For a New York Yankees team that takes on a new look and feel, the bullpen has seen some additions that could make up for some departures and make it one of the best in the league.
New Faces
Signed to a four-year, $36 million contract, lefty Andrew Miller will be the most powerful addition to the New York Yankees bullpen.
In 62.1 innings over 73 games last season, split between rival Boston Red Sox and later Baltimore Orioles, Andrew Miller struck out 103 batters to a 14.9 strikeout per nine innings. The 29-year-old Miller is not a lefty specialist. He can step up to the occasion against both left- and right-handed batters. Last season, left-handed batters (.163) had a better batting average against Miller than right-handed batters (.145) but neither are ones to write home about. In addition, 62 batters came up with runners in scoring position against Miller and they went .151 with no home runs allowed and just eight hits.
Andrew Miller is a typical two-pitch pitcher. According to PITCHf/x, Andrew Miller turns to a fastball 57.1% of the time and averages around 93.9 MPH. Miller turns to the fastball for 23.2% of his strikeouts. Fastball
The other pitch, the slider, would be his strikeout pitch. According to PITCHf/x, Miller throws this pitch 42.0% of the time and averages around 84.1 MPH. When Miller needs strike three, he succeeds in turning to the slider 61.7% of the time.
Clearly, he can turn to either pitch against any batter for the strikeout.
While his season statistics are impressive, his first appearance in postseason baseball was even better. With the Baltimore Orioles, Andrew Miller pitched in 7.1 innings over five games and struck out eight batters while allowing just two baserunners, one hit and one walk.
His ability to get both left- and right-handed batters out makes him a strong candidate for closing now that David Robertson is no longer with the team. The likely competition for the closer’s role is already with the team.
Acquired from the Atlanta Braves after a trade of the once highly touted prospect Manny Banuelos, David Carpenter will look to make an impact in the American League after spending four years, the two latest in Atlanta, in the National League. After a great 2013, posting a 1.78 ERA in 65.2 innings over 56 games with 75 strikeouts, Carpenter took a slight step back in 2014. Over 61.0 innings in 65 games, David Carpenter pitched to a 3.54 ERA and struck out 67.
Like Andrew Miller, David Carpenter depends on two pitches, the fastball and the slider. Carpenter went to the fastball 68.2% of the time, averaging 95.6 MPH. His slider is thrown 25.8% of the time and averages 85.5 MPH.
With the trade of relief pitcher Shawn Kelley, David Carpenter could be expected to fill in at the seventh inning.
Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for catcher Francisco Cervelli, Justin Wilson will be one of many left-handed pitchers looking to be an effective power arm in the Yankees bullpen. Like Miller, Wilson may not be called upon in a specialist role but it will not be for the same reason as Miller. The splits against the left-handed 27-year-old are reversed; in his career, right-handed batters hit .206 while left-handed batters hit .234.
Last year, Justin Wilson lacked the same effectiveness he had in 2013. In 2013, Wilson pitched to a 2.08 ERA over 73.2 innings in 58 games with 59 strikeouts. In 2014, Wilson was able to strikeout 61 batters over 60.0 innings in 70 games but saw his ERA jump to 4.20.
Justin Wilson can easily be considered a power pitcher, depending primarily on variations of the fastball. Primarily using a four-seam fastball 61.5% of the time that averages 95.2 MPH and a cut fastball 18.3% of the time, averaging just below 90 MPH at 89.9, Wilson occasionally turns to a curveball, 6.4% of the time.
Old Face, New Role
The impact that the big guy, Dellin Betances, made was hard to ignore. The 6’8” 26-year-old Betances truly emerged in the 2014 season, posting a 1.40 ERA with 90.0 innings over 70 games. The even more eye-popping statistic was the 135 strikeouts, to a tune of 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings. The 135 strikeouts passed some guy named Mariano Rivera for the single-season strikeout record by a reliever. Was he a good pitcher?
Dellin Betances’ repertoire sells itself and it begins with good ol’ number one, the fastball. According to PITCHf/x, Betances turned to his fastball about 47.3% of the time and it averages at 96.6 MPH, frequently topping out at 100 or 101 MPH. Betances sent 15.3% of the 135 batters that struck out home on the fastball.
His second pitch is a wipe out curveball. According to PITCHf/x, the curveball was thrown 47.3% of the time and averaged 83.0 MPH, a steep decrease in speed compared to his fastball. Betances turned to the curveball for strike three as 63.6% of strikeout victims fell to the curve.
With the departure of David Robertson, it almost seemed fitting that Betances would take over the mantle as closer for the Yankees. In all likelihood, Betances is the front-runner for the closer role but the signing of Andrew Miller will make for tough competition among powerful bullpen teammates.
X-Factor
Recovering from shoulder surgery, Andrew Bailey will look to make the Yankees bullpen.
Averaging 25 saves over his first three years in the majors with the Oakland Athletics, Andrew Bailey pitched to a 2.07 ERA over 174.0 innings pitched and 174 strikeouts to match. Bailey would find himself on the Boston Red Sox after an offseason trade but could not stay healthy or find the same amount of success he found with Oakland. While with the Red Sox, Bailey pitched to a 4.91 ERA and appeared in 44.0 innings over 49 games.
He signed with the New York Yankees in 2014 as he attempted to recover from the shoulder surgery that ended his 2013 season. Setbacks over the course of the season would end his attempt at a comeback to the majors last year. The 30-year-old Bailey would re-sign with the Yankees and now he looks to make it to the majors and be yet another impactful presence in an already formidable bullpen.
As late as 2013, Bailey is mostly a fastball-cutter pitcher; he turns to a four-seam fastball 62.7% of the time and it averages 94.0 MPH. The cut fastball Bailey pitches averages 85.7 MPH and he turns to it 29.3% of the time. While it is unlikely Bailey will return to a talented level such as his time with the Oakland Athletics, an experienced relief pitcher like Bailey can be a solid contributor to the major league team.
Coming from the Braves along with David Carpenter, Chasen Shreve is coming over as a work-in-progress after just a brief taste of the major leagues last year. In 2014, the 24-year-old Shreve appeared in 15 games, pitching 12.1 innings. He struck out 15 in those 12.1 innings so he averaged more than a strikeout per inning.
Amazing what “let loose” can do for a young pitcher. While being in the minors from 2010 to the 2014 season, Shreve saw his fastball sit in the 80s and coaches in the Braves’ organization were concerned that Shreve was holding back or not committing the full effort behind his pitches. He was informed to let loose and the efforts paid off, elevating him from simply an option to be a call-up to a legitimate prospect with big consideration.
With intent to be precise and spot pitches, Shreve kept his pitches in the mid- to high-80s, but once he let loose, his fastball reached the low- to mid-90s and ironically, his control improved. Shreve also turned to a slider (26.0% of the time) and a split-finger fastball (11.3% of the time) to pitch to a 0.73 ERA in his brief stint with the major league organization. In his brief time in the majors, Shreve actually had a reverse split, holding left-handed batters to a .273 batting average but right-handed batters were held down to a .167 batting average.
While Shreve might not find himself on the Opening Day roster, he could see time in the major leagues at some point in the upcoming season. When the New York Yankees acquired him, it was not meant to be an immediate results acquisition but a long-term project that could pay itself off for next year and many to follow.
Name Worth Mention
Drafted in the second round of last year’s First-Year Player Draft, left-handed pitcher Jacob Lindgren has torn through the levels of the minor leagues. Over four levels, from Rookie League Yankees to the AA affiliate, Trenton Thunder, the 21-year-old Lindgren pitched to a 2.19 ERA in 24.2 innings over 19 games. Over the 24.2 minor league innings, Lindgren struck out 48 of the 104 batters faced, an outstanding 17.5 K/9 in his first year as a part of a major league organization.
Jacob Lindgren has two excellent pitches, a fastball in the low- to mid-90s range with movement and a low- to mid-80s sweeping slider with hard and late movement that gets all batters with ease. He is invited to this year’s Spring Training and he will have as good an opportunity to make the roster as many others appearing at big league camp. If he were to not make it, the wait for Lindgren will not be long. The expectations are for him to reach AAA before knocking on the door of the major leagues sooner than later.
In the end, there are a number of powerful pitchers in the New York Yankees bullpen and additional arms waiting in the farm looking to contribute in what fans can only hope is another run at postseason baseball, ending with a World Series championship hoisted in the air.
