TWIWBL 87.12: The Relievers & the Setups

On to the pitchers! Same Tier system.

Here we have everyone with at least 30 IP, and no more than 2 games started or 5 saves: essentially, pitchers who got some usage, but were not used as swing-starters or closers. A few other relievers who were clearly not closers were added despite having more than 5 saves.

This is an incredibly volatile populations, and success in one year should not be seen as a predictor for future seasons. Ron Reed, I’m looking at you. It’s also hard to find good bullpen arms: there are a ton more names in Tiers C and D than above.

Our usual practices prevail: bold for top 3 and italics for bottom 3.

#S Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	G	WHIP	Other
NL	KCM	Eddie Guardado	26	2-3	2.53	47	0.99	2 Sv; 10 H 1.7 BB/9 4.7 K/BB
NL	HOD/ KCM	Lee Smith	34	5-2	2.65	50	0.75	6 Sv; 12 H 2.78 FIP

Lee Smith was probably the best overall reliever in the game, obviously good enough to be a closer, but a devastating arm in the late innings. His teammate, Eddie Guardado, was just quietly undeniable all season.

#A Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	G	WHIP	Other
NL	PHI	Fred Cambria	23	5-1	3.04	39	1.14	2 Sv; 7 H 5.5 K/9
NL	HOU	Andrew Chafin	25	2-3	3.77	47	1.10	4 Sv; 7 H
NL	BRK	Terry Forster	22	1-2	4.25	47	1.21	2 Sv; 16 H 2.92 FIP
NL	NYG/ HOM	Robb Nen	32	4-5	3.32	55	1.02	10 Sv; 13 H

Terry Forster may have an argument to be nudged up, but that ERA is distracting. Andrew Chafin was steady all season in an otherwise tumultuous Houston pen, while Fred Cambria just ran under the radar end to end.

#B Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	G	WHIP	Other
NL	PHI	Pedro Feliciano	33	0-2	4.66	41	1.04	9 H .200 BA 5.6 K/9
NL	BRK	Trevor Hildenberger	27	6-3	5.03	53	1.01	11 Sv; 7 H
AL	SFS	Ken Howell	24	5-1	2.79	52	1.26	6 Sv; 15 H
NL	PHI	Ted Kennedy	22	6-4	4.05	60	1.17	5 Sv; 15 H
NL	KCM	Mike Kume	30	4-1	1.95	22	1.08	.187 BA 0.3 HR/9 1.5 K/BB
NL	NYG	Mike Norris	36	4-5	4.34	52	1.24	6 Sv; 12 H
AL	MEM	Andrew Miller	23	8-8	4.21	74	1.29	6 Sv; 12 H
—	CAG/ BBB	Akinori Otsuka	33	8-3	2.50	45	1.25	7 Sv; 7 H
AL	LAA	Ross Reynolds	26	2-1	3.56	33	1.30	1 Sv; 6 H 0.2 HR/9 2.92 FIP
AL	CLE	Al Smith	26	0-0	2.87	33	1.47	6 H 0.3 HR/9 5.5 BB/9 3.07 FIP
NL	HOD	Karl Spooner	24	3-3	5.01	37	1.04	6 Sv; 6 H

Of this group, Mike Kume looks like the most likely to be a fluke–it’s hard to sustain that kind of success with that low of a K rate. Al Smith‘s debut was fantastic, but he may be more suited to be a lefty specialist. Ross Reynolds was strong all season, and should see an expanded role next season.

We should also mention Mike Norris, who followed last year’s stellar season with a very solid one and the eternally dependable Ken Howell.

#C Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	G	WHIP	Other
NL	IND	Jack Billingham	24	5-2	5.15	52	1.38	2 Sv; 9 H
AL	MEM	Tommy de la Cruz	34	1-5	6.12	36	1.22	5 Sv; 3 H
NL	KCM	Frank DiPino	26	3-1	3.81	48	1.34	2 Sv; 9 H
NL	HOU	John Franco	27	3-3	4.83	56	1.37	1 Sv; 15 H
AL	CLE	Cory Gearrin	27	5-1	3.22	46	1.35	8 Sv; 10 H
NL	HOM	Michael Jackson	33	1-7	5.67	56	1.43	1 Sv; 21 H 2.0 BB/9
NL	PHI	Brad Kilby	27	3-3	6.20	49	1.24	2 Sv; 14 H 3.4 HR/9 1.2 BB/9 7.7 K/BB
AL	CLE	Firpo Marberry	28	7-0	4.83	51	1.33	3 Sv; 13 H
AL	DET	Buddy Napier	32	2-3	5.04	38	1.32	2 Sv; 8 H 6.0 K/9
AL	CLE	Ron Reed	34	4-6	4.71	44	1.26	2 Sv; 6 H
AL	MEM	Skel Roach	29	2-1	4.31	41	1.49	3 Sv; 12 H .143 BA 0 HR/9 9.1 BB/9 10 K/9 1.1 K/BB
NL	OTT	BJ Ryan	28	2-3	4.61	56	1.39	2 Sv; 16 H 10.2 K/9
AL	CAG/ NYY	Hoyt Wilhelm	31	4-4	4.72	59	1.35	3 Sv; 12 H

This group gets a little more interesting: Michael Jackson had a few horrible outings, but was otherwise quite steady for Homestead while Brad Kilby was only a few homeruns from moving up a level or 2.

And then there is Skel Roach. Unhittable. Dominant strikeout pitcher. And can’t find the strike zone ever, allowing over a walk per inning. That means there’s huge potential there, but how often does someone who throws this hard master their command?

#D Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	G	WHIP	Other
NL	HOD	Ed Bauta	28	4-5	3.41	55	1.45	8 Sv; 8 H
AL	DET	Chad Bradford	30	8-7	5.32	64	1.40	10 Sv; 10 H
NL	IND	Clay Carroll	31	1-3	4.66	53	1.41	2 Sv; 10 H
AL	NYY	Rheal Cormier	35	1-4	5.40	55	1.56	18 H
—	NYG/ DET	Steve Howe	27	2-1	6.02	64	1.39	9 H 4.4 K/BB
—	POR/ PHI	Mark Melancon	31	7-2	5.16	59	1.49	3 Sv; 7 H .310 BA .361 BABIP
AL	BAL	Gregg Olsen	24	3-4	5.44	41	1.72	4 Sv; 8 H .313 BA .379 BABIP
NL	HOM	Rick Ownbey	28	3-1	4.33	44	1.37	7 H
—	NYG/ DET	Troy Percival	32	3-4	5.99	64	1.40	1 Sv; 11 H 3.9 HR/9 7.74 FIP
AL	DET	Jack Wilson	23	6-1	5.43	38	1.57	5 H 5.6 BB/9 1.7 K/BB

Mark “The Vulture” Melancon continues to win at a rate his statistics don’t support while Rheal Cormier was another victim of a few poor outings in an otherwise solid season. You also see all of Detroit’s struggles here: while both Troy Percival and Steve Howe pitched better after their arrival, their pen remained weaker than hoped for even with the changes.

#F Tier

Lg	Tm	Name	Age	W-L	ERA	G	WHIP	Other
AL	MEM	Heath Bell	32	3-5	6.53	58	1.53	2 Sv; 8 H
NL	HOU	Brad Lidge	28	4-3	6.26	43	1.57	6 H
AL	MCG	Braden Looper	26	2-2	5.90	47	1.55	3 Sv; 10 H
NL	IND	Rob Murphy	27	3-8	5.66	50	1.62	2 Sv; 13 H 7.49 FIP
AL	NYY	David Robertson	25	3-3	6.94	44	1.73	5 H .311 BA .348 BABIP 9.4 K/9
AL	CLE/ SFS	Huston Street	24	6-3	6.27	44	1.50	1 Sv; 9 H
AL	BAL/ POR	John Wetteland	24	1-10	7.96	53	1.50	5 Sv; 9 H 3.5 HR/9 7.82 FIP

Why Portland kept trotting John Wetteland out there is a mystery that may remain forever unsolved. He was awful, despite an obviously live arm.

Huston Street pitched far better for San Francisco than Cleveland, and David Robertson‘s arm is clearly better than his initial WBL performance.