Jose Contreras and the Kids: The Philadelphia Phillies Bullpen through 50 Games
This is the second article in a series of four that will detail the performances of the Philadelphia Phillies at certain points throughout the season. The articles will be published at the 50-game, 100-game and 150-game mark. The subjects covered will be the following:
1. Starting Rotation (You can find that article here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/712443-roy-halladay-and-the-aces-evaluating-their-performances-through-48-games)
2. Bullpen
3. Infield
4. Outfield
So let's take a look at how the Phillies bullpen have performed so far this season.
Kyle Kendrick: Long Relief
1 of 8
Stats
- Record: 2 GS, 14 GP, 3-3
- IP: 25.1
- SO/BB: 10/11
- ERA/WHIP: 3.20/1.38
Kyle has been unremarkable so far this season. While he hasn't done anything amazing, he has done what the Phillies needed from him. So far, he has made appearances in 14 games. Twelve of those have been relief appearances, but two of them have been starts.
In his most recent start of the year, he was horrible. He allowed five earned runs on five hits, two home runs, in only three innings pitched. His first start was much better. He pitched five scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves and earned the win.
Kendrick's relief appearances, while looking good on paper, have not all been good. His ERA is currently at 3.20, but that statistic would only be good if he were a regular starter. One of the most important roles for relief pitchers is how they perform with inherited runners. That is one area where Kyle has been bad.
He's going to have to fix that before the starters attack him in the locker room one day. But what he has done is eat innings. That is the role they need him in, and he has done well with that.
Grade: C
Jose Contreras: Old School
2 of 8
Stats
- Record: 10 GP, 0-0
- IP: 10
- SO/BB: 11/4
- ERA/WHIP: 0.00/0.80
- SV/SVO: 5/5
Jose Contreras has been outstanding this year. He spent some time on the DL, but before and after that, he has given the Phillies nothing but near perfection.
In his 10 innings pitched, he hasn't allowed a single earned run to score. A big reason behind that has been the fact that only four batters have been able to get a hit against him. In seven of his 10 games, he hasn't allowed a single hit.
Even though Contreras has worked for some of the season as a closer, he will most likely fall into the role of setup man since that position has been left open by Ryan Madson moving in to be the closer. If he can continue at this pace for the rest of the season, he may have to put retirement off for another couple years.
Grade: A-
Danys Baez: Some Good, Mostly Bad
3 of 8
Stats
- Record: 19 GP, 1-2
- IP: 24.1
- SO/BB: 11/7
- ERA/WHIP: 3.33/1.27
I know that many fans right now are pretty high on Baez. Sadly, his one great five-inning outing against the Reds does not make him a reliable pitcher. Before his extra inning heroics, his ERA was steady at or above 4.00. When we remove that one game, his stats look pretty horrible.
Stats w/out 5 IP against Reds
- Record: 18 GP, 1-2
- IP: 19.1
- SO/BB: 8/6
- ERA: 4.19
See, not very good. His performance against the Reds does not suddenly absolve him of bad pitching throughout the season so far. Maybe he will get better, but I doubt it.
Grade: D
.png?w=256)
Antonio Bastardo: Young Gun
4 of 8
Stats
- Record: 20 GP, 3-0
- IP: 19
- SO/BB: 26/9
- ERA/WHIP: 1.42/1.00
- SV/HLD: 1/2
To start the season, Bastardo appeared in nine games without allowing a single ER. In 11 appearances since then, he only allowed three. He strikes out batters at an alarming rate and doesn't walk too many of them. Forget scoring, teams are just concentrating on getting a hit against this filthy lefty.
This 25-year-old was once thought to be the future left-handed specialist but has become proficient at getting either. His BAA is a low .167 for righties and an even lower .130 against left-handed batters.
Antonio is the future of the seventh inning for Phillies.
Grade: A+
J.C. Romero: Left-Handed Specialist
5 of 8
Stats
- Record: 18 GP, 0-0
- IP: 12
- SO/BB: 7/8
- ERA/WHIP: 3.75/1.75
Simply put, Romero has failed to perform this year. This has come as a result of his play, and some bad managing by Charlie. J.C. has always been a pitcher to only be used against left-handed batter. He has great deception against them because of his throwing motion. Sadly, Charlie has opted to allow him to face 29 right-handed batters this year against only 17 lefties.
That being said, Romero has failed to perform against either. Batters, both right-handed and left-handed, each have a .400 OBP against him. If that were all hits, I could chalk that up to Charlie using him against righties, but his control is the main problem.
He's walked eight hitters over only 12 IP and has hit another. Not to mention the walk-a-thon performance he put on against the Reds. Luckily, Brandon Phillips and his motor mouth bailed him out.
If J.C. hopes to be successful this season, he has to get his pitches under control. Otherwise, he's just doing his best Chad Durbin impression.
Grade: D
Michael Stutes: Into the Fire
6 of 8
Stats
- Record: 14 GP, 0-0
- IP: 10
- SO/BB: 12/6
- ERA/WHIP: 2.53/1.31
If I had said his name before the season started, most people would have responded with "WHO?". The funny thing is, I couldn't blame you.
Now he has become a steady right-handed pitcher who we have confidence in. He's averaging more than a strikeout per inning while making the opposing team swing the bat by only issuing six free passes so far.
If J.C. is the answer against lefties, Stutes is a right-handed batter's nightmare. In 22 PA's, righties have hit a paltry .136 against him with seven strikeouts. Even better, is the fact that those three hits they have against him have all been singles. This young man has done an amazing job so far this year.
Look for Stutes to maintain his right-handed dominance out of the bullpen this year. If J.C. can get on track against lefties, Stutes should put up some dominate numbers by the time the season is out.
Grade: B
Ryan Madson: The Closer
7 of 8
Stats
- Record: 23 GP, 2-1
- IP: 23
- SO/BB: 24/8
- ERA/WHIP: 1.96/1.13
- SV/SVO: 11/11
"He can't close." "He's not mentally ready to be a closer." "He'll never be more than a setup man."
Well you can throw all that talk away. Madson has been phenomenal this year. Starting out as the setup man while Contreras closed, he was given his golden opportunity when Jose went down with an injury. Since that time, he has been outstanding.
In 21 of his 23 appearances, he hasn't allowed a run. Ten of those games he has held the opposing team without a hit. His ability to miss bats is amazing as he is averaging more than a strikeout per inning while only giving up a free pass once every three games.
Add to that the fact that he hasn't allowed a home run this year, and that the Phillies are undefeated when leading heading into the final inning, and you've got the closer of the future for the Phillies.
Grade: A+
Conclusion
8 of 8
Grades
- Kyle Kendrick: C
- Jose Contreras: A-
- Danys Baez: D
- Antonio Bastardo: A+
- J.C. Romero: D
- Michael Stutes: B
- Ryan Madson: A+
When you look at the most important parts of a bullpen, that being the seventh, eighth and ninth inning men, the Phillies have been excellent. Bastardo, Contreras and Madson have been lights out for the majority of the year. The rest of the bullpen has been less consistent and could hurt them as the season goes on.
That being said, the Phillies bullpen has been the least used bullpen in the MLB. Most of the time, only the setup man and closer are needed because of how deep the starters go. If they can maintain that pace, the least used bullpen could become the best bullpen when the season is over.
.png?w=480)
