Bullpen Report: October 3, 2012
Just a couple of quick hitters on the final evening of the 2012 regular season:
• Fernando Rodney dished one-third of an inning tonight for his 48th save of the season. In doing so, Rodney lowered his ERA to 0.60 — the lowest ERA for a relief pitcher in MLB history with a minimum of 50 innings pitched. He just edged Dennis Eckersley’s 0.61 ERA effort in 1990. The Rays hold a $2.5 million option for Rodney’s services in 2013, which will likely be picked up.
• I decided to compare Fernando Rodney’s 2012 campaign with Dennis Ecksersley’s 1990 effort and found a few interesting tidbits to share with y’all. Each of the relievers were in their age 35 year and saved 48 games when achieving their respective 0.61 and 0.60 ERAs. Additionally, Eckersley held batters to a .159 average and surrendered 0.25 HR/9 while opponents hit .163 off of Rodney and he allowed 0.24 HR/9. The biggest discrepancy I found came in the strikeouts per walk category in which Eckersley posted an 18.25 K/BB while Rodney sported a 5.07 K/BB. Check out the entire comparison here.
• Matt Belisle picked up his third save in ten chances in Colorado’s final contest this evening. Belisle needed five pitches to induce an Aaron Hill line out to left field to secure the victory for Colorado.
• Orioles reliever Jim Johnson finished the twenty-twelve season with 51 saves — the most in the majors — to go along with a 2.49 ERA (3.63 xFIP) and a 2.73 K/BB. Johnson is clearly the surprise of the season compared to his original draft position of 195. Craig Kimbrel, Jonathan Papelbon and Joel Hanrahan are the only three players who were drafted as a top ten closer and finished the season as a top ten closer.
For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here is a matchup you may be able to exploit.
A Pitcher for Tomorrow: N/A
Unfortunately, folks, the regular season has come to an end. Check back with us throughout the week as we reflect on the 2012 season and look ahead to 2013.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
In addition to contributing to the RotoGraphs blog, you can find Alan at his own site, TheFantasyFix.com and follow his nonsense on Twitter @TheFantasyFix.