Bieber, the pitcher, is a big hit for Lake County Captains

Every time he takes the mound, Shane Bieber demonstrates why radar guns measuring pitch speed tell only part of the story.

Bieber a 21-year-old right-hander from Southern California, was the Indians' fourth-round selection in the June 2016 draft out of the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Pre-draft scouting reports on Bieber said, in essence, he was an outstanding control pitcher who had to be precise because his fastball, sitting at 90 to 92 mph, wasn't overpowering enough to stamp him as a big-time, big-league prospect.

While that ultimately might prove to be the case, nothing that the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Bieber has done since he signed with the Indians for a $425,000 bonus suggests his pitch speed has any negative correlation to performance.

Advertisement

Making his professional debut last year with short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley, Bieber was 0-0 with a 0.38 ERA in eight starts. In 24 innings, he notched 21 strikeouts, issued only two walks and limited opponents to 10 hits, two runs (one earned) and a .122 batting average.

The lack of a won-loss record is due to the Indians' player development staff putting Bieber on a strict pitch limit after a junior season at UCSB that saw him work over 140 innings and win 14 games as the Gauchos advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Arizona in an elimination game.

Bieber had carried heavy loads as a freshman and sophomore at UCSB before earning first-team all-conference honors as a senior.

In two starts covering 10 1/3 innings for the Captains this season, Bieber hasn't missed a beat. He's 1-1 with a 2.53 ERA and 10 strikeouts against zero walks.

Against the Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts on April 14, Bieber in six innings surrendered one run on four hits with 11 strikeouts in the Captains' 5-2 victory.

"I see a young man who is very competitive, who has full awareness of his body and game situations," Captains pitching coach Jason Blanton said. "He commands the pace of the game and is very effective with a fastball-slider-change mix.

"He can throw the two-seam and four-seam (fastballs) to both sides of the plate and up and down in the strike zone to change the batter's eye level," Blanton added. "This is a very impressive young pitcher."

Bieber is an easygoing, unassuming sort who describes himself as "a laid-back guy from Southern California. He doesn't dispute the notion that his forte is control rather than sheer arm power.

"I had to be that way in high school because I wasn't overpowering by any means," Bieber said. "I had to command the ball to succeed. I carried that with me to college.

"As I matured physically in college, I was able to increase the velocity on my fastball and develop the slider and change-up," he added. "I learned from an early age to challenge hitters and make them earn it."

Bieber credits UCSB coach Andrew Checketts and pitching coach Matt Harvey with aiding his development as a pitcher good enough to be taken in the early rounds of the 2016 draft.

"I learned to be confident in myself and trust my teammates to make the plays behind me," he said. "My identity is still to pitch to contact, eat up innings and save the bullpen.

"I'm not opposed to getting strikeouts — if that's the way it's going, though," Bieber added, smiling. "I feel really confident on the mound now. I'm in a good spot physically and mentally."

Bieber's next scheduled start will be at West Michigan on April 20.

As for the matter of his last name, yes, it's spelled the same as that of pop-music star Justin Bieber.

The Bieber who pitches for the Captains laughed when asked how often he hears good-natured remarks about knowing or being related to the much shorter Bieber with the bad-boy reputation.

"All the time," he said. "I embrace it because I can't waste time worrying about what I can't control. I'm not an avid listener, but I will say his music has been a little better lately."

Let's block ads! (Why?)