Cleveland Indians

Fausto Carmona / RHP / starter

Carmona keeps it simple. He uses his hard sinking fastball to get quick outs. The velocity and movement of this pitch makes it tough for batters to make solid contact. Fausto has a deceptive, sinking changeup that he can get Ks with, or induce weak groundballs. His third pitch is a slider that looks fairly standard. Throughout his career, Carmona has struggled with command of his sinker, as it has a tendency to get considerable running action to his arm side. 5/17/11

[sinker(90-95), changeup(83-87), slider(84-90)]



Ubaldo Jimenez / RHP / starter

Jimenez has electric stuff, starting with a heavy, moving, mid to upper-90s fastball. He'll mix in a big breaking power curve which can touch the low 80's, particularly early in the game. This is a true swing and miss pitch if he can get it near the strike zone. Jimenez has improved his slider, and now uses plenty of these tight spinners in the upper-80s. He also owns two different off-speed pitches, a sinking changeup and a splitter. The changeup gets good sinking action, but isn't used nearly enough. Jimenez seems to save the splitter for strikeout situations. He has a good pitcher's frame, but has suffered from injuries (broken shoulder blade, blisters), control problems, and plain inconsistency. 6/7/11

[fastball(88-99), curve(72-81), slider(80-87), changeup(83-86), splitter(84-89)]

Chris Perez / RHP / closer

All-Star closer, Chris Perez, throws a very hard fastball and sharp slider. He has been closing games since his college days at Miami. 7/28/11

[fastball(94-96), slider(82-86)]

Justin Masterson / RHP / starter

Masterson's delivery has often been compared to Dennis Eckersley. He slings the ball to the plate from a very low arm angle, creating a lot of movement on his fastball. Masterson's fastball has become so effective, with dramatic sinking action, that it's often the only pitch he needs. Justin famously threw 103 sinkers, out of 104 pitches, in his July 19, 2011 start against Minnesota. He'll also vary the speed on the sinker, which presumably messes with a batter's timing. Masterson's second pitch is his sweeping slider and he'll rarely use his third pitch, the changeup.

Masterson is the first pitcher born in Jamaica to reach the majors. He was a closer for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League, and finished his NCAA career as a starting pitcher at San Diego State. After signing with the Red Sox in 2006, he made his major league debut just two years later. Since being traded for Victor Martinez, Masterson is expected to be a valuable part of the Cleveland rotation for years to come. 10/22/11

[sinker(88-96), slider(78-83), changeup(83)]

Vinnie Pestano / RHP / setup reliever

Pestano hails from southern California, where he grew up and played high school baseball. He even played his college baseball at Cal State Fullerton. Pestano served as the Titans' closer for two years before the Cleveland Indians called his name in the 20th round of the 2006 amateur draft.

Vinnie throws with a long, sweeping arm action that whips the ball to home plate. His 4-seamer has a tendency to cut when thrown to his glove side, but run toward his arm side. The fastball sits in the low-90s, but hitters have a difficult time squaring it up. Pestano primarily uses his fastball, relentlessly pounding the strike zone with it. As a second pitch, Pestano uses a slurvy breaking ball that he will often backdoor LHs with. I call it a slurve, but it gets sharp break to go along with its good depth. Vinnie has not shown me an offspeed pitch. 1/20/12 CSJ

[4-seam fastball(91-94), slurve(79-82)]

Derek Lowe / RHP / starter

D-Lowe is an example of the classic sinkerballer that announcers love to talk about. He spots his sinker low in the zone or in the dirt to get groundballs. Lowe will also use a slider to either side of the plate in an attempt to surprise hitters into taking it for a strike. Derek likes to backdoor the slider to LHs often. Lowe also owns a changeup that he brought into prominence in 2010. The changeup is only a few mph slower than his fastball, but it gets significantly greater sink. Lowe has also brought back his old cutter in recent years, and will try a few per game in order to keep LHs guessing. 5/14/11

[sinker(86-91), slider(78-83), changeup(81-85), cutter(84-87)]

Rafael Perez / LHP / reliever

Perez is a strange case. He doesn't appear to have much of a repertoire, but he has produced excellent numbers at every level of pro ball. His fastball is usually around 88-90 mph and appears to get some natural cut. This natural cut, inside towards RHs, may be the reason he is so effective against them. The Dominican left-hander's second pitch is a slider, which gets good break. He will bury the slider into the ankles of RHs or even backdoor them. Perez has a changeup that was very rarely used, but after a 2009 season that saw his ERA jump to 7.31, he's been mixing in more changeups than ever before. 8/12/11

[fastball(88-91), slider(83-87), changeup(84-85)]

Dan Wheeler / RHP / reliever

Wheeler has never had dominant velocity, but is still able to produce as a setup man every year. He has a 90 mph moving fastball and mixes in lots of breaking balls. He's currently throwing a slider around 83 mph that gets some lateral movement. Dan is also throwing a curveball in the upper-70s that gets more drop. The former Met, Astro, and Ray will occasionally mix in split-fingers to LHs, a pitch that can drop under bats. In the past, Wheeler experimented with cutters and changeups, and might still try anything at any time. Despite his success, Wheeler is hittable and prone to allowing the long ball. 5/27/11

[fastball(86-91), slider(81-86), curve(75-79), splitter(80-84), changeup, cutter]

Joe Smith / RHP / reliever

Joe Smith, the sidearming reliever from Wright State, throws three pitches. He shows a fastball that tails and sinks, a sweeping slider, and occasionally a sinking changeup. 7/28/11

[sidearm fastball(87-93), slider(77-85), changeup(79-83)]

Josh Tomlin / RHP / starter

Tomlin is a strike-throwing right-hander from Texas Tech University. Josh was an unheralded draft pick because of his 90 mph fastball, but he has proven to be an efficient hurler at each of his professional stops.

Tomlin short-arms his fastball out of a high 3/4 arm slot, spotting it well. He then works in plenty of tight cutters, both inside to LHs and away from RHs. A true junk-baller, Tomlin also throws plenty of changeups and curves as well. With his excellent control of the strikezone, Tomlin can honestly say that he'll throw any pitch at any time. 8/12/11

[2-seam fastball(87-92), cutter(86-89), curve(69-77), changeup(78-83), slider(83-85)]

Robinson Tejeda / RHP / reliever

Tejeda has a live arm, but average control and awful secondary pitches. His slider is very flat at times, basically just spinning up to the plate. His changeup cuts and he pulls it towards his glove side often. He has been given many chances to succeed, but unless he dramatically improves his changeup or slider, it doesn't look like he ever will. 6/6/10 CSJ

[fastball(92-97), changeup(82-85), slider(83-86)]

Chris Ray / RHP / reliever

Chris Ray's delivery offers the batter a look at all kinds of flying arms and kicking legs. Then a low to mid-90s fastball explodes out of his hand, usually with good sinking action. Ray's slider can be a very effective pitch when he locates it to his glove side of the plate. Against LHs, Ray will also try mixing in his changeup, a pitch that can duck under bats when kept down. Chris pitched collegiately at William and Mary in Virginia. 6/9/11

[fastball(91-95), slider(83-87), changeup(84-86)]

Justin Germano / RHP / reliever

Germano is a strike-thrower and an innings filler. His stuff is unexceptional to say the least. He'll use a moving fastball, sinking changeup, and high-arcing curveball. 5/17/11

[fastball(87-90), curve(73), changeup(82-83)]

Jeremy Accardo / RHP / reliever

Accardo is a four-pitch reliever. He currently prefers to use his moving 2-seamer and sliding cutter as his primary weapons. The 2-seamer bores in on RHs, while the cutter does the same to LHs. Accardo's bread and butter used to be his split-finger pitch that dives under bats. Now it appears that he uses it only as a kill pitch to LHs. Against RHs, Jeremy prefers his slider for strike three.

Accardo has had a crazy career path. He was undrafted out of Illinois State, signed with the Giants, saved 30 games for the Blue Jays in 2007, and has since become an injury risk and had a tough time sticking in the big leagues. 5/15/11

[2-seam fastball(90-94), cutter(88-92), splitter(83-86), slider(83-85)]

Kevin Slowey / RHP / starter

Slowey mixes a moving 2-seamer with two breaking pitches. He rarely touches 90 mph, but he pounds the corners of the plate with his fastball. Slowey is short on "stuff" and his slider appears flat. Slowey also shows a sinking changeup and rolling curveball. Kevin pitched collegiately for Winthrop University. 9/16/11

[fastball(87-90), curve(73-76), slider(79-82), changeup(80-82)]

Frank Herrmann / RHP / reliever

[fastball(93-95), slider(83-86)]

Mitch Talbot / RHP / starter

[cutter(87-91), fastball(87-93), changeup(78-81), slider(82-87)]