Going back as far as Class A ball, Corey Kluber has put up some nice strikeout-to-walk ratios, but they didn't always translate into low ERAs. As Chris Cwik pointed out in an analysis earlier this month, a high BABIP rate has put a damper on Kluber's surface stats for the Indians, but in just over a month's time, Kluber has shaved more than two runs off his ERA.
Not only has Kluber been getting more outs on balls in play, compiling a .303 BABIP over his last seven starts, but overall this season, he has been stranding more of his baserunners. Kluber has a long history of subpar strand rates (established mostly in the minors), but this year his rate is a very normal-looking 73 percent.
Low strand rates are usually signs of better luck to come, but some pitchers, like Rick Porcello and Jeff Francis, have been mired in them for years. If Kluber can stay on his current course and keep a decent proportion of his runners from scoring, he is going to be able to help owners in standard mixed leagues over the rest of this season.