Besides closers and a few setup guys, relievers seem to get overlooked. I will be breaking down each team's bullpen in a specific division each week. I will be highlighting the main bullpen guys from each team and a few that are not well known. This will be a six week series since there are three divisions in each league respectively.
Note: All stats are through April 29th Regular Season Games.
Baltimore Orioles:
Quick Glance: The Orioles have two lefties in their bullpen, Tanner Scott a setup man who pitches in the late innings and Paul Fry a middle reliever. Overall, the Orioles are consistently near the bottom of the AL East season after season and it leads to their relievers hardly getting any save or hold chances.
Closer: Cesar Valdez-RHP
Valdez. who is 36 years of age is the current Orioles closer. Although he doesn't get that many save chances, Valdez is quite effective. He uses a five pitch mix mainly using his changeup the majority of the time, but will often use a sinker and curveball, rarely using a splitter and slider. Valdez's ERA in 2020 was a sparkling 1.26 He is consistently averaging a 12 percent whiff rate which are considered as swinging strikes and gets called strikes and swinging strikes at around 65 percent of the time. As far as velocity is concerned, he tops out at around 86 MPH and is very reliant on his off-speed stuff.
Setup: Tanner Scott-LHP
One of Baltimore's setup men, Scott uses a slider and a 4-seam fastball at about the same rate. His 4-seamer tops out in the high 90's, averaging 97 MPH and his slider tops out in the high 80's. Scott's whiff rate is around 25 percent on his slider and around 6 percent on his 4-seam fastball. His slider is his most effective pitch, hitters are currently hitting around .110 against his slider alone, although Scott gets more called strikes with his 4-seam fastball.
Setup: Dillon Tate-RHP
The other Orioles setup man, Tate mainly uses a four-seamer, slider, and a changeup, while hardly mixing in a sinker. Tate's best pitch is the 4-seam fastball, using it around 58 percent of the time. Tate hardly pitched in the 2020 season, only pitching 16.1 innings to the tune of a 3.24 ERA so we did not get a good look at him much like other reliever's last season. Hitters are currently hitting under .100 against his fastball this season, which leads me to wonder if hitters tend to chase his fastball the most considering it is the pitch that is outside of the strike zone the most at around 40 percent. His slider and changeup are in the strike zone close to 60 percent of the time. Tate is averaging 95 MPH on his fastball, 88 MPH on his slider, and 85 MPH on his changeup. Manager Brandon Hyde has two options of setup men, one lefty and one righty which can be very crucial based on the situation in the game.
Middle Reliever: Paul Fry-LHP
Fry is a lefty, who uses a 4-Seam Fastball, a slider, and will use a changeup on occasion. Fry's fastball averages 93 MPH and his slider around 85 MPH to 86 MPH. Interestingly he gets more whiffs on his slider at 16 percent, even though he uses it less than his fastball. Personally, I think his best pitch is his slider, not his fastball. He also gets more swings outside of the zone with his slider. Fry's ERA is low to begin the season at 1.08 through April 27th and his WHIP is also 1.08. Batters hardly get a hit off his slider, hitting only .083 when they put the ball in play through April 27th.
Middle Reliever: Adam Plutko-RHP
After years in Cleveland, Plutko is in a middle relief role for the O's. He uses a five-pitch mix that consists of a 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Curveball, Cutter, and a Changeup. Plutko does not have much velocity, only averaging 91 MPH on his fastball. Having four off speed pitches keeps hitters on their toes not knowing what is going to come their way. His slider ends up in the strike zone at a very high 96 percent of the time, which could lead to some breaking balls to hang leading to runs charged against him. Although hitters are hitting below .100 against Plutko's slider. He added a cutter which has proven effective so far this season having a 79 percent strike rate and a 31 percent whiff rate.
Middle Reliever: Cole Sulser-RHP
Sulser uses a traditional three pitch mix consisting of a 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, and a Slider. Sulser's changeup gets the most whiffs at 26 percent, which is pretty accurate to the 22 percent whiff rate his changeup had in the 2020 season. The changeup also gets the most swings outside of the strike zone for Sulser, making this a very effective pitch. His WHIP in 2020 was rather high at 1.46, but has so far improved to a 0.79 WHIP in 6.1 innings this season although it is a very small sample size and will most likely go up as the season goes on. As far as velocity goes, Sulser can get his fastball up to around 94 consistently.
Middle Reliever: Travis Lakins-RHP
Lakins uses a four-pitch mix, a 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter, Curveball, and a Changeup. Lakins averages 94 MPH with his fastball, but his cutter is his most used pitch. He gets the majority of ground balls with his 81 MPH curveball. His ERA and WHIP are both very good at 1.29 and 0.81 through almost one month of play.
Long Reliever: Shawn Armstrong-RHP
Armstrong uses a three-pitch mix, a traditional 4-seam fastball that averages around 93 MPH, a cutter, and a slider. Up to this point in the season, Armstrong has allowed a home run off his fastball and cutter. As a result, his ERA in the early weeks of the season, is an awful 9.95.
Boston Red Sox
Quick Glance: Matt Barnes and Adam Ottavino anchor the Boston pen with both having veteran experience. Boston could use a closer's committee this season, or it could come down to who performs better. It is too early in the season to tell who has the upper hand, although Barnes has more closing experience.
Closer: Matt Barnes- RHP
Barnes only uses a 4-seam fastball and a curveball. His curveball is slightly more effective with opponents only hitting .063 off the pitch. The whiff rate on both of his pitches are over 20 percent which leads to more strikeouts. Barnes' ERA is under 3.00 and a WHIP well below 1.00. Barnes has gotten off to an outstanding start to the 2021 campaign.
Setup: Adam Ottavino-RHP
Coming over in the off-season from the rival Yankees, Ottavino is a veteran bullpen arm spending the majority of his career in Colorado. His most used pitch is his slider which he uses at about half the time at 48 percent. His slider is quite effective, getting a 50 percent groundball rate and a 24 percent called strike rate. Ottavino is more effective in the 8th inning than the 9th, having an ERA below 3 in the 8th and an ERA above 10 in the 9th.
Setup: Matt Andriese- RHP
Andriese, a short-term starter for the Rays a few seasons ago came over from the Angels to Boston. He uses four pitches, but he uses his 4-seam fastball and changeup at a similar rate. Personally I would put Andriese in a more long reliever type role who could come in and pitch multiple innings knowing he has been a starter previously in his career.
Middle Reliever: Hirokazu Sawamura- RHP
Prior to writing this article, I had never heard of Sawamura in my life which is why I love doing these breakdowns, it gives these types of players some attention. Sawamura has a three pitch mix, a 4-seam fastball, a split finger, and a slider. He averages 95 MPH with his fastball, a rather surprising 92 MPH with his changeup, and a 86 MPH slider. His ERA up to this point in the season is a solid 3.18.
Middle Reliever: Darwinzon Hernandez-LHP
One of two lefties in the Boston pen, the first word I thought of when I glanced at Hernandez's stats was sloppy. Hernandez has a 4-seam fastball and a slider. His walk rate is rather high, a WHIP over two would justify that I believe. Overall he has no strengths in his game and I would argue that he should be sent down to the Red Sox alternate site for the time being.
Middle Reliever: Josh Taylor- LHP
The other lefty in the Red Sox pen, Taylor uses a 4-seam fastball and a slider. Very similar to the numbers of Hernandez if not worse, Taylor has an ERA above nine and a WHIP above two. The only thing working for Wilson is his whiff rate on his slider is above 20 percent, but that is about it.
Long Reliever: Phillips Valdez-RHP
Valdez has a changeup, sinker, and a slider. His changeup is pretty good, getting a called strike and whiff rate or CSW at 33 percent. He has began the 2021 season with a solid ERA of 3.48 and a WHIP below 1.
New York Yankees
Quick Glance: One of the best bullpens in baseball, the Yankees have Aroldis Chapman who can reach triple digits and Zack Britton who is a solid setup man when healthy. The bullpen from top to bottom is really good.
Closer: Aroldis Chapman-LHP
Anyone who has watched baseball over the past decade knows what Chapman can do. The Cuban Missile can easily reach 100 MPH plus with his fastball and sinker. He throws a slider in the low to mid 80's with plenty of late movement and life. Chapman is the real deal and has proven it season after season.
Setup: Chad Green-RHP
Green has been a spot starter in the past as manager Aaron Boone has used him in a variety of ways. For now Green is the setup man until Britton returns from the IL. Green uses a fastball, curveball, and sinker. Green's fastball averages 95 MPH with his sinker averaging one tick higher at 96 MPH. Green has an ERA of 0.68 and a WHIP of 0.68 to begin the season. He is a stellar reliever for the Bronx Bombers.
Setup: Jonathan Loaisiga-RHP
Loaisiga has been up and down with the Yankees and Scranton Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees Triple A affiliate for the past several seasons. This might be the season he is going to stay in New York for the long haul. He uses a four pitch mix, a 4-seam fastball, sinker, curveball, and a changeup. His sinker and fastball average the same velocity at 97 MPH, while his two off speed pitches sit in the mid to high 80's. Loaisiga has gotten off to an impressive start, pitching to a 1.84 ERA in 24.1 IP. Personally, I am very impressed with the young arm and think the Yankees should keep him in the pen for the 2021 season.
Middle Reliever: Darren O'Day- RHP
The longtime Orioles reliever, O'Day is a side winder who uses a slider and a sinker in the mid 80's. O'Day is very effective with these two pitches alone and provides veteran experience to the Yankees bullpen. Having an ERA just above 2, O'Day is not going anywhere anytime soon and is a lock to pitch the middle innings for the Yankees this season.
Middle Reliever: Luis Cessa-RHP
Very similar to Loaisiga, Cessa is another young arm in the Yankees system. The slider is by far Cessa's pitch of choice using it almost 70 percent of the time. Cessa's slider averages 83 MPH and gets a whiff rate of 21 percent and a CSW of 41 percent. Batters seem to swing at it outside of the zone quite a bit, considering he can get strikes at a 40 percent clip outside of the strike zone. Another good reliever in the pen, Cessa has a 0.77 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP to begin the season.
Tampa Bay Rays
Quick Glance: One of the most confusing bullpen's in baseball, the Rays and manager Brian Cash love to mix things up. Now that Nick Anderson is out for the season, Diego Castillo is the closer for now. Peter Fairbanks is also out for the time being, if he were healthy he and Castillo would probably split save opportunities. Bottom line, if all of the relievers were healthy in Tampa Bay it would be anyone's guess who would pitch in what innings for Brian Cash. Castillo has even been a spot starter in the past which goes to show the Rays are quite different with their bullpen situation.
Closer: Diego Castillo-RHP
Castillo uses a slider and a sinker. He gets a CSW of 36 percent on his slider, while hitters are only hitting .133 against the pitch. His slider averages close to 87 MPH while his sinker averages 95 MPH. He projects to stay the main man in the closer role until Fairbanks and Anderson return later in the season.
Setup: Ryan Thompson-RHP
The first thing I thought of when I saw Thompson's pitching mechanics, was that he has a similar arm action to Max Scherzer. Thompson has a bit of a side winder's delivery but does not at the same time, almost like a three-quarters delivery. Thompson relies on four pitches, a sinker, slider, curveball, and hardly mixes in a 4-seam fastball. Surprisingly Thompson only reaches low 90's with his sinker and fastball. He gets a 41 percent whiff rate on his slider and uses it as his put-away pitch 25 percent of the time. Thompson is off to a solid start to begin the season with an ERA in the mid three's.
Setup: Andrew Kittredge- RHP
Kittredge mainly relies on his sinker and slider, but will mix in a 4-seam fastball and a changeup. His sinker reaches 95 MPH while his fastball reaches 94 MPH. His slider and changeup average the same speed at 88 MPH. Kittredge's put-away pitch is his slider using it 21 percent of the time so far this season. Very good out of the pen, Kittredge has an ERA of 1.64 to begin the season.
Middle Reliever: Jeffrey Springs-LHP
Springs uses a sinker, slider, and a changeup. Springs sinker has the most velocity at 92 MPH. His put-away pitches are his sinker and changeup, although he gets his most whiffs on his changeup at 53 percent. Springs has been pretty average to begin the season with an ERA of 4.5 over 10 IP.
Middle Reliever: Hunter Strickland-RHP
The first thought that comes to mind when I think of Strickland is when he and Bryce Harper fought when Strickland was with the Giants and Harper was with the Nationals, that was quite the feud! Strickland relies on a 4-seam fastball and a slider. He has good velocity with his fastball at 94 MPH while his slider clocks in at an average of 85 MPH. Strickland's put-away pitch is his fastball, but gets more whiffs with his slider. A solid option, Strickland has a 2.08 ERA this season.
Middle Reliever: Trevor Richards-RHP
Richards has a three-pitch mix, a 4-seam fastball, changeup, and curveball. Richards only averages 92 MPH with his fastball but it is his put-away pitch 25 percent of the time. Richards has a 45 percent whiff rate on his changeup. clocking in at an average of 85 MPH. His ERA to begin the season is right at 5.
Long Reliever: Luis Patino- RHP
The most exciting arm in the Rays bullpen, Patino was in the deal that sent Blake Snell to San Diego. A starter for the long term, Patino projects to be in the bullpen this season and might get a few starts. Patino has a three-pitch mix including a 4-seam fastball, slider, and a changeup. Patino's slider is his most effective pitch even though he does not throw it as much as his fastball. His slider gets the most whiffs and is his put-away pitch. Look for Patino to be a young starter in the next few seasons.
Toronto Blue Jays
Quick Glance: The Jays have a slew of arms in their pen. It is quite rare to have 12 different relievers at the same time pitching for one team. After losing Kirby Yates to Tommy John Surgery, the Blue Jays have to rely on Rafael Dolis, among others for saves.
Closer: Rafael Dolis-RHP
Dolis will get the majority of the saves for Toronto this season with Kirby Yates on the shelf. Dolis has a three-pitch mix, a sinker, slider, and a split-finger. His split-finger is his most effective pitch, getting a whiff rate of over 60 percent.
Setup: David Phelps-RHP
Phelps uses a cutter, 4-seam fastball, curveball, and a sinker. He uses them all at a consistent rate and keeps hitters off balance. Phelps' curveball gets the most swings and misses at this point in the season. His WHIP is actually higher than his ERA. Phelps is a veteran guy who brings experience to the young Jays core.
Setup: Ryan Borucki- LHP
Borucki uses a sinker and slider, rarely mixing in a changeup. His slider has proven most effective, getting a 40 percent swing and miss rate so far this season. Borucki is young and will hopefully develop into a core piece of the Jays pen for years to come.
Setup: Jordan Romano-RHP
Romano has a fastball, slider, and a sinker. Romano can get saves when called upon, he and Julian Merryweather split save opportunities when Dolis was on the IL earlier this month. Romano's slider and 4-seam fastball are the most effective and get the most whiffs as a result.
Middle Reliever: Tyler Chatwood-RHP
The long time starter with the Cubs and Rockies, Chatwood is known for always having a high WHIP. So far so good this season though, through 6.1 IP he has allowed no runs. Chatwood mainly relies on his cutter and sinker. Both pitches get similar whiff rates. Personally I would put Chatwood in a long reliever role since he is so used to being a starter.
Long Reliever: Tommy Milone- LHP
Milone uses a four-pitch mix. Milone's best pitches are his fastball, changeup, and slider. He gets the majority of opponents out using those three pitches and will mix in a curveball from time to time.
Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed writing about relievers from the AL East who in my mind deserve more attention. The Yankees without a doubt have the best bullpen in this division and should continue to have success.
See you at the Ballpark!!!
Adam
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