Trevor Bauer Amazes in First Bullpen Session

May 1, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (47) throws a pitch during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during the game at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric P. Mull-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Bauer’s Improved Mechanics Excites Indians

There is no denying the obvious. Trevor Bauer was awful in 2013. We know it, the Indians know it, and even Bauer himself knows it. But after a winter of self-examination and renewed dedication, the 2014 version of Trevor Bauer might end up looking a lot like the pitcher the Indians expected.

As the key piece in a three team deal that saw the Indians part ways with Shin-Soo Choo, Trevor Bauer was expected to be their next great starting pitcher. He rewarded them with a 5.29 ERA and 8.5 BB/9 in 4 starts consisting of only 17 innings of work. Not exactly top-level prospect type of stuff. To be honest, between his less than spectacular performance, his ridiculous idiosyncrasies, and his pension for being a bit too talkative, a lot of folks had begun to lose faith in Bauer and his right arm.

However, the tide might be beginning to turn. After a winter spent working on his mechanics Bauer came to spring training ready to impress. Well, it would appear he has accomplished that task after only one bullpen session. Many walked away from the session feeling encouraged about what was to come from Bauer.

Terry Francona told Indians beat writer Jordan Bastian:

"“Night and day,” Francona said. “We’re thrilled. We’re not evaluating, but he looked different. I think we were really excited. Again, he hasn’t even faced a hitter yet, but he looked like a different pitcher, and that was nice to see.”"

Indians pitching coach and resident miracle worker, Mickey Callaway, also said:

"“Really, the main thing for him was to get back to what he was doing before,” Callaway said, “and getting in a good launch position with his lead arm. He’s getting it up and staying tall and getting that lead arm up so he can drive the ball down. It’s so he doesn’t spin off and do all those things that a low lead arm leads to.”"

From that statement, it is easy to see that Callaway is looking to take the same approach with Bauer that he took just a season ago with Ubaldo Jimenez. The process of turning around a pitcher who had struggled with command issues stemming from poor mechanics and an even worse approach.

With Jimenez, Callaway emphasized pounding the lower half of the zone above all else. In unison with Francona, the pair focused on quality over quantity with Jimenez. If that meant getting only four solid innings out of him, then so be it. The goal was to build confidence through a series of success, not to have him build up his confidence to only have it shattered because they attempted to stretch him an extra inning or two.

Say what you want about the process, but it worked. By the time the end of the season arrived, Jimenez was regularly pitching into the seventh or eighth inning and dominating opposing hitters like he did during his earlier days as a member of the Colorado Rockies.

Now with Bauer, the approach seems to be similar. They’ve made adjustments to his delivery in order to give him more leverage to get the ball down in the zone. That’s where they want him to live. And it makes sense. A lot less can happen when the ball is kept down in the zone.

Next up will be rebuilding Bauer’s confidence, something he has never really been short on, but had to have been rattled after last season’s poor performances. But with many things, sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before they can begin to improve. Trevor Bauer’s rock bottom came in a June 28th start against the White Sox. He surrendered five runs on six hits in only 0.2 of an inning pitched, mostly out of the stretch. It was at that moment that Bauer knew things had to change.

And change he did. Now Bauer appears poised to make a run at the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation. He’ll have some stiff competition against Josh Tomlin, Carlos Carrasco, and Shaun Marcum, but plenty of chances to make his case. If the Trevor Bauer who was consistently ranked as one of the top prospects in all of baseball re-emerges, then this competition might not be much of a competition in the end.