Another top prospect debuts with Cleveland

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It’s Tanner Bibee day.

For the first time since… well … Sunday, the Guardians will have one of their highly touted prospects make his Major League debut. This morning, the club announced that Bibee will start the series finale against the Rockies.

Bibee is the club’s fifth-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. In his first two starts in Triple-A Columbus, he held opponents scoreless through 11 innings with 15 strikeouts, three walks and just five hits. Last time out, he faced a little adversity, permitting three runs on three hits in 4 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and five walks. But now, he’ll look to bounce back in the Majors.

So, what’s there to know about the 24-year-old right-hander? Let’s take a peek at the scouting report.

Bibee has always been able to control the strike zone. He was more known for his pinpoint location than his stuff in college at Cal State Fullerton. When he was drafted by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, his fastball sat in the low 90s. But after the club decided to work with him for the rest of that calendar year, pushing back his professional debut until ’22, he morphed into a new pitcher.

Still with the same impressive command, Bibee’s fastball now sits in the upper 90s, averaging around 95 or 96 mph. This year, he’s already touched 99.4 mph in his second outing. And with a rotation that consists of arms that average in the low 90s with their fastballs, some velocity will be a welcomed change of pace.

When Bibee burst onto the scene last year, he posted a 2.59 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 13 walks in 59 innings in High-A Lake County. He then spent the rest of the year at Double-A Akron, pitching to a 1.83 ERA with 81 strikeouts and 14 walks in 73 2/3 innings while holding batters to a .194 average over 13 starts. He finished the season ranking sixth on the Minor League leaderboard in ERA (2.17) and K/BB ratio (6.2). His 0.97 WHIP ranked eighth.

While Bibee’s fastball has obviously become a weapon, his slider has also become a plus pitch since working with Cleveland’s pitching development team. In his first three starts this year, he’s induced 27 swings. Of those, more than half (15) resulted in whiffs.

Bibee has a slower curveball that he’s mixed in sparingly this season. His mid-80s changeup was difficult against left-handed hitters last season.

The stage is set for yet another young hurler to flourish. The Guardians have seen guys like Shane Bieber or Triston McKenzie thrive in the Majors in recent years. No. 8 prospect Logan Allen had an impressive debut on Sunday and now Bibee will have the chance to follow that lead against the Rockies.

The Guardians must figure out how they’ll continue their rotation after Wednesday’s series finale. Right now, they have six starters on their active roster. There’s no guarantee that Bibee will stick around for another outing. But after all the noise he’s made in the Minor Leagues over the last two years, he now has the opportunity to prove he deserves to.