Article by Chris Saunders
With pitchers and catchers reporting in a week and some change, that only means one thing. BASEBALL IS BACK BABY! Long winter storms/cold weather will soon be upon us! With pitchers in mind, let’s take a look at the top 5 Bullpens for the 2015 MLB Season .
1) Royals- It’s almost a given that KC would be number one on this list, just on the sole purpose of having the “3 headed monster” being Herrera, Davis, Holland. Davis had a 1.00 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and, incredibly, just five extra-base hits (including zero homers) logged against him. Over the last three seasons, Holland has established himself as one of the most consistent ninth-inning arms in a job not known for consistency, and Herrera compiled a 1.41 ERA in 70 innings last year. KC bullpen did all this without Luke Hochever, former first round starter turned reliever, who dominated baseball two years ago. Luke had a 1.92 ERA/0.82 whip before he had Tommy John Surgery, destroying his season. Getting him back, plus the resigning of Frasor for the sturdy middle innings gives the KC bullpen unheralded amount of fire power.
2) Mariners- You could just as easily put them in the top slot of this list. I'd have no complaint. Through no fault of its own, the M's 'pen didn't have the opportunity to assert itself on the October stage like the team that ranks first here, but it made its mark, all the same. Not only did Mariners relievers post the best ERA (2.60) and fourth-best WHIP (1.16) of any big league bullpen in 2014, but they also had the ninth best strand rate (80.7 percent) in the live-ball era. It wasn't just Fernando Rodney and his 48 saves and bow-and-arrow routine. It was also Tom Wilhelmsen holding opponents to a .542 OPS against, Danny Farquhar striking out 10.3 batters per nine, Dominic Leone posting a 2.17 ERA, etc. There are hard throwers and closing or setup candidates abound in this bullpen. So even if it doesn't match '14's level, it should still be strength of this AL West contender.
2) Mariners- You could just as easily put them in the top slot of this list. I'd have no complaint. Through no fault of its own, the M's 'pen didn't have the opportunity to assert itself on the October stage like the team that ranks first here, but it made its mark, all the same. Not only did Mariners relievers post the best ERA (2.60) and fourth-best WHIP (1.16) of any big league bullpen in 2014, but they also had the ninth best strand rate (80.7 percent) in the live-ball era. It wasn't just Fernando Rodney and his 48 saves and bow-and-arrow routine. It was also Tom Wilhelmsen holding opponents to a .542 OPS against, Danny Farquhar striking out 10.3 batters per nine, Dominic Leone posting a 2.17 ERA, etc. There are hard throwers and closing or setup candidates abound in this bullpen. So even if it doesn't match '14's level, it should still be strength of this AL West contender.
3) Yankees- Here, too, is another strong candidate for the No. 1 spot. It might seem like this was a conservative winter for the Yankees -- at least, by Yankees standards -- but there's nothing conservative about a four-year, $36 million commitment to a guy with one career save. The Yanks appreciate the value of Andrew Miller as a high-leverage asset no matter the specific role. He was a difference-maker in the AL Division Series for the Orioles last October, and he'll pair nicely with Dellin Betances in the late innings after Betances' robust rookie year (1.40 ERA, 0.78 WHIP in 90 innings). So the departure of David Robertson might not make a big difference in the Bronx, especially if lefty acquisition Justin Wilson can approximate his 2013 numbers (2.08 ERA in 73 2/3 innings) and high-velocity right-handers Adam Warren and David Carpenter can help bridge the gap
4) Oakland Athletics- The Sean Doolittle situation obviously merits monitoring, which is why the A's aren't higher here. Doolittle has a slight rotator cuff tear and is rehabbing after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection. He's doubtful for Opening Day. But the depth here is undeniable, with Clippard (2.18 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) acquired to replace departed free agent Luke Gregerson, and Ryan Cook (3.42, 1.08), Dan Otero (2.28, 1.10) and lefties Fernando Abad (1.57, 0.85) and Eric O'Flaherty (2.25, 0.95) all aboard. The A's had the second-lowest relief ERA in the AL last season. We'll see how long the Doolittle situation lingers as they try to build on that precedent.
5) San Diego Padres- In the days of which Trevor Hoffman and Health Bell would walk outside the gates to close out games, Huston Street was probably just as consistent as anyway of those two. Streets career with the padres over three years was quite brilliant averaging in the mid 2.00 for ERA with 40 saves to boost. The padres traded him and minor-leaguer Trevor Gott going to the Angels in exchange for Taylor Lindsey, Jose Rondon, R.J. Alvarez(later traded this offseason along with RHP Jesse Hahn to Oakland for Derrick Norris) and Elliot Morris. The padres, however, do pitch in a pitchers ballpark and have serviceable guys out there. Joaquin Benoit (1.49, 0.77) Nick Vincent (3.60, 1.00), Kevin Quackenbush (2.48, 1.10), Newly Acquired in the Seth Smith trade Brandon Maurer (4.65, 1.33) Lefty Alex Torres ( 3.33, 1.46). Padres bullpen had the 2nd lowest ERA, 3rd lowest WHIP, and 3rd lowest BAA, and with the acquisition of James Shields, this could make the padres bullpen even more deadly.
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