Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen continues to get the job done in 2017

Despite a team that is in freefall in the standings, the Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen has continued to hold its own.

The Cincinnati Reds have kept their bullpen intact while the rest of the team crumbles to pieces.  The bullpen has been a strength all season long.  In a weird twist of fate following the 2016 season, the Reds’ bullpen has over 40% of the wins so far.  Somehow it is working.

The Reds still have a top ten bullpen in all of baseball.  Their ERA is ninth best in baseball at 3.67. The only team in the National League Central with a lower bullpen ERA is the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs.

With a 12-12 record from the pen, the Reds have the tenth most wins in the game and seventh most losses.  Given they are nine game below .500 overall, a .500 record from the bullpen isn’t awful.  Ten other teams have as many or more decisions from their bullpen overall.

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The Reds are 17th in saves, but only 27th in save opportunities.  This means the Reds have a higher save success rate than many of the other teams.  At 75% it isn’t the best, but it is good for a bad team.

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The concern is that the bullpen will break down sooner than later.  The bullpen averages nearly 4 innings per game meaning the average bullpen pitcher will approach 100 innings in the course of the season.  It isn’t as bad as it sounds initially as the Reds have rotated a handful of young starters through the pen at various points this season.

The Cincinnati Reds have kept themselves competitive through effectively using their bullpen.

The Reds may have the most bullpen innings pitched in the MLB, but they have only allowed the tenth most hits.

More impressively, they have the 15th most runs allowed in MLB.

What the Reds have done even better in the bullpen is only allow the 14th most home runs.  Considering that the starters have allowed the most in the majors, this is quite a triumph.  The bullpen is trying to make up for the deficiencies of the rotation.

They are a bit short of strikeout pitchers in the bullpen.  The Reds rank first in walks allowed, but only 14th in strikeouts.  It is an area for major improvement.

Next: Scott Feldman may begin running out of steam

The bullpen has saved the rotation by covering innings and keeping the Reds in the race.  They have not shown signs of slowing down, but could at any time.  Hopefully, they can hold off until the starters come back from injury.