FanPost

Indians' Starting Rotation Competition Over

What started as tough competition for the final spot in the starting rotation has turned into almost a "no other choice" affair.

The Cleveland Indians entered Spring Training with Zach McAllister, Josh Tomlin, T.J. House and Danny Salazar competing for the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation. Barring injuries, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Gavin Floyd and Trevor Bauer were shoe-ins for the first four rotation slots.

After an injury and some struggles across the board, McAllister and House were named as the final two pitchers to the starting rotation. Similar to last year, Cleveland will employ the rotation of Kluber, Carrasco, Bauer, McAllister and House.

Did these starters really deserve to be named over the other guys? Here's a look at each pitcher's spring performance, showing just how the starting rotation essentially filled itself.

Floyd: Before donning an Indians' jersey, Floyd re-injured his right elbow stress fracture that sidelined him last year after nine starts with the Atlanta Braves. Floyd underwent surgery Tuesday, and no timetable has been established for his return. Expectations are that he will miss all, if not, the majority of the 2015 campaign.

McAllister: Zach McAllister is one of the few Cleveland starters who had a superb spring. His 3.32 ERA, .270 BAA and pitch control pleased the coaching staff, and he earned himself a spot in the starting rotation. The question remains if this performance can transfer over into the regular season. McAllister has never been anything special over the course of an entire season, and his career 4.38 ERA is nothing to swoon over. If he can pitch at a sub-4.00 ERA level, McAllister should be with the Tribe rotation all season long.

Tomlin: The Texan had an okay, bordering on mediocre, spring. Tomlin was hit hard, allowing two home runs and a .371 BAA in eight innings. Tomlin has never thrown hard, so hitting his spots is crucial, and he just wasn't able to consistently do that this spring. He'll start the year at Triple-A Columbus.

House: The southpaw's spring was great either. House allowed 16 runs and 26 hits in 23.2 innings pitched. But House shined in 19 appearances, including 18 starts for the Indians last year. His 3.35 ERA, 102 innings pitched and 80 strikeouts were crucial for Cleveland's late but ultimately futile playoff push. Assuming House can get fairly close to those numbers again, his spring troubles are easy to ignore.

Salazar: The young flame-thrower struggled throughout the spring. Salazar pitched 11 innings in four appearances, allowing 10 runs, 14 hits and five home runs. Opponents also hit .304 against Salazar. It wasn't just the fact that Salazar didn't have good numbers this spring. His control and consistency were still erratic at best, which have been his biggest issues in his early career. Francona decided it was best for him start the season in Columbus.

The starting rotation comes of little surprise the way Spring Training unfolded. Only time can tell if it was the right decision, or if these pitchers can turn their struggles around and thrive in the new season.

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