An agreement has been made for baseball. The season is upon us, which means it’s time to announce the top 5 relief pitchers.
“It is an incredible amount of scum bags on this list, but the bullpen is key in postseason runs” – Adam Krieger, Vendetta Writer
HONORABLE MENTION: DEVIN WILLIAMS – MILWAUKEE BREWERS, LIAM HENDRIKS – CHICAGO WHITE SOX
5 – DREW POMERANZ – SAN DIEGO PADRES
A lot of relievers in today’s MLB are starting pitchers that have been turned into relievers. In particular, Pomeranz is one of those. In 2016, Pomeranz made the All-Star game which was held in San Diego as a starter, but due to injuries and surgeries, he was forced to become a reliever.
Pomeranz only threw 18.2, but recorded 4 saves, with a 1.45 ERA. The Padres have a choice to make as to if their closer will be Pomeranz or Emilio Pagan.
4 – BRAD HAND – WASHINGTON NATIONALS
One of the best relief pitchers in recent years. Hand will be returning to the National League after being the closer for the Cleveland Indians the last two and a half years. Hand is a 3-time all-star. Last season, he led the American League in saves with 16.
3 – AROLDIS CHAPMAN – NEW YORK YANKEES
Chapman is one the hardest throwing pitchers in the MLB. He’s also a six-time all-star who has racked up 276 saves in 540 innings.
“Tough to see Aroldis Chapman taking the three spot away from any other reliever who isn’t a domestic abuser.” – Karl Heiser
Which Chapman will we see in 2020?
2 – KIRBY YATES – TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Yates did not have a good year in 2020. By all means, it was horrible. The man posted a 12.46 ERA in 6 games. But, the year before. He had a 1.19 ERA across 60 innings and led the National League in saves. That year, he was an All-Star for the Padres.
1 – JOSH HADER – MILWAUKEE BREWERS
This is probably the only ranking that’s right on this list. Hader has been in the MLB for four years, and he was an All-Star in years two and three. Hader has quickly become one of the best relievers in baseball. Last year, he recorded 13 saves in 19 innings.
“What happened to the brains of our baseball writers? First, we have Milo who writes an anti-shift article? Imagine drawing up a rule telling NFL defenses where they can and can’t line up defensive players? Nonsense. Kirby Yates is 2nd? Do our guys realize Yates had a 12.46 ERA in 2020? Not a joke. That really happened. Drew Pomeranz is 5? What are we doing here? Five of his ten seasons, Pomeranz notched an ERA higher than 4.50. Not great, Bob.” – Trey Daubert, Owner of Vendetta Sports Media
Four out of the Five Relievers on this list are lefties. Have Bullpens become more left-handed dominant? Or are the southpaws just getting crafty?
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