Indians News: Derek Lowe has been amazing

Lowe has been a beast so far this season.

Derek Lowe appeared to be the downside of his career when his was with Atlanta. Atlanta had a bunch of young arms coming up to the big leagues so Lowe became expendable. In the 2011 off-season, the Braves sent Lowe and $10 million for his salary to the Indians to a minor league pitcher named Chris Jones. When the deal was announced, it appeared that the Braves got a steal because they got themselves rid of Lowe's contract and they got a decent prospect in return. Now it seems like the Braves had wished that they never made this trade. Derek Lowe is pitching excellent right now. He has an American League leading 6 wins and a 2.15 ERA. He has made 9 starts this season and has thrown 58.2 innings. He also has let up 0.3 HR/9, which is also leading to league. Lowe is a ground ball pitcher and relies heavily on his sinker to get ground ball outs. That explains his 15 strikeouts so far this season, which translates to 2.3 SO/9. The great thing about Lowe is when he's hot, he is amazing. His sinker is fantastic and he is one of the best ground ball pitchers in the game today. I think if he continues his success, the Indians will make a strong push for the playoffs but if they fall out of contention, he could be shipped off to a contender at the trade deadline. His value is extremely high right now and the Indians would be able to get a nice return for him. I would imagine that the Indians will keep him because I expect them to be in contention all season long. Lowe will probably get a nice contract in the 2013 off-season when he his eligible for free agency.