After a rocky first half of the season, it appears as if Devin Williams may be turning a corner on his 2021 season, but I think we can all give up hope on seeing anything like he did in 2020 again. That was always a longshot to begin with, but Williams has proved this year that he in fact is human, and while he continues to pile up the strikeouts, he also continues to allow baserunners at a high rate. Williams June was fantastic from an ERA (1.64) and K (20) standpoint, but he allowed eight hits and eight walks over just 11.1 innings of work. The walk rate is for himself to figure out, as he needs to adjust to hitters not chasing his changeup as much, but as far as the hits go, I think it’s safe to say he’s been getting a bit unlucky in that category. There was almost no way he’d replicate his .194 BABIP from last year again, but I think given his hard-hit rate, a .322 BABIP does seem higher than expected. I think he still remains a strong hold and for those of you who have been patient, hopefully, the second half pays off.
Notes
- The Padres received some reinforcement in their bullpen this week with both Drew Pomeranz and Pierce Johnson returning from the IL. Pomeranz is the big name here, and given the upside he’s shown the past two years, I still consider him tier-one despite not looking quite like himself in his first game back. It could just be rust from the long layoff, but his velo was down over a MPH, and his spin rates also down quite a bit. It’s still worth keeping an eye on over his next few outings.
- The White Sox lost both Aaron Bummer and Evan Marshall to injuries this week, but they were able to get Michael Kopech back, who should slide right back into a prominent high leverage role in that bullpen with the likes of Bummer and Marshall on the shelf. Kopech hasn’t pitched in over a month, but he was having himself quite the season in mostly a relief role (and three spot starts) and I wouldn’t worry too much about long-term effects of his hamstring injury.
- After Garrett Whitlock burst onto the scene in April, he took a bit of a step back in May, but then proceeded to pitch well in June despite a high WHIP. The WHIP hasn’t hurt him yet, but he has allowed at least one hit over his past 17 outings that have been longer than just a third of an inning. He can work around the hits, as long as he isn’t walking anyone.
- Just two weeks ago, Pete Fairbanks had a sparkling 1.06 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, and was the Rays top setup option. Cut to now and that ERA and WHIP have grown to 4.91 and 1.73 respectively and it’s fair to wonder what his current role in this bullpen is.
- I had been holding off on Cristian Javier in these rankings believing that he may return to the Astros rotation eventually, but it looks like he may be in the bullpen for the rest of the season (pending no more SP injuries). The Astros certainly need as much bullpen help as they can get, and Javier may be their best option outside of Ryan Pressly. His slider continues to be a plus pitch, currently with a .149 xwOBA, 51.6% Whiff, and 31.6% PutAway rate.
- The Brewers reliever pipeline continues with Jake Cousins who has burst onto the scene, and while it’s only been four games at the MLB level, you can see the upside here. He has still yet to allow a hit at this level and has struck out eleven in just 5.1 innings of work. Cousins relies heavily on his slider, which so far has garnered ridiculous 73.3% Whiff and 52.4% PutAway rates.
Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)