Reviewing the AL East 2015 Projections: Relief Pitching

Sep 26, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Andrew Miller (48) pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees defeated the White Sox 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

We are on to the AL East bullpens in the rankings review, and Dellin Betances just started warming up again. I kid, I kid.

While my thoughts on Joe Girardi‘s overuse of his bullpen are one thing, the effectiveness was quite clear. And it wasn’t just Andrew Miller and Betances. I guess that kind of gives away who I am ranking at number one.

With that said, let’s get right to the rankings. Players who appeared in 20 or more games will be included.

Preseason Rankings (expanded upon here)

Baltimore Orioles – Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Wesley Wright, Brad Brach, Ryan Webb, T.J.McFarland, Logan Verrett, Jason Garcia
Boston Red Sox – Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, Craig Breslow, Edward Mujica, Anthony Varvaro, Alexi Ogando, Robbie Ross Jr., Brandon Workman, Steven Wright
New York Yankees – Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, David Carpenter, Chase Whitley, Esmil Rogers, Bryan Mitchell, Jorge DePaula
Toronto Blue Jays – Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Steve Delabar, Todd Redmond, Chad Jenkins, Kyle Drabek, Aaron Sanchez
Tampa Bay Rays – Grant Balfour, Brad Boxberger, Jake McGee, Jeff Beliveau, Kirby Yates, Ernesto Frieri, Burch Smith, Kevin Jepsen

End of Season Rankings

New York Yankees – Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, Chasen Shreve, Adam Warren (also a starter), Branden Pinder

My concern with the Yankees bullpen had nothing to do with Miller or Betances. Sure, I didn’t know if Miller would be able to handle being a closer and replacing Mariano Rivera. Well, he did just fine, finishing with a 2.04 ERA, 36 saves, a fantastic WHIP of .859 and a strikeouts per nine innings of 14.6. Miller was really, really good.

However, Betances may have been even better. Despite appearing in tied-for-the-most games out of any relief pitcher in the AL East, Betances had a 1.50 ERA, 9 saves, a WHIP of 1.012 and a strikeouts per nine innings of 14.0. A dominant duo at the back end of the bullpen.

But Wilson, who tied Betances with 74 appearances, was very good as well. He had done well for several years for the Pirates, and it certainly translated to the AL East. He had a 3.10 ERA, was 5-0, with a 1.131 WHIP. These three allowed Joe Girardi to feel comfortable if his team had a lead through six innings, because they all were lights out.

But, the other pitchers in the ‘pen did a good job as well. Warren served as the long man, and Shreve and Pinder, two I didn’t even project to the bullpen when the season started, each had ERAs under 3.10.

2. Baltimore Orioles – Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, Brad Brach, Brian Matusz, Tommy Hunter, Chaz Roe, T.J. McFarland

In most divisions, the Orioles bullpen would have been the best. Britton also had 36 saves and pitched to a 1.92 ERA with a WHIP of 0.990, with a strikeouts per nine innings rate of 10.8. While the numbers aren’t quite as good, you could certainly argue Britton was better than Miller. Britton is a ground ball pitcher, not a strikeout pitcher, so the strikeouts being lower is not surprising. Also, many of the hits off Britton were ground balls that found holes. Not many games saw hitters squaring up Britton.

However, just like with the Yankees, Darren O’Day may have been better. O’Day appeared in 68 games with an ERA of 1.52 and a WHIP of 0.934. The side-armer was very effective again for the Birds and will be paid for it this offseason.

Brad Brach formed the third part of the back-end of the Orioles’ bullpen. He had another great season, with a 2.72 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.197.

But it was the lack of depth in the bullpen that holds the O’s just behind the Yankees. Matusz’ numbers look good, although the eye test is a different story. Hunter was not as effective and was traded, and although Roe started off very well, he faded and had an ERA about 4. One person to mention who did not have enough games is Mychal Givens, the converted shortstop who finished with an ERA of 1.80 in 30 innings.

3. Toronto Blue Jays – Roberto Osuna, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Liam Hendriks, Aaron Sanchez, Ryan Tepera, Steve Delabar, Bo Schultz

The 20-year-old Osuna had a fine season as he took over the closer job to a 2.58 ERA, despite six losses. Cecil and Loup saw lots of time at the back-end of the bullpen, but by season’s end another youngster, Aaron Sanchez, was in the setup role. Sanchez struggled with his walks in between starting and the bullpen, but settled down as the year went on.