Week Two: The Bullpen Strikes Out
/OK, that's a bad title. But I couldn't get it out of my head.
[NOTE: insert gratuitous pic of Kylie Minogue's backside here. We need *something* to distract us from this mess...]
Following Andrew Cashner's not-stellar debut, the story, either pushed by the Rangers or copied by the beat writers from each other, was that despite the outcome, the Rangers were pretty happy with Cashner. And they were right to be. While it's still a Small Sample Size (of one, sort of) a pitching performance can say a lot more than one at bat, or even a game of at bats. I'm not gonna say that Cashner's performance had a real gem hidden inside; it didn't. But it should have been worse than it was. Cashner himself made a lot of good pitches, although his future success is going to largely depend on getting his strikeouts up.
Cole Hamels. Geez, I don't want to have another "I told you so" year. Having three pitchers that can't make it through six stresses the bullpen. That's beyond the problem of having a clear #1 pitcher, a couple of MOTR guys, and a couple of back-enders. But that could be worse. A lot of teams don't even have that.
The bullpen is what has everyone worried, but there are several factors at play. One is the apparent organizational philosophy of multi-inning relief efforts. Except when you let some of your more capable pitchers only face one batter. I...I just don't get it. The multi-inning thing is real; they've done it over and over the last two years. I didn't imagine it. But if that's a philosophy thing, and not just a knee-jerk decision by *somebody*...then why do you bring your sharper guys in for only one batter? Last year I surmised that Banister was going to use the first six weeks of the year to test his bullpen and find out what people could do. I think he sort-of did that? Maybe? Except he kept doing the multi-inning thing a lot...but without any rhyme or reason that I could discern. I really hope we find out what's going on, someday.
I didn't create this image.
Once again, I got some people upset when I mentioned Banister's history of over-using arms. The thing is, even when there is disagreement about the statement, I suspect the difference is actually over whether Banister is *right* to overuse arms...not that he *does* it. Or to put it another way, that Banister does what is necessary to win ball games. Banister had a bad bullpen to start the year last year, and he overused the arms that worked. BUT, I would still make the point that he *continued* to overuse several relievers even when new bullpen pieces were provided. In fact, several times over the past couple of years fresh arms were shipped to the dugout after some heavy usage...and Banister refused to play them. A couple of these guys have since been traded away, both in fairly surprising moves. My own supposition is that Banister wasn't going to use them, so Daniels traded them. (I'm *guessing* about this, not making an accusation or anything like that.)
But anyway...let's throw the stuff we can argue about to the side, and look at how the actual relievers are performing.
Sam Dyson: We're not talking about Sam Dyson. He'll either be DL'd, at which point he will likely be done as Ranger reliever, or he gets one more shot or two BEFORE being DL'd, at which point he will likely be done as a Ranger reliever. When Banister doesn't trust you, you will not be played. Healthy Dyson will be traded or released. NOTE: a few hours after publishing this piece, Dyson was sent to the Disabled List with a very plausible hand contusion. The severity of the bruise is unknown, as is the projected length of the DL stay. I suspect recovery from the bruise will require some rehab games, at least.
Mike Hauschild: This one might surprise you. The Rule 5 pick has to stay on the roster all season or be shipped back to Houston. Here's what he's done, including the bad stuff: ERA 9.64 FIP 7.65 xFIP 3.45. That xFIP isn't bad, and indicates maybe he's had some bad luck. Still, you would like a reliever closer to 3.2 and down, rather than 3.5 and up. Batting average on balls in play: .385. That *is* some bad luck. 9.64 K/9: That's pretty darn good. 1.93 BB/9: That's decent, too. A Home Run allowed every other inning: that's not good. But, I hope you can see why Hauschild will likely stick around...unless Banny stops using him. Incidentally, Hauschild was a star pitcher on the Fresno Grizzlies team that beat Round Rock for the PCL championship in 2015.
Paw bumps!
Jeremy Jeffress: His K's are way down, but so are his walks and BABIP. FIP of 2.41 and xFIP of 3.45. Really good ground ball percentage. I think he'll be ok. Maybe he'll ramp up the K's as the season progresses.
Alex Claudio's FIP and xFIP and complete lack of strikeouts indicate someone who isn't pitching as well as he appears to be. A BABIP of .154 supports that conclusion. Regression should still leave him as a really good long-man/middle reliever.
Dario Alvarez is the fill-in lefty specialist, and is probably best used in this role until he can be sent down to get some coaching at AAA. He's likely to strike people out, but when he doesn't it's a walk or a home run. A three true outcome pitcher.
The velocity is nice on Matt Bush, and I hope his brief DL stay actually helps, because he's not pitching as well as he did last year. And because of the shoulder problems, I'm wary of predicting his upcoming performance, and a bit nervous of putting him in the closer role.
Jose Leclerc is actually pitching the way you usually want a closer to pitch. I understand the arguments against making him a closer, but I think he's already shown he can just get up and pitch and stay within himself. By far the best reliever in the bullpen.
You guys are gonna get sick of hearing it, but Tony Barnette is pitching a lot better than he looks. Going into tomorrow his FIP will be about 3.5, with an xFIP around 3. K/9 almost 1 per inning, no walks. BABIP was .267; now .333 after Easter Sunday.
Diekman isn't going to be back soon. He just had a new colon built this past weekend; or part of it. I think he's still got six weeks recuperation, then strength training, then some kind of spring training, then minor league games...I'll be amazed if he pitches for the big club this year. I know that's not what the Rangers say, but that's what my math says.
Kela is in AAA for an alleged "bad behavior" incident in the clubhouse. I know Kela is known for that, but clubhouse misbehavior bothers me. It could mean either Kela is beyond regular control or the management group wasn't on top of things. And if Kela and Banister have issues...then bringing Kela up from AAA isn't going to make much of a difference, because Banny won't use him. NOTE: A few hours after publishing, Kela was recalled when Dyson was DL'd, and was used to close out a game the same day. Make of that what you will.
I know it seems like I'm closing out with doom and gloom here, but I really do think most of the guys up there are able to be included in a bullpen that can go three innings of one run baseball. Surely we all want three innings of no-run ball, but that's not very realistic. I am, despite all the reports about the starting rotation's ERA, more concerned about the starting rotation going forward than I am the bullpen. Mainly because I know Daniels can keep finding sacrificial arms for the bullpen, regardless of the bullpen management problems. Finding five guys who can keep five runs from crossing the plate is a different matter. Texas is supposed to have three starting pitchers who can do that reliably, but Perez still has some history to overcome; and Hamels is.......whatever Hamels is now. Both Griffin and Cashner have shown signs that they can do the job, but neither is a lock, either.
As far as the offense goes....I haven't been paying attention, honestly. The Rangers seem to either score lots of runs or get shut out. I don't know what that means.