The Cleveland Guardians have a pretty scary starting rotation as it is. It may just have gotten even more dangerous for opponents based on the performance Shane Bieber put on against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.
This was Bieber's first start of the spring and it certainly caught everyone's attention. He pitched 1.2 innings, issued three walks, recorded no strikeouts, and gave up two hits.
However, it's not the box score that we're looking at here. It's the radar gun that was lighting up with each one of Bieber's pitches.
There wasn't a video broadcast for the game, but those in attendance and the radio team noted Bieber's increase in velocity. He was consistently clocking in at 94 mph which is pretty impressive considering where that number has been and it being just the first start of the spring.
The 28-year-old has been criticized for his injury history and the decline in how hard he throws. His fastball velocity from 2022-23 has only sat at 91.3 which is going to jeopardize the efficiency of all his offspeed pitches.
This shouldn't come as a huge surprise to fans who have been paying close attention to Bieber's offseason workouts. He spent time with Driveline Baseball (a well-known data-driven player development program) and their results showed an uptick in the speed of his fastball.
Driveline calculated his fastball average to be 93.2 mph during his time with them and that has so far translated to in-game action.
The fastball velocity return could bring Bieber back to the pitcher he was when he won the 2020 Cy Young. Let's just hope it's sustainable throughout the regular season.
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