CHICAGO -- Tanner Bibee would be the first to tell you the first half of 2025 has not gone how he would have hoped for on an individual level. The Guardians’ right-hander holds himself to a high standard, and he’s had his share of ups and downs this season.
Bibee said as much on Saturday, after he delivered a strong outing in his last start before the All-Star break. He allowed just two runs on six hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings, striking out five on 91 pitches in the Guardians’ 6-2 win over the White Sox at Rate Field.
Bibee was a rotation anchor for the Guardians last season, when he recorded a 3.47 ERA in 31 starts. This season, the 26-year-old (who signed a five-year extension with the Guardians in March) has recorded a 4.29 ERA in 109 innings over 19 starts, with 33 walks, 95 strikeouts and 17 homers allowed.
Last season, Bibee also made 19 starts before the break, and he recorded a 3.77 ERA in 105 innings, with 27 walks, 123 strikeouts and 13 homers allowed.
“It’s been super up-and-down,” Bibee said of his first half. “I feel like the whole development process this year has been good and it has been productive,” Bibee said. “I feel like I've said this ever since I've been up here: You're never gonna be a finished product, and I don't think I'm very close to a finished product at all.
“I feel like I have a ton more room to keep growing and keep going, and the goal is to come back and be who I'm supposed to be in the second half. Because I wasn’t who I was supposed to be in the first half.”
Now, to be fair, Bibee has had good stretches. But there has been some inconsistency mixed in. His ERA sat at 5.19 through five starts, in which he surrendered eight homers in just 26 innings. Over his next 11 starts (through June), he posted a 3.41 ERA over 68 2/3 innings and allowed just seven homers.
Manager Stephen Vogt noted before Saturday’s game how there have been starts this season where one bad inning catches up to Bibee. In his last outing, Bibee did not allow a hit through four innings on Monday vs. the Astros. He then allowed four runs on four hits and two homers in the fifth inning.
On Saturday, Bibee threw 30 pitches in the fourth inning and allowed two runs on four hits -- all singles -- to open the inning. Pitching coach Carl Willis came out for a visit after the third base hit, a two-run knock by Kyle Teel.
Bibee got out of the inning without allowing any further damage.
“I battled through a lot of starts,” Bibee said. “The first month and a half, I feel like I wasn't really myself. I've had spurts here and there where I've kind of felt like myself, but I feel like this first half for me -- personally, me, not our team -- has gone pretty bad. But I feel like for me to keep battling and to just keep my nose to the grindstone, I feel like it just could be a lot worse.
“And I feel like I put my nose to the grindstone and kind of made it as good as it could be with what I've brought to the table so far.”
The Guardians went 22-9 in Bibee’s starts last season; they improved to 9-10 in his outings this season on Saturday. Those records are obviously not an exclusive reflection of how Bibee has pitched.
Entering Saturday, he had received an average of 3.83 runs of support each game over his 19 starts this season, which was tied for 13th lowest among 69 qualified starters. The Guardians scored just three runs through the first six frames during his outing on Saturday, though they put the game away with a two-run flurry in the ninth.
It was enough support for Bibee, who is excited to build upon things in the second half.
“With how I’ve pitched,” Bibee said, “I feel like there's a combination of not having stuff, trying to fix things. Obviously, there's always a luck component to it, but with all the combination of that stuff, I feel like the second half is going to be better. I know it's going to be better.”