Cleveland Sports Forum

Tito who knows something about baseball, says that Morgan's stuff plays really well once through the order but on a second look hitters can do better timing his changeup. Therefore he likes him as a 2 to3 inning reliever, which is a useful role. And not as a starter.

Good point though I now see a slider added - I suppose adding pitches is his next step.

Are the Cleveland Guardians who we thought they were?
by Chris Slocombe10 hours ago Follow @chrisslocombe


Now that we’ve crossed over the unofficial Memorial Day checkpoint of the season, are the Cleveland Guardians the team we all pretty much expected them to be?

We’ve finally made it to the unofficial start of summer. Memorial Day has come and gone, and we are past the 40-game mark (aka quarterway mark) of the MLB season. Oh, and by the way, the Cleveland Guardians are floating around .500.

Okay, so not great, but also not bad. This got me to thinking, though, which sometimes can be bad, but I swear in this instance it’s good.

Over the past two weeks, there have been similar pieces written, but Jim Ingraham – formally of the Lake County News-Herald and Elyria Telegraph and now writing for Forbes Sports – put out a great piece on this year’s squad. The headline: “The Cleveland Guardians Are More Interesting Than Good, But That Could Change.”

Then this statistic started floating around: The average age of batters in the Triple-A International League is 26.5 years old, while the average age for pitchers is 27.2 years old. The Guardians’ averages are 26.2 for batters, and 26.6 for pitchers. Yes, you read that correctly – our squad is younger than the average International League team.


A Look at the Guardians Pitching Staff
The starting pitching appears to be regaining its form in the past few weeks as well. That is so key for this team. We all thought the rotation would carry the Guardians, and early in the season there were some things that led to a lot of concern. Maybe it was the shortened spring training, maybe it was the less-than-ideal weather, maybe it was a little of both.

And while we’re talking about the starting pitching, can we just pause for a second and take a quick glance at the pipeline (some of whom we have seen a bit of already):

Eli Morgan, Konnor Pilkington, Peyton Battenfield, Tobias Meyers, Daniel Espino (#2 prospect – ETA 2023), Gavin Williams (#7 prospect – ETA 2024), Logan T. Allen (#8 prospect – ETA 2022), and Tanner Burns (#11 prospect – ETA 2023). Now, there’s a good chance a few of these guys get moved in a trade, end up in the bullpen, or simply don’t live up to expectations, but wow, this is truly an embarrassment of riches (at least on paper).

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the current bullpen construction as well, as it’s really taking shape. Closer Emmanuel Clase, Trevor Stephan, Nick Sandlin, Sam Hentges, Enyel De Los Santos, and the aforementioned Morgan are seamlessly falling into roles and filling them nicely. Sure, some may move to different roles at some point, but for the time being, they are all contributing and the future is looking bright there. The numbers speak for themselves, as the bullpen currently has the fifth-best ERA in all of the majors.

How About the Guardians Offense?
We knew some of the core position players before the season started, but dare I suggest that more are starting to come into focus? First, the no-brainers: José Ramírez, Franmil Reyes (DH is a stretch but whatever), and Myles Straw. Josh Naylor was a borderline candidate heading into the season, and not to get ahead of myself, but he should be a strong candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. There are also cases to be made for Owen Miller, Andrés Giménez, and Steven Kwan. It’s only been a handful of games, but Oscar Gonzalez is sure fun too, huh?

Maybe we see the likes of Gabriel Arias, Nolan Jones, Tyler Freeman, and Bryan Lavastida again before the season ends. Then again, maybe one or two of these guys gets dealt as part of a package for a proven bat.

One last thing, too. Words cannot do enough justice to convey how ecstatic we should all be that Ramírez is in Cleveland for the long haul. I know we have covered it extensively here on the site, but it bears repeating: the man is the heart and soul of this team. He’s this era’s Victor Martinez, Jim Thome, or Brook Jacoby. He will be beloved forever and ever by this fan base, and one day, the team will build a statue in his honor (maybe even while he’s still playing), and it will be glorious.

So, to wrap up my thoughts, maybe this team isn’t 100% where we want them to be right now. But we have plenty of summer left, so get on board, it’s going to be fun! There are a lot of questions, but like we’ve been saying all along, we’re going to get plenty of answers here this season too.

I'd like to see better defense; are any of the guys stars in the field besides Straw? and more base stealing -- 28 total ranks 8th; 80% success means they're being smart about it.

Interesting that I see we lead in triples
And that despite Reyes we are last in strikeouts by a large margin, which means the rest of the team is extremely hard to fan [as we know about Kwan and Ramirez for starters]

Don't forget excelling with runners in scoring position and with 2 outs. Those 2 stats cover a lot of other weaknesses.

Gimenez at SS is turning into a wonderful glove. And we know JRam is a fielder. As well it looks to me Naylor is much more comfortable than other options at 1B and has the potential to be quite good there.

And of course Clement is a wizard at 3B, SS or 2B.

Owen Miller is a stopgap at 2B and we know the list that may end up there.

One last thing, too. Words cannot do enough justice to convey how ecstatic we should all be that Ramírez is in Cleveland for the long haul. I know we have covered it extensively here on the site, but it bears repeating: the man is the heart and soul of this team. He’s this era’s Victor Martinez, Jim Thome, or Brook Jacoby. He will be beloved forever and ever by this fan base, and one day, the team will build a statue in his honor (maybe even while he’s still playing), and it will be glorious.

I envision a Jose statue of him running and the helmet flying off!!!!!!

I envision a Jose statue of him running and the helmet flying off!!!!!! With that wild hair flying in all directions! That will be neat.

The very definition of "playing as if your hair is on fire".

COULD PLESAC BE ON THE RISE?

Mandy Bell

It's no secret that there was concern growing about Zach Plesac. His first two seasons were stellar with Cleveland, especially the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He wasn’t as dominant last year and struggled to find any consistency through the early weeks of this season. But on Monday against the Royals, he looked like himself again. But most importantly, he felt like himself again.

The first three starts of the season were solid. He was building his pitch count after a shortened spring and allowed three earned runs in 17 2/3 innings. But that’s when the concern that his velocity was about two miles per hour slower than he’s been used to took over.

“I’ve put in a lot of work,” Plesac said. “I was kind of concerned about the velocity, so you know we started to feel different things to get to the point where we were getting our velo instead of just trusting it and I started to get away from my own rhythm and my own -- really just who I am and so the past couple of weeks it’s just been important to get into a really good position that I can execute pitches better and I think [on Monday] we executed really well.”

Plesac is an emotional player, whether he’s celebrating the good moments or beating himself up over the bad. Through these ups and downs it’s been mentioned that the key to getting him back on the right path will be trying to stay more even-keeled on the mound. But that’s not as easy as it sounds.

“In big moments, you show emotion, right?” Plesac said. “And then in moments when things don't go your way, you're supposed to not show any emotion. So it's a challenge. For me in this game, I put everything I have into this. I sacrifice so much and I work so hard. Not to make this about me, but in those moments, everything means so much.

“I get to pitch and play baseball every five days. So whenever I get to take the mound, it's like 10 percent of my season, if you think about it. So in those situations, when things aren't going my way, I gotta be composed; that's very important. And when things are going my way, I show excited emotions to build some momentum for our team, and that is definitely something .”

Last time out, Plesac’s velocity was up at least 1 mph on each of his offerings and even though he allowed a homer for the sixth consecutive start, that was his only blemish of the evening.

 
Zach Plesac's diving catch
REMEMBER THAT PLAY?



Not many pitchers play defense like Plesac. No pitchers play defense like Plesac does against the Royals.

Remember back in 2019 at Kauffman Stadium when the then-rookie raced off the mound and made a Superman-like diving catch in foul territory? It’ll be hard to ever top that play, but Plesac tried against Kansas City on Monday.

Andrew Benintendi chopped a slow dribbler between first base and the pitcher’s mound. Plesac was somehow able to dive from behind the ball on the infield grass, secure the ball and get to his knees to make an easy flip to first base for the out.

“I'm out there having fun,” Plesac said. “I was telling the trainers I'm like a dog salivating at the park. If a ball comes my way, I need to get it. It's fun, just fun.”


 

Guardians’ Myles Straw provides stability in center field with his defensive prowess

Apr 28, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Myles Straw (7) makes a diving catch off a ball hit by Los Angeles Angels right fielder Taylor Ward (3) in the first inning of the game at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
By Jason Lloyd
Jun 8, 2022

Myles Straw grew up in Florida, and as a result, loves ocean fishing. It’s his proclivity to get seasick, however, that typically keeps him off the water and firmly planted on land. But when one of the largest fishing shows in the world asked him to film an episode during the COVID-19 pandemic, Straw couldn’t refuse.

Michael Brantley, who is close to Straw from their baseball days together in Houston, was scheduled to join him for the Florida Keys excursion, but Brantley’s entire family fell ill before filming so he was a late cancellation. Straw battled the waves all on his own.

“In the bay where we launched out, it was calm as day,” Straw said. “Then we go out around the lagoon and I see these swells and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ I think I was going to throw up regardless. I saw it and was like ‘Here it comes.’ And it was only 15 minutes into the trip.”

Straw vomited at least 15 times during the first day of filming. He took Dramamine and even skipped breakfast knowing his history. It didn’t matter. Straw was on the water from 6:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. and he spent most of that time slung over the side of the boat while trying to hide from the microphones and drone cameras floating overhead.

“I texted (Brantley) the whole day like, ‘Bro, I hate you. This is your fault,’ ” Straw said. “I wanted to tie a weight and send myself down to the bottom. It was bad. It was a long day.”

Straw, 27, hasn’t endured many bad days since arriving in Cleveland, but filming “Into the Blue” for the Discovery Channel certainly counts as one of them. Otherwise, he signed a five-year deal at the start of the season with two club options that could keep him in Cleveland through 2028. He bought a house in the suburbs and plans to raise his 2-year-old daughter here. It’s already starting to feel like home.

“We love it here,” he said.

Straw is a throwback type of leadoff man, a slap hitter with speed who can be disruptive on the base paths (he ranks among the league leaders in stolen bases). But that isn’t what appealed to the Guardians.

Straw leads the league in defensive runs saved, and while there are enough variables involved with defensive metrics that Guardians manager Terry Francona acknowledged he doesn’t pay much attention to a lot of them, his eyes tell him Straw is excellent in center field. When you hit it to center and Straw is there, you’re out, Francona often says. That’s what appealed most to the Guardians when they brought him over from the Astros at the trade deadline last year.

Straw was buried in Houston behind guys like Jake Meyers, Chas McCormick and Jose Siri, and the Astros were looking for another reliever for a postseason run. So Phil Maton and minor-league catcher Yainer Diaz were off to Houston and Straw arrived with the center-field job before he even unpacked.

The Guardians have struggled to develop outfielders within their minor-league system. The hope is that could soon change with players like Steven Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez and George Valera either in Cleveland now or getting close. None of them play center, however, and after it became clear Oscar Mercado and Bradley Zimmer weren’t the answer, Cleveland again had to go outside the organization for a starting outfielder. Deciphering who should play in the corners becomes a bit easier with center now secure.

Straw leads all of baseball in outfield assists with eight, which is a bit surprising given his small stature. The Astros liked his arm enough that they tried him at shortstop a couple of years ago with hardly any reps — he didn’t even know the angles or the cuts the first time he played there in the minors. After only a couple of weeks in the minors, the Astros recalled him when Carlos Correa was injured in 2019.

Francona believes it isn’t so much arm strength as it is the way Straw positions himself on throws. The eight assists are a career high, eclipsing his six from last year.

“He gets behind the ball so well and he gets himself in throwing position so well,” Francona said. “You’ll see some guys maybe with stronger arms in the league who don’t lead the league (in assists) because guys don’t run. But Myles does a really good job of getting behind the ball and getting himself in throwing position and he’s very accurate.”

As for fishing, Straw tried asking out on the second day of filming, but the hosts begged him to return. Straw showed up and Day 2 went smoother than the first.

By doing the show, Straw has an open invitation to go out again with hosts Steve Rodger and Scott Walker, whenever he’s back in Florida — if he has the stomach for it.

Morgan emerging as secret weapon in 'pen


@MandyBell02


CLEVELAND -- It’s hard to know exactly how a starting pitcher will handle a transition to the bullpen, but Guardians manager Terry Francona was confident from the beginning of the season that Eli Morgan would become the team’s secret weapon.

We’re two months into the season and Morgan is arguably the Guardians’ most reliable arm in the bullpen. His perfect eighth inning on Tuesday afternoon helped Cleveland take a 6-3 victory in the first game of the doubleheader against the Rangers at Progressive Field, before his team lost in the nightcap, 6-3. And once again, Morgan was untouchable.

Sometimes it takes a move to the bullpen for starters to find their groove, and when the Guardians didn’t have an open spot in the rotation for Morgan to start the year, he was forced to try his new role. We witnessed a similar situation last season with Cal Quantrill, who thrived in relief after opening the year in the ‘pen. But somehow, Morgan may be enjoying the transition even more.

“I kind of was joking around with Eli the other day,” said Quantrill, who gave up three runs on eight hits and one walk in seven strong innings in Game 1. “That's how I figured out how to get big league hitters out, too. … Sometimes it takes going out to the ‘pen and just figuring out yourself and what it is that gets big league hitters out. I think what Eli is doing right now is both maintainable and fantastic.”

Morgan has allowed just one run over his past 17 innings (0.53 ERA), allowing just four hits and two walks with 21 strikeouts in 11 games since the beginning of May. Entering Tuesday, his 21 strikeouts since May 1 were tied for the third most by a reliever in the American League. He’s already advanced from being an arm that’s used in blowouts or strictly in long relief to a go-to guy in crucial situations, as he picked up his fifth consecutive hold following with his scoreless eighth inning against the Rangers.

“It doesn’t matter whether he’s starting or relieving,” Guardians bullpen coach Brian Sweeney said. “He knows what his strengths are. He knows what he has to do when he gets on the mound. He’s adjusted really well to the bullpen, and it’s pretty cool to see the success he’s having.”

So how did Morgan go from a rookie with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP to a lights-out reliever? The move to the bullpen was more than just a change of scenery.

Allowing Morgan to be used in a different role frees him up to attack hitters in a completely different way. Because his workload is lighter, he’s seen his average fastball velocity tick up from 90.5 mph to 91.7 mph. That’s far from overpowering, but it’s his changeup that makes 91 mph somehow look a lot faster.

Morgan entered Tuesday averaging 75.5 mph on his change. That 16.2 mph difference in velocity between those two offerings has made it ridiculously challenging for hitters to figure out. Ninety pitchers have thrown at least 90 fastballs and 90 changeups this year. None of them has a difference in velocity as drastic as Morgan’s, with San Diego’s Nick Martinez having the next-closest difference at 13 mph (93 mph heater, 80 mph changeup).

“Everyone on the opposition is always aware of the changeup and when it's coming,” Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis said. “That makes it difficult because he has so much separation in speeds with the changeup and the fastball. … He makes them swing the bat, and his stuff is Major League stuff.”

700 Club: Rain can't steal Bieber's thunder
June 9th, 2022


@MandyBell02



CLEVELAND -- On the heels of a doubleheader, all Guardians ace Shane Bieber was focused on was eating up as many innings as possible to save his bullpen from taking on extra workloads. But Mother Nature was ready to make his job even more difficult.

Back and forth conversations with MLB regarding the status of Wednesday night’s game led to a 15-minute delay to start the series finale against the Rangers. It was then determined that it was best to play as many innings as possible before a large batch of rain would inevitably force a lengthy delay, despite the Guardians' hopes to avoid this scenario since Bieber would be limited to however many innings the weather would allow. But Cleveland was able to make the best of it, coming away with a 4-0 victory to bring its record back to .500.

Here’s what we learned about the Guardians on a soggy Wednesday night.

Bieber can still dominate
His velocity has been down all season. He took much longer to settle in on the rubber than we’ve witnessed in the past few years. But Bieber has been able to show us over the last handful of outings that he’s still … well, Bieber. And once again, he found himself in the record books.

With a strikeout of Mitch Garver in the fourth, Bieber recorded his 700th career strikeout. It took him just 93 games. That’s the second fastest to reach that milestone in the Majors since at least 1901, trailing just Yu Darvish (87 games) and tied with Dwight Gooden and Tim Lincecum. Bieber surpassed Sam McDowell as the fastest to reach the mark in club history.

“I thought he was terrific,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “Unfortunately, he couldn't keep going, which was frustrating because he was really good. Really good.”

Bieber permitted just three hits with six strikeouts in his 4 1/3 frames before the rain forced him off the field just two outs away from the contest becoming an official game. He couldn’t help but express his frustration, knowing that he wanted to pitch more innings (considering he only threw 54 pitches) to save his ‘pen and to continue the groove he found himself in. But all of that was out of his control.

“It's important to me to be able to go out there and give my best effort for as long as I can,” Bieber said. “To not be able to eat up innings was a little bit frustrating but you know, it's a team game and the guys picked up big time.”

By the way that "average 91.7 fastball" includes the full season stats. His last 2-3 outings were above that.

Last few days Tito was able to give Sandlin and Stephan some work in low pressure situations; they didnt' do all that well, but the opprotunity was worthwhile
Set up men now are Morgan and Hentges with de los Santos and Shaw covering earlier innings.
Gose has not really established himself yet; he's the last men in the pen

I know anyone can read this in the Plain Dealer but posting it here because it summarizes what the plan was and how it is working out.

Method to Guardians’ madness coming into sight: The week in baseball
Published: Jun. 11, 2022, 9:58 a.m.
Cleveland Guardians vs. Oakland Athletics, June 9, 2022
Guardians first baseman-second baseman Owen Miller.John Kuntz, cleveland.com



By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When the Guardians added 11 players to the 40-man roster in November, it raised questions.

When they did virtually nothing on the free agent or trade market over the winter to improve a team that finished 80-82 in 2021, the questions turned to concern.

When they said that after failing to acquire a specific group of players through free agency or trades, that they were going to “create opportunities for our younger players,” eyes rolled from Mentor to Seven Hills. Instead of signing the latest versions of Eddie Rosario and Cesar Hernandez, they were going to dip into the farm system.


This was a dog-and-pony show we’d seen before. It was going to be another bargain-basement team on a bargain-basement payroll. The only difference was that they’d be called the Guardians instead of the Indians.

“People thought we were crazy,” said Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations.

After Friday’s 3-2 walk-off win over the A’s at Progressive Field, the Guardians are 28-26, three games behind the Twins in the AL Central. It’s much too early to think wild card, but if you did check those standings, the Guardians were trailing Boston by a half-game for the third spot.


As for the opportunities they’ve created for their young players -- many who were added to the 40-man roster for the first time in November -- they have become MLB’s version of the Statue of Liberty. Everyone is welcomed.

Eight players have already made their big-league debuts this year. Most of them are still on the 26-man roster. Other first and second year players are close to becoming fixtures in the lineup and bullpen.

Names to remember:

*2B Andres Gimenez: He’s hitting .303 (46-for-152) with seven homers, 31 RBI and a .861 OPS. Whether it’s at second or short, it looks like he’s going to be playing in the middle of the diamond for the G’s for a long time.

*1B-2B Owen Miller: He’s cooled after hitting .400 (20-for-50) in April, but he’s become a solid presence in the cleanup spot.


*OF Steven Kwan: Like Miller, Kwan had a great April, hitting .354 (17-for-48) followed by a poor May (.173). He’s hitting well again in June and went into Saturday’s game against the A’s hitting .270 (40-for-148) overall with 22 runs and a .366 onbase percentage.

*UT Ernie Clement: Usually the utility man on a team has a little more experience than Clement, but manager Terry Francona has confidence that he can play almost anywhere on the diamond with good results.

*RF Oscar Gonzalez: This was a player the Guardians didn’t add to the 40-man roster. In fact, they let him become a minor league free agent last year after he hit 31 homers in the minors. The Guardians caught a break when he re-signed with them and the Rule 5 Draft was canceled because of the lockout.

He almost surely would have been drafted by another team and he wouldn’t be hitting .393 (22-for-56) with six RBI and a .922 OPS for Cleveland as he is today.


*OF Richie Palacios: He’s hitting .291 (16-for-55) and has done a nice job in a pinch-hitting role.

*RHP Eli Morgan: The converted starter is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 16 games as a reliever. He’s struck out 34 and walked four in 27 2/3 innings.

*RHP Emmanuel Clase: Sure Clase saved 24 games last year, but he’s still only 24. This year he has a 1.93 ERA and has converted 10 saves in 12 chances.

*LHP Sam Hentges: Like Morgan, Hentges made his big-league debut last year. He seems to have found home in the pen as opposed to starting as well. He’s posted a 0.96 ERA in 18 games with 22 strikeouts and four walks. The opposition is hitting .129 against him.

*RHP Trevor Stephan: Last year’s Rule 5 pick from the Yankees has become a solid part of the bullpen. He did not allow a run in April, but got knocked around in May. He has not allowed a run in three appearances in June.

*RHP Nick Sandlin: He’s 4-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 16 games. He made his big-league debut last year. The opposition is hitting .172 against him, but Sandlin has walked 16 and struck out 10.

The Guardians rank fourth in batting average and sixth in runs in the American League. They have scored more runs than Tampa Bay, Seattle, Houston and the White Sox. One of the reasons is that they’ve struck out the fewest times in the AL.

“We have a lot of guys who constantly have great at-bats,” said catcher Luke Maile, who drove in the winning run Friday with a sacrifice fly. “When you have to face that type of a lineup three, four and sometimes five times, eventually it’s going to catch up to you.”

The bulllpen has gone 14-7 with the third best ERA in the AL at 2.83. They lead the league with a .192 batting average against.


The one missing piece is the thing that has carried Cleveland for the last several years -- the starting rotation. The starters are 14-19 with a 4.11 ERA. They’ve been better of late, going 4-2 with a 3.81 ERA in June, but it’s still a work in progress.

Seldom does a team have all three elements -- offense, rotation and bullpen -- pulling in the same direction at one time. For now the young Guardians will take two out of three.