Top 10 Right Now: Relief Pitchers

In the finale part of our "Top 10 Right Now" series, we will end with a focus on relief pitching. Over the past handful of seasons, relief pitching has become predominantly more valuable for all 30 teams and every team is now placing a higher emphasis on trying to beef up their bullpens during the, offseason or at the middle point of the year, compared to focusing on trying to beef up their starting rotations.

The trend towards "bullpenning" became predominantly popular after the Kansas City Royals followed that model and really pioneered the movement during their quest to a World Series Championship in 2015. Following that postseason, teams started to build their pitching staffs from the back to the front and began to really identify different situations where they might be able to deploy one of their relief arms, before pulling that reliever in exchange of someone else, to face the opposing team's next batter. Regardless of how you feel regarding "bullpenning" and matchups, it's here to stay and will likely continue to play a pivotal role in the success of all 30 clubs moving forward.

With that being said, here are the Top 10 Relief Pitchers in the game right now.

1. Craig Kimbrel (Current Free Agent) - When you begin the conversation of the best relief pitchers in the game right now, things typically start with Craig Kimbrel up at the top. Kimbrel was a pivotal part of the Boston Red Sox success last season and a big reason, as to why they eventually, won the World Series Championship. Over the span of his 9-year big league career, Kimbrel has a career ERA+ of (211), which ranks as the highest ERA+ in MLB history, among relievers with at least 500 innings pitched. In addition, Kimbrel is a strikeout machine, as illustrated by his strikeouts-per-9 rate of (13.9) last season and (16.4) the year before, and has been named an All-Star 7 different times over the span of his career. Furthermore, Craig Kimbrel had the fourth best Opponent Batting Average Against (.145) and the twelfth highest strikeout-to-walk percentage (26.3%) last season. Hopefully he signs soon because he not only provides value to the team that he is pitching for, but knows how to anchor down the back end of any bullpen.

2. Edwin Diaz (New York Mets) - Edwin Diaz is well on his way to becoming the best reliever in the game of baseball and could end up eventually following in the footsteps of Craig Kimbrel. Diaz completed last season with a 1.96 ERA over the course of 73.1 IP, which was the fourth best ERA, among qualified relievers last year. As is the case with Craig Kimbrel, Edwin Diaz also knows how to hurl the ball and make his pitches count for strikes as illustrated by his strikeouts-per-9 rate of (15.22), which was the fourth highest rate among relievers in that category. Beyond that, Diaz rated extremely well when it came to Fielding Independent Percentage (FIP), as he led all qualified relievers in that category, with a (1.61) value. In all, that added up to a (3.5) WAR, the second highest WAR value among relievers, and an overall save record of 57 saves in 61 save opportunities, equating to an overall save percentage for the 2018 season, of (93.4%).

3. Blake Treinen (Oakland Athletics) - During the course of last season, Blake Treinen got no where near the amount of credit that he deserved for what he ended up doing. In fact, Treinen was so good throughout the year that some around the game were trying to get him attention in the AL Cy Young Award conversation, but that ended up going to deaf ears in the media. Overall, among all 151 qualified relievers in the game, Treinen finished with the lowest ERA (0.78) and had the fifth lowest home runs-per-9 rate (0.22). Add to that, the fact that he finished the year with an Opponent Batting Average Against of (.157), and you can begin to see why he was so valuable in multiple different situations and why he strived keeping the opposing team's hitters on their toes. Looking ahead to this season, Blake Treinen factors to be a big piece for the overall success of the Oakland Athletics, as they look to not only return to the postseason, but play deep into October. Last season might have been a career year for him, but don't be surprised if he puts up spectacular numbers once again.

4. Jeremy Jeffress (Milwaukee Brewers) - While much of the attention regarding the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen last season was focused around Josh Hader and Corey Knebel, when he was on the field and healthy, another big key cog for the Brew Crew was Jeremy Jeffress. Some are surprised when they hear this, but Jeremy Jeffress finished the 2018 season with the second best ERA (1.29) among qualified relievers and had the highest left on-base percentage, in the league, (92.9%) to go along with that. Beyond those two factors, a big reason why Jeremy Jeffress experienced so much success in his rebound season with Milwaukee is due to his reliance on his curveball. According to FanGraphs, Jeffress threw his curveball (30.8%) of the time last season, the ninth highest percentage among qualified relievers. In addition, Craig Counsell & Company knew that they could rely on Jeremy Jeffress in high leverage situations when they needed to get an out and that will be the case again this coming season.

5. Josh Hader (Milwaukee Brewers) - Another key ingredient to the Milwaukee Brewers success last season was the aforementioned, Josh Hader. Hader was used extensively in many key situations last year for the Brew Crew and ended up culminating the year with a 2.43 ERA over 81.1 innings of work. When it came to strikeouts, Josh Hader shined with a strikeouts-per-9 rate of (15.82) and the second highest Opponent Batting Average Against (.131), among qualified relievers. Besides the fact that he is a lefty, one of the things that makes Josh Hader so nasty is his slider. Last season, Hader relied on his slider (20.7%) of the time compared to (11.3%) of the time during the 2017 campaign. Beyond relying on his slider more often, he also experienced an overall uptick in velocity on that pitch throwing it at (81.9) MPH last season compared to (80.3) MPH in 2017. When you mix that together with his ability to throw the right pitch mix, you can start to understand why he experienced so much success and helped to put the Milwaukee Brewers back on the map.

6. Aroldis Chapman (New York Yankees) - A few seasons ago, Aroldis Chapman would have ranked higher up on this list, but he's experienced a bit of a decline the past few seasons although that's not to take anything away from the overall value that he provides every time he takes the mound. If you're looking for a strike throwing guy, Chapman is the one, as he led all relievers with a strikeouts-per-9 rate of (16.31), which equated to the fourth best strikeout-to-walk percentage (29.7%) among the group. The New York Yankees continue to place a big emphasis on their bullpen, as they once again bolstered it this offseason with the signings of free agents, Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino, but Chapman will likely continue to be used as their closer, as that is where he has experienced the most success during his big league career. Since making his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010, Aroldis Chapman has amassed 236 saves in 263 save opportunities, which equates to an overall save percentage of (89.7%), something that continues to be his biggest selling point.

7. Collin McHugh (Houston Astros) - Right now, Collin McHugh is projected to be the Houston Astros number three starter, according to their depth chart, but he is extremely valuable in the regard that he is practically a hybrid pitcher who can pitch out of the bullpen or start games when needed. Last season, McHugh finished the year with a 1.99 ERA over 72.1 innings of work and had the tenth best left on-base percentage (84.7%) over that span. If you were to survey all 30 teams in baseball, they would likely say that they would love to have someone like Colin McHugh on their pitching staff and have the luxury of using him in multiple different types of situations. In addition, Colin McHugh strived being able to balance the amount of strikes he threw versus how many walks he issued, as illustrated by his strikeout-to-walk ratio of (25.8%), the fourteenth highest percentage among the group. Collin McHugh is 31 years old, but continues to experience an uptick on all five of his pitches in his repertoire (fastball, slider, cutter, curveball, and changeup) which is a good indication that he will continue to age well and provide the Houston Astros with some great value.

8. Adam Ottavino (New York Yankees) - Adam Ottavino was on the Colorado Rockies last season, but because of the success that he had pitching at Coors Field, became an immediate target for the New York Yankees, along with several other teams, and was able to sign early on in the process.  Adam Ottavino concluded the 2018 campaign with the best ERA+ of his 8-year big league career, (193), and had the best FIP of his career (2.74) as well. Beyond those two numbers, Adam Ottavino had a strikeouts-per-9 rate of (12.98) and the twelfth best BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) with a value of (.240). Last season, Adam Ottavino was able to solidify himself as one of the best middle inning relievers in the game and that only will add value to his worth for the New York Yankees this season. With the depth of the Yankees bullpen, Ottavino might even be called into the game during the 5th or 6th inning because of all of the arms they have amassed. Another fascinating aspect about Ottavino is the fact that he introduced a changeup and split-finger to his pitch repertoire last season - throwing his changeup (0.2%) of the time and his split-finger (0.5%) of the time. Granted, it was a very small percentage for both pitches, but it nonetheless shows that you can teach an old dog new tricks!

9. Jose Leclerc (Texas Rangers) - A quiet key cog to the Texas Rangers bullpen the past few seasons has been Jose Leclerc. In fact, that's a big reason why he has been sought after by a handful of teams on the trade market at various points the last couple of years, but the Texas Rangers realize the value he provides and are hesitant to deal him away unless the return is out of this world. With that being said, Leclerc finished last season with the third best ERA (1.56) over 57.2 innings of work and was able to amass the third best FIP (1.90), over that span, as well. Furthermore, Jose Leclerc excelled in BABIP, putting up the best BABIP (.211) in the league last season, which helps to speak to his overall effectiveness on the mound and his ability to throw his pitches for strikes in the right location. At the age of 25 years old, Leclerc rates perfect for all four of his pitches, according to FanGraphs, which is why he ended last season with a home run-to-flyball ratio of (2.0%), the second best reliever in that category. Depending on how well the Texas Rangers do this season, Jose Leclerc could become a valuable mid-season acquisition for a contender to add to their pen.

10. Chad Green (New York Yankees) - Here we are again with yet another New York Yankees reliever on the Top 10 list which speaks to a point we made earlier about how deep the Yankees bullpen is heading into this season. Green used to be like Colin McHugh, in that he could both start games or be used out of the bullpen, but he has been converted over to being strictly used as a reliever. Looking at his 2018 campaign, Green ranked seventh, among qualified relievers, with a (5.0) walk percentage and had the eleventh best SIERA (Skill-Interactive Earned Run Average) with a (2.59) value. Beyond all of that, Chad Green had the second best pull percentage (25.5%) and tied for second in medium contact rate with a (37.8) percentage. While Green ranks third in hard contact rate with a (46.8%) value, which causes him to give up the long ball every now and then and was a big factor why the New York Yankees elected to convert him to a reliever, he is still valuable when it comes to raking up strikeouts and helping the Yankees get outs during those late innings.