With the injury to Gavin Floyd (elbow) it seems likely not only will Danny Salazar make the Indians' starting rotation but so might lefty T.J. House. Who is Mr. House and what do you need to know about him heading into the 2015 season? That's why we are here with this Player Profile.

THE MINORS

2008: Drafted by the Indians out of high school in the 16th round. 

2009: Went 6-11 with a 3.15 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 134.1 innings at Single-A ball. He struck out 7.5 batters per nine and posted a 2.22 K/BB ratio.

2010: Made 27 appearances at High-A ball going 6-10 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.45 WHIP over 135.2 innings. His K/9 rate dipped to 7.0 while his walk rate rose to 4.0 per nine.

2011: Made 25 appearances at High-A with a 6-12 record, 5.19 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 1.35 K/BB ratio over 130 innings. 

2012: Finally had a good effort at High-A and Double-A making 27 starts covering 149.1 innings. Went 10-5 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Posted a 2.32 K/BB ratio. 

2013: Pitched at Double and Triple-A making 28 starts. Went 9-11 with a 4.17 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 7.5 K/9 mark over 164 innings. 

2014: Made 11 starts, 10 at Triple-A. Had only one victory against four loses, but his ERA (3.48) and WHIP (1.19) were solid. His K/9 mark was down at 6.6 over 57 innings.

TOTALS: 38-53, 3.95 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 2.02 K/BB ratio over 775.1 innings. 

THE MAJORS

2014: As a rookie he made 19 appearances, 18 starts, posting a 3.35 ERA with a 1.32 WHIP over 102 innings. House also had a 7.06 K/9 and walked less than two batters per nine innings (1.94) for the Indians.

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THE SKILLS

"Good things are going to happen for T.J. He came to camp ready to go and I think you're going to see good things," said manager Terry Francona. Let's break down the 6'1", 205 lbs lefty of the Indians who slings the ball a bit oddly.

House is 25 years old. He has just 102 innings of big league experience under her belt. The Indians went 13-5 in his starts last season and he had a 4-1 record with a 2.53 ERA over his final 10 starts. 

House had a 7.06 K/9 mark in 2014 for the Indians.
His career minor league mark was 7.0.

House had a 1.94 BB/9 mark in 2014 for the Indians.
His minor league mark was 2.02.

OK, let's say the data supports who he is in these two categories. The strikeout mark is boring. However, the walk rate is impressive. The resulting 3.64 K/BB ratio is a very solid mark as well. Among pitchers who threw 100-innings last season there were only 34 men who posted a better mark that House. Gotta like that.

In the video linked to above, House mentioned the keys to his success. He need to get that ball to go north/south. When he gets to outside the ball, drops his arm angle too much, the ball moves east/west, and when that happens the ball runs flat and batters can take advantage of his less than elite stuff. Clearly for the majority if his pitches with the Indians last year he was working the old north/south movement to the extreme. House posted a ground ball rate of 61 percent for the Indians. That's an elite mark. Among pitchers who threw 100-innings last season House's GB-rate was --- the best in baseball. That's still a concern. Wait, what? Think of it this way. How many players lead baseball one year in something and then fail to match that mark the next season? How many times does that happen when the player isn't an elite talent? How many times does that happen when the number under discussion is obnoxiously high? Only two pitchers in baseball had a GB/FB ratio over 2.70 (min. 100 innings). I've said elsewhere that you had better believe that Dallas Keuchel's 3.30 GB/FB ratio is going to regress. What do you think I'm going to say about House's 3.45 mark?

Looking back to his minor league career House proved that he was a ground ball pitcher, not suggesting he didn't, it's just that the level he reached last season is impossible to expect a repeat effort of. From 2011-14 House had a 49 percent ground ball rate in the minors that led to a 1.57 GB/FB ratio. History and logic suggest that House will allow fewer ground balls in 2015 than he did last season, and the dip could be significant. 

As a ground ball arm House will likely always allow a higher BABIP than most (more grounders go for hits than fly balls). From 2011-14 House had a BABIP of .328 in the minors. Last season that mark was .332. Luckily for him, since he keeps the ball down, most of the hits are not of the high leverage variety though House allowed 10 homers last season for a 0.88 HR/9 mark which was pretty much spot on the big league average. Alas, his HR/F ratio was 17.9 percent, a horrible mark. What saved him? All those grounders as House had an impossible to repeat fly ball rate of just 18 percent. This is a worry. When his fly ball rate ticks up more balls could end up in the seats, though it's also fair to suggest that his HR/F ratio of nearly 18 percent could regress as well.

As for pitch type... let's take a look at the PITCHf/x data for 2014.

2-Seam Fastball: .333/.374/.474 on 801 pitches
4-Seam Fastball: .346/.414/.538 on 102 pitches
Slider: .176/.228/.227 on 381 pitches
Change up: .321/.367/.571 on 246 pitches
Curve ball: .400/.400/.600 on 41 pitches

Clearly House needs to keep batters off balance and avoid just throwing his fastball over the plate for strikes. I should also note that, and the sample size is admittedly small, that his work against righties is far from impressive.

vs. left: .248/.280/.328 over 126 batters faced
vs. right: .298/.353/.455 over 303 batters faced

PLAYING TIME CONSIDERATIONS

I break down the Indians starting pitcher situation in my March 10th, Around the Horn video. You have to feel good about House's chances as well given that Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar are all right-handed. There's also Zach McAllister floating around as well.

CONCLUSION

House should open the year in the Indians' rotation. Note I said "should." Until we hear that announcement it's hard to feel confident about drafting House in a mixed league. However, for those in AL-only setups House is a prime target. Why? Not only does he have skills to bring to the table, but he's also going to come very cheaply in most drafts (he went for $5 in the recent AL LABR auction).

10 team lg: House doesn't have enough strikeout potential in a league this shallow to be anything other than a spot starter. If going that route, maybe you pitch him at home (2.14 ERA, wOBA of .305) against a lefty heavy lineup?

12 team lg: A borderline rosterable talent. I'd still feel more confident in House as nothing other than a spot starter in this format.

15 team lg: If the top of my staff is strong House might round out the group on the bottom. Love the grounders, and there will certainly be starts that he will seem likely a pretty impressive option. 

AL-only: A target of mine. Cheap talent. As soon as he gets the role locked in, the cost will likely go up, but for now he's a great under the radar option in a league only. Invest.