Dodgers: Bullpen Grades for the Month of May

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May 24, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General overall view of Dodger Stadium during an MLB baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s time for monthly grades for the Dodgers, and today we will start with the bullpen.

The Dodgers have had a slew of storylines throughout the first two months of the season. One of the best storylines so far is the success of the bullpen. The team’s pitching as a whole currently owns an MLB-best ERA, FIP, fWAR, K%, BB% and basically any other stat you can think of.

Large thanks need to go to the elite bullpen the front office has assembled. All together they have been lights out this season and had a 24 2/3 inning scoreless streak this month until it was snapped last night. Let’s take a look back at the month of May to evaluate each piece of the bullpen’s production throughout the month. It’s crazy to think how, just two years ago, the bullpen was the Achilles heel of the team. Now it’s arguably the team’s strength.

May 13, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Pedro Baez (52) delivers a pitch in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Pedro Baez. A. . .

Baez has excelled this year so far and has been one of the brighter spots in the bullpen this season. In May, Baez pitched 13.1 innings and gave up two runs which raised his season average up to .119. Baez started the season on the disabled list but has since come back to help the team.

What has been most impressive about Baez season is his use in high leverage situations. Many fans were upset with the games that Baez blew last season, but he has more than pulled his weight coming out of the pen. Baez has mostly seen action during the seventh and eight innings of close games. The front office is showing tremendous trust in the 29-year-old, and he is not letting them down.

Baez has bee riding his fastball all season and has converted in the last four hold chances he has had. Overall for the month of May, Baez has been lights out and is looking like the best 7^th inning man the team has.

Baez gets an A from me for the month of May, as he has been one of the key arms out of the pen.

May 17, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Sergio Romo (54) throws a pitch during the ninth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports\ /

. Sergio Romo. D. .

Sergio Romo was supposed to come into this season and be the man who held down the fort until the ball could get to Kenley. Now, Romo is inching closer and closer to losing his job.

Throughout the month of May, Romo struggled to find a groove against hitters as he gave up four runs in 7.2 innings of work. He carries a 6.50 ERA for the season and had a 3.72 ERA in the month of May alone. Although Romo was just brought in this season as a setup man, the Dodgers may be looking to cut bait with him if he continues to struggle.

For the time being the team will put up with him as he attempts to regain his slider and his command. Romo has consistently left hanging breaking balls over the plate this season, and it has shown as he has recorded almost twice as many fly ball outs compared to groundball outs. If Romo can somehow find his slider, we may have a discussion for an 8^th inning man, but until then he’s fighting for his spot on the team.

Romo gets a D as he has been the worst expendable pitcher on the Dodgers’ staff and didn’t get an F because he wasn’t as terrible as he was in April.

May 23, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Josh Fields (46) throws in the thirteenth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Josh Fields. A. . .

Josh Fields was not on the Dodgers’ roster to begin the season as he owned a 9.73 ERA in spring training, but since he got the call to come to LA, Fields owns a 0.84 ERA. Is it time to start looking at Fields as an elite asset out of the pen or is he sure to regress?

Fields has been lights out in the month of May surrendering just one run in his 14.1 innings of work. Fields has also recorded one save as he shut the door against the Padres on May 5^th. What is Fields secret you ask?

Fields attributes his success on the mound to a mechanical issue that pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and bullpen coach Josh Bard saw in March and quickly tweaked.

Fields is pitching with tremendous confidence on the mound and has consistently lit up the gun with his 95-97 MPH fastball. Couple that with his unpredictable knuckle curve and the Dodgers may have stolen a gem from the Astros.

Fields gets an A for the month of May and is battling Chris Taylor for best trade acquisition from 2016.

May 27, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Ross Stripling (68) throws in the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

. . . Ross Stripling. A+

Ross Stripling may just be the glue that is keeping this bullpen together and is the needed guy out of the pen at the moment.

Stripling has been mostly used as a long relief guy this season, as he has picked up the slack for starters when they can’t go further than six. Stripling owned opposing hitters in May, cruising to a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched.

Stripling may be the guy who gets the least hype on this bullpen, but the converted starter has been more than happy to mop up the middle innings when the Dodgers are stuck in a jam. The team does not need Stripling in high leverage situations at the moment, but it’s good to know that they have a stud that they can hand the ball to if they need it.

Stripling has made great use of his role in the bullpen and has embraced the middle innings role he was thrown into. Stripling has always been a guy who gets hit harder the more guys see him. The Dodgers may have found the perfect spot for him, and he is making them look like geniuses for putting him there.

Stripling gets an A+ for May, as he has been a pleasant surprise in the middle innings for the team and without him, the starters would not be as successful they are now.

May 24, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chris Hatcher (41) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during an MLB baseball game at Dodger Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Dodgers 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

B. . . . Chris Hatcher

If you’ve been confused on why you haven’t heard #FradumanTwitter clamoring for the head of Chris Hatcher recently, it’s because he has been quietly good.

In the month of May, Hatcher owns a 3.14 ERA in his 13.1 innings pitched and has been used in a similar role to Pedro Baez. Hatcher was mainly employed in blowouts to start the season to get his confidence up and has since then has proven his worth in high leverage situations.

Hatcher’s recent outing against the Cubs was masterful and showed the confidence the team now has in him. Hatcher pitched the eighth and ninth innings against the defending champions and got them in order each inning. Hatcher has proved he is ready for the high leverage situations and until he is proven wrong he’s the right guy to trot out there when the team needs a big out.

Wow, imagine saying that one year ago today.

Hatcher was terrible last season, and I had little to no expectations of him coming into this season. However, he has more than showed he is still a capable arm out of the pen for the time being. I am still a bit weary of Hatcher but as each day passes I get more and more confident in his abilities.

However, he did have his “Chris Hatcher” moment when he gave up a solo home run to break the bullpen’s scoreless streak yesterday. Hatcher gets a B for the month of May because he didn’t look as unhittable as the rest of the Dodgers pen.

May 28, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen (74) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

. . Kenley Jansen. A+.

The Dodgers’ $80 million closer has been worth every penny they spent on him and more this season.

Jansen owned a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched during the month of May, and that isn’t even his most impressive stat. Kenley struck out 18 batters in May while walking none, further raising his ratio to 35:0 and tying Adam Wainwright for the MLB record for most strikeouts to start a season without allowing a walk. He also owns a 0.12 FIP which is meh, considering it was at one point negative. Kenley sucks *sarcasm*.

The most memorable point of May was Jansen’s immaculate inning against the Marlins on May 18^th. Kenley earned a four-out save that day, which was actually his only save of May. Jeremy Dorn of Fanrag sports even made the case that Kenley is the Dodgers second most valuable player, and in the age of dominant closers, he might be right.

Kenley’s cutter and slider are in MVP form this season, and he looks to be on the brink of a historic season. When Kenley is on, he is unhittable and has himself in the conversation for best reliever in the game today.

Kenley gets an A+ for me and if I could’ve given him anything higher, trust me I would have.

Josh Bard: Bullpen Manager

As we all know, the Dodgers have been using the new 10-day DL brilliantly and have rotated many pitchers in and out of the pen. So because of that Josh Bard, the bullpen manager, deserves a solid B+ for his management of the different arms throughout the month and the production of the arms.

Grant Dayton

Grant Dayton is an excellent example of one of the rotated guys. Dayton has given up five runs in his four innings pitched in May and has not looked like his former self. He has struggled in May and has been slowly pushed out of his setup role and is currently in OKC.

Luis Avilan

Avilan pitched in 6.2 innings during May for the team and gave up three runs on eight hits. Avilan is currently on the disabled list with a triceps injury. I would keep a close eye on this disabled list trip as it has been said he will need longer than the minimum to return to the team.

Adam Liberatore

Adam Liberatore got in 3 innings of work for the pen in May and didn’t surrender a hit in his three outings. Sadly, Liberatore has had limited opportunities this season, but hopefully, we get the most out of him when he is in LA.

Hyun-Jin Ryu

The Dodgers newest bullpen arm just might be their 30-year-old Korean starter. Ryu pitched four innings of scoreless ball out of the pen against the Cardinals on May 25^th and may have found his new spot on the roster. Ryu will still make the occasional start (like today), but he may find himself jogging in from the pen a majority of this season.

Next: Four Players Who Stepped Up in May

The Dodgers bullpen has been the backbone of this team so far, and the Dodgers should be confident in yanking their starters early in games. The Dodgers relievers had a terrific month of May and have been unhittable against opponents recently.

Obviously, the bullpen won’t be this lights out for the entire season, but it gives us an idea of what these guys can do. Who knows, they might even get stronger with a move by the front office as the season continues.

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Dodgers’ Bullpen Grades for the Month of May