Danny Salazar was supposed to be one of the breakout stars of this season, but instead the 23-year-old Indians right-hander pitched himself back to Triple-A by going 1-4 with a 5.53 ERA in eight starts and now he’s struggling in the minors too.
Salazar has started three games at Triple-A since being demoted on May 16 and he’s 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA, allowing 29 baserunners in 12.2 innings. By comparison, at Triple-A last season Salazar posted a 2.73 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 59.1 innings before being called up to Cleveland for his big-league debut.
Zack Meisel of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Salazar has had problems with his mechanics since the demotion and in particular “had trouble keeping his lead arm at a consistent height.”
Salazar is a huge part of the Indians’ future and when they demoted him to Triple-A last month it was no doubt done with the idea of bringing him back to the majors pretty quickly, but now those plans are on hold.