28-year old righty Justin Masterson and 25-year old righty Zach McAllister are leading the way in the starting rotation for the Cleveland Indians.  The rest of the rotation has been an utter disaster for the Tribe, so they need the M&M boys to continue pitching well.  Masterson has been a beast for the Tribe, as he has started 5 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  He has given up 25 hits and he has walked 13 batters while whiffing 30 batters in his first 34 innings this year, which is impressive.  McAllister has pitched in 4 games (all starts) for the Indians so far this year and he is 1-3 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.  He has given up 22 hits and 8 walks while whiffing 20 batters in his first 23 innings this year, so he has looked good too.

The starting rotation is the key to the success of the Cleveland Indians and the early returns look good for the most part.  28-year old Justin Masterson and 29-year old Ubaldo Jimenez both looked sharp for the Tribe the first time around against a good hitting Blue Jays’ team.  Masterson is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP and Jimenez is 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP so far this year.  32-year old righty Brett Myers pitched B.P. for the Indians last night against the Blue Jays.  He is 0-1 with a 12.60 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP.  He gave up a stunning 4 homers in his five innings last night.  I think Myers will be o.k. as he just ran into a buzzsaw last night.  Overall, I’m encouraged by the Indians starting pitching so far this year.  I hope that continues this weekend against the Rays in Tampa.

26-year old righty reliever Esmil Rogers looks like a different pitcher so far for the Indians.  He has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Tribe so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP.  He has only given up 6 hits and 1 walk in his first 11 1/3 innings while whiffing 15 batters for the Indians and that is pretty darn impressive.  The Indians have him trusting his stuff.  He has now pitched in 32 games (0 starts) overall this year for the Rockies & Indians and he is 0-2 with a 6.08 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Masterson is looking good in June for the Cleveland Indians.  He has pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Indians so far in June and he is 1-2 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.  He has improved his control, walking only 6 batters in 20 innings so far this month and that has led to him turning things around.  Masterson has pitched in 14 games (all starts) for the Indians so far this year and he is 3-6 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  He has walked 40 batters in his first 88 1/3 innings this year, and his lack of control has led to problems so far this year.  But, it’s looking like he is back to throwing strikes with his outstanding stuff and the Tribe needs him to keep pitching that way.

26-year old righty closer Chris Perez has been rock solid for the Indians so far this year.  He has pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the Tribe so far this year and he is 0-1 with 20 saves, a 2.59 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP.  He has only given up 18 hits and 7 walks in 24 1/3 innings this year for the Indians, while whiffing 22 batters….and those are some pretty good numbers.  The fans have already forgiven Perez for calling them out, or so it seems.  Perez has now pitched in 185 games (0 starts) for the Indians in his first four years with the team and he is 6-11 with 80 saves, a 2.84 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  He is already #5 in Indians’ history in saves with 80 of them.  The Indians stole Perez from the Cardinals on June 27th, 2009 in a deal for Mark DeRosa.