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Hometown heroes: Evaluating the Indians’ All-Star cases


By Zack Meisel Jun 25, 2019 20
CLEVELAND — When the Indians last hosted the All-Star Game, David Justice, Jim Thome and Sandy Alomar Jr. represented the hometown team.

And yet, a player on the National League side might have triggered the ovation most threatening to every eardrum in attendance. The 1997 Midsummer Classic marked Kenny Lofton’s first return to Cleveland since the Indians traded him to the Braves for Justice and Marquis Grissom a week before Opening Day.

“For me to come back and get the reception I got,” Lofton said last weekend, referring to the moment as his favorite All-Star memory, “it was very touching.”

Odds are, a player donning an Indians uniform will receive the most fervent round of applause during introductions this time. The Indians appear destined to send three players to the showcase in two weeks.

A quick refresher on how the All-Star teams are assembled: From noon Wednesday until 4 p.m. Thursday, fans can vote in the Starter’s Election, which includes three finalists for each position. Those winners will be revealed Thursday night. The pitchers and reserves — selected by the player ballot and the league office — will be revealed Sunday. Managers no longer have a say in the process. Each team must have at least one representative on the roster.

Now, let’s determine which Indians stand the best chance at making the AL All-Star team.

Brad Hand
Every statistic belonging to the lefty this season screams All-Star. He has allowed a whopping four runs in a league-leading 35 appearances. The save stat lacks context, but Hand has converted each of his 22 chances, which also leads the league.

He boasts a 1.05 ERA, a 1.53 FIP and a microscopic WHIP. His fastball still has enough zip. His slider produces must-watch clips.

“If Brad Hand’s not an All-Star, nobody is,” Terry Francona said.

Hand leads AL relievers in WAR, ranks second in ERA, second in FIP, sixth in strikeout rate and third in home-run rate. It’s difficult to dispute Francona’s stance.

All-Star chances: 95%

*Note: These percentages are calculated via a complex formula made up of gut instinct and semi-educated guessing

Carlos Santana
Santana hasn’t masked how he feels: He wants to represent the Indians in the All-Star Game and in the Home Run Derby. He never sold his Cleveland home because he eventually wanted to return to the city. He regularly refers to Cleveland as his “sweet home.” The storyline writes itself.

“This is his home,” Francona said. “I understand why he left. I probably would have, too. (The Phillies gave him) 60 million reasons. But to get him back, I think he was happy and he knew we were happy. It worked out well for everybody. We’re thrilled to have him back.”

Santana is one of three finalists bidding to start at first base for the AL, along with the Yankees’ Luke Voit and the Twins’ C.J. Cron. None of the three has ever made an All-Star team.

Santana: .291/.413/.538 slash line, 148 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
Voit: .268/.387/.493 slash line, 135 wRC+, 1.5 WAR
Cron: .281/.344/.538 slash line, 128 wRC+, 1.3 WAR

Now, those numbers — which clearly favor Santana — won’t determine the starter. Vote totals will. And Voit is backed by the Big Apple masses.

But for a guy enjoying a career year in the surroundings he deems most comfortable during the season that city is hosting the sport’s crown jewel event — what a storybook script.

“We genuinely have a ton of affection for this kid,” Francona said. “He shows up every day and all he wants to do is play. He’s got a smile on his face and he’s worked hard to become a better defender. A guy that you want playing first base. A guy that pays attention to the game and picks his teammates up. The fact that the game’s in Cleveland would be really meaningful.”

All-Star chances: 90%

An aside: Santana told me earlier this month he would welcome an invitation to the Home Run Derby, and he has since maintained that stance. The host city has had a representative in the event each of the past six years, and Francona would approve if Santana participated.

“I think, like anything, you worry,” Francona said. “But these are things that maybe happen once in your career — some guys maybe more than that. It’s a big deal to the fans. You just have to, as a coach or a manager or an owner or a general manager, you have to hold your breath and let the pride win out over the worry.”


(Ken Blaze / USA Today)
Francisco Lindor
There is a gaggle of shortstops (a colony? A swarm? A pride? A pandemonium? No, that’s just for a group of parrots. Ahh, a group, let’s go with group.) who can make a compelling case for an All-Star nod. Carlos Correa (who is sidelined with a broken rib), Jorge Polanco and Gleyber Torres are the three finalists for the starting gig.

Lindor’s competition extends beyond those three, though. Xander Bogaerts and Tim Anderson present convincing arguments, and Marcus Semien and Elvis Andrus could factor into the equation, too.

Lindor: .289/.352/.498 slash line, 116 wRC+, 1.9 WAR
Correa: .295/.360/.547 slash line, 142 wRC+, 1.8 WAR
Polanco: .326/.383/.542 slash line, 141 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
Torres: .285/.350/.539 slash line, 130 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
Bogaerts: .296/.388/.529 slash line, 137 wRC+, 3.5 WAR
Anderson: .313/.338/.485 slash line, 120 wRC+, 1.7 WAR
Semien: .276/.359/.438 slash line, 117 wRC+, 3.0 WAR
Andrus: .304/.340/.464 slash line, 105 wRC+, 2.0 WAR

Among those eight candidates, Lindor ranks sixth in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage, fifth in slugging percentage, seventh in wRC+ and sixth in WAR. Two things could work in his favor, though. One, Correa isn’t expected to play. Two, none of the candidates falls into the dreaded “this team has no other potential representatives” category.

If Anderson doesn’t earn a spot, the White Sox could still have Lucas Giolito and/or James McCann on the team. Semien might ultimately fall short, but Matt Chapman surely should not. Rangers veterans Joey Gallo, Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo and Mike Minor deserve consideration, along with Andrus.

You can’t leave out the guy who’s supposed to be the face of All-Star Week, though, right? Lindor will serve as one of three ambassadors for the festivities in Cleveland. It would seem odd for one of the league’s most marketable players to act as the host for the week but not be involved in the marquee event in any capacity.

Perhaps the league office will ensure he nudges his way onto the team. Either way, some deserving candidate will be watching from home.

All-Star chances: 70%

Trevor Bauer and Shane Bieber
Each team carries 12 pitchers, though that number always swells because of injury replacements and throwing schedules. Bauer would’ve been a shoo-in had the All-Star Game taken place at the end of April. Alas, the league opted for mid-July this year.

Here’s where the two Tribe hurlers rank among qualified AL starting pitchers (excluding Frankie Montas, suspended this week for a PED violation).

ERA
Bauer: 14th
Bieber: 15th

WAR
Bauer: 15th
Bieber: 13th

K/9
Bauer: 8th
Bieber: 3rd

FIP
Bauer: 22nd
Bieber: 9th

Both pitchers are likely long shots.

All-Star chances: 15%

Roberto Pérez
Pérez has produced the career year he hinted he would, but he has plenty of competition at the catcher position. Gary Sanchez, James McCann and Robinson Chirinos are the three finalists for the starting role, and all three might make the team anyway.

Pérez: .236/.328/.483 slash line, 110 wRC+, 1.4 WAR
McCann: .328/.389/.508 slash line, 142 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
Sanchez: .268/.336/.623 slash line, 145 wRC+, 2.0 WAR
Chirinos: .234/.366/.484 slash line, 130 wRC+, 1.6 WAR

Mariners catcher Omar Narvaez owns a 133 wRC+ as well, and Boston’s Christian Vazquez has contributed an .814 OPS and 2.0 WAR. Pérez rates among the league’s best defenders. Maybe his peers will take that into consideration upon casting their ballots.

All-Star chances: 10%

Actually, I could see dealing Sandlin and one of our extra young starters for a good reliever. Wouldn't bother me.

I would want one better than Givens though. He has a 1.35 WHIP and 5.23 ERA this year. Why would we want him? Just because he throws hard? Give me a break. I would rather bring Karinchak up once back from IL.

Me personally I would prefer to trade Plutko or Civale instead of Morgan, but would be OK with it.

Why would we want Givens? 8 homers allowed in 31 innings? HB is more of Morgan fan than me so I'd be willing to trade him for something the big league needs. But what's the point of another A.J. Cole for the pen? Yeah, yeah he's been good in the past but we have the best bullpen overall in baseball so why trade to add to an area of strength??

Not that I think Morgan is going to be special. Just think he’s going to end up a solid 3rd or 4th starter. Plutko and Civale is more 5th starter material, methinks.

When I tried to think of what a solid 3rd starter looks like, I thought about our 5 man rotation and couldn't figure which of these guys is our 3rd starter: Carrasco, Clevinger, Bieber? One of them is an overqualified 4th starter and another a ridiculously overqualified 5th starter.

Meisel’s Musings: Trevor Bauer has a rubber right arm, but was a mysterious injury doing him harm?
By Zack Meisel 10m ago

CLEVELAND — For more than a month, Trevor Bauer has hinted at a physical ailment that has hindered his pitching delivery. He has refused to delve into specifics, and Terry Francona cites HIPAA anytime he’s asked to reveal details.

Those wearing tinfoil hats might wonder if Bauer is strategically attempting to fend off the Indians’ potential trade partners because he doesn’t want to leave behind an organization with which he has found comfort. (For the record: I don’t buy into that conspiracy.)

The pain can’t be completely intolerable, though, because Bauer has tossed at least 105 pitches in 15 of his 18 starts, and at least 117 in four of his past five outings. Bob Feller would be proud.

On Wednesday, Bauer matched his career-high with 127 pitches. Pitch No. 127 clocked in at 96.7 mph.

“Finally felt like myself,” he said, “which is nice after two months of feeling like someone else.”

And his manager’s take?

“Everybody’s a little banged up,” Francona said. “I think he just was having trouble staying over the rubber as long as he wanted to. He’s feeling better about that. That’s about as much as I think I’m allowed to say so I don’t get arrested.”

In an attempt to acquire a bit more clarity on a murky situation, I asked Francona if, given Bauer’s condition, he has fought himself on leaving Bauer out to throw so many pitches.

“The fight I have is that I feel a responsibility also for his career,” Francona said. “You know, you’ve got one arm and I fight that because he fights me to stay out there, which I love. I mean, I love that. Curt Schilling used to do it and — I love it. I don’t want pitchers that want to come out of the game. I admire that about him. But I want him to pitch for 15 years. So I worry.”

Bauer owns a 3.55 ERA and a 4.08 FIP. He registered a 2.21 ERA and a 2.44 FIP last season. His hit rate has actually decreased slightly this year, but his walk rate has increased, his home run rate has doubled and he has already plunked a league-high 13 batters.

Whatever the malady was, it has prevented Bauer from properly assessing the development of his changeup, the pitch he crafted over the winter and implemented into his repertoire.

“It’s been inconsistent and not up to the level that I’d hoped it would be,” Bauer said, “but it’s hard to tell exactly why. Like I said, I haven’t felt like myself in two months. So when I can’t move the way I need to move and I can’t repeat my delivery, it’s hard to evaluate why a pitch may not be doing what it’s supposed to. My cutter’s been slow. My slider’s been slow. Spin rates have been down on most pitches — all the off-speed stuff, anyway. That’s all just a matter of I haven’t been able to move the way I need to move. So, it’s just nice to feel like I’m back to being myself for the first time in a couple of months.”

What do I do with my Hand?
Brad Hand finally proved mortal, as his implosion Tuesday night inflated his ERA to 2.36 from 1.05. After the game, I asked Francona if fatigue could have played a role, given it marked Hand’s fifth appearance in six days. Francona pointed to Hand hitting 94 mph on the radar gun and noted that he, Carl Willis and Scott Atchison consult pitchers about their stamina before games. Hand confirmed he would have spoken up had he lacked the energy to pitch.

But then Francona acknowledged on Wednesday morning that, yes, it’s possible that Hand’s workload might have contributed to the lack of finish on some of his off-speed offerings.

“He pitched five out of six (days),” Francona said. “That’s a lot to pitch. Sometimes things just happen, too.”

Before the busy stretch, Hand only pitched once in a span of eight days, as the Indians knocked around Detroit and played a few lopsided affairs in Texas.

Hand’s fastball velocity is down about 1.2 mph from last season, and batters are faring better against the pitch this year than they have in any year since 2015. His slider, however, remains otherworldly. Hand’s strikeout rate (37.5 percent) is a career high and ranks in the league’s 98th percentile.
(David Richard / USA Today)
Quote to note
“Anyone else, I probably would have let it go. But because it was Frankie, I decided to spin move him. Hit the B button on him.” — Jason Kipnis, on avoiding Francisco Lindor’s Gatorade shower after his walk-off homer on Monday

Final Thoughts
1. Carlos Carrasco has occasionally popped his head into the Indians’ clubhouse in recent days, and he even played catch earlier this week. Doctors have encouraged Carrasco to have some activity when he’s feeling up for it. Carrasco has been sidelined since early June when he was diagnosed with an undisclosed blood condition.

“We all feel like it’s really not just good for his arm,” Francona said, “but good for his brain and good for his psyche and everything.”

2. Corey Kluber will have his right arm examined Thursday. If all goes well, he could be granted a green light to start playing catch and sketch out a throwing program.

3. It’s not exactly cause and effect, but since Oscar Mercado joined the Indians’ roster, the club’s offensive production has spiked.

Since May 14: .258/.335/.474, 108 wRC+, 9.7% walk rate, 19.9% strikeout rate, 214 runs in 40 games
Before May 14: .219/.300/.343, 68 wRC+, 9.7% walk rate, 25.3% strikeout rate, 141 runs in 40 games

4. The Maybe-José-Ramírez-Is-Breaking-Free-Of-His-Nearly-Year-Long-Funk-But-Every-Time-We-Say-That-He-Goes-0-For-8 Tracker: Ramírez is 8-for-19 in his past six games, with four walks and three lost helmets.

5. Despite recent blips on the radar from Hand and Nick Wittgren, the Indians remain atop the league leaderboard in bullpen ERA (3.39), ahead of second-ranked Cincinnati (3.47). It helped Cleveland’s cause that Reds closer Raisel Iglesias surrendered four runs in the eighth inning of a 5-1 loss Wednesday.

(Top photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)

3. It’s not exactly cause and effect, but since Oscar Mercado joined the Indians’ roster, the club’s offensive production has spiked.

Since May 14: .258/.335/.474, 108 wRC+, 9.7% walk rate, 19.9% strikeout rate, 214 runs in 40 games
Before May 14: .219/.300/.343, 68 wRC+, 9.7% walk rate, 25.3% strikeout rate, 141 runs in 40 games

Might not be exactly cause and effect but Mercado hitting 2nd really solidifies the top of the order; Mercado every day in the OF let them dismiss Martin; Mercado solid steady production perhaps took a little pressure off the other young OF. But I don't think Mercado gets credit for the [temporary?] resurgence of Jason Kipnis.

Carlos Santana realizes his dream: An All-Star starter in the city he never wanted to leave

Zack Meisel Jun 27, 2019 23
CLEVELAND — Only on the back of his baseball card is there evidence that Carlos Santana spent a season in Philadelphia.

OK, perhaps there’s some leftover debris from the hapless clubhouse TV at Citizens Bank Park, the fallout from Santana’s anti-“Fortnite” crusade.

Since Santana returned to the Indians six months ago, however, that brief change of scenery has seemed like one of those dreams in which a person skips class all semester only to arrive at the final exam completely unprepared.

Did that really happen? I was dreaming, right? What is my brain trying to tell me?

Santana has squeezed right back into the center of Terry Francona’s lineup, resumed his ritual of kissing the manager’s bald dome before first pitch and danced with his hitting coach during batting practice and with clubhouse attendants at his locker.

The only noticeable difference with Santana is his numbers are sparkling a bit brighter than normal, his .290/.411/.541 slash line providing headaches to opposing pitchers. That, he says, is the result of a simple, unquantifiable factor.

He’s comfortable. He’s home.

And now, he’s an All-Star.

The guy who never wanted to bid farewell to Cleveland will represent the American League at first base before the home crowd that has been thrilled to have him back. Santana edged out New York’s Luke Voit and Minnesota’s C.J. Cron in the Election Day balloting to determine the starting position players.

The Indians, for the right price, would have preferred to keep Santana in town, too. When Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff landed at Burke Lakefront Airport after the 2017 Winter Meetings in Orlando, they remained there for about two hours, negotiating a contract proposal with Santana. Ultimately, their offer fell well short of the $60 million the Phillies handed the veteran.

But Santana never sold his home in Bratenahl. He wanted to return one day. When his wife, Brittany, suggested they place the house on the market, Santana told her, “You never know.” He just never anticipated it would happen 13 months after he signed a three-year deal with Philadelphia.

Santana admitted that his early-season struggles in 2017 stemmed from stressing about his impending free agency. He consulted Edwin Encarnacion, who dealt with a similar situation the previous year. Encarnacion encouraged him to savor every last drop of that season and channel his energy toward his on-field effort level, rather than concerns about his future zip code.

From July 1 through the end of the season, Santana posted a .934 OPS and the Indians amassed a 55-21 record.

Santana planned to rent his house to Encarnacion this season. When Santana was traded to Seattle in early December, the two exchanged texts and lamented the fact that Santana was bound for a rebuilding team. And then 10 days later, the close friends were dealt for each other, with Encarnacion the one bound for the Pacific Northwest, and Santana elated to return to Cleveland.

Upon rejoining the organization, Santana requested his same locker in the spring training clubhouse in Arizona. (Unbeknownst to Santana, the clubhouse had been renovated since he had last stepped foot in the complex.) He fended off fierce competition for the highly coveted double locker in the corner of the home clubhouse at Progressive Field, occupied the last few years by Michael Brantley.

“He fit right back into everything,” Jason Kipnis said. “He picked up right where he left off. He stayed in contact the year that he was out there in Philly. We FaceTimed him a couple times. So, yeah, it really was like (he never left).”

Santana has spent nearly a decade in the majors. Every season of his career, he has proven to be better than league average at the plate. In most years, he has been significantly better than average, with a career wRC+ of 122.

He relocated to first base when Yan Gomes usurped the catching duties. He tested his abilities at third base. He volunteered to play left field.

Santana sat on the bench in the visitors’ dugout at Wrigley Field in October 2016, a winter cap resting atop his head. For several minutes, he reiterated how he felt comfortable with his plan to tackle left field for the first time the following evening in Game 3 of the World Series. He assured reporters he could handle it, that it wasn’t as crazy as it sounded, even though Francona claimed to have his heart lodged in his throat when Kris Bryant smacked a line drive Santana’s way in the first inning.

Santana didn’t mind having to sacrifice, signing up for a responsibility that could have proven costly. That sort of characteristic made Francona a fan.

“Everything we say here about him is true,” Francona said. “We genuinely have a ton of affection for this kid. He shows up every day and all he wants to do is play. He’s got a smile on his face and he’s worked hard to become a better defender, a guy that you want playing first base, a guy that pays attention to the game and picks his teammates up.”

Santana desperately wants his name in the lineup card on a daily basis. Nicks and bruises be damned; no player has logged more games than Santana since the start of the 2011 season.

He has recorded an on-base percentage greater than .350 in each of his 10 seasons. He collects enough doubles and home runs to serve as a more-than-serviceable switch-hitter in the middle of the order, especially since he tends to walk as often as he strikes out.

Until now, though, he had never received an All-Star nod. His numbers finally vaulted him into the conversation this year. And what perfect timing for that to transpire, given the location of this year’s Midsummer Classic. Santana hasn’t been shy about his desire to stand along the baseline at Progressive Field for introductions on July 9, the Cleveland crowd roaring.

It’ll be like he never left.

“He’s one of those guys where sometimes his value is higher than what his stats show because of the day-in, day-out grinding that he does,” Kipnis said. “He shows up, straps on and gives you what he’s got. He’s consistently a tough out. He sees pitches. And guys like that definitely help ball clubs win.”

(Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)

“He fit right back into everything,” Jason Kipnis said. “He picked up right where he left off. He stayed in contact the year that he was out there in Philly. We FaceTimed him a couple times. So, yeah, it really was like (he never left).”

Seriously??

Meisel’s Musings: All-Stars, knuckleballs and A Nightmare on Eutaw Street


By Zack Meisel 3h ago 5
BALTIMORE — During every pitching change on Sunday afternoon, an older gentleman named Sheldon stood up, faced the section of fans about 20 rows behind home plate and held his pen to his mouth.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please: Now pitching for the Cleveland Indians, No. 33, Brad Hand.

He raised both arms, his scoresheet in his left hand and his pen/microphone in his right, and waited for a round of applause. As the game progressed, the fans in the section bought into the (peculiar yet oddly charming) act and supplied a smattering of claps.

Sheldon attends most Orioles home games. He has performed this routine for years. And, hey, maybe it’s a way to break the monotony of another mind-numbing season during Baltimore’s rebuild (though this weekend, of course, strayed far from the norm).

When the Orioles turned to reliever Richard Bleier in the eighth, Sheldon, donning an orange T-shirt over a button-down shirt, mixed in some humor.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please: Now pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, No. 48, Richard Bleier. And after tonight’s game, I’m gonna drink 88,000 beers.”

Indians fans had the same thought after watching the first two installments of the three-game series.

Let’s get to the musings following a muggy weekend near the harbor.

Nightmare on Eutaw Street
The 1999 Indians became the first team in nearly a half-century to score 1,000 runs, but the 1999 Texas Rangers might have been just as potent at the plate. They led the league in batting average (.293), slugging percentage (.479) and OPS (.840). They were an offensive juggernaut.

The 2019 Baltimore Orioles are an offensive jugger-not. Their position players entered the weekend series with a collective 0.4 WAR, the second-worst mark in the majors. They ranked 25th in batting average, 26th in on-base percentage and 27th in slugging percentage.

So, naturally, they became the first team in big-league history to shut out an opponent in consecutive games while scoring at least 13 runs in each contest. And the Indians surrendered 13 or more runs in back-to-back games for the first time since they ran into the Rangers’ booming bats in 1999.

Ah, but the Indians’ lineup might have accounted for the more embarrassing results. After all, the Orioles entered the series with a league-worst 6.00 ERA and -0.3 WAR from their pitchers.

Baseball never fails to laugh in the face of conventional wisdom.

The Indians were outscored 26-2 during the three-game set, which makes it seem remarkable that they even scratched across one win. Against the Orioles. Baltimore has amassed 71 wins since the start of the 2018 season, 65 fewer than the Indians and 85 fewer than the Astros.

Now, the pair of 13-0 drubbings still technically counts for only a couple of tallies in the loss column, as unsightly as they appeared. The only additional wear and tear could be to the bullpen, but Adam Plutko’s 93-pitch relief outing Friday, Mike Freeman’s pinch-pitching performance Saturday and some timely off-days have eased that burden anyway.

If anything, the weekend performance underscores how inconsistent the Indians are, how young the Indians are and how there remain some areas of the roster that seem ripe for upgrading. They didn’t lose any ground on the Twins over the weekend, as they remain eight games behind Minnesota in the AL Central pecking order. Still, no team heads to Camden Yards for a weekend set and prays to the heavens that it can escape the sweltering heat with one hard-fought victory.


(Mitchell Layton / Getty Images)
Hey, now, they’re All-Stars
The Indians soaked Carlos Santana with everything in sight following Sunday’s game.

“Just Santana,” Francisco Lindor said. “Santana’s the man around here.”

Santana, Lindor and Brad Hand will represent the Indians, who — at the moment — have more All-Stars than the AL Central-leading Twins.

Lindor has been an All-Star in each of his four full big-league seasons. This is Hand’s third consecutive All-Star nod. Both players were voted in by their peers. The Indians have had three or more representatives for four consecutive years. Prior to that, they hadn’t sent three players to the Midsummer Classic since 2007.

“I can’t wait to see Carlos start,” Lindor said. “I can’t wait. It’s his first time being an All-Star and being at home, it’s going to be a special two days for him. I can’t wait for the whole thing to unfold and see how the fans embrace Carlos and see Brad Hand close the game when we win. That’ll be even better.”

Related: Santana realizes his dream: An All-Star starter in his home park

Quote to note
“They beat the shit out of us. They hit better than us. They played better than us. They pitched better than us. And they managed better than me. This game will make you laugh sometimes. Sometimes, it’ll make you shake your head. Sometimes, it’ll about make you cry. You pick it up tomorrow and see if we do better.” — Terry Francona, after the Orioles bludgeoned the Indians, 13-0, for a second consecutive day

Final Thoughts
1. Shane Bieber’s two starts against the Orioles this season: 17 innings, eight hits allowed, no runs allowed, no walks, 26 strikeouts

Opponents have notched only eight hits in 57 at-bats against him.

Four of his five double-digit strikeout games have come this season.

Bieber’s strikeouts per nine innings:

2017: 8.4
2018: 8.7
2019: 11.5

Here’s a full list of the major-league starting pitchers with a higher strikeout rate in 2019:

Gerrit Cole
Chris Sale
Max Scherzer
Blake Snell
Robbie Ray

2. No, that wasn’t a knuckleball that Freeman fluttered at a deliberate 52.6 mph Saturday. The last time he was forced into pitching action, he was asked the same question. It was a curveball. During his second inning of work, Freeman convinced catcher Kevin Plawecki to call for some breaking balls. Freeman’s first attempt, which clocked in about half the speed of a Jordan Hicks heater, wound up striking Hanser Alberto’s bat while it was perched behind his head.

Foul ball. Strike. Quite the game plan.

After Freeman logged an inning in Seattle in 2017, someone compared him to knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

“I obviously don’t get compared to pitchers very often,” Freeman said, “but I’ll take the Tim Wakefield comp.”

Freeman also batted in between his two innings of work.

“This is the first time getting announced, ‘Now batting, the pitcher,’” he said, “so, yeah, that was interesting.”

3. Corey Kluber and Jefry Rodriguez have started to play catch, the first step of their throwing programs. Danny Salazar, meanwhile, started his 30-day minor-league rehab clock with an outing in Arizona on Sunday. He’ll transfer to another affiliate for his next outing this week.

4. Yu Chang’s parents watched his major-league debut during breakfast Saturday morning (Friday night in Baltimore). Chang said his family in Taiwan is 12 hours ahead. He went 0-for-4 in a brief assignment to replace José Ramírez, who welcomed a newborn daughter over the weekend.

5. Zach Plesac’s four pickoffs are tied for the major-league lead with Detroit’s Matthew Boyd. Six pitchers, including Plesac, have recorded at least three pickoffs this season. Plesac is the only right-hander, the only one with his back turned toward the runner at first base. He also has logged fewer innings than those other starters, including nearly 60 fewer than Boyd.

When the Indians promoted Plesac to the majors, Francona texted longtime reliever Dan Plesac, the rookie’s uncle.

“He said, ‘He’s got the quickest feet you’ve ever seen,’ ” Francona said. “I didn’t really even give it a thought. Part of it is because he’s his uncle. But he does, he’s got the quickest feet I’ve ever seen. His feet are so quick that it’s a weapon.”

(Top photo: Mark Goldman / Getty Images)

Thanks for sharing those Athletic articles, TFIR!

the weekend performance underscores how inconsistent the Indians are, how young the Indians are and how there remain some areas of the roster that seem ripe for upgrading

Inconsistent, for sure. Partly because they are:

Young, I don't think of them as young, but all OFs remaining are young, Bradley is young, Lindor is too but he barely counts. With Carrasco and Kluber out of action the rotation is pretty young too. I'm glad to see the team getting younger while staying competitive. Wholesale rebuild should not be necessary.

Roster upgrades: well, Clevinger will upgrade himself; Civale is available to upgrade 5th starter spot. Middle relief is always unpredictable. As noted the young OF/1B/DH club is projectible. Bradley will probably be back in AAA, but that is necessary for most young players on their way to success. If Jose Ramirez ever got back into his game the offense would be reliable again.

Youth, outside the 6 year Major League window, means nothing.

Before Free Agency, youth meant more years of performance for the club.

Free Agency, after 6 years of Major League service, means no club control whether you're 27 or 34, which are considered prime performance years.

Clubs just care about players performance during the time they're signed....too old...too young means nothing.

Danny Salazar, meanwhile, started his 30-day minor-league rehab clock with an outing in Arizona on Sunday. He’ll transfer to another affiliate for his next outing this week.

I wish he'd hurry up and get to his next setback!