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Shane Bieber 2024 Player Outlook: Where Did The Punchouts Go?
11 months agoCleveland Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber enjoyed a 2023 season that would satisfy most big-league pitchers. But Shane Bieber isn't like most pitchers. He dealt with injuries and was limited to just 21 starts while working to a 3.80 ERA in that time. He had posted an ERA of 3.28 or better, including a 1.63 mark in winning the AL Cy Young Award in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, each season from 2019-2022. Most shocking was the plummeting of his strikeout rate all the way to 20.1%, good for 93rd of 127 pitchers who threw at least 100 innings in 2023. It was his third straight season of declining strikeout rates from his eye-popping 41.1% clip in 2020. As a result, Bieber's ADP has slipped all the way to 174.59 while Rotoballer has him ranked 172nd overall and 49th among starting pitchers. He still boasts above-average control and run-prevention skills, such as limiting home runs. If the strikeouts can bounce back, he is a steal at his prevailing ADP.
