3 days ago
Guardians need one of their patented, dominant rotations, and they might soon have one
NEW YORK — People have been asking about the vaunted Cleveland pitching factory.
They've been wondering if it's still functioning, if grizzled coaches are still studying arm slots and crafting arsenals, if quarter zip-wearing data hounds are still clutching onto iPads that spit out spin rates and movement profiles. They've been concerned that the assembly line that, for years, churned out proficient big-league pitchers has ceased production. They've been worried that a once-buzzing workplace, the one envied by nearly every other team, has shuttered.
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On Wednesday night, Luis Ortiz absorbed a few celebratory pounds to the chest from third baseman José Ramírez, handed manager Stephen Vogt the baseball and retreated to the visitors' dugout at Yankee Stadium. Along his way, he raised his cap to acknowledge his wife and 16 other friends and family members in attendance.
He had completed another assignment in which his 98 mph heat zipped through the strike zone and his winding slider evaded bats. He took another step toward cementing himself as a force in a rotation that seems desperate to announce its presence.
This is no revelatory declaration, but the Guardians' best chance to reach the postseason is to ride a robust rotation through the summer, the sort of roster backbone the organization became known for, but has lacked in recent years. This group has flashed hints of a forthcoming breakout.
'It's there, for sure,' said Tanner Bibee, the anchor of Cleveland's rotation. 'Everyone sees it.'
A clicking rotation alleviates everything else.
'You can always win games (that way),' Bibee said.
It preserves a top-heavy bullpen that the club has been careful not to overwork. It makes life easier on an underperforming lineup and buys the team brass time to figure out the ideal nine.
So, do the Guardians have the horses to stampede their way to the postseason? They're certainly trending in the right direction.
April: 4.84 ERA, 27th in MLB
May: 3.60 ERA, 13th in MLB
June: 1.45 ERA (in an admittedly tiny sample size of three games)
Gavin Williams carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Angels on Sunday, as he stymied hitters with an array of looping curveballs and careening cutters. Bibee conquered the Yankees on Tuesday until he made two seventh-inning mistakes. Ortiz silenced the Yankees for 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday.
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Bibee was steaming after his start in the Bronx, which he admitted is a reflection of the lofty expectations he places upon himself.
'We've gone through one-third of the season,' he said, 'and I feel like a lot of us would say we have not pitched to the standard we hold ourselves to.'
Perhaps that's changing. Ortiz seems like the perfect test subject.
The Guardians acquired him in November, a classic case of the organization identifying a pitcher with traits they coveted, and others they thought they could enhance.
'I can't speak for other organizations,' said pitching coach Carl Willis, '(but) I think one of the things we do is we don't put guys in boxes. 'He's a right-hander. Here's his arsenal. Here's what he should do.' It's more of, 'This is how he moves. This is where his slot is.' (The key) is allowing the guy to be the best version of what he naturally does, with some adjustments, as opposed to trying to rebuild an entire building.
'They gain confidence in knowing the foundation is their way, but there may need to be a little bit of an adjustment somewhere along the chain that's going to help them be more efficient.'
In Ortiz's case, his whiff rate, strikeout rate and ground-ball rate have soared since joining the Guardians. By no means does he resemble a polished, finished product, but his outing on Wednesday could be the right blueprint to examine. He induced 14 whiffs, topped out at 99.1 mph and threw more sliders than any other pitch.
There were rocky days in spring training when Ortiz was yanked mid-inning and then returned to start the next. That carried into the regular season, but over his last five starts, Ortiz owns a 2.28 ERA. His walk rate remains a bit high — that's a fact for many of Cleveland's hurlers — but he has surrendered only two home runs in those five outings.
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He spearheaded Cleveland's first shutout at Yankee Stadium since Aug. 9, 2014, a game started by Corey Kluber, who was zooming to the finish line of his first Cy Young campaign.
Last season, the Guardians won in spite of their rotation. Outside of Bibee and Ben Lively — who underwent elbow reconstruction surgery on Wednesday in Dallas — the club didn't have much to cling to in its rotation. Carlos Carrasco finished third on the team in innings, Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie proved unreliable and Williams spent much of the season on the shelf. Remember when Spencer Howard started a game at Comerica Park? Yeah, that happened.
By the time the playoffs arrived, the Guardians were leaning on a couple of midsummer pickups in Matthew Boyd, Alex Cobb and Bibee, who even pitched on short rest. To advance to the ALCS, they squeezed every ounce of juice out of their top four relievers.
The formula could be different this year.
'It's been a really good few weeks,' Vogt said. … 'We're continuing to see these guys grow and learn and get better.'
That should also take some pressure off the guy in line to rejoin the rotation in a few weeks, a guy with a Cy Young Award in his living room and a guy who was a member of some of those vintage Cleveland rotations.
Shane Bieber, barring any setbacks, should be able to submit about a half-season's worth of starts, ample opportunity for him to shed any remaining rust following a 15-month gap between big-league outings. A healthy Bieber and a fully functioning Bibee, Williams and Ortiz would be formidable against any opposing lineup. It would also afford the team some flexibility (and depth) as Allen and Slade Cecconi attempt to prove up to the task, and with Joey Cantillo and Parker Messick waiting for their chance at Triple-A Columbus.
On top of that, sprinkle in a bit of Kluber's expertise in his new role as special assistant, and maybe the pitching factory will be humming again this summer.
(Top photo of Guardians starter Luis Ortiz pitching against the Yankees on Wednesday: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
