Cleveland Indians Midseason Awards: Who Takes Home the Hardware?
Well, the first half of the season is officially over (though the 50 percent mark was more than a week ago). The All-Star Break is a good time to reflect on the first 89 games of the season before we look ahead to the trade deadline and the pennant race.
So I decided to hop on the bandwagon.
Without further ado, here are your Cleveland Indians first-half awards, as voted by the one-man democracy of the WBWAA (Wahoo Blues Writers Association of America).
Asdrubal Cabrera is the Indians' first-half MVP.
Most Valuable Player: Asdrubal Cabrera. Like this was even a choice. Among Indians with at least 200 PAs, Cabrera leads in homers (14), runs (55), RBI (51), steals (12), average (.293), slugging (.489), OPS (.836), wRC+ (137), WPA (102), and WAR (3.3). And he’s done it while playing shortstop. No doubt the All-Star starting shortstop has been our best player.
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How Many Wins, Strikeouts Will Indians Pitchers Get This Year?
This weekend marked the 81st game of the Cleveland Indians’ 2011 season, meaning that, if you’re not worried about things like changes in skill, luck, or playing time, you can just double each player’s counting stats to project what his numbers will be at the end of the season.
Yesterday, I offered these doubling projections for each Tribe position player. Today, we take a look at the pitchers.
Here’s how many wins, losses, saves, and the like that each hurler is on pace to accumulate over a full season:
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Why Josh Tomlin is More Dominant Than You Think
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Josh Tomlin is having a fine season.
When the 26-year-old right-hander won a rotation spot out of Spring Training, no one expected much from him. He was a decent young player but not much of a prospect. The best-case scenario for him seemed to be that of a slightly above-average innings eater.
Tomlin hasn’t been an ace in 2011, but he’s at least met expectations. After 13 starts, he’s 7-4 with a decent enough 4.14 ERA and an above-average xFIP (3.84). At 0.9 wins above replacement, he’s been the Tribe’s third-best pitcher.
But while Tomlin got praise at the start of the season when his ERA was lower, he hasn’t gotten much recognition of late. It’s not without reason—he’s pitched four consecutive not-quality starts and has an 8.61 ERA over that stretch—but a few bad games seem to have completely erased all the goodwill he’d earned at the beginning of the year.
However, a closer look at Tomlin’s numbers suggests the Indians could have a very special pitcher on their hands.
Tomlin isn’t an overpowering pitcher by any stretch of the imagination—his 5.0 K/9 rate ranks in the bottom 10 in the American League, and with an average speed of 87.4 mph his fastball is the ninth-slowest in baseball. At first glance, he seems like the latest in a long line of young Indians pitchers who reached the majors and discovered that they couldn’t strike anyone out.
What’s the difference between Tomlin and Mitch Talbot or David Huff? Otherworldly control. (more…)
Cleveland Indians Win 6-4, Complete Sweep of Seattle Mariners
The Cleveland Indians beat the Mariners, 6-4 on Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep in Seattle.
It was the seventh straight victory for the Tribe, who improved to 7-2 on the season to stay in first place in the AL Central. The Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals also won today, meaning the Indians’ division lead held at one game.
The Tribe jumped on Seattle starter Erik Bedard for six runs on 10 hits in four innings, including solo home runs from Asdrubal Cabrera and Jack Hannahan. Hannahan’s fourth-inning blast gave Cleveland a 6-0 lead.
Josh Tomlin got the win for the Indians after holding Seattle to three runs on three hits in 6.2 innings, striking out four and walking three. Chris Perez got his fourth save of the season, striking out one while retiring the Mariners 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth.
The Indians start a three-game series Monday night against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.
2011 Fantasy Preview: Which Cleveland Indians Pitchers Are Worth Drafting?
Yesterday, we took a look at the Cleveland Indians position players who could have fantasy relevance in 2011. Today, we turn our attention to the pitchers you should keep in mind when you head into the draft.
