Shane Bieber Sets Incredible MLB Pitching Record

Cleveland Indians pitcher Shane Bieber is one of the most promising young players in the majors. He lived up to that billing on Monday night by setting a pretty amazing MLB record.

Shane Bieber struck out the first batter of the 4th inning tonight, giving him 82 strikeouts through his first 50 innings of the season. According to Elias, that is the most strikeouts by any starting pitcher through their first 50 innings in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/A9Jsyk0HEf
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 1, 2020

No other starting pitcher in MLB history has ever managed 82 strikeouts through their first 50 innings in a season. He went on to finish his eighth start of the year with a season total of 84 strikeouts.

Bieber is now averaging 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings on the season, and he has K'd an absurd 42.2 percent of the hitters he has faced.

For context, no other qualifying pitcher has a strikeout rate better than 37.2 percent (Trevor Bauer) this season, and in 2019 the league-leading mark was 39.9 percent (Gerrit Cole).

Sitting second in the AL Central at 21-14, Bieber and the Indians have the MLB's 11th best odds (+2200) to win the World Series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook today and get your first bet risk free for up to $500!

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.