The Cleveland Indians are the envy of much of Major League Baseball because of its pitching. Not just the performance of the club’s starting rotation, August’s struggles notwithstanding, but because it is young, talented, cheap, and under control for seasons to come.
There is a reason the Tribe has balked at trading the likes of Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco, or Danny Salazar in recent years, despite occasional fan outcry. The market for starting pitching has become astronomically expensive, and the three names just mentioned are all under team control until at least 2021 at reasonable cost.
Cleveland farm system is also stocked with talent, with some 13 potential starters landing in MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 organizational prospects.