At the speed at which the Cleveland Indians ride twice every fifth day, the tribe will fall behind five runs by the end of the second inning
Logan Allen was downgraded to the alternate location after another outing where he was shot early. Now Triston McKenzie is the newest pitcher to forget how two pitches. The earlier first-round pick failed to find the strike zone after a dominant first inning.
McKenzie went over the bases loaded in the second frame and provided Tim Anderson with a predictable Grand Slam during Cleveland’s 7-3 loss to Chicago on Saturday.
It’s really a miracle McKenzie made it to May as a staff member. Even Tito has admitted he doesn’t know how McKenzkie got away with some of the pitches he threw.
Now the Indians probably need another starter because McKenzie can’t be trusted to start another game. Even when he avoided a lot of damage, he only threw four innings because the Indians carefully monitor his pitch count.
Now Sam Hentges will be shot to start while Cal Quantrill will be another candidate to open on the bump.
All of this goes back to Adam Plutko, of course. Knowing that they had run out of options and wouldn’t make the club, the tribe basically passed it on to Baltimore (for cash).
Plutko doesn’t start in Baltmore, but he has appeared in 10 games and played in 15 innings. He has a 1.20 ERA. He has 10 strikes and four walks. McKenzie had four walks on Saturday.
In all fairness, we’ve been pampered in Cleveland for the past five to six years. The tribe routinely had one of the best sticks in the game as any starter could deliver a quality start or better.
Now the next generation gets a chance. Allen, McKenzie, Quantrill, and Hentges have high ceilings, but the tribe knew the pain would increase – and they feel it, at least in Allen and McKenzie.
The Indians were ahead of the curve in developing the pitching, so it’s surprising that they didn’t give Plutko a bit more time. I mean, Plutko didn’t have any options, and apparently that’s important for this club. That’s why Jake Bauers is on the team when he obviously shouldn’t be.
Plutko’s grandma didn’t send me a check to write this. He wouldn’t be a candidate for the Cy Young Award, but at least I think he would have added some stability to the rear end of the rotation that is currently badly lacking.
