Dodgers: Grading the bullpen for the month of June

14 innings, 0.00 ERA, 18 strikeouts, 2-0, 10 Saves

There hasn’t been much you can knock Kenley Jansen on this season, but he did give up his first walk of the year lat month and also hit a batter. Besides that, he has been the best closer in baseball. Jansen was a perfect ten for ten in save chances during June and also had four saves in which he went more than three outs.

In his 14 innings, Jansen had a microscopic 0.36 WHIP and only allowed opposing hitters to bat .085 against him. He picked up two wins since Dave Roberts brought him in during a tie game. This pretty much ensured that the Dodgers would come to bat with the game still tied.

While there was likely some enormous pressure on Jansen to live up to his record-breaking reliever deal, so far Jansen has been as dominant as ever. If he added more pressure to himself as a result of the new deal he is not showing any signs of it.  June was one of the most dominant months of his career as he was virtually unhittable.

11.1 innings, 1.59 ERA, 11 strikeouts, 2-1

Pedro Baez is one of the pitchers Dodger fans love blaming the most. Whether it’s due to past playoff performances or the fact that he seems to work as slow as a turtle, fans are always criticizing Baez when given the opportunity. Baez did record a loss against the Reds in June but other than that one blemish he was very good.

In 11 1/3 innings, Baez struck out eleven hitters and only walked three. Hitters did hit .280 off him, leading to a disappointing 1.50 WHIP, but he still showed flashes of dominance. In one outing against the Brewers, Baez struck out five batters in two innings. Another bright spot was only three walks meaning he made opposing hitters earn their way on base against him.

The one knock on Baez for the month was his efficiency or lack thereof. There were three outings were he threw over twenty pitches in a one-inning appearance and in two of those three he tossed 26 pitches. In order to be able to pitch two to three days in a row, Baez needs to limit the amount of pitches per inning.

Kenta Maeda – Five innings, 1.80 ERA, seven strikeouts, one save

After struggling for the first two months of the season, Kenta Maeda really started turning things around in June. Overall he went 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA but as a reliever he made two relief appearances, tossing five innings of one-run ball and also recording his first save.

The save came as he piggybacked out of the bullpen to throw four innings of one-run ball while striking out six hitters. It seems that pitching some games out of the bullpen has allowed Maeda to regain his confidence in attacking hitters.  June Grade: B+

Ross Stripling – 7.2 innings, 9.39 ERA, six strikeouts

June was not a very kind month for Ross Stripling. Between multiple demotions to Triple-A and a couple starts in the minors, Stripling seemed to struggled to find his groove.

Opposing batters hit .417 with two home runs off him and had a WHIP over two. Whether it was hits or walks allowed, batters reached base off Stripling and a scary rate.

Given that he is one of the few Dodger relievers who can induce ground balls and pitch multiple innings, it’s only a matter of time until Ross is recalled.  June Grade: F

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Brock Stewart – 5 innings, 0.67 ERA, five strikeouts

Due to Ross Stripling’s struggles, the Dodgers summoned Brock Stewart from Triple-A in June.

Stewart earned his first career save in June by throwing three scoreless innings against the Mets. Stewart only allowed one walk and struck out four hitters in that outing. He did a good job of attacking opposing hitters with his mid-90s fastball and sharp breaking slider.

In his five innings, he allowed just a single walk and hit. Due to the injuries, the pitching staff has been hit with, it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets a start.  June Grade: A

Sergio Romo – 6.2 innings, 5.40 ERA, 10 strikeouts

Romo had a shortened month with the Dodgers due to a sprained ankle that kept him out for a ten day DL stint. When he returned his results were not good although he had ten strikeouts in only 6 2/3 innings.

In those six-plus innings, Romo allowed three home runs, so even though his opposing average allowed was a decent .259, the hits that he did give up did damage. It’s entering month number four of the Romo experiment and if he doesn’t right the ship soon, he could see his Dodger days come to an end.  June Grade: D-

Luis Avilan – 6.1 innings, 5.68 ERA, six strikeouts  1-0

Like Sergio Romo, Luis Avilan spent some time on the disabled list but was activated early on in June.  Avilan made ten appearances and pitched 6 1/3 innings that were ineffective for the most part.

Despite picking up a win, Avilan gave up eleven hits in six-plus innings (.379 AVG against) and also had a WHIP over two.

Avilan will need to cut down on his hits allowed or else the Dodgers may find themselves searching for another situational lefty reliever before the trade deadline passes. Avilan is more of a reverse splits guy, but the Dodgers need him to be able to get left-handed hitters out as well.  June Grade:  F

Josh Fields – 5.2 innings,11.12 ERA, six strikeouts, 1-0

After essentially being the most effective setup reliever out of the bullpen for the first two months of the season, Josh Fields was hit by a big regression.

In 5 2/3 innings, Fields gave up five home runs and had an ugly ERA.  In one game, Fields was summoned to get out of a jam but Fields gave up a three-run homer. Otherwise, Alex Wood would be a perfect 10-0 this season.

He also gave up a grand slam to the Brewers. Fields was recently called back up the majors after being sent down so hopefully he has righted his ship and will once again settle in as a solid late inning reliever.  June Grade: F

10.1 innings, 1.74 ERA, 11 strikeouts

In what seems to be a recurring trend, Dayton spent some time in the minor leagues after a disastrous May in which he posted an ERA over 11. June was a good rebound month for Dayton as he held opposing batters to a .121 average and had a 0.97 WHIP. The lone blemish for Dayton in June was a home run he allowed against the Reds.

Dayton was used as more of a situational reliever, which is shown by the fact that he had six outings in which he was taken out after going less than an inning. With Liberatore on the shelf and Avilan struggling, it is imperative that Grant Dayton stays healthy and eliminates left-handed threats. Dayton striking out more than a hitter per innings is a good sign since he hardly ever pitches full innings.

The only thing Dayton needs to eliminate is walks. He walked six hitters in June alone and was lucky to not get burned by those walks since only one hit given up by Dayton was an extra base hit. Hopefully, June was a sign that Dayton is coming around to his 2016 form and not just one good month.

9.2 innings, 0.00 ERA, 13 strikeouts, 1-0  

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The Dodgers called Brandon Morrow up due to the out clause he had in his contract. He has proven that to be a very good move. In June, Morrow did not allow a single run, although he did allow the Angels to become a bit riled up. Morrow struck out thirteen hitters in only 9 2/3 innings while walking just one batter.

Morrow is emerging as another late-inning setup man for Dave Roberts and largely due to his electric stuff. He attacks hitters with a fastball that ranges from 97-100 miles per hours and can even get his fastball to sink a little bit.

Given that he has the aggressiveness to go right after batters and the stuff to not get knocked around, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he settles into the seventh inning setup man.

The Dodgers will likely watch Morrow closely after his strong June to see if he can repeat that performance in July. If so, then the front office might choose to not go after any relievers.  Morrow did not allow a single hit to a left-handed hitter last month, so he is more than a right-handed specialist. With a .118 average allowed, Morrow showed he is the perfect seventh inning bridge to Baez and Jansen.

June Grade: A

Next: Dave Roberts June Review