Shane Bieber

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Cleveland Guardians #5 prospect in 2018
  Bieber took over as UC Santa Barbara's ace in 2016 and led the Gauchos to their first-ever appearance in the College World Series. He made a smooth transition to the minor leagues and excelled in his first full professional season, reaching Double-A Akron almost exactly a year after his pro debut. Bieber came into pro ball with a reputation as relying more on his command than his stuff to succeed. He has continued to show above-average control as a professional and his 0.5 walks per nine innings in 2017 led all full-season minor leaguers. He's one of those rare players whose control and command are big league ready from day one. But Bieber is starting to outgrow the command-and-control label, as his stuff made a jump in 2017. His fastball, which sat around 90 mph at UCSB, now sits 92-94 and touched 96 mph. His curveball got sharper and more consistent, developing into his best secondary pitch. He also throws a slider and changeup, which both can be average offerings. He has a clean, easy delivery and has shown he can handle a heavy workload–his 173.1 innings led all minor leaguers in 2017. Bieber made one of the biggest jumps in 2017 of any player in the Indians' system and now profiles as a potential mid-rotation starter. He will advance to Triple-A Columbus in 2018 and could pitch his way into the big league mix.
• 
  Ranked Cleveland Guardians #21 prospect in 2017
  Bieber succeeded Dillon Tate as UC Santa Barbara's ace in 2016 and led the Gauchos to their first-ever appearance in the College World Series. After the Indians made him a fourth-round pick they limited his workload at short-season Mahoning Valley due to the length of his college season, but he dominated hitters in the New York-Penn League. Bieber does not have overpowering stuff and relies instead on his command and understanding of his craft. His fastball sits around 90 mph, and he can locate it to all four quadrants of the zone, while his slider and changeup give him a pair of average secondary offerings. His stuff all plays up thanks to his above-average control. Bieber repeats his clean, easy delivery and averaged 1.1 walks per nine innings during his college career. He is comparable to fellow Indians prospect Adam Plutko, who also hails from Southern California. Bieber is advanced enough to handle an assignment to high Class A Lynchburg to start 2017 and could move quickly up in the minor leagues.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #184 prospect in 2016 draft
  Bieber thrived as the No. 3 starter in 2015 for the Gauchos behind No. 4 overall pick Dillon Tate (Rangers) and fifth-rounder Justin Jacome (Marlins), then shifted into the Friday ace role as a junior. Bieber doesn't have ace stuff but he does have premium control, having ranked in the top 15 in the country the last two seasons with 1.05 BB/9 IP over more than 200 innings. He thrives at locating his 88-92 mph fastball (that more typically sits at 89-90), which he commands well for a college pitcher. He can pitch up and down with it and then mix in his fringe-average breaking ball, more of a slider than a curve. His too-firm low-80s changeup also earns fringe-average grades but plays up thanks to his fastball command and pitchability. Bieber pitches with tempo and aggressiveness belying his fringy stuff, competes well and has shown durability. Bieber has one of the cleanest, most repeatable deliveries of any pitcher in the college class. His lack of a present plus pitch limits him to a back-of-the-rotation ceiling.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked International League #13 prospect in 2018
  Bieber’s elite control has long been legendary, and his progressive adding of velocity took him up a notch. After sitting in the upper 80s to low 90s most of his career, Bieber began sitting 92-93 mph and touching 96 this season. With that velocity boost came a dominant run through the IL and a June promotion to Cleveland, where he settled in as the Indians’ fifth starter. Bieber’s pinpoint control was the best in the minors and has been one of the best in the majors. He struck out 77 and walked seven between Double-A and Triple-A, and in the majors he struck out 104 and walked 19 in his first 17 starts. That ability to pound the strike zone with an enhanced fastball and above-average slider is Bieber’s foundation. Lefties hit him very well though (.308/.362/.542 in the majors) and needs to significantly improve his changeup to have more success against them.

• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  The system’s breakout star of 2017 picked up right where he left off. After a strong start to the season in the minor leagues, he made his big-league debut on his 23rd birthday and has continued to succeed in Cleveland. He’s still pitching with plus control in the big leagues and missing bats, traits that helped him quickly slide into the Indians’ rotation.
• December, 2017 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Bieber took over as UC Santa Barbara's ace in 2016 and led the Gauchos to their first appearance in the College World Series. He made a smooth transition to pro ball and excelled in 2017, his first full season, by reaching Double-A Akron. Scouting Report: Bieber came to pro ball with a reputation for relying more on his command than his stuff to succeed. He has continued to show above-average control as a professional, and his walk rate of 0.5 per nine innings in 2017 led all full-season minor leaguers. But Bieber is starting to outgrow the command-and-control label, because his stuff made a jump in 2017. His fastball, which sat around 90 mph in college, now sits 92-94 and touched 96. His curveball got sharper and more consistent, developing into his best secondary pitch. He also throws a slider and changeup, which can both be average offerings. He has a clean, easy delivery and has shown he can handle a heavy workload--his 173.1 innings led all minor leaguers in 2017. The Future: Bieber made one of the biggest jumps in the Indians' system in 2017 and now profiles as a potential No. 3 starter. He will advance to Triple-A Columbus in 2018 and could pitch his way into the big league mix.
• December, 2015 Scouting Report
  Bieber thrived as the No. 3 starter in 2015 for the Gauchos behind No. 4 overall pick Dillon Tate (Rangers) and fifth-rounder Justin Jacome (Marlins), then shifted into the Friday ace role as a junior. Bieber doesn't have ace stuff but he does have premium control, having ranked in the top 15 in the country the last two seasons with 1.05 BB/9 IP over more than 200 innings. He thrives at locating his 88-92 mph fastball (that more typically sits at 89-90), which he commands well for a college pitcher. He can pitch up and down with it and then mix in his fringe-average breaking ball, more of a slider than a curve. His too-firm low-80s changeup also earns fringe-average grades but plays up thanks to his fastball command and pitchability. Bieber pitches with tempo and aggressiveness belying his fringy stuff, competes well and has shown durability. Bieber has one of the cleanest, most repeatable deliveries of any pitcher in the college class. His lack of a present plus pitch limits him to a back-of-the-rotation ceiling.