27-year old righty starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez got off to a rough start for the Indians after coming over in a deal with the Rockies, but he’s finishing the year strongly.  In his last five starts, Jimenez is 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 9 games (all starts) overall with the Indians this year and he is 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  Jimenez has pitched in 30 games (all starts) overall this year for the Rockies & Indians and he is 10-11 with a 4.49 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  The Indians didn’t just trade for Jimenez for this year though as he is signed through 2012 with reasonable team options for the 2013 and 2014 season.  Jimenez has now pitched in 147 games (146 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 60-47 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.  The Indians were smart to make the deal with the Rockies because I have a feeling that Jimenez is going to rebound big time in 2012.

27-year old lefty starting pitcher David Huff has pitched well for the Indians so far this year.  He has pitched in 8 games (7 starts) for the Tribe this year and he is 2-4 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  Huff has now pitched in 46 games (45 starts) in his first three years with the Indians and he is 15-23 with a 5.41 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.  If he looks good in his last couple of starts in 2011, Huff could be in solid shape as far as making the starting rotation in 2012 due to Carlos Carrasco undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Fausto Carmona has been rock solid since coming off the D.L.  Carmona has pitched in 7 games (all starts) since July 18th and he is 2-2 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.  He has pitched in 25 games (all starts) overall for the Indians this year and he is 6-12 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.  The Indians really need Carmona to keep up the good work as they are starting to fade in the A.L. Central.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Masterson continues to roll for the Cleveland Indians.  He has pitched in 24 games (23 starts) for the Indians so far this year and he is 9-7 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  He has only given up 141 hits so far this year in his first 157 1/3 innings and he has whiffed 121 batters as he is missing a lot of bats.  Masterson has also tightened up his control big time as he has only walked 43 batters so far this year.  Masterson has now pitched in 69 games (62 starts) in his first three years with the Tribe and he is 16-27 with a 3.85 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  It’s starting to look like the Indians got the better end of the Victor Martinez deal with the Red Sox a few years ago.

The surprising Cleveland Indians are only going to have two players represent them in the All-Star Game next week. 25-year old switch-hitting Asdrubal Cabrera has been selected as a reserve as he lost the popularity contest with Derek Jeter despite having a much better season so far. Cabrera has played in 83 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 100 for 341 (.293 avg, .841 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 14 homers, 49 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. 26-year old righty closer Chris Perez has been solid this year for the Tribe. Perez has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Indians this year and he is 2-3 with 20 saves, a 2.30 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has only given up 22 hits in his first 31 1/3 innings this year, but he sometimes gets into a little trouble as he has walked 15 batters this year.