Review pitcher usage

It’s December. The year of 2022 is coming to an end soon. There’s no baseball recently. However, it’s a good time to review this season.

While reviewing this season, I’m thinking about each team’s pitcher usage during the regular season. In particular, how many pitchers did each team actually use this season? After checking on the baseball reference website, here’s what I found. The Chicago Cubs used 42 players on the mound this season. Rowan Wick led the Cubs with 64 appearances. Additionally, Marcus Stroman led the Cubs with innings pitched. Stroman made 25 starts in 2022, posting a 3.50 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Moreover, 3 position players used to throw for the Cubs in 2022. Frank Schwindel tossed 3 innings for the Cubs. Franmil Reyes and Andrelton Simmons each threw 1 inning. At the same time, the Tampa Bay Rays used 40 pitchers in 2022. Shane McClananhan led the Rays with 166.1 innings. He had a great season with a 2.54 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Corey Kluber also tossed 160+ innings for the Rays this season. In the bullpen, Jason Adam, Colin Poche and Brooks Raley each made at least 60 relief appearances for the Rays this year. Furthermore, the Rays used to let 3 position players pitch. Christian Bethancourt and Brett Phillips each made 3 relief appearances in 2022. And, Yu Chang made 2 relief appearances. In addition, the Minnesota Twins used 38 pitchers this season. Joe Ryan led the Twins with 147 innings. Ryan owned a 3.55 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. In the Twins bullpen, Caleb Thielbar and Griffin Jax each made 60+ relief appearances during the regular season. Moreover, the Reds used 38 pitchers during the regular season as well. Rookie Hunter Greene led the Reds 125.2 innings pitched. Finally, some teams don’t use that many pitchers this season. The Houston Astros defeated the Phillies to win the 2022 World Series. During the regular season, the Astros used only 22 pitchers. Framber Valdez led the Astros with 201.1 innings. He had a great 2.82 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Meanwhile, the 2022 AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander posted a great 1.75 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP over 175 innings. Additionally, Rafael Montero and Hector Neris each made 70+ relief appearances for the Astros in 2022. In particular, the Astros didn’t let any position players eat some innings this season. Furthermore, the Chicago White Sox used 23 pitchers this season. Dylan Cease, the 2022 AL Cy Young finalist, led the White Sox with 184 innings. At the same time, Kendall Graveman, Jose Ruiz and Reynaldo Lopez each made at least 60 appearances for the White Sox this year. And, position player Josh Harrison tossed 3 innings in 2022. While reviewing pitcher usage this season, the Astros used only 22 pitchers and the White Sox used 23 players on the mound. However, the Cubs and the Rays each used at least 40 players to pitch this season. Each team has its own idea of pitcher usage. It doesn’t mean that using fewer pitchers during the regular season will generate more wins. But in 2022, clubs are limited to freely optioning a player up to five times in a season. Perhaps, this rule has impacts on some teams in pitcher usage in 2022.