A consensus top-5 pitcher in baseball over a half-decade run starting with the first of two Cy Young Awards in 2014, Corey Kluber fell from his perch rather unceremoniously. Part of that is because he’s the anti-Trevor Bauer, and not just because Kluber won two World Series starts while Bauer lost both of his. Kluber also prefers to avoid the headlines and let his pitching talk for him, which means he’s been silent for nearly two years.
He hadn’t yet settled into a groove through six starts in 2019, battling mechanical issues that derailed his normally impeccable control.