OC Register: Angels have been successful with reclamation projects on the mound

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — As Hansel Robles was blowing away the Oakland A’s with 99 mph fastballs on Friday night, it was natural to start ticking off the names on the list he joined.

Blake Parker, Yusmeiro Petit, Bud Norris, David Hernandez, JC Ramírez, Parker Bridwell, Taylor Cole, Felix Peña.

The Angels got them all for practically nothing — waiver claims, trades for cash considerations, minor league deals — and each has at times provided surprising value to their pitching staff.

Manager Mike Scioscia gave a hat tip to the Angels front office for discovering these gems.

“I think the analytics done on these guys are certainly right on the money,” Scioscia said on Saturday. “I think those guys up top have done a great job of targeting guys who they think can make adjustments and have success. I think these guys have hit on a fair share of them, and it’s been critical to us.”

The top four pitchers in the Angels’ bullpen in 2017 were Parker, Petit, Norris and Hernandez. Parker was claimed on waivers, then lost on waivers, and then reclaimed. Petit and Norris were signed to minor-league deals just before spring training. Hernandez was acquired for cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves shortly after the season began.

The Angels also got 38 starts — nearly a quarter of the season — from Ramírez and Bridwell. Ramírez had been claimed on waivers in 2016 and then moved into the rotation. Bridwell was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations.

Both Ramírez and Bridwell have had injury issues this year, which is likely a reflection of the fact that they wouldn’t have been available so cheaply if there weren’t some pre-existing arm issues.

Just after the 2017 season, the Angels acquired Peña from the Cubs for cash considerations. He was initially slated to be a reliever, but he was moved to the rotation and pitched well enough over 17 starts to be a candidate for next year’s rotation.

Cole was signed to a minor league deal just before the start of spring training. He came to the big leagues and has been one of the Angels most reliable long relievers, perhaps carving himself a role going forward similar to what Petit did in 2017.

Robles came on a waiver claim from the New York Mets in June. His velocity increased and he’s worked his way to the back of the bullpen, peaking with a dominant performance to record his second save this week.

Blake Wood could also be considered a successful reclamation project, albeit for a shorter time. The Angels got him on waivers in 2017 and he showed enough that he had a prominent role in the bullpen for the first few weeks of the 2018 season before he got hurt.

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Reflecting on the success of the pitchers the Angels have picked off the scrap heap, Scioscia said some credit also goes to pitching coach Charlie Nagy and bullpen coach Scott Radinsky.

“Charlie and Rad do a great job,” Scioscia said. “They get these guys and then get information on what can help them. They’ve done a tremendous job of implementing it.”

OTHER OHTANIS?

As Shohei Ohtani finishes off a season in which he showed he is capable of being a rare success as a two-way player, Scioscia was asked what other players from the past might have been able to pull this off.

Fernando Valenzuela was among them.

“Fernando was not the offensive talent that Shohei is,” Scioscia said. “Shohei has so much opposite field power. Fernando was a very good hitter. I think he could have done it, to be honest with you.”

Scioscia also said Darren Dreifort, a former Dodgers pitcher, could have done it. He also mentioned Ken Brett. The older brother of George Brett, Ken Brett was a pitcher for parts of 14 years, and he hit .262.

Among current players, Scioscia mentioned Zack Greinke.

Scioscia, however, rejected the idea that Ohtani was simply taking advantage of an opportunity that other players hadn’t been afforded.

“What Shohei has done is not easy,” Scioscia said. “It’s not like anybody can do. What he’s done is exceptional. He’s an exceptional talent. If there’s another guy who comes along with exceptional talent of being able to hit at that level and pitch at that level then obviously they’ll get the opportunity. He’s shown it because of exceptional talent, not just the opportunity.”

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Matt Shoemaker, 2-2, 4.82) vs. A’s (LHP Brett Anderson, 4-5, 4.42), 12 p.m., Sunday, Fox Sports West, KLAA (830 AM).

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[ettin]

I would also remark that if Kirby Yates hadn't been picked up on waivers he could have very well been pitching for us the last two years as well.

[greginpsca]

There have also been just as many busts. Not the most desirable path to acquire talent. The more preferable way is to draft and develop the talent. Eppler was not afforded that opportunity when he took over. He has done the best he could with the hand he was dealt. Two more years should tell us how he has done. The Angels in the playoffs and a stacked farm system is the goal. 

[Inside Pitch]

3 minutes ago, greginpsca said:

There have also been just as many busts. Not the most desirable path to acquire talent. The more preferable way is to draft and develop the talent. Eppler was not afforded that opportunity when he took over. He has done the best he could with the hand he was dealt. Two more years should tell us how he has done. The Angels in the playoffs and a stacked farm system is the goal. 

Yep, it's been a "make lemonade out of lemons" approach.  The complete and total lack of SP depth in the system top to bottom created a huge void when it came to RP candidates.  We are still likely a few years away from being able to dip into the SP tank to find some in house solutions at RP.

There have been misses, but the hits have been good.

[AngelsLakersFan]

Quote

Blake Parker, Yusmeiro Petit, Bud Norris, David Hernandez, JC Ramírez, Parker Bridwell, Taylor Cole, Felix Peña.

This isn't the most inspiring list, considering maybe two or three of those guys might contribute in 2019.

[totdprods]

On 9/29/2018 at 9:55 PM, ettin said:

I would also remark that if Kirby Yates hadn't been picked up on waivers he could have very well been pitching for us the last two years as well.

Should also mention Jhoulys Chacin. 
The Angels grabbed him for nothing, squeezed a few good starts (and some good relief pitching) out of him, and since then he's started 66 games, thrown 367 innings and posted a 3.72 ERA for San Diego and Milwaukee.
 

[totdprods]

18 hours ago, greginpsca said:

There have also been just as many busts.

Not so sure...

2016 pitchers acquired: 
Guerra: 44 G, 53 IP, 3.21 ERA, 
Ramirez: 43 G, 46 IP, 2.91 ERA
Chacin: 29 G, 117 IP, 4.68 ERA (3.77 as a reliever)
Achter: 27 G, 38 IP, 3.11 ERA
Valdez: 25 G, 23 IP, 4.24 ERA
Ege: 13 G, 9 IP, 1.04 ERA
Bailey: 12 G, 11 IP, 2.38 ERA
Nolasco: 11 G, 73 IP, 3.21 ERA
Oberholtzer: 11 G, 20 IP, 8.55 ERA BUST
Lincecum: 9 G, 38 IP, 9.16 ERA BUST
Guerra: 7 G, 6 IP, 5.68 ERA
Wright: 5 G, 27 IP, 5.40 ERA
Meyer: 5 G, 22 IP, 4.57 ERA
Huff: 2 G, 5 IP, 11.81 ERA BUST
Alburquerque: 2, 2 IP, 4.50 ERA 

Of the 15 pitchers he brought in to help the '16 club, only three were outwardly terrible (Lincecum, Oberholtzer, Huff) with Javy Guerra, Alburquerque, and Daniel Wright either just mediocre or not contributing enough to matter. 

2017 pitchers acquired:
Parker: 71 G, 67 IP, 2.54 ERA
Norris: 60 G, 62 IP, 4.21 ERA
Petit: 60 G, 91 IP, 2.76 ERA
Chavez: 38 G, 138 IP, 5.35 ERA (dominant for the Cubs in relief in '18; 1.22 ERA in 37 IP, 5 BB, 41 K)
Hernandez: 38 G, 36 IP, 2.23 ERA
Nolasco: 33 G, 181 IP, 4.92 ERA
J.C. Ramirez: 27 G, 147 IP, 4.15 ERA
Bridwell: 21 G, 3.64 ERA, 121 IP
Guerra: 19 G, 25 IP, 4.68 ERA 
Wood: 17 G, 17 IP, 4.76 ERA
Meyer: 13 G, 67 IP, 3.74 ERA
Salas: 13 G, 14 IP, 2.63 ERA
Pounders: 11 G, 10 IP, 10.45 ERA BUST
Noe Ramirez: 10 G, 8 IP, 2.16 ERA
Wright: 5 G, 20 IP, 4.58 ERA
Bailey: 4 G, 4 IP, 0.00 ERA
Gurka: 3 G, 0.2 IP, 0.00 ERA
Yates: 1 G, 1 IP, 18.00 ERA (but great for SDP last two years)
Valdez: 1 G, 1 IP, 18.00 ERA
Magnifico: 1 G, 0.1 IP, 0.00 ERA

Twenty pitchers brought in by Eppler, and only Pounders was terrible. Six didn't play enough to make a mark. Chavez and Nolasco weren't great, but I wouldn't go so far to call them busts. Chavez showed life in relief for us (and now in Chicago) and Nolasco ate a bunch of innings, contributed well in '16, and helped us get Meyer and get rid of Santiago.

2018 pitchers acquired:
Noe Ramirez: 71 G, 83 IP, 4.54 ERA
Parker: 67 G, 66 IP, 3.26 ERA
Johnson: 62 G, 63 IP, 3.84 ERA
Robles: 37 G, 36 IP, 2.97 ERA
Pena: 19 G, 93 IP, 4.18 ERA
Cole: 18 G, 36 IP,  2.75 ERA
McGuire: 17 G, 30 IP, 6.07 ERA - 4.05 ERA in relief
Jerez: 17 G, 15 IP, 6.00 ERA - bad ERA but still a good get
Buttrey: 16 G, 16 IP, 3.31 ERA
Wood: 13 G, 12 IP, 2.31 ERA
Ohtani: 10 G, 52 IP, 3.31 ERA
Morris: 9 G, 14 IP, 5.79 ERA - BUST
Tazawa: 9 G, 8 IP, 2.25 ERA 
Despaigne: 8 G, 19 IP, 8.20 ERA - BUST
Bard: 8 G, 12 IP, 5.40 ERA
Drake: 8 G, 9 IP, 5.19 ERA - pitching very well in Minnesota - 20 IP, 2.21 ERA, 7 BB, 22 K
Almonte: 8 G, 7 IP, 10.29 ERA - BUST
Bridwell: 5 G, 7 IP, 17.55 ERA
Lamb: 3 G, 10 IP, 7.20 ERA
J.C. Ramirez: 2 G, 7 IP, 9.45 ERA
Krol: 1 G, 2 IP, 0.00 ERA
Morales: 1 G, 0.1 IP, 0.00 ERA

22 pitchers total, 3 were clearly awful, and 7 didn't pitch enough (or were good enough in years prior) to not really count.

The pitchers as a whole have been effective, at least when healthy. Not always dominant, but most of who he's acquired has at least been reasonable for a pitching staff. 
We need more of it, and we need health, but he's doing a great job finding cheap, effective pitching. 

Now...hitters/position players? Different story...

[greginpsca]

i consider the the DL guys busts, along with the guys signed who were in the minors that had bad #'s when they were here. Like Bridwell, Lamb,Ramirez,Drake,Bard,Mcguire. And Noe Ramirez sucked. Seems he gave up a shit load of inherited runners to score.

[totdprods]

39 minutes ago, greginpsca said:

i consider the the DL guys busts, along with the guys signed who were in the minors that had bad #'s when they were here. Like Bridwell, Lamb,Ramirez,Drake,Bard,Mcguire. And Noe Ramirez sucked. Seems he gave up a shit load of inherited runners to score.

I'll give you Lamb, Drake, Bard, McGuire...they really didn't do anything beyond what I ever expected of them, so I can't really call them busts. They were filler, used as filler, and pitched like filler. 

Bridwell? He sucked this year in 7 innings of work, but gave us 121 innings of 3.64 ERA and 2 WAR last year. That's as far from a bust as one can be. 
J.C. Ramirez similarly. 

Noe is a wash. He's like a sacrificial lamb. His contributions the first 1/3 of the season, eating tons of innings as the rotation went down in flames and posting fairly solid numbers in the process. By midseason, it was too much and he succumbed to his wounds. The last inherited runner he allowed to score was July 31st, and he stranded them all in his last 22 innings across Aug./Sept.

Fun fact: Noe allowed 26% of inherited runners to score. Kelvin Herrera? 25%. David Robertson? 37%. Dellin Betances? 38%

[Jeff Fletcher]

Also, none of the busts are really busts because they don’t cost anything and they don’t expect anything from them. 

All of it is playing with house money.

[Jobu]

18 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Also, none of the busts are really busts because they don’t cost anything and they don’t expect anything from them. 

All of it is playing with house money.

Except wins.

[Jeff Fletcher]

Just now, Jobu said:

Except wins.

These guys all start off pitching in low leverage situations, usually when the team is way behind, or as last-resort starters. I don’t think they cost any wins. 

[AngelsFaninGA]

18 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Also, none of the busts are really busts because they don’t cost anything and they don’t expect anything from them. 

All of it is playing with house money.

The real cost is opportunity cost. Giving playing time to a guy that sucks and gives up lots of runs (even if he's making the minimum) when you could be playing someone that doesn't stink. 

[AngelsFaninGA]

2 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

These guys all start off pitching in low leverage situations, usually when the team is way behind, or as last-resort starters. I don’t think they cost any wins. 

That's mainly because we don't play high leverage games past June most years, and that's because of those types of players in the first place. 

[Dick Enberg]

5 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

These guys all start off pitching in low leverage situations, usually when the team is way behind, or as last-resort starters. I don’t think they cost any wins. 

Because we didn't expect to win?

 

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Dick Enberg said:

Because we didn't expect to win?

 

Because they pitch when the Angels are already going to lose. 

[floplag]

20 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Also, none of the busts are really busts because they don’t cost anything and they don’t expect anything from them. 

All of it is playing with house money.

But when they affect the outcome of games, thats very hard to see.  From a risk standpoint money wise i agree, game wise, maybe not so much. 

[floplag]

While very true later in the year, I still believe that the pen is the one thing most responsible for killing 2018.  Its early failures put us in a whole we couldnt get out of with a subpar offense. 
No, it wasnt the only factor, just in my view the most critical. 
WE did make huge strides as the yea progressed though, and it looks to be much improved for 19, but im struggling to get over the early impositions. 
Great read though 

[Jeff Fletcher]

32 minutes ago, floplag said:

But when they affect the outcome of games, thats very hard to see.  From a risk standpoint money wise i agree, game wise, maybe not so much. 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/tiny/k9LY1

This is a chart of how often each reliever was used in a situation even close to average leverage. 1.00 is average, and below is lower leverage. This chart is the number of games at .7 or higher.

You'll see that the "busts" almost never pitched in games that were even close to on the line. (1.00 is average leverage)

OsmerMorales           0.1 2.54
KeynanMiddleton       17.2 2.11
TyButtrey             16.1 2.11
JustinAnderson        55.1 1.42
BlakeParker           66.1 1.24
JoseAlvarez*          63.0 1.19
CamBedrosian          64.0 1.14
ShoheiOhtani          51.2 1.02
AndrewHeaney*        180.0 1.00
JohnLamb*             10.0  .96
MattShoemaker         31.0  .95
GarrettRichards       76.1  .95
FelixPena             92.2  .94
HanselRobles          36.1  .93
JimJohnson            63.1  .92
NickTropeano          76.0  .91
TylerSkaggs*         125.1  .90
JaimeBarria          129.1  .89
JakeJewell             2.0  .89
J.C.Ramirez            6.2  .88
BlakeWood             11.2  .87
OdrisamerDespaigne    18.2  .86
NoeRamirez            83.1  .68
TaylorCole            36.0  .64
WilliamsJerez*        15.0  .57
LukeBard              11.2  .54
DeckMcGuire           29.2  .48
IanKrol*               2.0  .45
JunichiTazawa          8.0  .40
EduardoParedes        18.1  .32
OliverDrake            8.2  .31
ParkerBridwell         6.2  .27
MiguelAlmonte          7.0  .18
AkeelMorris           14.0  .12
FranciscoArcia         3.0  .00
League Average                 
Team Total                  .94

 

Edited October 3, 2018 by Jeff Fletcher

[mulwin444]

4 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/tiny/k9LY1

This is a chart of how often each reliever was used in a situation even close to average leverage. 1.00 is average, and below is lower leverage. This chart is the number of games at .7 or higher.

You'll see that the "busts" almost never pitched in games that were even close to on the line. 

Seemed to me that this season had a combination of decent, not great, relievers used early (6th and 7th inning) and often in high leverage (less than 2 runs lead/deficit) situations due to a very average offense and starting pitching that, when not injured, rarely seemed to make it past 5.1 innings.  The decent relievers started to get overused so Eppler started bringing whoever he could pull off waivers cheap (McGuire, Robles, Drake, Despaigne, Morris, etc) who had options and who could soak up some low leverage innings or spot starts. 

Perfect storm situation...

[Jeff Fletcher]

13 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

Seemed to me that this season had a combination of decent, not great, relievers used early (6th and 7th inning) and often in high leverage (less than 2 runs lead/deficit) situations due to a very average offense and starting pitching that, when not injured, rarely seemed to make it past 5.1 innings.  The decent relievers started to get overused so Eppler started bringing whoever he could pull off waivers cheap (McGuire, Robles, Drake, Despaigne, Morris, etc) who had options and who could soak up some low leverage innings or spot starts. 

Perfect storm situation...

Exactly.

"Hey this guy is free and has some attribute we think may make him better if we do X with him. Let's grab him and let him soak up some blowout innings and see if he gets any better."

Taylor Cole and Hansel Robles did, Oliver Drake and Akeel Morris didn't.

Or, "Hey this guy has options so we can run him up and down freely, let him soak up our blowout innings so our good pitchers don't have to."

[floplag]

1 hour ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/tiny/k9LY1

This is a chart of how often each reliever was used in a situation even close to average leverage. 1.00 is average, and below is lower leverage. This chart is the number of games at .7 or higher.

You'll see that the "busts" almost never pitched in games that were even close to on the line. (1.00 is average leverage)

OsmerMorales           0.1 2.54
KeynanMiddleton       17.2 2.11
TyButtrey             16.1 2.11
JustinAnderson        55.1 1.42
BlakeParker           66.1 1.24
JoseAlvarez*          63.0 1.19
CamBedrosian          64.0 1.14
ShoheiOhtani          51.2 1.02
AndrewHeaney*        180.0 1.00
JohnLamb*             10.0  .96
MattShoemaker         31.0  .95
GarrettRichards       76.1  .95
FelixPena             92.2  .94
HanselRobles          36.1  .93
JimJohnson            63.1  .92
NickTropeano          76.0  .91
TylerSkaggs*         125.1  .90
JaimeBarria          129.1  .89
JakeJewell             2.0  .89
J.C.Ramirez            6.2  .88
BlakeWood             11.2  .87
OdrisamerDespaigne    18.2  .86
NoeRamirez            83.1  .68
TaylorCole            36.0  .64
WilliamsJerez*        15.0  .57
LukeBard              11.2  .54
DeckMcGuire           29.2  .48
IanKrol*               2.0  .45
JunichiTazawa          8.0  .40
EduardoParedes        18.1  .32
OliverDrake            8.2  .31
ParkerBridwell         6.2  .27
MiguelAlmonte          7.0  .18
AkeelMorris           14.0  .12
FranciscoArcia         3.0  .00
League Average                 
Team Total                  .94

 

You are correct, i wasnt referring only to the busts, perhaps i quoted the wrong part of the post    

Side note, damn they threw Osmer to the wolves didnt they, lol 

[Jeff Fletcher]

54 minutes ago, floplag said:

Side note, damn they threw Osmer to the wolves didnt they, lol 

 Don’t remember the game but it was probably one of those deals where it was extra innings and he was the only guy left. 

[WeatherWonk]

On 9/30/2018 at 2:45 PM, AngelsLakersFan said:

This isn't the most inspiring list, considering maybe two or three of those guys might contribute in 2019.

THIS!!!! Hence the reason Epps says he's going after pitching.

Boy, Chacin has been very good since he left Anaheim. Jesse Chavez also had a solid season this year, but how could that be predicted after the year he had with the Angels?

 

[totdprods]

29 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

THIS!!!! Hence the reason Epps says he's going after pitching.

Boy, Chacin has been very good since he left Anaheim. Jesse Chavez also had a solid season this year, but how could that be predicted after the year he had with the Angels?

 

Wasn't too surprising - he ended the year with a good lights out stretch as a reliever over 20 or so innings if I recall.