The Cleveland Indians have had a youth movement in the lineup for the last few weeks, with young players like infielders Andres Gimenez and Owen Miller getting consistent playing time in the field and at the plate.
The same cannot be said for the bullpen, however.
For the fourth time this September, the Indians used both Bryan Shaw, 33, and Blake Parker, 36, in relief in their 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins, dropping the Tribe to 68-68 on the season with 26 game remaining in the 2021 season.
Having recently sent down young reliever James Karinchak, the bullpen, which looked dominant early in the season, has looked susceptible as of late, but, given the fact that the team does not look likely to make the postseason, it seems reasonable to see what you have from players in other in-game roles.
One example is young pitcher J.C. Mejia. He made his debut in the big leagues on May 21st against the Minnesota Twins and struckout five batters in 2 ⅓ innings while only allowing one hit. In fact, in his first three appearances with the club, he pitched five innings and struck out seven and didn’t walk a single batter. He went on to struggle as a starter, with a 9.78 ERA and allowing 46 earned runs in 42 ⅓ innings in 11 starts.
Mejia, 24, is someone who could intrigue as a potential relief option, especially since he struggled quite a bit with left-handed batters, allowing 9 of the 11 home runs he surrendered to lefties in 2021. He could be used as a solid arm out of the bullpen going forward, but due to his recent stretch and use of some of the older arms on the roster like Parker or Shaw, Mejia is almost out of options (his next one will be his last) and the club will be forced to make a decision when he may or may not be ready.
Other pitchers like Justin Garza and Trevor Stephan have gotten some play out of the pen, which is a good step for the club, but given the position that the club is in, paired with the future of the bullpen, now is the perfect time to let the young pitchers, like Mejia and Eli Morgan, show what they can do heading into 2022.
Guess who’s back, back again…
Indians starting pitcher was activated off the injured list on Tuesday and made his first start since June 21st.
If you thought that the 26-year-old right hander had any rust coming back, you were mistaken as the Indians starter had six strikeouts in 4 ⅔ innings, while only allowing one run on three hits and one walk.
“[He pitched] pretty good actually,” Indians interim manager DeMarlo Hale said about Civale following the loss on Tuesday night. “I saw him mix his pitches very well. He had a number of strikeouts on a number of his pitches, from his fastball … to his curveball, as well. I thought he was pretty good.”
Control over all of his pitches was something that Civale and the club focused on following the game, as he told reporters, “That was a huge focus of the rehab starts. We had three rehab starts so just getting the feel back for everything, but to be able to go out there and execute in a major league setting is definitely a question mark going into it. I feel comfortable going into it, but you never know when you’re taking that next step, so it’s definitely good to build off that.”
Civale will look to build upon his team leading 10 wins down the stretch with the team and springboard himself into 2022.
Offensive inconsistencies…
In any sport, teams will have their ups and downs, but especially in baseball with a 162 game season. Tie in a team that’s bringing along plenty of young talent on the roster? Yeah, there’s DEFINITELY going to be some struggles.
The Indians, following a series where the club scored 19 runs in three games in Boston against the Red Sox, left 11 runners on base on Tuesday night, including a couple spots where slugger Franmil Reyes was unable to plate any runs with runners in scoring position.
This does come with the territory of giving the young players run out in the field. Timely hitting and consistency are going to be a struggle, especially for players like infielder Owen Miller.
Miller, 24, struggled mightily early on in his time in Cleveland, and, as a result, has batted .193 on the season. His last 15 games, however, he has hit his stride, batting .286 with two home runs in that span. Infielder Andres Gimenez is another who has batted .286 in that span, while batting .207 on the season.
In many cases, players can be overwhelmed and dip into a slump. Sometimes it can linger with a prospect, and for teams like the Indians, who need these prospects to play well immediately due to expectations or subpar play from some signings, these can hinder the play of these guys when they make it to the big leagues.
Much like the relievers mentioned earlier, there will be growing pains with them, but if there is patience given to the players along with time, especially in a season where the team is not in contention, the fruits can start to show soon enough.
What’s next?
The Indians will take on the Twins at Progressive Field on Wednesday night at 6:10pm. On the bump for the Tribe will be the young right-hander Triston McKenzie (4-5, 4.62). McKenzie will be facing off against fellow right-hander Joe Ryan (0-1, 5.40) for the Twins.
The Cleveland Indians, still utilizing older relievers like Blake Parker and Bryan Shaw, need to fully embrace the youth movement and give more opportunities to younger relievers as the season quickly comes to a close.
