Bullpen Report

Hey, hey,  hey, talking relievers on Thursday.  What could be better? Well, maybe ice cream covered in Kate Upton.  Actually strike that and flip it.  That sounds better.  OR exactly the same.  Regardless, the top ‘pens are starting to take shape as we reach the 1/5 part of the season.  The who’s are the who’s and the what the eff’s are, well, what the eff’s.  The MLB average for bullpen ERA is 3.92.  Now, that isn’t exactly something that makes you have confidence in any teams collective bullpens.   That’s why you get to be selective… take who you want and disregard the rest.  It’s like the Chinese buffet down the street– not everything looks edible, and yeah, you will probably get sick from most of it, but there’s some value savings.  Always go with the soup, excellent starter, can’t go wrong with that option.  So, take a look at bullpen arms that are doing these three things: Save situations, games with the lead, and total batters faced (and the percentage of K’s from that).  You have those three things, you have a stout middle reliever.  Yeah, I hear ya dude in the corner with his hand raised, there are other stats that we should look at.  Everyone looks at them, every site pounds you on the simple stats.  Dig deeper, look past the first page of stats and do something different.  Sorry… I was yelling. I get mad when I am hungry.  Food for me, continue reading and comments for you.

• Lots of good options in the San Fran pen to help buoy your rates.  They are second in bullpen ERA with 1.88, lowest BAA against at .198.  Most wins in relief, half of which are by Jean Machi with 5.  Add in the return of Jeremy Affeldt from injury, and they have a legitimate 7-8-9th inning triumvirate.
• I mentioned him a couple posts ago, and he’s only getting better– Will Smith is basically K’ing 60% of the batters he has faced over the past two weeks (11 out of 18).   I didn’t just make that stat up.  For the year, he is at 38% and is on pace for 105 K’s in 70 plus innings.  If you need more incentive for a roster spot, he is holding opponents to a lean .143 BAA.
• I am noticing more and more that Joba Chamberlain has got the 8th inning now in Detroit. He has six consecutive 8th inning appearances resulting in 4 holds, as compared to Al-Al’s one.  He could be a nice sleeper from here on out, as the Tigers are going to get wins with there stout pitching, so keep tabs.
• I like when a good bullpen manager gets a new pet. Uncle Buck likes him some Zach Britton lately, and he is a player to monitor, much like Shaba Chamberlain above. Britton has three Holds in May already. Me thinks he may have found his niche as a converted SP.  I know some of you jump on the SP/RP dual eligibility.  Mick said it best, ‘what are we waitin for’.