Bieber Makes MLB Debut for Tribe, Becomes 169th Hillcat to Reach Majors

Lynchburg, Va. - Former Lynchburg Hillcats starting pitcher, Shane Bieber, struck out six, and did not allow a run through his first four innings, in his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians Thursday, getting the start against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

The right-hander struck out Brian Dozier to begin his outing, setting down the first ten batters he faced. Bieber worked 5.2 innings giving up eight hits and four runs, including back-to-back home runs to Logan Morrison and Eduardo Escobar, in his final frame. He exited in line for the win, leading 8-4 in the sixth, but was forced to settle for the no-decision as the Tribe let their lead get away in the late innings. They would come back to win the game, 9-8.
Bieber, 22, donned a Hillcats uniform just one season ago, when he went 6-1 with a 3.10 ERA in 14 starts for Lynchburg, before earning a promotion to Double-A Akron in July. In 90 innings with the Hillcats, Bieber struck out 82 while walking just four, posting a WHIP of 1.10. 
Overall in 2017, combining his time with Single-A Lake County, A-Adv. Lynchburg and Akron, the right-hander went 10-5 to go along with a 2.86 ERA over 28 starts. Bieber led the Cleveland Indians farm system with 173.1 innings pitched, and his 2.86 ERA ranked second. He earned a Carolina League Pitcher of the Week award last June.
The Orange, Calif. native has enjoyed continued success this season, posting a 5-1 record and an outstanding 1.10 ERA in 10 starts. He began the season in Akron, where he started five games, and was promoted to Triple-A Columbus on May 3. Bieber made five starts with the Clippers before earning his Major League promotion.
In his most recent outing for Columbus, the right-hander hurled a rain-shortened seven-inning no-hitter against the Gwinnett Stripers on May 25. He faced the minimum, allowing just one base runner on an error, while striking out seven. He threw 61 of his 80 pitches for strikes.
Drafted by the Indians in the fourth round in the 2016 MLB draft out of UC Santa Barbara, Bieber becomes the 20th Gauchos player to play in the Major Leagues.
Bieber, who is currently the Indians third ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, needed just 47 minor league games to earn the call-up to The Show.
Bieber is the 169^th Hillcats player to make his Major League debut since 1995, and is the sixth to make his debut for the Indians since Cleveland took over the Lynchburg affiliation in 2015. Bieber joins Perci Garner (2016), Adam Plutko (2016), Bradley Zimmer (2017), Greg Allen (2017), and Francisco Mejía (2017) to play for the Indians at the big league level.