Middle Relievers Matter

We all know the value of closers. We pay through the nose for them on draft day and then kill ourselves all season long on waivers or in trades, often feeling like we are overpaying to attain their services. But we have to have them. Have to. This article won’t speak to the closer, even though I just led off with it. Instead, this article will speak about the undervalued asset that is the middle reliever.

STARTER USAGE

Back in the day, starting pitchers finished what they started.

In 1878 Will White made 75 starts.

He completed all 75 of them.

In 1904 we had the last of the 400-inning pitchers with Jack Chesbro leading the way with 454.2 innings pitched.

In 1953 Robin Roberts led baseball with 346.2 innings pitched.

In 1979 Phil Niekro threw 342 innings to lead baseball.

From that point on things started to change, dramatically.

Let’s look at some yearly markers.

Face it, the elite pitchers don’t throw as many innings as they once did. They also don’t complete what they start like they used to. Realize the above table only talks about the elite arms. Yes, you can imagine how bad it gets once we start digging deep into those starting staffs.

RELIEVER USAGE

Teams are built differently now then they have been at any point in baseball history.

Teams look for six innings out of their starter and then move on to the bullpen (we saw the Indians do this spectacularly in the playoffs). A starting pitcher is only asked to throw six innings. That’s it. In fact, in many instances teams are satisfied with five innings of work from their starter. Just look at the 200-innings arms listed above. There were roughly a quarter of the 200-inning arms last season than there were in 1970. It’s even more stark than that folks. In 2016 there were 30 big league teams. In 1970 there were only 24 teams.  We’ve added six teams, 30 starting pitcher spots, and still had roughly a quarter as many 200-inning men. Shocking really. The point is, relievers are called on more frequently than ever before.

Good news for us... relievers are more effective than they have ever been and they still cost nothing on draft day.

Here is a breakdown of the performance of starters versus relievers.

Relievers are more dominate performers. On a per inning basis they are more valuable than starting pitchers. That is a 100 percent defendable position to take.

Don’t forget that when you start calling out the names of the Mike Leake’s and Chris Tillman’s of the world at your draft.

A COMPARISON

Tell me who these pitchers are based upon their 2016 efforts.

I’ll let you know that two of the pitchers are starters, two are relievers.

You have no idea who they are I would bet, which is fine. I wouldn’t expect anyone to guess the four.

How about I tell you that the two starters are Scherzer and Strasburg.

That help at all?

Probably not.

Here are the four men revealed.

Pitcher A – Max Scherzer

Pitcher B – Shawn Kelley

Pitcher C – Stephen Strasburg

Pitcher D – Hector Neris

The point should be obvious. Middle relievers, guys that weren’t even drafted last year, can dominate as well as the elites of the game in the starting pitching ranks.

How about another brain teaser?

Who are the following three pitchers?

You have no idea who they are, which is fine. I wouldn’t expect anyone to guess the three.

How about I tell you that two of the pitchers are Bumgarner and Cueto.

That help at all?

Probably not.

Here are the three men revealed.

Pitcher A – Johnny Cueto

Pitcher B – Tony Barnette, Ryan Dull, David Phelps

Pitcher C – Madison Bumgarner

That’s right. Three middle relievers, who weren’t drafted in a single league last season, posted numbers that rivaled those posted by two of the top-10 starters in baseball. That point is driven further home when you note that the trio of relivers won 19 games while saving seven more. They cost nothing, yet they performed just as well as the aces. It’s not like I cherry picked the three best middle relievers either. I could have substituted names like Ryan, Buchter, Nate Jones, Kevin Siegrist, Will Harris, Mike Montgomery etc. and the point still would have been made.

Middle relievers can dominate batters at a rate that is akin to the best starting pitchers in baseball, and it they cost nothing on draft day.

Middle relievers matter folks.

Make sure to check out Setup Men To Target where we will break down some of the bullpen options to take a shot on