When general manager Chris Antonetti acquired Trevor Bauer in last offseason’s Shin-Soo Choo trade, some — including me — heralded the right-hander as the present and future ace of the Cleveland rotation.
Clearly that did not go according to plan.
Bauer struggled from the get-go as he underwent a change to his pitching mechanics and brought the phrase “neuromuscular programming” into our lexicon. The right-hander pitched poorly during his brief callups in 2013, posting a 5.29 ERA, a 7.05 FIP, and 11:16 SO:BB in 17.0 innings. The results in the minors — a 4.15 ERA, a 5.08 FIP, and 106:73 SO:BB in 121.1 innings — did not inspire confidence either.
Considering that Bauer turns 23 years old later this month, I still think the right-hander has a very high upside. After all, he was a consensus top-10 prospect in all of baseball per Baseball America before 2012 and a consensus top-15 prospect in all of baseball per Baseball America before 2013. Bauer was IBI’s #2 prospect before 2013 — only behind Francisco Lindor — due to his three above-average pitches (fastball, curveball, and slider) and his proximity to the majors.
But that does not take away from how poorly Bauer pitched in 2013.
Last Saturday I wrote about Danny Salazar’s historic season. Bauer also had a historic season, though more in the infamous sense. Read More…
From Indians Baseball Insider, January 6, 2014
Jim Piascik 