Major League Baseball

MLB 2017: Top 10 relievers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:03 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Fansided, Joshua Sadlock/Fansided

The 2016 postseason saw a massive shift in the way relief pitchers are used in Major League Baseball. Who are the top ten relievers in the game today?

The past five seasons have seen a huge rise in the importance of the bullpen. In years gone by, having a staff with at least three frontline starters was a prerequisite for sustained winning and postseason success. Teams like the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and Cleveland Indians have flipped that notion on its head. The O’s have been to the playoffs three times since 2012 despite never having a pitcher who would qualify as an ace. The Royals went to back-to-back World Series and won a title riding their bullpen, and the Indians came within a game of the crown last year despite losing two of their best starters.

It is not uncommon for teams to deploy two or three elite relievers with dominant fastballs and breaking balls that are almost impossible to hit. With the type of stuff that relievers are running up there today, platoon splits mean very little. The playoffs also showed that managers are becoming more willing to abandon the typical “closer” tag and use their best reliever at the most important moment (although Buck Showalter would say otherwise). So, let’s dive into the top 10 firemen in the game of baseball today.

Aug 9, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Ken Giles (53) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Astros won 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

10. Ken Giles, Houston Astros

As a general rule of thumb, it is difficult to judge relief pitchers on a single season due to wild fluctuations in their standard counting statistics due to the nature of their work. Ken Giles of the Houston Astros is a prime example. In his first season with the Astros, Giles saw his ERA spike all the way to 4.11, an unsightly number for a pitcher the ‘Stros paid a king’s ransom to acquire. If you peel back the numbers, however, Giles is clearly still one of the most dominant relievers in baseball.

Giles struck out 14 batters per nine innings in 2016, bettering the rate from his first two seasons in the big leagues by over two strikeouts. But, after allowing only three home runs in the first 115.2 innings of his career, Giles allowed eight in only 65.2 innings in 2016. The right-hander had also typically been very strong against same-side hitters, but allowed a .823 OPS to righties last season.

Matt Wojciak of Baseball Essential provided a very thorough breakdown of the ups and downs in 2016 for Giles. Location matters very much for a hard-thrower like Giles. His fastball averaged 98 mph last season, but has very little natural movement. Giles is also a two-pitch pitcher, so he has to be very aware of not becoming too repetitive and predictable with his offerings.

Ken Giles is still a young, relatively raw reliever with tremendous upside as a power pitcher. He was able to wrangle to closer’s job in Houston away from Luke Gregerson by the end of last season, and will start 2017 in that role.

Jun 6, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) throws against the Cleveland Indians during the seventh inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

9. Edwin Diaz, Seattle Mariners

Edwin Diaz is a name that some casual baseball fans may not yet have been introduced to, but that is about to change in a major way. Diaz debuted last season for the Mariners at the age of 22, having barely pitched above the Single-A level. He proceeded to strike out 23 batters in 13.1 innings in his first month in the big leagues. In July, 26 of the 35 outs he recorded came on the strikeout. Nearly 75 percent of his outs for an entire calendar month came on the K.

How does Diaz do it?

Well, there’s this — a 100 mph fastball with late tailing action. Unhittable when he’s right. Diaz backs up the heater with a slider that can approach 90 mph with nasty movement. His slider was swung on and missed at a nearly 35 percent clip last year.

Down the stretch of his rookie year, Diaz did begin running out of steam, which is natural for a rookie who is still getting used to pitching in relief. After averaging 17.3 strikeouts per nine in the first half of the season, he averaged only 14.3 in the second half with an ERA closer to 3.00. There is still some white noise that will level out as Diaz gets a bigger sample size in the big leagues. For example, he pitched to a 3.46 ERA in September last year despite posting his best monthly WHIP by close to half a point. Diaz has a special arm, and will only get better with more years in the big leagues.

Oct 10, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Cody Allen (37) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox during game three of the 2016 ALDS playoff baseball series at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

8. Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians

The Indians have not one but two pitchers on this list (as do the Yankees), further reinforcing the point that it takes two elite relievers in your bullpen to contend for a World Series in 2017. Allen retained the title of closer after the team acquired Andrew Miller, and it is a role he has thrived in over the past two-plus seasons. He has occasionally walked the tight rope since reaching the big leagues, but came up huge in the 2016 postseason.

Allen did not allow a single run in 13.2 innings in the playoffs last year while striking out 24. He rides a power fastball and curveball, and has used both to strikeout 11.5 per nine in his five-year career.

There have been some hiccups with Allen during his time as closer for the Indians. He has blown 11 saves over the past three seasons, and has occasionally battled the home run. His 3.5 walks per nine are also a bit higher than you would like to see for an elite closer.

Still, with the postseason dominance and the overall track record, Allen ranks among the top 10 in the league. His career arc seems to be ascending, while another worthy name like Craig Kimbrel appears to be trending downward. There are also no off-field concerns with Allen as there are with Jeurys Familia of the New York Mets.

Jun 13, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Wade Davis (17) delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Indians during the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

7. Wade Davis, Chicago Cubs

A year ago, Davis would have landed in the top five of this list, and maybe even in the top two. The Royals switched him to the bullpen full time before the 2014 season, and his career took off. In the two years that followed, he logged 139.1 innings with a 0.97 ERA and allowed only three home runs while striking out 12.1 per nine. When Greg Holland went down with an elbow injury, Davis stepped into the closer’s role without a hitch.

Unfortunately, Davis was shelved with a flexor strain in July of last season, and missed parts of two months. He was not nearly as effective after the injury, and finished the year with a 1.87 ERA. On the bright side, he did not allow a single home run. Davis made only 14 appearances in the second half last year, and pitched to a 3.21 ERA while allowing a .273 batting average.

The Cubs traded Jorge Soler for Davis in December, and are betting on a return to health in 2017. If Davis is healthy and as dominant as he was for two straight years, the Cubs have an easy replacement for Aroldis Chapman without the bad PR. Soler had the potential to blossom into a 30-homer bat, but was crowded out of the Cubs outfield, so even if Davis is a shade below his former self, it will be a good trade.

Flexor strains in the elbows of relief pitchers, however, are no minor thing. Joe Maddon should do everything in his power to avoid pushing Davis early in the season. The Cubs are good enough that they can get by without riding their closer in April and May.

Sep 5, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Mark Melancon (43) throws to the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

6. Mark Melancon, San Francisco Giants

It’s hard to imagine that we live in a world where $15 million a year for per player who appears in less than half of his team’s games is a bit of a bargain, but Mark Melancon’s $61 million contract with the Giants is over $20 million less than the contracts signed by Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman this winter. Over the past four years, Melancon has been just as good as the other two elite closers on the free-agent market this offseason.

Melancon does not have the eye-popping strikeout totals of some of the other All-Star relievers on this list, but his cut fastball is very difficult for hitters to hit hard. He has made 297 appearances since the start of the 2013 season and has a 1.80 ERA in 290 innings. Melancon has also allowed only 10 home runs in that time period. Jansen has allowed 21, and Chapman has allowed 13 in over 40 fewer innings.

The main priority for the Giants this offseason was adding a closer to upgrade their awful bullpen. They made Melancon their top priority in free agency, and were able to get a deal done quickly. He is a steady closer with metronome-like consistency.

Sep 6, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances (68) reacts during the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

5. Dellin Betances, New York Yankees

It took Betances until he was 26 to fully establish himself with the Yankees. In the minor leagues, he was viewed as a starter for seven years before finally converting to the ‘pen. The move paid off in a big way for Betances and the Yankees.

Betances may have the best power curveball in the league. Fangraphs judges it the most valuable breaking ball among all relievers in the league over the past three seasons. The pitch has been so nasty for Betances that it ranks third in all of baseball behind Clayton Kershaw and Chris Archer despite the fact that he has thrown only 247 innings.

Betances throws his fastball and curveball at roughly a 50-50 split. His curve comes in close to 85 mph. Some call it a slider, others call it a cutter, and MLB occasionally classifies it as a knuckle-curve since Betances throws it with a few of his fingers raised. Whatever you want to call it, the pitch saved Betances’ career after he struggled to throw a breaking ball for strikes in the minor leagues.

So much nasty.

To date, Betances has thrown his magic gyroball over 2,100 times in the big leagues. Opponents are batting .104 against it with 318 strikeouts in 508 at-bats ending on the pitch. Going forward, the Yankees will have to be careful about burning Betances out. He threw 90 innings in his rookie year and 84 in his sophomore season.

Down the stretch in 2016, he imploded, allowing 10 earned runs in 11 September appearances. His load will be lighter in 2017, as the Yankees have re-signed Aroldis Chapman to close.

Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen (74) throws against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning of game six of the 2016 NLCS playoff baseball series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

4. Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

Several teams came calling with very serious offers, but at the end of the day, Kenley Jansen wanted to stay with the Dodgers. Whether or not he maximized his value can be debated, but Jansen is not hurting with his new $80-million deal. The converted minor league catcher is just a shade below the top three on this list.

Jansen throws a cutter that has almost unfair movement. Take a look for yourself below.

Combining velocity that is unheard of with a cutter and late diving movement, it’s clear why Jansen has been so successful while throwing the pitch nearly 90 percent of the time. Even the great Mariano Rivera only topped 10 strikeouts per nine once in his career with his phenomenal cutter. Jansen has averaged 13.9 strikeouts per nine for over 400 innings, good for fourth in baseball history among relief pitchers.

At times, Jansen has seen his ERA fluctuate, as is expected from a relief pitcher. The FIP, which attempt to clear away some of the “noise” that is out of a pitcher’s control, however, shows Jansen ranked third all time at 1.93. In 2015, for example, Jansen allowed home runs on fly balls at an 11.8 percent clip. His career average is 6.9 percent, which is well below the accepted league average of 7.8 percent.

Sep 11, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Zach Britton (53) pitches in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Orioles won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

3. Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles

Let’s get two things out of the way. First, no, Zach Britton did not throw a single pitch in the winner-take-all playoff game. No, he did not win the Cy Young despite allowing only one earned run over the final five months of the regular season. If that’s not enough for a reliever to win the award for the best pitcher in the league, then let’s call it what it is, the Cy Young is an award for pitchers only.

Britton is as close to Mariano Rivera — a relief pitcher who gets by on essentially one pitch — as we have in baseball today. Everyone in the stadium knows Britton is going to throw his 98-mph bowling ball sinker, and wish you the best of luck doing anything but beating it into the ground. Last year, he threw 950 sinkers and 82 breaking balls (although when he does spin one in, it is a high-quality pitch).

Last season, Britton faced 254 batters and allowed only 32 balls in the air. He got 74 outs via the strikeout, and 80 percent of balls in play were hit on the ground. It is almost impossible to sustain a rally against him without the ability to hit the ball in the air. Britton did not blow a save in 2016, and allowed a run in only two of his save opportunities.

The 2016 season was a special one for Zach Britton, and he may never come close to duplicating it. It’s hard to be much more perfect than he was last season, but since becoming a full-time reliever in 2014, Britton has a 1.38 ERA, the second-best mark among all relievers in the big leagues. When his time comes for free agency, Britton could very well become the first closer to to approach the $100-million mark.

Nov 2, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman throws a pitch against the Cleveland Indians in the 8th inning in game seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

2. Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees

There’s a good reason MLB’s Statcast leaderboard has a filter for Aroldis Chapman. Only one pitcher, Mauricio Cabrera, appears on the front page of the fastest-pitch leaderboard for 2016. Chapman topped out at 105.1 mph last year and averaged 100.9 mph on almost 800 fastballs.

After doing his seven years of service, Chapman was a free agent for the first time this offseason, and blew away the previous record for most money guaranteed to a relief pitcher. For $86 million over the next five years, Chapman is going back to the Bronx. There’s no arguing with what the hardest thrower in baseball history has done to date in his career.

Chapman has thrown 377 innings in the big leagues and has recorded 636 strikeouts and a 2.08 ERA. He is the game’s all-time leader in K/9. In 2016, Chapman was able to limit his walks to a career-low 2.8 per nine.

Until his fastball velocity begins to go, Chapman will continue to pile up the strikeouts. He did give a glimpse in to the future in the postseason. As he tired, batters were not impressed. Chapman had a 3.44 ERA in the postseason, and nearly blew Game 7 in the eighth inning.

After signing with the Yankees, he was critical of his heavy workload in the postseason. After nearly 400 regular-season innings, Chapman’s fastball velocity is only continuing to go higher, but his crash may be sudden and unpredictable. By the end of his five-year deal, the Yankees may wish they had passed on Chapman.

Nov 2, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Andrew Miller throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning in game seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

1. Andrew Miller, Cleveland Indians

If you were to play Dr. Frankenstein and construct the perfect MLB reliever, you would come up with a creation that looked an awful lot like Andrew Miller. Miller checks every box for an elite reliever — he’s tall and lanky, and throws from an arm slot that makes picking up the baseball difficult, he’s left-handed, has impeccable command, and is incredibly durable thanks to the fact that he began his career as a starter.

To top it off, Miller is team-first at all times, not caring (at least outwardly) what inning he pitches.

It took Miller seven years in the big leagues before he really hit his stride as a reliever. Over the past four seasons, he has a 1.93 ERA in 229 innings while striking out 14.7 per nine. His control took a big step in the right direction in 2016, as he walked only 1.1 per nine, an unheard of number for a relief pitcher with a big fastball and wipeout slider.

Without Miller, the Indians do not go to the World Series, and certainly do not get within a game of winning it all. In the playoffs last year, Miller struck out 30 batters in only 19.1 innings of work while walking only five. He eventually began running out of gas in the World Series, but not after helping to redefine how a reliever should be used in the postseason.

Miller gets the nod as the top reliever in baseball over Chapman because he does not come with the headaches. Chapman has balked throughout his entire career when asked to pitch more than one inning. There are also the off-field concerns that come with Chapman. Miller is a special pitcher, and the rightful choice for best relief pitcher in the game.

More from FanSided

This article originally appeared on

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball

New York Yankees