has only allowed three earned runs all season. The Indians obviously have amazing pitching from the starting rotation all the way to the deepest part of their bullpen. Without some of these rookie standouts or career years the Indians might not be in this position to possibly contend in historically one of the deepest divisions in baseball. Time will tell where this team is headed but if the start of the year is any indication, the Indians will be players in the AL Central in 2011 and possibly for many years to come.
***Thank you to Shane Miller for preparing today’s article on the Indians. You can follow Shane on Twitter.***
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.
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