2020 Bullpen Discussion

[Lee]

Hand averaged 91.9 on his fastball last night, up from 90.5 in his first outing.

I know he got hit hard on a couple of low sliders, but I think he's in a good place and will perform well for us this year.

Slider? Hard? Hand?

There has to be a joke there somewhere.

 

[Derek]

Since I did it for the starters, it's only fair:

Cleveland Indians Leaderboards » 2020 » Relievers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Cleveland Indians leaderboards for 2020 relievers with dashboard

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The swinging strike numbers for Cimber/Hand/Perez are concerning, but obviously these numbers are volatile and subject to large swings since nobody has thrown more than 6.1 IP so far.

If you're interested in their spin rates and how much movement some of these guys have on their pitches right now compared to previous seasons, you should check out:

Brad Hand Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com

(ALL) Avg Exit Velocity: 87.6, Hard Hit %: 33.8, wOBA: .285, xwOBA: .289, Barrel %: 5.8. Pitch Arsenal: SL, FF, SI, CU

baseballsavant.mlb.com

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Since I did it for the starters, it's only fair:

Cleveland Indians Leaderboards » 2020 » Relievers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Cleveland Indians leaderboards for 2020 relievers with dashboard

www.fangraphs.com

View attachment 3934
View attachment 3935
View attachment 3936

The swinging strike numbers for Cimber/Hand/Perez are concerning, but obviously these numbers are volatile and subject to large swings since nobody has thrown more than 6.1 IP so far.

If you're interested in their spin rates and how much movement some of these guys have on their pitches right now compared to previous seasons, you should check out:

Brad Hand Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com

(ALL) Avg Exit Velocity: 87.6, Hard Hit %: 33.8, wOBA: .285, xwOBA: .289, Barrel %: 5.8. Pitch Arsenal: SL, FF, SI, CU

baseballsavant.mlb.com

Looking at the bottom chart on Hand's Statcast (Frequency of pitches by pitch speed) you see the huge gap in the 83-90 mph area where he rarely throws a pitch. Everything is either a low 90's fastball or a low 80's slider. It reminds me of jup talking about pitchers wanting to have batters swinging in the middle - out in front of the soft stuff and late on the heat. Since Hand doesn't throw anything in the middle the hitter's timing is always off.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Since I did it for the starters, it's only fair:

Cleveland Indians Leaderboards » 2020 » Relievers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Cleveland Indians leaderboards for 2020 relievers with dashboard

www.fangraphs.com

View attachment 3934
View attachment 3935
View attachment 3936

The swinging strike numbers for Cimber/Hand/Perez are concerning, but obviously these numbers are volatile and subject to large swings since nobody has thrown more than 6.1 IP so far.

If you're interested in their spin rates and how much movement some of these guys have on their pitches right now compared to previous seasons, you should check out:

Brad Hand Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com

(ALL) Avg Exit Velocity: 87.6, Hard Hit %: 33.8, wOBA: .285, xwOBA: .289, Barrel %: 5.8. Pitch Arsenal: SL, FF, SI, CU

baseballsavant.mlb.com

On the first chart I noticed that for every pitcher except Hand and Leone the ERA is signficantly lower than the FIP and xFIP. I assume that's because xFIP expects pitchers to give up home runs and these guys have not been giving up any. Also, the defense is pretty good.

As long as our relievers can keep the ball in the park we should be fine. A lot of times in the late innings we end up with three very rangy outfielders once the defensive replacements have been made, which helps the BABIP numbers.

But there's no way our bullpen can keep up this pace, right? Or can they? We have 12 games against Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Milwaukee, who rank 19, 24, and 25 in runs per game. We have seven games left against KC, who scored five runs in three games against us in July. We've already played four of the 10 games against the Twins. Surprisingly, the highest scoring opponent is Detroit, who is tied for first at 5.50 runs per game. We have all 10 games left against them. However, the Tigers' number is skewed because they scored 28 runs in the last two games against the Pirates who rank 29th in ERA. The Tigers are averaging 3.8 runs per game in their other games.

We have a lot of games remaining against below average offensive teams. The schedule has actually been front-loaded with nine games so far against the Twins and White Sox.

 

[jup]

Looking at the bottom chart on Hand's Statcast (Frequency of pitches by pitch speed) you see the huge gap in the 83-90 mph area where he rarely throws a pitch. Everything is either a low 90's fastball or a low 80's slider. It reminds me of jup talking about pitchers wanting to have batters swinging in the middle - out in front of the soft stuff and late on the heat. Since Hand doesn't throw anything in the middle the hitter's timing is always off.

See Wham, you watch enough baseball and develop an eye, and it will convince you all by itself

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

See Wham, you watch enough baseball and develop an eye, and it will convince you all by itself

Well, in this case I was looking at a velo chart and noticed a huge hole in the middle for Hand. Karinchak has a bigger one.

 

[Derek]

On a similar note, I don't expect Oliver Perez to last the year.

You're so fucking stupid

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

You're so fucking stupid

I love him. Not having the stuff, but being crafty... I have a soft spot for those pitchers

 

[Phil Mixtape]

I love him. Not having the stuff, but being crafty... I have a soft spot for those pitchers

a la Paul Byrd . . .

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The bullpen finally showed a crack last night for the first time since Hand's meltdown but it didn't matter since we only scored one run. No way that level of performance could be maintained even for 60 games. Now let's see where they level off at over the last 42 games.

The good news (I suppose) is that it was three rookies who allowed all the runs. I don't know how big a role that Allen, Maton, and Hill will be asked to fill once the playoffs start. It will mainly be Hand, Wittgren, Perez, Karinchak, Plutko and maybe Leone, although I'm not sure about Hand at this point.

 

[xmasbuck]

The bullpen finally showed a crack last night for the first time since Hand's meltdown but it didn't matter since we only scored one run. No way that level of performance could be maintained even for 60 games. Now let's see where they level off at over the last 42 games.

The good news (I suppose) is that it was three rookies who allowed all the runs. I don't know how big a role that Allen, Maton, and Hill will be asked to fill once the playoffs start. It will mainly be Hand, Wittgren, Perez, Karinchak, Plutko and maybe Leone, although I'm not sure about Hand at this point.

perhaps it was because it was late in the game, but I found it interesting that allen threw 63 pitches. i wonder if the fo and staff are still deciding between relief and starting for him

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

perhaps it was because it was late in the game, but I found it interesting that allen threw 63 pitches. i wonder if the fo and staff are still deciding between relief and starting for him

Just want to get a look at him against major league hitters, I would think. AFAIK, he's a starter. They might want to slide him into Plesac's next start if they think it's warranted or want to make a point about breaking trust and endangering your teammates.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

 

[Derek]

Since I did it for the starters, it's only fair:

Cleveland Indians Leaderboards » 2020 » Relievers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Cleveland Indians leaderboards for 2020 relievers with dashboard

www.fangraphs.com

View attachment 3934
View attachment 3935
View attachment 3936

The swinging strike numbers for Cimber/Hand/Perez are concerning, but obviously these numbers are volatile and subject to large swings since nobody has thrown more than 6.1 IP so far.

If you're interested in their spin rates and how much movement some of these guys have on their pitches right now compared to previous seasons, you should check out:

Brad Hand Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com

(ALL) Avg Exit Velocity: 87.6, Hard Hit %: 33.8, wOBA: .285, xwOBA: .289, Barrel %: 5.8. Pitch Arsenal: SL, FF, SI, CU

baseballsavant.mlb.com

Brad Hand has rebounded nicely with really just one bad outing on the year.

Karinchak is a stud. Wittgren has been reliable. Phil Maton has emerged as another potential high-leverage guy.

Cimber and Perez haven't missed many bats, but they have induced some of the weakest contact on the team (check the EV category). Something to keep an eye on moving forward because Perez has been successful in the past mostly by striking guys out at a high rate.

 

[Derek]

Per Mandy Bell on Twitter

Kyle Nelson joining the club
Adam Cimber to Eastlake