It’s mid-September. The postseason is just two weeks away. The playoff race is really heating up. Bullpen has been more and more important in baseball. In this shortened schedule, MLB teams could add pitching depth in the bullpen because they are able to keep 28-player rosters through the end of the season. Do MLB teams use more relievers this season? Any changes in bullpen usage?
AL East teams heavily rely on their bullpens. Red Sox relievers already threw more than 210 innings, leading the majors. However, Red Sox bullpen has an over 5.00 ERA. The Tampa Rays are currently leading the AL East and the bullpen has been a key weapon. Rays bullpen already tossed over 200 innings, which is the second most in the majors, and has a 3.73 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.
Blue Jays relief pitchers tossed 195.2 innings and the bullpen ERA is 3.27.
It might be hard to believe. The Orioles bullpen has actually done a good job so far this season. The Orioles relievers have pitched more than 180 innings and the bullpen ERA is 3.86.
In the National League, AL East leader Atlanta Braves have a reliable bullpen. Braves relief pitchers have pitched 196.0 innings, leading the NL. The Braves bullpen has a 3.31 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a very solid bullpen this season. So far, the Dodgers bullpen already tossed 191.2 innings, second most in the NL. How great is the Dodgers bullpen? The Dodgers bullpen has an only 2.58 ERA and its WHIP is 1.05. Opponents only batted .204 against the Dodgers relievers.
It’s worth noting that there are 6 teams, which relief pitchers tossed more innings than starting pitchers. 4 of these 6 teams are in the AL East, the New York Yankees are the only team that starters pitched more innings than relievers in the AL East.
I also checked on the Fangraph website to do some searching. Since the 2020 season began in late July, August is the first full month. So let’s take a look at innings pitched by relievers in each August from 2011 to 2020.
In 2011, the Cleveland Indians were the only team that relief pitchers tossed more than 100 innings in August. From 2012 to 2014, each season there were two teams that relievers pitched at least 100 innings in August. MLB teams have relied on bullpens more and more since 2015. In 2015 and 2016, 5 teams let their relief pitchers throw at least 100 innings each August. In 2018, the number went to 10. In August 2019, 18 MLB teams did let relievers pitch at least 100 innings. This season, it’s even more. 19 teams.
Bullpen has been used more often and has been crucial to an MLB team’s success. How to use the bullpen effectively is extremely important for a team to clinch a berth in the postseason or even to win the World Series champions. However, each team also has to be careful and does not overuse relief pitchers. A team must evaluate bullpen workloads carefully because a tired bullpen might cause a dramatic loss in the playoff. Optimizing the bullpen could be a deciding factor in the next two weeks and for October baseball.
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