The Cleveland Indians have made it official, Shane Bieber is their Opening Day starter.
Bieber will be Cleveland’s youngest Opening Day starter since C.C. Sabathia per Sarah Langs.
This appeared more likely than not to be the case once Mike Clevinger went down with an injury. Clevinger was the only other pitcher who could have been given the nod to start the opener and is no longer available leaving Bieber as the only option.
Now, let’s not downplay Shane Bieber and his pitching ability. The combo of Bieber and Clevinger is 1A and 1B. Whichever order they are in does not really matter, both are excellent pitchers and are clearly Cleveland’s best. At some point this season the duo of Bieber and Clevinger will help carry the Tribe’s pitching staff.
Bieber had a breakout season in 2019. Biebs went 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA and 1.054 WHIP in 214.1 innings pitched. This included 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Bieber struck out 259 batters while only walking 40 in his 34 appearances in 2019.
The Cleveland Indians are clearly in good hands with Shane Bieber starting Opening Day. The Tribe could get off on the right foot when they open the season at Progressive Field against the Detroit Tigers.
