Around the System–Relief Pitching

Around the System

A first look at the success or lack of success seen in the systems relief pitching with some comments added.  As always, take these comments as what they are.  Observations based on the first 5 weeks of the minor league season.  Feel free to discuss.

Lehigh Valley

Scott Mathieson, 26–13 games; 2-0 with an 0.54 ERA; 5 saves; 16.2 IP 9H 1 ER 4BB 18K; 0.84 WHIP; .185 vs. LH, .179 vs. RH; .182 with RISP.  Mathieson has been simply dominant coming off two Tommy John surgeries.  WHile Ruben Amaro was recently quoted as saying Mathieson was not major league ready and needed to work on his command, I simply couldn’t disagree more.  He has been consistently in the mid 90’s and is the power pitcher the Phils need in the back of the bullpen right now.

Antonio Bastardo, 24–Has made 5 appearances since being sent down from Philadelphia.  0-0 with a 0.00 ERA. 3.2 IP, 1H 3BB 6K. Has struck out 4 of the six batters he has faced with RISP.  Bastardo who was sent down to make room for JC Romero, is simply the more consistent of the two right now. The Phils need to find a way to make room for Bastardo, who, while having some control issues, gets outs when needed.

Oscar Villarreal, 29–9 games, 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA; 11.1 IP 12H 4 ER 2BB 14K; 1.23 WHIP, .389 vs. LH, .192 vs. RH, .222 with RISP; Villarreal is a Tommy John survivor reclamation project that has seen his major league time in the past and is looking good thus far. Still getting into form after not having pitched for a full season, Villarreal has shown very good control and has shown promise.

Mike Zagurski, 27–14 games, 0-1 with a 5.27 ERA; 13.2IP 17H 8ER 4BB 23K; 1.53 WHIP; .348 vs. LH, .265 vs. RH; .346 with RISP. Zagurski is another who is coming off of a year with significant injuries. AFter an April in which his ERA was 7.45, he has been effective in his first 4 appearances in May, not allowing an earned run.  He has struck out a ton of hitters, however, when contact is made, damage is done as shown by his stats with RISP.

Ehren Wasseman, 29, 12 games, 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA; 15IP 14H 9ER 9BB 9K; 1.53 WHIP; .304 vs. LH, .219 vs. RH; .308 with RISP.  Wasserman, who came in to solidify the back of the Lehigh Valley bullpen has simply not looked good, and he has not looked good pretty consistently.

Brandon Duckworth, 34,6 games, 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA; 14 IP 9H 2ER 6BB 17K; 1.07 WHIP; .111 with RISP.  Duckworth spent the first two weeks of the season on the DL with turf toe has responded well making a good spot start and pitching effectively out of the ‘pen.  Once on the Lehigh Valley roster bubble, he has been one of the most dependable pitchers on the roster. 

Brian Gordon, 31, 9 games, 0-0 with a 4.79 ERA. 20.2 IP, 23H 11ER 6BB 23K, 1.40 WHIP; .300 vs LH, .250 vs. RH; .261 with RISP.  Gordon, an OF turned Pitcher was the designated long man, responsible to clean up the mess after several LV starters failed early in the season.  Gordon was “lights out” early on, but has returned to Earth with 3 difficult outings in early May.

Alex Concepcion, 25, 5 games, 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA. 7IP 4H 5ER 4BB 3K.  Has spent the last 3 weeks on the DL, with the apparantly contagious turf toe.  Not enough to base any opinion yet.

Reading

Sergio Escalona, 25, 13 games, 0-3 with a 2.92 ERA; 5 saves; 12.1 IP, 11H 4ER 5BB 11K, 3 HR allowed, .238 vs. LH, .231 vs. RH; 1.29 WHIP, .100 with RISP.  The stats look good but the home run ball has really hurt Escalona, helping to earn him 3 losses.  I would categorize his year thus far as up and down.  Back end relievers simply can’t give up homers in bunches with inherited runners scoring.

Michael Schwimer, 24, 13 games, 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA; 3 saves; 17IP 11H 7ER 9BB 21K; .320 vs. LH, .088 vs. RH; .067 with RISP; 1.17 WHIP. Schwimer’s responsibilities have increased with the DL stint of Rosenberg, and he has responded with one bump in the road which significantly inflated his ERA. He has given up runs in just 2 of his 13 appearances.  His splits are very interesting early on, as he has been lights out against righties but struggling against lefties.  Average with RISP shows a back end of bullpen mentality.

Michael Stutes, 23, 13 games, 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA; 2 saves, 18 IP 11H 9ER 14BB 12K; .121 vs. LH, .250 vs. RH; .174 with RISP; 1.38 WHIP.  Stutes has responded well in his transition to the bullpen.  His command has been his enemy as when he throws strikes, he has been difficult to hit.

Matt German, 25, 12 games, 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA; 11IP 6H 3ER 8BB 12K; .167 vs. LH, .154 vs. RH; .182 with RISP; 1.64 WHIP.  The soft tossing leftyhas thrown well, but has had similar control problems that have slown him a bit.  Again, has been difficult to hit.

Chance Chapman, 26, 9 games, 0-0 with a 5.02 ERA; 14.1 IP 13H 8ER 8BB 7K; .231 vs. LH, .250 vs. RH; .100 with RISP; 1.48 WHIP.  Chapman has been ok.  He was asked to make a spot start and pitched well, and depending on injury issues, may see more time in the Reading rotation.

John Ennis, 30 has made 2 appearances and thrown 3.2 scoreless innings after coming off Tommy John surgery.  Ennis has a bit of major league experience as well as a good deal of AAA experience.

Jason Anderson, 30, 12 games between Lehigh Valley and Reading. 0-3 with a 2.81 ERA; 1 save; 16IP 15H 5ER; 6 BB 9K; .254 opp. avg., 1.31 WHIP.  Anderson is a guy with expereience that will do whatever needs to be done at whatever level and pitch effectively which he has done the majority of the time this year.

Ty Taubenheim, 27, 3 games, 0-1 with a 23.82 ERA.  Not much more needs to be said, other than he gave up 6ER the other night and his ERA went down.  Each of his outings have been horrific.

Jason Stephens, 25, 6 games, 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA; 13.1 IP 7H 0ER 4BB 7K; .174 vs. LH, .136 vs. RH; Stephens, a pick up out of the Yankees organization was pitching very well before going on the DL with right elbow inflammation.

BJ Rosenberg, 24, Has been on the DL since the first week of the season.  He has recently been down in Extended SPring Training rehabbing.

Clearwater

Tyson Brummett, 25, 10 games, 0-0 with an 0.63 ERA; 2 saves; 14.1 IP, 7H 1ER 4BB 10K; .130 vs. LH, .143 vs. RH; .083 with RISP; 0.77 WHIP.  Brummett has been a very pleasant surprise out of the bullpen, in this his first year in relief.  After throwing in the Reading rotation last yearand struggling mightily, he may be ready for the step back up to pitch in the Reading bullpen.

Justin DeFratus, 22, 12 games; 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA; 7 saves; 15IP 10H 3ER 5BB 18K; .182 vs. LH; .188 vs. RH; .250 with RISP; 1.00 WHIP.  De Fratus simply doing everything he needs to do to be successful  Great BB/K rate, and has been very difficult to hit.

Tyler Cloyd, 23, 8 games, 0-0 with a 2.77 ERA; 13IP 12H 4ER 2BB 11K; .333 vs. LH, .172 vs. RH; .067 with RISP; 1.08 WHIP. Cloyd has been used a bit sparingly, but has looked good in the early going this year.  Has really helped solidify the back end of the CW pen.

Jon Velasquez, 24, 8 games; 0-1 with a 1.20 ERA; has started one game and has one save; 15IP 9H 2ER 2BB 10K; .156 vs. LH, .190 vs. RH; .059 with RISP; 0.73 WHIP. Velasquez has been excellent with simply nothing to complain about.  He has seen action in only 8 games, probably because of all the rehabs from Phils pitchers that ate up Clearwater innings.

Edgar Garcia, 22, 7 games, 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA; 11IP 9H 3ER 6BB 14K; .222 vs. LH, .200 vs. RH; .071 with RISP. Once a prospect has a starter, Garcia started the season down a level, and beginning as a reliever.  He has looked good with a small sample size.  Garcia does have alot of talent, and is still only 22.

Chris Kissock, 25, 9 games, 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA; 1 save; 15.1 IP 10H 3ER 1BB 6K;  .190 vs. LH, .182 vs. RH; .278 with RISP; 0.72 WHIP.  Kissock like most others in the Threshers ‘pen has looked very, very good. 

Korey Noles, 24, 7 games, 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA. 9.1 IP 11H 3ER 3BB 5K; .400 vs. LH, .208 vs. RH; 1.57 WHIP; .333 with RISP.  Although Noles has a low ERA, it is deceptive and he has struggled.  More work would help, but with nearly the entire staff pitching well in CLearwater, innings have been tough to come by.

Zach Sterner, 24 has been on the DL all year.

Lakewood

Josh Zeid, 23, 13 games, 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA; 4 saves; 21IP 11H  2 ER 9BB 18K ; .087 vs. LH; .191 vs. RH; .107 with RISP; 0.95 WHIP.  Zeid has been lights out for Lakewood.  Strong consideration should be given to moving him within the next month.

Jacob Diekman, 23, 12 games, 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA; 13.2 IP 7H 1ER 9BB 19K; .143 vs. LH, .139 vs. RH; .158 with RISP; 1.17 WHIP.  In his 2nd full season at Lakewood and has seen much more success early on then last year.  Has been excellent other than a troublesome walk rate.

Jordan Ellis, 24, 12 games, 2-1 with a 4.86 ERA; 16.2 IP 20H 9ER 7BB 24K; .333 vs. LH, .286 vs. RH; .310 with RISP; 1.56 WHIP.  Nothing special from ELlis who has been hit relatively hard despite striking out 1.5 per inning.

Siulman Lebron, 22, 10 games, 0-1 with a 5.22 ERA; 23.2 IP 32H 14ER 6BB 29K; 4 homers allowed; .314 vs. LH, .313 vs. RH; .355 with RISP; 1.42 WHIP.  Not pretty thus far.

Ebelin Lugo, 20, 7 games, 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA; 10IP 10H 3 ER 5BB 8K.  A bit too early to really judge Lugo whose season began after Wertz went on the DL.  So far, not bad, not great.

Eric Massingham, 23, 11 games, 0-1 with a 4.11 ERA; 1 save; 15.1 IP 14H 7ER 4BB 9K; .409 vs. LH, .143 vs. RH; .200 with RISP; 1.17 WHIP.  A relatively decent start for Massingham whose biggest issue is clearly getting lefties out.

Colby Shreve, 21, 6 games, 2-o with a 1.50 ERA; 18 IP 12H 3ER 6BB 8K; .065 vs. LH, .286 vs. RH., .455 with RISP; 1.00 WHIP.  A good start for Shreve whose season began about 3 weeks late after an extended stint in Spring Training.  After missing the ’08 and ’09 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, he has been successful in his role so far, which has been pitching in back of Brody COlvin when Colvin’s starts have imploded.  WOuldn’t be surprised to see SHreve in the rotation very soon.

Luke Wertz, 24, currently on DL. Pitched very well in his first 4 outings prior to this DL stint. He has now missed 3 weeks.

35 thoughts on “Around the System–Relief Pitching”

  1. I could not agree more about Mathieson… I had him rated high as having a huge effect on the big league team this year… and he should be there right now… his command is excellent and he has nothing more to prove at AAA… He could probably easily step into either set-up or closer role in a pinch…

    He has been good from day one… which his era shows, but in his last 9 INN 6H 0R 0BB 13K 0.00 ERA If anyone falters…Call him up…

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  2. if a major league GM says that a pitcher’s command isn’t good enough yet, how can someone on this blog disagree? it takes more than mph to get major league hitters out. if you disagree, see Jeffrey Samardzija. or a number of other fireballers that never make it. if you can’t pitch at the knees, then you can’t pitch in the majors. you can blow away minor leaguers, but that won’t work for major leaguers. it is location, location, location in the show.

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  3. With Madson out, and Lidge possibly heading that way,and Romero shaky, they’ve got to give Mathieson a shot. Either that or go out and get a reliever from outside the organization.

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  4. If Lidge goes down, I think Bastardo will get the first call. With Romero a bit shaky, they need a second lefty.

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  5. Matheson finally pitched successfully on back to back days recently, something that I think was holding him back from being promoted. If Lidge goes back on the DL, who they promote (Matheson or Bastardo) will tell you more about what they think of Bastardo than Matheson. As for elsewhere, Shwim needs to figure out how to get lefties out. Meanwhile, DeFratus and Zeid could easily both get bumped up a level. Fyi – Rizzotti went to Reading today but still no word on Overbeck who needs to go up too.

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  6. Duckworth has really good numbers out of the pen at LHV. They are actually comparable to Mathieson, although I am sure his fastball isn’t as good. I have the impression that he is much better in relief than he ever was as a starter and he might be able to help out the Phillies before the season is over.

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  7. I disagree with the group consensus on advancing Mathieson. 1) the big league club is doing pretty well there is no need to make rash decisions 2) The bullpen has struggled at moments but outside of Madson it has been pretty solid 3) It’s hard to get consistent innings in the big league’s especially with the up and down nature of Philly’s starters and Mathieson needs regular work.

    He may very well help them this year but unless they are absolutely riddled with more injuries or their bullpen implodes there is no reason to not wait until at least after the all-star break before bringing him up.

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  8. If recent history is any guide, the Phillies generally give their opening day roster guys until around mid-July to perform before they begin shuffling players.

    So I suspect barring injuries, it won’t be until then that Romaro or Lidge would possibly lose their jobs to Mathieson and/or Bastardo

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  9. “Average with RISP shows a back end of bullpen mentality.”

    Ugh. Again with this voodoo? If he’s so good at pitching with runners on, why doesn’t he bear down and not allow them to reach in the first place? Schwimer’s RISP numbers this year are based on 16 plate appearances, which is not even remotely usable as a sample size. You really can’t evaluate any kind of batting average at all until you get over 200-250 plate appearances (and even then it’s iffy). For a reliever, that can be 4-5 seasons.

    As far as Scott Mathieson, I’ve never been in favor of rushing him. But if it turns out Lidge needs time on the DL, then Mathieson is probably the best available reliever. Time to call him up is the next opening for a righty reliever.

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  10. looking at something besides Mathieson and Bastardo for a minute… Im really pleased with the performance of just about everyone in the Clearwater bullpen. Their advancement and continued success along with others at all of the levels will really help the big club in a few years when they are in a tight payroll spot and will need to fill those bullpen spots fairly cheaply.

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  11. Couldn’t agree more with mathieson. When I saw him pitch this year in AZFL and he was dominant. I personally believe he could make as the closer for the big club.

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  12. Speak of the devil, Klaw got the Mathieson question.

    David (Bethlehem, PA)

    Scott Mathieson has been hitting 96-98 consistently all year here in Lehigh Valley and has given up 1 run in 16 IP – is he the answer to Madson and (inevitably) Lidge hitting the DL?

    Klaw
    (1:50 PM)

    I’m shocked they haven’t recalled him yet.

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  13. Alan, I agree that the sample size is waaay to small to make any determination about pitching with RISP but good pitchers do have the ability to make quality pitches with RISP.

    Roy Halladay’s career numbers show a BA against of .287 for the 1st batter of an inning vs. .261 with men on and .249 with RISP.

    With a total of 8600+ PA against, that would certainly be a large enough sample size to show a trend towards “bearing down” when the situation warrants it.

    Also checked a couple of other stars with long careers.

    Nolan Ryan – .244/.221/.209
    Gred Maddox – .280/.265/.249

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  14. Am I the only one who finds the use of Shreve a bit confusing? 1 start, some long relief, some short relief. I’m sure they have a plan for him, but it seems like the organization is being a little consistent with how they are using him.

    – Jeff

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  15. I can buy that pitchers are better out of the stretch. But you’re talking about longer sample sizes. Be careful about looking at “men on” though. The only situation covered by “men on” that is not covered by RISP is a runner at first base only. Batting averages are almost ALWAYS higher in that situation because with the first baseman holding the runner, there is more open space in the infield.

    One of the difficulties of the RISP stat is that it combines some entirely different situations. I’m looking at last year’s MLB splits league wide. The highest batting averages occur with a RISP and less than two outs (likely since sac flies don’t count in averages). The lowest averages occur with a runner on third AND two outs. RISP combines these two scenarios.

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  16. Off the subject question. I am looking at jake stewart phillies draft choice who went to stanford. he is hitting 228 with two homers in 145 ab. question if he signed would he be facing better or worse comptetion in minors, is rookie ball better or worse than the schedule stanford plays?

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  17. Schwim being a FB/Slider pitcher = he’ll struggle his entire career against lefties. Will he be able to develop an out quality change/curve?

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  18. Schwim will either develop a pitch to throw against lefties or he’ll never make the majors.

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  19. I assume calling up Mathieson has some option reason or service time involved for arbitration issues. Hate to think the club would be that cheap. Anyone who has seen Mathieson in LV this year knows he is beyond this level and should be in Philly

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  20. There’s two things I want my relief pitchers to be able to do:
    Get a ground ball ( DP’s when runners are on) or a strikeout. If Lidge (a strikeout pitcher) is unable to pitch then I would bring up Mathieson to replace him.
    18 k’s in 17 innings is the closest to Lidge’s style of any Phillies’ minor leaguers that are also close to the majors.

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  21. Looks to me like the Phils are becoming more aggressive in turning promising but inconsistent starters into real role-defined relievers. Zeid, Diekman, DeFratus, Brummett, Cloyd, Chapman, Stutes are all guys who started, threw occasional nice games, but were never consistent enough.

    Phils have some premium or near-premium arms that need to start, and, as always, the guys who are not consistently successful get relegated to the pen. But guys like Zeid and DeFratus did pretty well as starters. I suspect Phils have learned from the success of guys like Madson and Mathieson and are being more aggressive in finding out who, at all levels, have resilient arms and are capable of pitching a lot of short stints.

    I don’t feel they did this as systematically in previous years.

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  24. Oscar Villarreal’s rookie year was remarkable but way over
    pitched for his age.

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  25. In my opinion, the big club should take a wait and see approach in determining whether Mathieson should be added. He has all of the tools, experience and numbers to help. A 96-98 mph fastball will go a long way, but the secondary pitch(es) are key. You have to love the guy for what he has gone through and what he if fighting for now. I would love to see him fill the Madson role and then move to closer once he develops his secondary offerings. But, as of now, the Phils brass is happy to have Baez and Contreras throwing in the mid to high 90’s in the set up role.

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  26. Jeff, I was really confused by Shreve’s 1/3 of an inning outing the other day, but other than that he’s being used to absorb innings after one of the other starters (Cosart coming back from the blister; Colvin just in case he doesn’t last long). Basically he’s been piggybacking on other starters to give him starter-like innings and not put too much of an inning strain on 19-year-old arms. Once someone in the rotation moves up or down, he will probably get a regular spot.

    Dan and Murray, I think Schwim was working on a cutter to get out lefties, but I am not 100% sure. Personally I think more relievers should throw a split to get groundballs and to have a pitch with some arm-side movement.

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  27. Yeah, good idea about limiting Shreve’s innings, since he was limited to zero the last couple of seasons.

    Mathieson- held back for “service time” issues? I don’t think a player who is , like, 27 with 2 relatively recent ” Tommy John” surgeries is going to break the bank in arbitration or free agency.

    Why is the uproar about finally getting a mid-nineties throwing reliever? Contreras and Baez are regularly there and , when healthy you got Lidge, Romero, and Madson, and , I would believe the rest of the relievers can get up there occasionally as well.

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  28. Inflammation in the elbow region doesn’t sound good. There is a good chance that Lidge will be going on the DL. Mathieson is already on the forty man roster and could be brought up, but according to information on this site, he has no options left, so once they bring him up, sending him down again might be a problem.

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  31. As far as the ” College ball better than Rookie League ball” not valid. Rookie League ball consisists of players specially selected from 30 teams of professional evaluators to be appropriate for professional play. The vast overwhelming majority of College players would not be selected. Players below College age who play there would be considered of a higher calibre than the majority of College players. Statements like this are similar to when (in football) a Pro Football has a substandard season in comparison to other Pro Football teams, and some Yahoo will come off with a statement like “USC” could defeat the “Detroit Lions” with ease. Not so, the opposite is true.

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  35. yepp…thats what I meant to say….College superior to rookie. High A, superior to college. Thanks.

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