Shane Bieber Stats: Injury Sidelines Cleveland Guardians Ace Since July
Young Pitchers Have Needed To Grow Up Quickly With Shane Bieber On the Injured List
Bieber Still Has Some Work to Do To Return to Action During the 2023 Season
This has not been a season to remember for Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber. When looking at the Shane Bieber stats, he could finish with a losing record for the first time since debuting with the Guardians in 2018.
Cleveland was competing for the American League Central Division title earlier this season. However, the Guardians are six games back of first-place Minnesota. When looking at the baseball scores, the Guardians have struggled on the road and are -14 in run differential, and that has led to a disappointing place in the MLB standings.
There have been rumblings that this could be the swan song for Cleveland manager Terry Francona. Bieber would have liked to have helped Francona leave with another playoff trip. Bieber is 1-1 in three career playoff starts.
The MLB predictions show that Cleveland had the best odds (+135) to win the American League Central Division. The odds to win the American League pennant have moved from +1200 to +15000.
A Lost Season For Bieber
Bieber’s numbers in his two starts in July were not impressive, with an 0-1 record and a 6.55 ERA. However, he gave the Guardians a chance to win both games.
Cleveland was 2-5 in the last seven games started by Bieber and lost 12 of the 19 games that he has started this season.
Since going on the injured list, the young Cleveland starters have been thrust into the spotlight.
Tanner Bibee is 10-3, while Logan Allen and Xzavion Curry have combined for nine more wins. Gavin Williams deserves a better fate than a 1-5 record based on his 3.52 ERA. He has more than a strikeout per inning.
That experience won’t push Cleveland into a playoff spot in 2023, but it could be invaluable in the future to give the Guardians plenty of options when it comes to starting pitching.
Quite The Steal
There were 19 players selected in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft who have pitched in the majors, and none of them have as many wins as Bieber, a fourth-round selection by Cleveland.
Bieber made his MLB debut two years after being drafted out of UCSB. When looking at Shane Bieber’s stats, he went 11-5 in 20 games (19 starts) with 118 strikeouts in 114.2 innings as a rookie.
Bieber won a career-high 15 games the following season and was 8-1 in just 12 starts in 2020, a season with a schedule impacted by the global pandemic. He won the American League Cy Young Award that season and came into this season tied for the fifth-best odds to win another Cy Young. He has finished in the top five in the Cy Young voting twice and won a gold glove for his fielding prowess.
Bieber is 59-32 with a 3.26 ERA in 132 games. He has 926 strikeouts in 820 innings.
Bieber has the most wins and the highest Wins Over Replacement number among pitchers selected in the draft. That group includes National League Cy Young Award candidates Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers.
What’s Next?
The baseball schedule shows that 12 of the first 16 games that Cleveland will play in September come against teams with winning records.
It starts with three games against the Tampa Bay Rays, followed by three matchups with the American League Central Division-leading Minnesota Twins. After four games versus the Los Angeles Angels, it is right back at it when Cleveland hits the road to meet up with a San Francisco Giants team that is competing for a wild-card spot in the National League.
Cleveland is still sitting in second place in the AL Central. The Detroit Tigers do have a chance to finish ahead of Cleveland, but it will take some work.
When Is He Returning?
It could be a while before Shane Bieber’s stats are changing.
Bieber has just started throwing from flat ground about a week ago. He has yet to resume pitching from a mound as he works his way back from an elbow injury.
That is the next step in his progression as he looks to come off the MLB injured list.
One thing to consider will be the pennant race. If Cleveland is so far out of contention when Bieber is cleared to pitch again, will the Guardians risk further injury to their ace in some meaningless games?
Cleveland ranks sixth in the majors in team ERA, and the ERA from the starting pitchers comes in 10th, seventh among teams from the American League so there is no need to rush Bieber back.
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