Note: I apologize for the delay in publishing this final blind resume. There have been a lot of posts here on Baseball Professor over the last couple of days and this article got lost in trying to publish all of them. But better late than never and here is the final blind resume!
The other day I looked at two starting pitchers who had very similar numbers. Today I move to the bullpen and take on two relief pitchers with very comparable stats. This is also the final installment of these blind resumes that I’ve posted every weekday since last week. For the last time, see if you can guess the identities of the players before they are revealed later in the article.
(Stats are as of Friday, June 14; ADPs are from Mock Draft Central; % Owned are from Yahoo!)
It’s a little harder to find closers that have similar stats because there are only thirty players to choose from, but both these pitchers are having very comparable seasons. Player B has had a slightly better season so far with the edge in most stats. He has one more save and a better ERA and WHIP on the season. But not to be outdone, Player A has been a strikeout monster and is whiffing a crazy 12.58 batters per nine innings.
Not only was he the top drafted closer, but Player A was taken as early as the third round in drafts this year, which is crazy high for relief pitcher. Even though he hasn’t been as dominant as he usually is, Craig Kimbrel has still been lights out this year and is on pace for another great season. Player B, on the other hand, wasn’t even the closer to begin the season and was basically unheard of in drafts this year. However, he has dominated since stepping into the ninth inning, and Edward Mujica has been one of the best closers of the season so far.
Breaking Down Player A
One of the most polarizing closer in the game since winning rookie of the year in 2011, Kimbrel has been the favorite closer to own among fantasy owners because of his strikeouts. He owns a ridiculous 15.45 K/9 over his career (317 K over 184.2 innings), and last year he became the first pitcher in history to strikeout over half of the batters he faced. So far this year Kimbrel has posted a 1.85 ERA and 12.58 K/9, and when that’s considered a “down year” you know you are looking at one of the best pitchers in the game today.
While Kimbrel has still been dominant, his “down” numbers can easily be explained. Earlier in the season he had a rough stretch over two weeks. Between April 24 and May 7 of this year, Kimbrel blew three saves with a 9.67 ERA and 1.93 WHIP. Maybe he was dealing with a minor injury or a personal issue that threw off his game, but aside from that rough stretch he has been as dominant as usual. Outside of those two weeks he has yet to allow a run and his WHIP is a sparkling 0.76.
Even though Kimbrel is posting his “worst” K/9 of his career, that “worst” strikeout rate is still at an elite level. While batters are putting more balls in play and swinging and missing less than ever before, I’m not concerned. Even though batters are whiffing “less” they are still missing his pitches way more than the league average. And even though hitters are putting more balls in play, Kimbrel’s two pitches are so nasty that batters still have a hard time making solid contact. Whether he strikes out half the batter he faces like he did last year, or strikes out “only” a third of hitters, he is still a rock solid pitcher and is arguably the most dominant closer in the game today.
Breaking Down Player B
Mujica doesn’t an impressive track record and has been one of the biggest surprises of the year. He didn’t even record his first save until April 18, and since then no one in baseball has recorded more saves. He is a perfect 19-for-19 in save opportunities this year and has dominated to the tune of a 1.82 ERA and 0.64 WHIP. His K/BB ratio is a ridiculous 27.00 due to the fact that he has only walked one batter all year. Pretty impressive for a guy who was virtually unheard of on draft day!
The main reason Mujica has been so good this year has been his splitter. It has always been a dominated pitch, but he never made it his go-to-pitch until this year. He is now throwing his splitter 61% of the time, up from 45% last year and 38% the year before. So far this year that pitch has resulted in a swing and miss one out of every three times it is swung at, and batters have only managed to hit .137 off of it in 2013. Mujica’s splitter is so good that it rates as 10.0 runs above average, which is the best in baseball. No pitcher in baseball right now can throw a better splitter than Mujica, and this year he has finally taken advantage of that.
If Mujica continues to throw his “wonder pitch” as often as he is doing now, batters won’t stand a chance. Not only is it nearly impossible to hit, but Mujica has also demonstrated pin point control with it as well. This year he is hitting the strike zone with his splitter a crazy 80% of the time, which has been the reason he has allowed only one walk all year. The Cardinals have generated more save opportunities than all but two teams this year, and Mujica will continue to get plenty of chances. He has shown this year that he can dominate, and while some may not rank him this high, he is a top-5 closer in my book.
Bonus Resume
(Stats are as of Friday, June 14; ADPs are from Mock Draft Central; % Owned are from Yahoo!)
Because this is the final resume, there is no “tune in tomorrow to get the answer to the bonus resume.” Instead you will just have to click on the following links to discover the identities of these two closers: Player A & Player B.
Other day’s answer:
Player A: C.C. Sabathia
Player B: Andy Pettitte
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these blind resumes as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them for you! Which one was your favorite? Were you surprised by any of the comparisons? Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment or sending me an e-mail at [email protected]. In case you missed any of the other posts, here are some quick links to all ten blind resumes:
