Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians: Breaking Down the Indians’ Rotation

Even without two of their better starting pitchers, Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco, the Cleveland Indians boast a solid rotation. But can it slow down the Toronto Blue Jays’ offence?

The Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians both swept their opponents during the ALDS and will now face off in the ALCS with a chance to go to the World Series on the line.

Powered by their rejuvenated offence, the Blue Jays crushed the Texas Rangers starters during the ALDS, while the Indians used their excellent pitching staff to make quick work of the Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays pitching staff also played well against Texas, but the return of Toronto’s high-powered offence was without question the main storyline.

Without Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland’s starting rotation isn’t as devastating as it could be. However, with Corey Kluber still on the mound, and their bullpen healthy, the Indians have one of the better pitching staffs in baseball.

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Can it slow down the Blue Jays offence? That’s the big question of this series. To help figure it out, here’s a breakdown of the Indians’ rotation.

The Skinny:

Entering this season, the Indians were seen as having one of the better starting rotations in baseball. However, with injuries to Salazar and Carrasco, the rotation goes from being elite to just above good.

The always excellent Kluber is still in the fold, but instead of deploying a lethal trio of Kluber, Salazar and Carrasco, the Indians will deploy Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin. There’s clearly a big difference between those two groups.

Bauer and Tomlin delivered against the Red Sox during the ALDS, so perhaps they could do the same against the Blue Jays? In a seven-game series the risk of Bauer or Tomlin having a bad outing is tough to be comfortable with. Until proven otherwise, though, manager Terry Francona doesn’t have much of a choice but to roll with these guys.

Here’s a brief breakdown of each starting pitcher on the Indians’ staff:

Corey Kluber

What more is there to say about the Klubot? He was lights out during Game 2 of the ALDS and he put together an outstanding 2016 campaign, compiling a 3.14 ERA and 227 strikeouts over 215 innings.

If he can replicate his ALDS performance, the Blue Jays will have their work cut out when the former AL Cy Young winner is on the mound.

Trevor Bauer

Placed in the rotation to replace Salazar or Carrasco, Bauer has struggled with his control over the years, but he put together an improved stat line in 2016, pitching in a career-high 190 innings while owning a 4.26 ERA and 168 strikeouts.

Consistency has always been a battle for Bauer, but he did just enough to slow down the Red Sox during the ALDS. He only lasted 4.2 innings and gave up three earned runs, but considering the bullpen behind him, the Indians need Bauer to just go out there and not lose the game.

Josh Tomlin

Like Bauer, Tomlin didn’t go deep into the game against the Red Sox, only throwing five innings, but he did just enough to hold the mighty Boston offence to two earned runs. Can he do the same against a high-powered Toronto offence?

Tomlin’s regular season was a tale of two halves, as he was fantastic during the first half of the year, boasting elite Cy Young worthy numbers, but it all fell apart during the second half of the season. His struggles could be due to fatigue, as he’s been much better since returning from a break in August.

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Tomlin was hit hard in two starts against the Blue Jays this year, though. In 10.1 innings, Tomlin posted a 6.10 ERA to go along with 16 hits, seven earned runs, four home runs, three walks and 13 strikeouts.

Mike Clevinger

Since the ALDS was a short series, the Indians were able to avoid using Mike Clevinger. The rookie right-hander is yet to throw a pitch in this postseason, but he will be called upon to start Game 4 in Toronto on Tuesday.

In 53 innings of work this year, Clevinger owns a 5.26 ERA to go along with 50 strikeouts. His numbers won’t scare anyone, but the former fourth-round pick does throw a 97 mph fastball with movement, as well as an above average slider.

Asking Clevinger to go out and shut down an offence like the Blue Jays is a daunting task for any pitcher, let alone a rookie, but the 25-year-old righty does have the right stuff to be an effective weapon in the rotation or out of the bullpen.

* * *

Again, with the absence of Salazar and Carrasco, you could easily argue that the Blue Jays own the better rotation in this series. But considering how well Cleveland has played over the last month of the season, without both of those elite arms, I wouldn’t rule them out of any seven-game series.

Also, when you look at how the Indians’ offence just took down a solid Red Sox rotation that featured Rick Porcello and David Price, the Blue Jays rotation needs to be careful with this pesky Cleveland lineup.

Overall, the Indians rotation will be anchored by Kluber during the ALCS, but they will need a quality performance, or two, from the likes of Bauer or Tomlin if they want to defeat the Blue Jays.

Next: Could Blue Jays Bring Back Both Encarnacion and Bautista?

What are your thoughts on the Cleveland rotation? Let us know in the comments below.