Looking at the Mariners Bullpen

The Mariner’s bullpen this year is one of the most interesting components of the team, in part of how it was built. The Mariner bullpen is full of guys who can throw fast. The bullpen has 5 players whose fastballs have averaged around 93mph or higher this season.

These guys are Shawn Kelly, David Aardsma, Sean White, and of course, Mark Lowe and Brandon Morrow. It’s an odd collection and certainly a departure from the days of junkballers such as RA Dickey, Sean Green, and George Sherrill.

One of the advantages to our current bullpen is that, outside of Miguel Batista, who was not intended to be a reliever when he signed, this is a very cheap bullpen. Cheap, however, implies that it is flawed, which it is. These flame throwing righties have struggles with control, as the only one that does not have a career walk rate significantly higher than the league average is Shawn Kelly, who is also the softest throwing of that bunch.

However, there is a method to this concept of bullpen building, and one good example is J.J. Putz. Putz’s walk rate before he became a dominant closer was two walks per nine innings higher than after he developed his splitter. A pitcher’s control can improve. A pitcher’s velocity rarely does.

It could be possible that the Mariners have put all these arms together in the hope than one could figure it out and turn into something more valuable. While this is a process that could involve a lot of trial and error, it could prove beneficial down the road.

Another interesting thing about this bullpen which would give old-school managers heart attacks is that there are zero left-handers. This could change when Tyler Johnson gets healthy, but it is conventional wisdom that left handed pitchers are crucial for the bullpen in order to deal with big lefty hitters late in games.

George Sherrill excelled in this role as a Mariner. So, it seems odd to go from one of the best southpaw relievers in baseball to none at all.

An interesting possible reason here, however, is that the front office and Wakamatsu see putting the most talented relievers on the roster as more important than situational advantages. Whether this is true or not is hard to say, but one thing it shows is that the Mariners finally have a front office willing to challenge conventional wisdom in order to find ways to win.

That is something we have needed for a long, long, time. Whether it works or not, It is something to keep an eye on until Tyler Johnson joins the 25 man roster.

Finally, despite talking about this bullpen’s perceived shortcomings, so far they have been one of the best in baseball. They rank 2nd in the majors in ERA, and 3rd in FIP. That sounds weird, considering that the bullpen has blown two games for us, and it may not last forever, considering that at some point this year the bullpen will give up a home run, but we should feel lucky compared to many other teams.

This bullpen may be a point of uncertainty, but up to this point it has been a strength, and a large part of the Mariners’ good start.

photo source: [seattletimes]