Washington Nationals: The State of the Nationals Bullpen
The Washington Nationals bullpen is the subject of mass criticism for the team’s poor performances. However, on the individual level, it can get better.
The Washington Nationals bullpen shoulders much of the blame for the Nationals’ poor start to the 2019 season.
This season, the Nationals are worse than the sum of their parts. A team with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, Sean Doolittle, and Anthony Rendon should not have the fourth-worst winning percentage in Major League Baseball.
Yet here we are.
The same can be said of the bullpen.
A total of 12 players have entered the game from the bullpen in a Curly W uniform. Exactly four of them have an ERA under 5.00 this season.
That’s right. Four. And that includes Erick Fedde, who has only appeared in one game.
However, to be fair to the players, some of them have gotten unlucky in the small sample size of one and a half months of baseball.
It goes without saying that these guys have gotten “unlucky” consistently in high leverage situations, making their performances seem worse on the field and on our television screens.
It’s these situations that may make my next claim seem far fetched, but the Nats bullpen does have solid arms in it.
Unless the 2019 Nationals are a historic and mathematic outlier, these players will regress toward the mean performance capabilities and start pitching better.
In this piece, we are going to take a look at all 12 of the Nationals relief pitchers by categorizing them in three ways:
- The Green Flag Relievers
- The Yellow Flag Relievers
- The Red Flag Relievers
All Systems Go
Despite the struggles of some of his teammates, Sean Doolittle is as reliable as ever. With a stellar 1.15 ERA (2.50 FIP) and a 10.91 K/9, Doolittle is as advertised. He is well on his way to a third All-Star appearance.
Doolittle has a mere five saves, but that says more about the team than it does Doolittle. He has only experienced six save opportunities in the Nationals’ 36 games.
The one bullpen free agent acquisition that has exceeded expectations is Kyle Barraclough. He has Doolittle-esque stats (1.42 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 11.85 K/9) and has been a reliable option. Barraclough has given up two earned runs the entire season on 12.2 innings pitched.
Barraclough still walks far too many batters — 4.97 per nine innings. However, that number is lower than his career average of 5.49 BB/9. His home run rate is down, but his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) and runners left on base percentage (LOB%) say he is due for some regression.
However, until that regression hits, Barraclough needs to pitch more often.
And that’s all folks. Only two relievers get a check mark without need for debate. Now, onto the more “fun” parts of this piece.
In Need of a Repair or Two
People that have followed my work over the last nine or so months know that I’m a big believer in what Wander Suero offers as a pitcher. He can pitch multiple innings, and he strikes lots of batters out. That’s an excellent combination to have.
His 6.60 ERA is due to an absurd 48.4 LOB%. That will NOT (I repeat, NOT) sustain itself over the course of the season. That is why Suero’s FIP of 2.94 is a better representation of who he is.
Erick Fedde was recently recalled from Double-A and placed back in the bullpen. Both he and Joe Ross offer long relief help when the starters struggle. Fedde and Ross are serviceable pitchers. And as awful as it sounds, the Nats need those guys badly.
Tony Sipp is the Nats’ best LOOGY (left-handed one-out guy) but is currently injured. When he was healthy, he held left-handed batters to a scary .666 OPS.
Matt Grace is who he is. Nothing flashy, but still somewhat effective. He is suffering the same LOB% fate as Suero, so his 3.52 FIP, rather than his 6.75 ERA, is a better representation of his contributions to the team.
We’ve discussed seven good and mediocre pitchers. If you’re still reading, prepare yourself for an adventure into horrible, horrible pitching stats.
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Seasons
I’m not sure which pitch Trevor Rosenthal is throwing in the image above, but odds are it went into the dirt and hit the backstop behind home plate.
The following statistics are not safe for work: A 36.00 ERA, a 13.14 FIP, and three times as many walks as strikeouts. Gross.
Rosenthal has not allowed a home run this season. So he’s got that going for him. Hopefully, he can build on that in West Palm Beach while he recovers from his “viral illness.”
Austin Adams and Austen Williams have the combined statistics of 13 batters faced and four outs recorded. Williams was placed on the IL with an AC joint sprain, and Adams was recently traded to the Seattle Mariners for a Class-A prospect.
Dan Jennings got called up last week and has not pitched well. In fairness to him, some of this is due to questionable managerial decision making. But the stats are ugly. He has retired eight of the 21 batters he has faced. His 16.88 ERA and 9.89 FIP are both awful.
He claims to pitch better when he is used frequently. Right now, the Nats should not accept that request.
Lastly, we have Justin Miller. The Nats tapped into Miller’s upside in the first half of the 2018 season when he posted a 3.05 FIP with a 13.34 K/9. After the break, he posted a 6.00 FIP and cut his strikeouts per nine innings in half (13.34 to 6.93).
This season, he has posted a 3.55 ERA. However, his underlying metrics tell a different story. He has a .265 BABIP which will inevitably rise, meaning more balls will find the outfield grass rather than defender’s mitts for outs.
He also has a 6.77 FIP and a negative 0.3 WAR, which is tied with Rosenthal for the worst pitching WAR on the team.
Next. Nats Should Use An Opener. dark
The State of The Nationals Bullpen is Bleak. But with a little bit of luck, its fortunes might turn around.