We’re looking down the barrel of the All-Star festivities and teams don’t have Super two deadlines and service time to worry about anymore. This is the time where teams make changes for the future and put the guys that deserve to be in important roles where they ultimately belong, most of the time. In this piece, we’ll discuss a few situations where managers may be forced into making changes in their rotations and what kind of confidence level we should have that each manager will make the right call. Let the fun begin!
Shane Bieber , Indians (Manager: Terry Francona)
The rich get richer. I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase a million times. The Indians calling up top prospect Shane Bieber after an injury to Carlos Carrasco was the best thing that’s happened to Cleveland this season. Now before we get into the reasons why Bieber WILL hold on to this spot, we have to mention that he is currently “battling” the much less talented Adam Plutko for the final spot when Cookie returns at some point this week. Manager Terry Francona has a long history of dealing with very good pitching staffs and doesn’t have any outstanding mistakes when handling young pitchers.
Much of Francona’s managerial career has been at the top of the standings so putting the best player on the field in order to win every single day is and has been of the utmost importance to good ole Tito. That’s why Shane Bieber is the one who holds on to this job and catapults this team into a deep playoff run. Bieber is a future top end starter, if he isn’t already. In 18.1 big league innings, Bieber has struck out a whopping 22 batters to only three walks and given up five earned runs, four of which came in his first start against a hot Twins offense.
Having only pitched in the organization since 2016, there isn’t a huge sample size to go off of. However, Bieber has gone 16-6 with a 2.20 ERA and a 255:18 K/BB ratio in his first 274 innings in his Indians minor league career. There’s no signs that Francona will hold him back, there’s nothing to discuss there. Where the uncertainty lies, if any, is how they feel about Adam Plutko . Taking a deeper look into Plutko uncovers an ERA over 5, a FIP over six and a half, a very subpar 17.3% K-rate and a low BABIP suggesting it could get even worse. There is no competition here despite the show that they’re putting on about it being a competition. Bieber is the guy to own now if he’s available in your league. I’m feeling a little warm, maybe even clammy. I think it’s Bieber fever!
Jonathan Loaisiga , Yankees (Manager: Aaron Boone)
Honestly, the kid is legit. Somewhat unheralded in his minor league career due to injuries, Loaisiga came on strong with the Yankees after being acquired from the Giants. At 23 years old his “prospect” status is still legit and he’s shown what he’s capable of in his first career start against the Rays. He has the arm talent to be a piece in the rotation, just not quite yet. He’s walked 30 batters in 157.1 professional innings and only has 133 punch outs. He’s going to need the high ground ball rates to sustain success at the big league level with that high walk rate. He has maintained that high ground ball rate and has shown a solid ability, despite a lack of experience, to limit damage from free passes.
Masahiro Tanaka pulled both hamstrings, yes both, running the bases in a game on June 8th . Aaron Boone has no history of dealing with situations like this and Loaisiga hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire like the aforementioned Shane Bieber . This plus the fact that Tanaka is scheduled to come back in two weeks should give us pause in regards to going all in on adding Loaisiga. While he may be a nice addition to the roster in September or if another injury presents itself, Loaisiga may not be able to stick in the rotation right now. A little more professional experience may not be the worst thing for him right now, it could make all the difference in the world for the Yankees come playoff time.
John Gant , Cardinals (Manager: Mike Matheny)
The Cardinals are a mess through and through right now. 10-12 in June, the Cardinals are dealing with pitching injuries, lack of impact from pitching coming off of injury and struggling mightily against right handed pitching this month with a 24.2% K-rate and a .709 OPS. Carlos Martínez is clearly not right giving up 15 runs in 16.2 innings and a 18:20 K/BB ratio in four starts since returning from the disabled list. After another injury to starter Michael Wacha , the Cardinals has to call up a pitcher to take his rotation spot.
Enter John Gant . Gant, 25, has competition in the system to replace him if he doesn’t pitch well so this could very well be a quick exit. Gant however is a polished pitcher at the minor league level and has posted a 1.65 ERA so far in Triple-A this season. He should be able to hold onto this role until Wacha returns and with Mike Matheny’s propensity to blow everybody’s mind with absurd roster decisions, you never know what could come of this situation. Matheny has proven to be consistently inconsistent in regards to roster decisions making this a very difficult situation to assess.
Gant is showing a strong ability to strike guys out (23.9% K-rate), has been rather unlucky (44.3% strand rate) and has a FIP nearly two runs lower than his ERA. From the looks of things right now, at this very moment, with Martinez struggling and Wacha suffering an oblique injury, It’s likely Gants job to lose. If he pitches well, and he has thus far, it could be his spot for at least a few weeks and upwards of a month or a month and a half. That’s certainly enough starts to get some worth from him if you’re in need of some starting pitching. Just pray Matheny doesn’t screw it up like he has with his closer situation. Let the young guys play, Mike!