2017 Yankees: Year in Review - Bullpen (Part 1)

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Matt Linder

Let’s close the 2017 Yankees Year in Review the same way the Yankees close their games… with the bullpen.  The relief pitching came into and ended the season as the team’s greatest strength.  However, there were rough patches along the way.  It took major trade deadline acquisitions to get the unit back on track.  In addition to the deadline moves, there were unexpected breakouts, game saving performances and heartbreaking meltdowns.  Since there were nine guys who appeared in a significant number of games, I am going to break up the bullpen review into two parts.  This first installment with look back at the performances of the relievers who spent the vast majority of 2017 in the Yankees ‘pen.

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In keeping with the tradition of my previous posts, let’s begin the review with the bullpen’s best performer…Chad Green.  He was not only the Yankees best reliever, he was also one of the team’s breakout stars.  Green came into spring training battling for one of the last two spots in the starting rotation.  However, after he was beaten out by Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery, he started the season in the minors to stay stretched out.  Chad was finally called up on May 8th following the Yankees 18 inning game vs the Cubs.  The team needed fresh bullpen arms and he was next on the depth chart.  After arriving, he stayed with the club for the remainder of 2017.  In 2016, he pitched to a 4.73 ERA over 45.2 innings (eight starts).  Therefore, he was expected to be the Yankees low-leverage mop-up pitcher out of the bullpen.  However, due to a combination of his overpowering fastball and the struggles of other relievers, Green quickly found himself pitching multiple innings in key situations.  He finished the year with a 1.83 ERA, 103 strikeouts and only 17 walks in 69 innings.  Thanks to his history as a starter, Chad was able to pitch multiple innings per appearance.  The incredible statistics are even more remarkable when you consider the fact that he dominated opposing hitters using mostly one pitch.  He threw his fastball approximately 75% of the time, but batters still looked fooled and swung late.  Green’s combination of high velocity (96 mph), deception (hiding the ball and smooth delivery) and respectable slider, all contributed to a ridiculous swing and miss percentage on his fastball of 39.8%, nearly double the MLB average.  Also, he most likely saved the Yankees season in the Wildcard Game against the Twins.  Green was called upon in the first inning with the Yankees already trailing 3-0, runners on second and third and only one out.  He proceeded to strike out the two men he faced, stopping the bleeding and keeping the game within reach.  The organization has already said that they will bring Chad into spring training as a starting pitcher since there is no downside.  However, considering his unreliable secondary pitches and utter dominance as a reliever, his future role almost certainly is in the bullpen.
Grade: A+

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The greatness of Chad Green in 2017 could only be matched by the inconsistency of Dellin Betances.  As he jogged from the bullpen to the mound, fans and coaches alike had no idea which version of Betances was going to take to the rubber.  From 2014-2016, Dellin was one of the best relievers in baseball.  And to start the 2017 season, it appeared as though nothing had changed.  In April and May, he struck out 32 batters and only allowed one run in 17.1 innings.  These first two months earned him his fourth straight trip to the All-Star game.  However, his performance took a precipitous drop following his strong start.  From June to September, he walked 35 batters and hit another 11 in only 42.1 innings.  During this stretch, he allowed 1.6 base runners per inning and since he struggles holding runners on, those walks, singles and HBP’s turned into runs.  It would be easy to categorize his season as a tale of two halves, but that is an oversimplification.  Even after his struggles in June and July, Dellin took over the closer duties in August after Aroldis Chapman was placed on the DL and looked like his old self, converting all four of his save opportunities.  Unfortunately, in September, his struggles returned.  Much of his difficulties in 2017 can be attributed to the opposing hitters’ approach against him.  There was a league wide plan to simply not swing and force him to throw three strikes before throwing four balls.  As you can see, Betances actually threw his usually number of pitches in the strike zone, but what made him effective in the previous seasons was his ability to get batters to chase pitches out of the strike zone.  Unfortunately, he was not able to get hitters to expand to zone in 2017.  (Information from fangraphs.com)

Year	Pitches in the Strike Zone (%)	Opponents' Chase Rate (%)
2014	46.6	30.4
2015	44.8	29.2
2016	43.1	30.8
2017	43.2	23.6 (Yikes!!)

Going into next season, the Yankees have a lot of bullpen depth so they do not necessarily need Dellin to be a high leverage reliever anymore.  With that said, the Yankees are hoping to make some mechanical adjustments with Betances so he can reclaim his label as one of the baseball’s best relievers.  When Betances is right, he can jelly-leg hitters with his breaking ball or blow guys away with triple digit heat.  It is a joy to watch.  Regaining an effective Dellin to the already stacked unit would give the Yankees new manager an embarrassment of riches out of the bullpen.
Grade: C

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Aroldis Chapman also had a disappointing 2017.  He started off the season in typical fashion.  Through the first month, he made 12 appearances, striking out 18 batters, while walking only four across 11.1 innings.  The late inning duo of Aroldis and Dellin began 2017 exactly how the Yankees had hoped.  However, like Betances, Chapman struggled after his strong start.  People suspected that he was not healthy because his swing and miss percentage was much lower than his career average and he wound up spending a month on the DL with a shoulder injury. Unfortunately, when Chapman returned, his difficulties continued and on August 19th, he was officially removed from his closer duties.  The demotion did not last long due Betances’ September struggles and Chapman was thrust back into his familiar role.  He regained his form in the last month of the year and carried that success into the postseason.  He credits his turnaround to a change in his fastball grip (a shift to a traditional four-seam grip), which gave the pitch more carry through the zone.  Even during his struggles, his velocity readings were never an issue.  The problems were due to his poor pitch location and inability to get swings and misses. Simply, his pitches lacked late life and the numbers supports this perception.  When Chapman is clicking, he gets away with mistakes because his fastball jumps at the hitter.  However, this season batters made far more contact with pitches in the strike zone (Z-Contact %) than compared to Aroldis’ previous years.  (Information from fangraphs.com)

Year	Z-Contact Percentage
2014	59.5
2015	66.4
2016	69.2
2017	77.7 (Yikes!!)

Going into 2018, he is the team’s closer.  Hopefully his new fast grip will allow him to pick up where he left off last season.
Grade: C+

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From one lefty to another, Chasen Shreve’s 2017 season was largely forgettable.  That does not mean he pitched poorly, but with the flamethrowers the Yankees have in their bullpen, Shreve is relegated to mostly low-leverage middle relief.  He pitched to a 3.77 ERA and posted an impressive 11.5 K/9 ratio.  He walked too many hitters, but that seems like a general trend for all of the Yankee relievers.  Coming into the season, he had pretty even splits vs lefty and righty batters.  However, in 2017, he actually pitched far better against left-handed hitters.  He did close off his position from the stretch, so that may have added some deception for lefties.  Overall, Shreve did a fine job last season and will probably be back in 2018.
Grade: B

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The last member of the bullpen who was a Yankee for all of 2017 is Adam Warren.  He had the best season of his career and emerged as a trusted reliever for Joe Girardi.  Warren can pitch multiple innings in middle/long relief, but is also able to pitch in the late innings if the normal arms at the back end of the bullpen need a rest.  This versatility provides tremendous value.  Also, he is a nice change of pace compared to the other pitchers in the bullpen.  Adam is not a soft thrower, but he does not rely on velocity to get batters out.  He has four pitches and is able to throw all of them in any count.  Warren DL stint is the only negative of his year.  He logged only 57.1 innings in 2017, a career low.  Hopefully Warren can stay healthy in 2018 because he is an important weapon out of the bullpen.
Grade: B+

So that wraps up the first part of the 2017 Yankees Year In Review relief pitchers installment.  Check back in a few days for part two, which breaks down the guys who pitched a lot for the Yankees, but were not on the team for the entire season.

If you have any questions, comments or criticisms feel free to reach out to me at mattlinder2@gmail.com