'Ducks' Bieber stays hot in frigid weather

In the frigid opening weeks of the season, Shane Bieber has found a way to balance a quick tempo with dominant stuff to keep Eastern League opponents off-balance. No one is more thankful for the eighth-ranked Indians prospect than his Double-A Akron teammates. 
"It's kind of cool to hear the position players talk about how much they enjoy playing behind him because they know he's going to attack the zone and get after it," RubberDucks pitching coach Rigo Beltran said. "When they know you're going to throw strikes, the defenders are going to play better behind you."
In 33-degree weather at Canal Park, Bieber kept warm by tossing seven scoreless frames, allowing four hits and fanning six to lead Akron to a 2-0 victory over Altoona. The right-hander extended his season-opening shutout streak to 20 frames, during which he has not issued a walk.

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Bieber (2-0) broke through in his first professional season in 2017, going 10-5 with a 2.86 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across three levels. Through three starts this season, he's tied for 14th among all Minor Leaguers with a 0.50 WHIP after giving up 10 hits with 23 strikeouts. 
Beltran, who also worked with the 2016 fourth-round pick at Class A Advanced Lynchburg, said Bieber works to a high level of consistency each time he takes the hill. 

"I think what stands out is the personality and that work ethic he brings to the field to keep improving and keep working hard," Beltran added. "He doesn't let any of the success go to his head. He understands that he's working to the bigger picture, and that's getting to the big leagues. He's the same guy every day, no matter what week it is.
"I respect his professionalism and I respect that he's a great teammate. And when it's his time to pitch, he's ready to go."
Against the Curve, the 22-year-old cruised, throwing first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 26 batters he faced while throwing 69 of 86 pitches in the zone. 
"He's a true professional, he has a game plan, he attacks the strike zone and he does what he needs to do," Beltran said. "I think today he threw about 80 percent strikes, which is an amazing number and shows the amount of command that he has."
Bieber got into some trouble in the first when No. 20 Pirates prospectStephen Alemais doubled to left field with out. But the UC Santa Barbara product quickly recovered by punching out 18th-ranked Will Craig and getting No. 4 Ke'Bryan Hayes to bounce out to first. 
Bieber retired the side in the second and third on 15 pitches before Alemais reached on a throwing error by third baseman Joe Sever to start the fourth. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound hurler evaded trouble again by getting Craig to ground out to short, Hayes to pop to second and No. 22 prospect Jason Martin to line to center.

"He's that kind of pitcher -- he doesn't let the game speed up," the pitching coach said. "He's always able to assess the situation and understand what hitter is up. He doesn't overthrow, he stays within himself and he does what he does best, which is execute pitches."
Bieber gave up singles in the fifth, sixth and seventh but stranded the runner at first each time to keep his scoreless streak intact. The Akron starter fanned Kevin Krause to punctuate another sharp outing.
Beltran said he wouldn't be surprised to see Bieber continue his success as the season unfolds.
"He has a good game plan, so everything becomes second nature to him," the former Major Leaguer said. "He looked pretty good, considering it was a cold couple of nights. I commend him for going out there in the elements. For the most part, he looked pretty good. He had the ability to throw all four pitches, compete and work ahead. He just keeps pounding the strike zone."
Mitch Brown took over in the eighth and threw two hitless innings, walking one and fanning three, en route to his second save of the season. 
For the Curve, Pirates No. 11 prospect Taylor Hearn (0-1) allowed one run on four hits while recording seven strikeouts in six innings.