Each of the five hurlers traveled a twisting trail to reach this point. Now, the club boasts one of the best quintets in baseball. Few could have foreseen it 10 years ago.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It all started in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, about 10 years ago.
The Phillies' three-headed monster of Matt Maloney, Josh Outman and Carlos Carrasco -- a pair of left-handed 20-somethings and a 19-year-old wunderkind -- stymied opposing hitters. The A-ball BlueClaws captured the South Atlantic League championship.
"It was not fun," said Indians catcher Chris Gimenez, who played for Class A Lake County that year. "Not at all. And I swear, you never missed those three guys. Like, come on, really?
"It was like, 'Oh my god. Those three guys coming up together could be ridiculous.' Carrasco was the best one of all three."
Pitchers rarely follow a linear path to major-league prosperity. Maloney never stuck in the majors. Outman morphed into a nomadic reliever. Carrasco might have dazzled as a hard-throwing teenager (2.26 ERA, 103 hits allowed in 159 1/3 innings), but it required nearly a decade before the Indians -- not the Phillies -- ultimately reaped the benefits.
The rest of the Tribe's robust rotation shares a similar story. Each of the five hurlers traveled a twisting trail to reach this point. Now, the club boasts one of the best quintets in baseball. Few could have foreseen it 10 years ago.
'He's just a beast'
Mickey Callaway remembers the text he received nearly four years ago, sent to him by the Yankees' Double-A hitting coach.
"That guy is the best pitcher I've ever seen in the minor leagues," the message read. "He's just a beast."
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Cleveland.AP photo
In his first full season following Tommy John surgery, Salazar -- who signed with the Indians in 2006 -- posted a 2.57 ERA between High-A Carolina and Double-A Akron. He defeated Trenton, New York's affiliate, in the final round of the postseason, with nine strikeouts in six frames.
"We knew there was something special in there," said Callaway, the Tribe's pitching coach, who also oversaw him at Lake County in 2010. "You could tell. It was so easy. He was going to be something special if he put the work ethic together."
When he returned from his surgery, he overhauled his delivery. His velocity increased. His changeup -- which Gimenez says can "only be described as ridiculous" -- started to plunge toward the dirt with more conviction.
"We saw him blossom into almost a new pitcher after that rehab process," said general manager Mike Chernoff. "In some ways, it was an opportunity to change some of the flaws he otherwise had before that."
A year after Salazar's playoff performance for Akron, the Indians tabbed him to pitch the 2013 Wild Card Game.
Salazar flashes glimpse of future in WC game
The right-hander had made his big league debut that July. He disobeyed his alarm clock that morning and he arrived at the ballpark about an hour before first pitch. He almost literally rolled out of bed and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Salazar sputtered through a rocky 2014 campaign, though. He obsessed over his fear of being demoted to Triple-A. He bounced like a pinball between Columbus and Cleveland.
"I was putting too much pressure on myself," he said. "Every time I was going out there, I was telling myself, 'You have to pitch well. If you don't, they're going to send you down.' That was in my mind every single time. It was always there. Once they sent me down, I started realizing that's not the way I have to think."
His struggles persisted through spring training last year, which resulted in a season-opening stint in the minors. Salazar resurfaced in mid-April and didn't disappoint. His steady progress ever since culminated in his first trip to the All-Star Game earlier this month.
"Danny was more of a thrower at the start of his career," said second baseman Jason Kipnis. "He's turned into a great pitcher now. He was up at 100 [mph when he debuted]. Now, he's settled in right around 95-96 mph with more location and a better idea of what to do with the ball."
Salazar stands at 11-3 with an American League-leading 2.75 ERA.
"I thought I could have a really bright future if I was consistent and worked hard," Salazar said. "I'm doing everything that I need to do so I can make that happen."
'We nailed it'
The Indians' brain trust searched and searched, but they couldn't find Corey Kluber's name. They flipped through every page of Baseball America's handbook, but Kluber's moniker was absent.
"He wasn't in San Diego's, like, top 30 [prospects] when we traded for him," Chernoff said. "Our scouts did an incredible job finding a guy who had some undervalued attributes."
If nothing else, Kluber owned a gaudy strikeout rate. The Indians sent a pair of scouts to observe Kluber's outings with Double-A San Antonio in 2010 before the club agreed on a three-team trade that sent Jake Westbrook to St. Louis. Kluber called his parents and reported the news in typical, stoic fashion. Kluber's father, Jim, who grew up in Cleveland, was ecstatic.
Kluber's dad enjoying watching son pitch for hometown team
There was no guarantee, of course, that Kluber would ever reach the big leagues. In his first full season in the Indians' organization, Kluber went 7-11 with a 5.56 ERA at Triple-A.
"It wasn't like, just coming here, he was a Cy Young [contender]," Chernoff said. "Even when he came to the big leagues, he wasn't [that]. It took time to develop into that."
Kluber cemented his spot in the Tribe's rotation in 2013. A year later, he captured the AL Cy Young Award.
The Indians knew they had their anchor.
"Our scouts are that good," Chernoff joked. "We nailed it.
"[Kluber's] work, over time, paid off."
'Under the radar'
Josh Tomlin is the Indians' wily veteran, a member of the organization since the club made him a 19th-round draft choice in 2006. Tomlin debuted in 2010, when he squared off against former Indians hurler CC Sabathia at Progressive Field.
The day before, manager Manny Acta told Gimenez he would catch Tomlin's first start. The battery had previously worked together in the minors.
Added to the usual jitters a pitcher feels upon his debut, Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was sitting on 599 career home runs. Tomlin feared becoming the answer to a trivia question.
"You could see it start to spin in his head," Gimenez said.
Gimenez hatched an idea to ease Tomlin's nerves. When Rodriguez stepped into the batter's box, Gimenez -- listed at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds -- popped up from his crouched position, stood next to New York's slugger, comically flexed his muscles and stared at his pitcher. Suddenly, Rodriguez didn't seem so scary.
"After that, he cruised," Gimenez said, laughing. "I think it helped him."
Tomlin out-dueled Sabathia, as the righty limited the first-place Yankees to one run on three hits over seven innings. Rodriguez went hitless in four at-bats.
"He flew under the radar the whole way up," Chernoff said. "When he got to the big leagues, we saw how good of a competitor he is."
Cleveland Indians Josh Tomlin, pitching against the Detroit Tigers Cameron Maybin, first inning, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on July 6, 2016. Chuck Crow/PD
Such a performance has become the norm the last calendar year. Before that, Tomlin endured several injury-plagued seasons, marred by elbow and shoulder surgeries. For him, they were just additional hurdles to clear.
Tomlin has never broken the sound barrier with his fastball. Throughout his career, his average heater has checked in at about 88-89 mph. His pinpoint command sets him apart; the last two years, he has totaled 17 wins and only 20 walks.
"He slots in so well in this rotation because it's a change of pace," Gimenez said. "Would you rather face Tomlin, who could dot a gnat's [behind], or face Kluber, Salazar, Carrasco or [Trevor] Bauer? Take your pick. Good luck. I know some guys would probably take Tomlin, but he's 10-2 with a 3.34 ERA. That's a pretty tough guy to 'rather face.'"
The Stallion
When the Indians acquired Gimenez in early May, manager Terry Francona paired him with Bauer. It didn't take long for the union to develop into a quasi-permanent connection.
Bauer had earned a reputation of being quirky, difficult and stubborn. The Diamondbacks dealt him to Cleveland after they had a falling out with the young pitcher. The Indians, who owned the No. 8 selection in the 2011 amateur draft, had scouted Bauer, who ended up going to Arizona at No. 3.
"It gave us more comfort [when acquiring him] in knowing what his identity was," Chernoff said. "We got to know him, got to understand some of his routines. I think we felt comfortable with who he was."
Still, Bauer butted heads on occasion with Callaway and Francona. He flashed glimpses of greatness and, when struggling, he voiced his lack of pleasure with playing the game.
Bauer: Baseball is one, big science project
Gimenez approached him with a message meant to offer comfort.
"Listen," he told Bauer, "if you do things differently, why am I going to try to change you? Let's just make it work with what you do."
"Why would you change a stallion from being a stallion?" Gimenez said. "You get the most success out of somebody when you can allow them to be who they really are."
Bauer started the season in the bullpen, despite a strong spring and an unrelenting arm that he says could uncork upwards of 200 pitches in an outing if necessary.
"In the back of our minds, we saw it work with Carrasco," Chernoff said. "We thought maybe there was some way it would work with Trevor. We're always looking at two things: How do we win? How do we help players develop? I would be lying if I said there wasn't some component of that in there."
By the end of April, he had rejoined the rotation. He hasn't looked back. Bauer has compiled a 3.20 ERA in 15 outings, with a vastly improved hit rate, walk rate and home-run rate.
"I told him, 'I'm never going to take any of your pitches away from you,'" Gimenez said. "'You're going to throw what you're going to throw. I need you to be as confident as you can in what you're going to throw because ultimately that's going to make us both successful.'"
Last man standing
Chernoff rattled off the four names. Lou Marson served as a backup catcher for Cleveland for parts of five seasons. Jason Donald manned the infield for the Tribe for parts of three seasons. Jason Knapp, a hard-throwing teenager at the time the Indians traded Cliff Lee to Philadelphia, only made 13 starts for Cleveland's organization before his shoulder tapped out.
Carrasco was the fourth piece of the Indians' package, the last hope to squeeze anything out of the trade of a Cy Young winner. Tomlin recalled watching Carrasco pitch when the two were rookies in 2010. He said Carrasco reminded him of Felix Hernandez.
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco, pitching against the Seattle Mariners in the 1st inning at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on April 19, 2016.Chuck Crow/PD
"He had unbelievable stuff," Tomlin said. "The process for him was just figuring out who he was as a pitcher."
Carrasco missed the 2012 season because of Tommy John surgery. He struggled to find his footing in the rotation in 2013 and '14, so he relocated to the bullpen. Now, Carrasco sports a 2.31 ERA in 14 starts this year.
"Especially with any trade or draft pick that you have," Chernoff said, "you get impatient quickly and one of the keys to development is really putting the time in and letting it be on the player's time, not on your time."
None of the Indians' five starters took a direct path, but each lane converged at the same intersection. The group leads all AL rotations in ERA, WAR, FIP, walk rate, wins, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts.
"From day one, you knew what we had," said catcher Yan Gomes. "You didn't know it was going to be this good. Now, it's like everyone is where they're supposed to be and it's exciting."
Each of the five hurlers is either signed to a long-term deal or is under team control for the foreseeable future.
"Everybody has either figured it out or is on that upward trend," Gimenez said. "It could be scary for a while. You have five stoppers. You have five guys who can shut it down."
It took time to materialize. No one could have envisioned such a stout unit 10 years ago, when Carrasco was a BlueClaw, Tomlin was a 19th-round draft pick and Salazar was a 16-year-old unknown.
"Every day, we feel confident we're going to win because it's a different name that we trust that's on the mound," Kipnis said. "There's no lineup where it's like, 'Oh.'
"I feel like we're the favorite every single game. It's a nice feeling."
Cleveland's rotation: Best bargain in baseball