Alexi Ogando Excelling

Much of the talk of the Rangers’ staff this offseason was Neftali Feliz moving to the rotation, with Alexi Ogando’s re-entrance to the bullpen seemingly being a backstory. Ogando had previously pitched out of the bullpen in 2010, throwing 41.2 innings and earning 0.8 WAR in the process.

After what was a rather effective stint as a starter, putting up a 3.6 win season over 169 innings, Ogando has moved back to the bullpen and seen great success thus far. In the nine innings he has pitched, he has struck out 10 batters, walked none, and allowed just one earned run.

While Ogando lost the accustomed mile per hour on his fastball in his transition to starter from reliever last year, he has picked that velocity up plus additional velocity on his slider. As a reliever in 2010, Ogando averaged 81.9 miles per hour on his slider, but this year he has averaged 84.0 over his full game’s worth of innings.

This has resulted in a slightly increased usage of the pitch, and and he has seemingly abandoned his change up. One of the main reasons the Rangers felt that Ogando was built more for the bullpen and Feliz more for the rotation, despite both previously having had success in the opposite role, was the repertoire of each pitcher. While Feliz often neglected his change up as a reliever, he does have a decent hold of the pitch and has thrown it on nearly 20% of his pitches so far. Ogando has gone strictly to fastball and slider in the bullpen, which has allowed him to increase the usage of his quality slider while not sacrificing any usage of his super, 96.5 mile per hour four-seamer.

The jury is still out on whether or not Feliz will be an effective reliever, but Ogando has been a huge success in the bullpen for the team with the lowest bullpen FIP in baseball. Ogando has been the best reliever in what is an extremely stacked bullpen, and although it is just nine innings, Mike Adams and Ogando could make for the top set-up duo in baseball by season’s end.

In a league like ottoneu, where Ogando can provide excess value as a starting eligible reliever, he has provided tons of value. He is just under 100 points already in just nine innings of work, behind his extremely solid peripherals and five holds. I expect Ogando to hold up a solid performance, as he has more experience against Major League hitters and is being utilized in a role that better suits his repertoire. It is certainly not out of question for Ogando to finish near the top of the leader board in reliever WAR by the end of the year, which will likely make the Ranger’s decision a worthwhile one, as long as Feliz progresses as a starter.