GOODYEAR, Ariz. – A fresh batch of observations from Guardians camp …
Shane Bieber started Cleveland’s season opener in 2020, nearly four months later than scheduled, thanks to the pandemic, in an eerily quiet, deserted ballpark, aside from players and coaches, a handful of reporters and some cardboard cutouts.
Bieber started on Opening Day in 2021, on a wintry afternoon in Detroit, where Miguel Cabrera slid into second base during his home run trot because he didn’t see, through the flurries, that the baseball had sailed over the fence. Bieber started on Opening Day in 2022, another snowy afternoon in Kansas City.
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And barring some unforeseen circumstance, he’ll again start on Opening Day in about three weeks, this time in Seattle, where the roof should turn away any precipitation.
Bieber will join Corey Kluber, Gaylord Perry, Bob Feller and Stan Coveleski as the only pitchers in the franchise’s 123-year history to make four straight Opening Day starts.
“It means the world,” he said. “Anytime you’re in the same sentence (with those pitchers) … it’s a great honor. It’s not something I take lightly.”
He’ll be the 10th Cleveland pitcher to make four Opening Day starts overall, joining Feller (seven), Coveleski (six), Bob Lemon (five), CC Sabathia (five), Perry (five), Charles Nagy, Willie Mitchell and Addie Joss.
Bieber breezed through three innings Saturday against the A’s in such an efficient manner that he threw more pitches in the bullpen after his outing. He’s the first Guardians starter to reach the three-inning mark this spring. After the game, manager Terry Francona used one of his favorite words to describe how Bieber looked: “crisp.”
Last year at this time, Bieber was putting his shoulder injury in the rearview and waiting for the lockout to end and for a hastened spring camp to begin.
“He’s such a perfectionist,” Francona said, “but it was probably later in the year (when) he was really feeling where he wasn’t thinking through things. He’s never going to make an excuse, but there was a lot going on there.”
And that makes Bieber appreciate even more the opportunity to take the ball on March 30 at T-Mobile Park.
“No matter what,” he said, “it’s not a thing that I’ll ever take for granted.”
The Guardians’ back-end relievers are working their way into Cactus League action this week. Emmanuel Clase made his spring debut with a scoreless frame on Monday and Nick Sandlin and Enyel De Los Santos will follow on Wednesday.
Clase has thrown up to 20 pitches in throwing sessions at the complex this spring, and won’t throw more than 25 in a Cactus League appearance. Granted, that limit might not be necessary, considering he never needed more than 23 pitches in an outing last season, and threw 15 or fewer in 60 of his 75 outings.
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So what can Clase improve upon in 2023, after he posted a 1.36 ERA and limited opponents to a .425 OPS last year?
“His stuff is more geared toward the bottom of the zone,” pitching coach Carl Willis said, “and last year we saw when he had that accidental pitch that got a little elevated to the top of the zone, hitters couldn’t handle it. So we’re trying to work on being able to throw that pitch with intent to elevate, not just accidentally, but at times to attack that area of the zone. That can help him. It’s a matter of if he can do it consistently.”
| Pitch | Velocity | Opponent AVG | Opponent SLG | Opponent whiff % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cutter | 99.5 mph | 0.189 | 0.245 | 22.5% |
Slider | 91.9 mph | 0.119 | 0.174 | 42.7% |
Clase induced more swings-and-misses on cutters up in the zone and on sliders down in the zone.
“Hitters are going to face him more and more and get a better idea of, if nothing else, where to look,” Willis said. “I think (elevating) could really help him.”
A team source simply laughed when asked if there’s an all-points bulletin delivered to every member of the organization whenever Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee are about to throw on a back field during spring training. (There is not.) But when the two highly regarded pitching prospects have taken the mound this spring, a crowd of coaches, coordinators and analysts have swarmed the field. It started with one of the early days in camp, when the two righties battled to toss the most first-pitch breaking balls for strikes. Friendly competition has fueled them, as they hail from the same draft class (2021) and have followed similar paths through the Guardians’ system.
Williams, 23, and Bibee, who turned 24 on Sunday, could each take a significant step forward this season, as they figure to head to Triple-A Columbus before long. That would, obviously, leave them one call from the majors.
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Williams has been pumping fastballs in the upper 90s this spring, to go along with his slider and curveball. Bibee sits in the 95 to 96 mph range, with a slider and changeup. Both are widely recognized as Top 100 prospects, with The Athletic’s Keith Law slotting them at No. 36 (Bibee) and No. 42 (Williams). They aren’t the only well-regarded Guardians pitching prospects who could make noise this season, either. Daniel Espino, who has perhaps the highest ceiling of the bunch with triple-digit fastball velocity and sterling secondary stuff, is dealing with a shoulder injury that will likely delay the start of his regular season a bit. Logan Allen is ranked on several Top 100 lists and is in big-league camp. Here’s a Q&A with Allen.
Do you pay attention to the prospect rankings, or to the composition of the roster now that you’re in big-league camp for the first time?
It’s definitely easy to let it be something you hear about and know about, but I try to leave that stuff for my family to enjoy. More so, I’m here trying to be around these guys and get used to this team and find my role so whenever the team needs me, I’m ready to help these guys win.
Last fall, the coaching staff’s message to you was to work toward being in the Guardians’ dugout in the fall of 2023, rather than in a player development meeting. What did that mean to you to hear that?
Exciting and encouraging to know that’s what the hope and plan is. It definitely gives me a sense of direction that that opportunity is there and I need to take every opportunity I have. Being (in major-league camp) is a great example of that. I’m trying to make a great impression on the coaches and see what I can learn from everybody.
How would you evaluate your 2022 season?
It was good. I think I hit a little bit of a roadblock when I got to Triple A, but I think that was more so the beginning of my time there. I think toward the end, I got settled in better and had outings more similar to what I was doing in Akron, when I had a little more success. It was definitely a good learning experience and gave me a lot of stuff to work on for the offseason. I think I’ve come back in a better place for the upcoming season.
What, specifically, did you learn?
The experience really matters a lot: facing those hitters, being around those guys, finding what I wasn’t doing well. More than anything, the experience definitely matters, especially being here and facing big-league hitters now, seeing guys you’re eventually going to face down the road, learning how to get guys out — that stuff will carry on for years. So it’s just trying to get that under the belt.
What’s the environment like with all of the well-regarded pitching prospects in the upper levels?
It’s awesome. It’s very competitive in-house, and I think it brings the best out of each other. You’re constantly competing with each other within (pitching) staffs to see who can be the best there. As a product of that, you have a lot of good outcomes on the field, and we as a unit and an organization have been able to grow and get better. Definitely a lot of healthy competition and it’s exciting for the future.
How closely do you monitor each others’ outings, whether you’re at the same level or at different affiliates?
You’re definitely always watching to see how everyone’s doing. You’re excited to see guys throw well. It’ll be exciting when we’re all in Cleveland together winning games.
Ignore Micah Pries’ age for a moment.
In two minor-league seasons, Pries owns a .277/.352/.491 slash line. He has stolen 34 bases in 39 attempts. Last year, he racked up 52 extra-base hits, one every 8.62 at-bats. For reference, George Valera also had 52 extra-base hits, but one every 9.31 at-bats. And that’s not a knock on Valera, who is four years younger than Pries and is widely considered a Top 100 prospect. There’s certainly more to a prospect’s profile than extra-base hits in Double A.
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But would Pries garner more attention if he hadn’t turned 25 last week? Several league scouts and front office members who were asked that question seem to think so.
Pries essentially lost two seasons — one to injury in 2019 after he was drafted and another in 2020, when the pandemic wiped out the minor-league season. Because of that, he debuted as a professional at the age of 23.
When Pries met with Francona and company for his pre-spring sit-down, he told the group he knew he was “under the radar.” Francona countered: “What radar? I know everything about you.” Dave Malpass, a special assistant to the front office, relayed his belief in Pries’ skill set, which Francona said is a valuable endorsement.
This spring, Pries has five hits in 16 at-bats. All five were for extra bases: two home runs, two doubles and a triple.
“He can play left, right, first,” Francona said. “He runs better than you think. He is interesting.”
Juan Brito, acquired from the Rockies for Nolan Jones in November, has more walks than strikeouts (109 to 107) as a professional. This spring, he has eight walks and one strikeout in 17 plate appearances. He walked on four pitches in the eighth inning on Sunday. For those keeping track, that’s a .588 on-base percentage. His plate discipline hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“For a young kid who’s 21,” Francona said, “he doesn’t swing at many bad pitches.”
Victor Rodriguez, Cleveland’s assistant hitting coach, thought defensive shifts were a thing of the past. Then, he saw how the Red Sox aligned their fielders when Joey Gallo stepped into the batter’s box during a recent Grapefruit League game.
Joey Gallo still seeing the shift. Red Sox with the two-deep outfield. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/bOwmeE0wWq
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) March 3, 2023
“I’m like, ‘I thought this was over!’” Rodriguez said, laughing. “It’s not over.”
Francona indicated the Guardians aren’t likely to follow suit. Teams can’t position an infielder in the outfield, but they can shift an outfielder to, say, short right field. The risk, of course, is asking the two other outfielders to cover far more ground.
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“Somebody from baseball ops asked me that,” Francona said. “He goes, ‘Well, have you thought about it?’ I go, ‘Well, do you want to see (Steven) Kwan in short right?’ He goes, ‘Not really.’ I said, ‘How about Oscar Gonzalez? Do you want to move (Myles) Straw out of center?’ He said no. I said, ‘Well, you just answered your question.’”
Rodriguez’s advice to hitters if they encounter such an arrangement: “Don’t change your swing, because that’s what they want. If you change your swing, you’re not going to be in a good position to do anything.”
Joe Smith has spent the past few days shadowing members of Cleveland’s coaching staff and the front office as he considers a future role in baseball. Smith, who turns 39 later this month, spent 15 seasons in the big leagues with eight different teams. His longest stop — well, two stops, technically — came in Cleveland, where he recorded a 2.80 ERA over six seasons. His 866 appearances rank 36th in major-league history.
Another familiar face: Brad Mills, Francona’s longtime friend, teammate and right-hand man in the dugout, will assist the coaching staff for nearly two weeks, beginning Wednesday. Mills stepped away in 2020 following a family tragedy. Among his annual spring training tasks as Francona’s bench coach was to operate the team’s pitcher fielding practice. So, in his honor, the pitchers will congregate on a back field to execute the drill upon his arrival.
Said Francona: “I texted him, ‘You better bring your “A game” because you’re going to get it the first day.’”
Related: The story of Beau Bear and the Mills family
The latest Francona folly: The man who broke off (and swallowed) a chunk of his tooth this spring while munching on undercooked pasta has now lost his car keys. Staff assistant Mike Barnett has served as his chauffeur. Francona said he spent 45 minutes searching his car and his hotel room over the weekend. Clubhouse attendants, told there would be a substantial reward for finding them, visited his place and came up empty, too. They searched bushes and combed through the grass and his laundry. One attendant drove two hours each way to Francona’s home in Tucson to retrieve his backup set.
(Top photo of Shane Bieber: Rick Scuteri / USA Today)
