Dodgers: How the Playoff Bullpen Should Be Constructed

There are only nine games left in the season so, obviously, the Dodgers are thinking about who they want to compose their bullpen with.

Bullpen’s are arguably the most vital component to a World Series team. The 2014 and 2015 Kansa City Royals, 2016 Chicago Cubs and 2016 Cleveland Indians have shown that elite bullpens are essential for a championship or championship run. The Dodgers’ relief started off on this level, but have since (September) begun to tail off.

It is a scary trend, considering the guys who were key earlier in the season have slumped drastically. Pedro Baez is the perfect example. After five months of being elite, he has taken on the persona of the whole Dodger team and has had his bubble burst here in September.

With slumps like these, it’s becoming tougher to construct the bullpen. While there are still some reliable arms, a few spots were tough to decide on who to choose.

This is assuming that the Dodgers go with a four-man starting rotation and will carry a total of nine relief pitchers.

Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling

As of right now, there is no way that Kenta Maeda makes the starting rotation. He’s too much of a risk with his inconsistency and pitch inefficiency. That and there are five other arms more deserving of a start.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t be valuable. Over his last two starts, he has thrown three innings in each game, possibly an effort to get him ready for the reduced outings he’d be coming out of the pen.

He has a 4.25 ERA on the season but maybe knowing that he’ll only have to go two to three innings at most may help him. He’d be able to go all out instead of trying to last over five innings which, for him, makes him less effective because of his (again) pitch efficiency and stamina.

Ross Stripling’s 3.95 ERA and 1.20 WHIP may not look too pretty to the naked eye, but it wasn’t too long ago where he had an ERA in the low 3’s. It’s just recently that he’s hit a bump in the road.

In his last two outings (1.2 innings) he has allowed six runs, causing his ERA to leapfrog from 3.26 to 3.95. Before these hiccups, there is no doubt that “Chicken Strip” had been one of the three most valuable and dependable relievers on the team. He’s come in at all different times during games, and his presence cannot be overstated.

And, the value of the long man or “swingman” in the playoffs cannot be overlooked either. Starting pitching in the playoffs is usually random in the postseason, and the leashes for starters are shorter than usual.

Once something starts to go wrong early in the game, most pitchers will get pulled. So you need someone that can give you 2-3 good innings and keep the game close.

This duo should have a significant role next month.

Josh Fields, Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani

These three guys would be the ones who work the sixth and possibly the seventh innings of ballgames, preferably with a comfortable lead or a deficit.

Fields started off the season great but had a rough June which brought his numbers back to normal. Since then, he has been solid, but at times very shaky. Good for a 3.00 ERA in 54 innings. When he is on, he is great, but the guy does have the tendency of giving up the long ball when he misses his spots (which can be more often than average).

Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani were the deadline grabs and initially, they looked like busts. However, since August 22, they have done a complete 180, as Brooke Smith broke down. They are starting to look like the pitchers Andrew Freidman and Co. bought into, and it couldn’t come at a better time.

At this pace, Dave Roberts may be able to use them in higher leverage situations. Just this past Tuesday, Tony Watson came into a 2-1 game (Dodgers were leading) with two on and one out in the bottom of the sixth. He proceeds to give up a walk but then gets out of the bases loaded one-out jam. They just might be used in somewhat high-leverage situations if they keep this up.

More and more they are becoming trustworthy and eventually could serve as more options as left-handed specialists. Speaking of which…

Kenley Jansen and Brandon Morrow

And this is where games end if the Dodgers have a lead in the 8th and 9th inning. Is there any question that this duo should be the ones handling the most critical situations?

These two form arguably the best backend pair of a bullpen in baseball. Combined, they have a 1.62 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 12.7 K/9. Filthy. Morrow has been a revelation and Jansen has been…….well…Kenley Jansen.

Being a hard-thrower (can hit triple-digits) with filthy offspeed stuff, Morrow easily has the stuff to be an elite setup man.

Fun fact: he’s limited left-handed hitters to 5-51 off him (and 17 strikeouts), which translates to a .098 average and .262 OPS. I mean that’s just videogame-like and super laughable because the reverse splits are for real. He can be used in situations when needed to retire the opponent’s elite left-handed hitters.

Dave Roberts has used him in multiple roles this year, and there’s no question that Morrow should be utilized in the most crucial of situations; whether that be to water down a flame in the sixth or seventh inning or to get the ball to Kenley Jansen.

Speaking of Jansen, he can be used before the 9th inning if called upon. There’s no point in having the best closer in baseball if you can’t hold onto the lead and hand the rock to him.

Last year’s Game 5 against the Nationals showed that Dave Roberts isn’t afraid to use the big man before even the 8th inning, and in the playoffs at least, that’s the way to use him. Use him in the most critical of situations, no matter how early, and take it from there. Remember, you still have Brandon Morrow waiting.

The bullpen may be tailing off recently statistically, but a couple of blowups (from Pedro Baez, Ross Stripling and Walker Buehler) skews that.

Whatever the case, the bullpen, at least the guys on this list, have been reliable. Pedro Baez is an automatic NO, Walker Buehler has to show more these last nine games, and the others not mentioned don’t have a chance. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Dave Roberts can prioritize his heart over his head.