Your 2018 Orioles Report Card - Bullpen
The bullpen was always something that the Orioles could hang their hat on, no matter what the starter did, the bullpen could bail them out and keep them in the game. It's obvious that has changed now, we have a whole new crew of guys in the pen, and all the veteran guys were shipped out. Goodbye to Zach Britton, Darren O'Day, and Brad Brach, hello to Mychal Givens, Tanner Scott, and Miguel Castro.
I'm not going to go over EVERY guy who made an appearance out of the pen, because I honestly don't have that much time, only the guys who had a chunk of appearances. You'll thank me later. I graded out the starters earlier, here is your chance to see the grades on the pen boys.
Mychal Givens: C+
Much like Alex Cobb and some of the other starters, Givens was much, much better in the second half of the year. Don't get me wrong, on paper his 0-7 record isn't great, but W-L records are meh. The second half of the season he basically was their closer after the trade of Zach Britton, and we all know if a reliever has one bad outing his ERA balloons up. He only had threw save opportunities in the first half, and only saved one of them. He was 0-6 with an ERA of 4.28 before the break. Batters were hitting .244 against him, so he wasn't his normal self. No injury, he just wasn't as affective as we were used to seeing him. Second half he really turned it around. 0-1 record with an ERA of 3.49 and converted eight of his 10 save chances. He only gave up four homers all season, so he's keeping it in the park, and his WHIP for the season was 1.19. He's limiting the damage when guys get on, and that is what you need out of a reliever. If you take away a disappointing April and June, he'd look a lot better on paper. He got stronger as the year went on, and was more of the Givens we are used to. There is a reason he was "untouchable" at the deadline a few years back, I'm confident he'll be back to full form.
Miguel Castro: D
Miguel Castro came into this season riding high on a lot of peoples minds regarding Orioles pitchers. He showed us last season he has a pretty good arm and a lot of people wanted him to be converted into a starter this season, it was something I thought could happen too. He got one start and wasn't great. He was second on the team in appearances out of the pen with 62. I thought he was a big disappointment this season, it seemed like every time I looked up he was giving up a bomb, he did give up 9 in 86 innings, not too bad, but it seemed like he was always serving them up in key situations. The numbers on paper aren't great for him, 57 Ks, 50 walks (!!!), a 2-7 record, 38 earned runs, 75 hits in 86 and 1/3 innings, an ERA of 3.96, and a WHIP of 1.45. He just couldn't stop walking people. In the first half he had 2 more Ks than walks, and in the second half he had 5 more Ks than walks. Command is a big issue with him. He did have a bum knee in the second half, so that could have had something to do with it, but it just seemed like guys were always on base and would score off him, hope he rests up in this offseason and we get a fully healthy Castro going into Spring.
Tanner Scott: C-
Regardless of what his grade is, I like Tanner Scott a lot. He is everything you want in a bullpen arm. A young, hard throwing, lefty who comes out the pen. I'm drooling just thinking about it. He's still very young, only 24, but showed some big promise this season. He made 53 appearances for the Birds this season and went 3-3 with an ERA of 5.40 and a WHIP of 1.56. Neither look great, but considering this was his first full season and they threw him out there into 53 games, he was going to have some growing pains. His fastball is what gets me, he averages 97 on it, which can be a real weapon. One thing he'll have to do in the future is add another pitch, he throws the slider, but I wouldn't have to see him add a change or something else off speed to keep the batters honest. He also has to get righties out, they hit almost .300 against him with 5 homers in 122 at-bats. The strikeout numbers are really good, 76 Ks in 53.1 innings, good for 12.8 K/9, I love that. Scott should be one of their top setup guys next season, for sure someone I am excited for. He gets a C- because he didn't totally meltdown in this dumpster fire of a season.
Mike Wright Jr: D
We've played this game with Mike Wright Jr for a few seasons now, they tried him as a stater, didn't cut it. He was a bullpen guy, still doesn't really cut it. He was out of options heading into last season, still didn't really have it. Wright went 4-2 with an ERA of 4.30 as a reliever, including a 1.60 WHIP. Again, not good. He couldn't get anyone out, as batters hit .298 off of him when he came in out of the bullpen. He has the build you want in a starter, a big guy who can overpower you, he just can't execute. You'd think he could generate some speed and power in his fastball, but he only averages a little over 94 MPH on it, and is only striking out 7.67 batters per 9. I just don't think he has it. He had an ERA over 5.74 in every month except two, and those two months he was really good, but thats his problem, consistency. Sorry Mike, gonna need the parents to take a look at this report card and get it back to me.
Paul Fry: B+
Paul Fry was a pleasant surprise for the Orioles this season. He made his MLB debut in late June and only appeared in eight games in the first half, giving up one run total in those games. Fry would go on to have a much bigger role in the second half and appeared in 27 games for the Birds after the All Star break, and he took full advantage of his opportunity. He provided some nice lefty help out of the pen, even though he is basically a reverse split guy. Righties are hitting .218 vs Fry while lefties hit .264 against him. If he can figure out how to get lefties out he'll be a really nice weapon for the Orioles, a guy who can face anyone and can dominate them. He earned two saves this season, as well as a 1-2 record, an ERA of 3.35 and a 1.27 WHIP. It wasn't the smallest sample size, but it wasn't a full season worth, but I think Fry earned a spot in this bullpen next season. I really liked what I saw out of him, good job, Paul. Hang this one on the fridge for sure.
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Richard Bleier: A
What a stud Richard Bleier was this season. If it wasn't for his season ending injury, there was a good chance he'd have made the All Star team. He was injured mid-way through June and had surgery to repair a torn lat that month, if his rehab goes swimmingly he should be ready for Spring Training. Bleier was by far the best guy in the bullpen before his injury,and what a story he was shaping up to be. The numbers were insane, in 31 games this season he was 3-0 with an ERA of 1.93, a WHIP of 1.22 and only seven earned runs in his 32 and 2/3 innings. I don't understand how either, opponents were hitting .286 off of him, but he wasn't giving up runs. He didn't give up a home run in his appearances, walked four, and struck out 15. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, he doesn't strike out a ton, and he gave up more hits than innings pitched, yet had an ERA under 2 and a WHIP of 1.22, just unreal. He hit a rough patch in May and gave up six runs and 21 hits in just over 10 innings, you take that bad month away and he was completely dominant. He earned an "A" for his performance in his 31 games, and likely would have still earned that "A" if he played the entire season. Good job, Richard, show this one to the parents.
Pedro Araujo and Nestor Cortes Jr: F
Both Rule 5 guys, both absolute trash. F.
Donnie Hart: D
I don't really know what happened to Donnie Hart, he was very good in 2016, not great in 2017, and very bad in 2018. He posted an ERA over 5, a WHIP of 2.22, and struggled to stay up with the club. It seems as if Paul Fry has taken over his spot, and rightfully so. Hart couldn't get anyone out this season and gave up 13 runs in 19 innings, not what you want from a setup guy. Lefties hit .333 off of him, and righties were murdering him, hitting .390 off of him. I'm sure him getting called up and sent back down a few times didn't help, but you have to get people out, he couldn't do that. We will have to see if Fry takes his spot for good, or if Hart can rebound next season, if not, it's probably lights out for him.
Ryan Meisinger, Cody Carroll, Sean Gilmartin, Jhan Marinez, Evan Phillips, John Means: Incomplete
None of these guys had much impact on the season, as they made most of their appearances after the deadline and didn't appear in that many games. I don't really know what to think out of then. Caroll came over in the Britton trade and apparently had the best arm in that deal, so he should be something to look forward to, even though his stats this season don't show it. I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned is the key to the bullpen going forward, again, none of these guys really move the needle for me. They all get incomplete grades.
Now for the guys that got shipped out.
Brad Brach:D
Before he was traded to the Braves, Brach was hot garbage this year. He was an All Star in 2016 and was pretty good in 2017, but it all fell apart for him in 2018. While in Baltimore he appeared in 42 games, gave up 50 hits, 21 earned runs, 38 Ks, 19 walks, went 1-2, had 11 saves, and three blown saves while sporting an ERA of 4.85, and a WHIP of 1.77. Not the typical Brad we were used to seeing. I think when Britton went down in December, and Brach knew he'd be the closer, that got to him. He blew the game on Opening Day, and had several other "Bad Brach" performances. He needed a change of scenery, and he got it. He was such a solid bullpen piece for the Birds, but it had just come to an end.
Darren O'Day: B
Before Darren had season-ending surgery on his hamstring and was traded to the Braves, he pitching pretty well, actually a nice rebound year. O'Day was shipped out with Kevin Gausman to Atlanta at the deadline, and I didn't hate the move, he's up there in age and it freed the Orioles from his salary. His veteran presence in the pen and clubhouse will be missed though. On the field in 2018 he was performing pretty well, a 1.10 WHIP, an ERA of 3.60 isn't the best, but he had a K/9 of 12.15. He did give up eight earned runs in his 20 appearances, so that wasn't too great, but it could have been worse. He was 0-2 with two saves, and had 27 strikeouts and only four walks. Even if he was healthy, he was probably going to be traded, but him being healthy would have only sweetened the pot for the O's return. B for Darren for 2018 in Birdland.
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Zach Britton:B
This type of year is what we were hoping for from Zach Britton, a rebound from his injury in December leading to a trade netting prospects, that is what he did. His first few appearances were shaky, but man was he good in his last handful of games. He only made 16 appearances with the Orioles this season, but that was enough to return three pitching prospects from the Yankees. In his last eight appearances with the Birds he gave up a total of 0 earned runs. three hits, six Ks, four walks, and 13 ground balls. Overall he was 1-0 with four saves, an ERA of 3.45, and a WHIP of 1.34. His command wasn't fully back when he was traded, but he was close. Just look at the 13 Ks and 10 walks in his 16 appearances, he did give up the six earned runs in 15 innings, but again, he was coming back off Achilles surgery and wasn't full strength. We knew Britton would be traded before the end of the year, and him rounding into form right at the deadline was perfect. It would be a real shame if he blew some of the playoff games for New York though, would hate to see that.
Like the relievers, you look at the bullpen grades and you can realize why this team lost over 115 games, they simply weren't good. And if they were good, they got hurt or traded, a handful of D's is what you want in the bed, not in the bullpen. It likely will be like this for a few years until they can compete again, but I expect a lot of the same faces trotting out next season, sigh.
Report cards for infield are up next.