Dodgers: 2018 Salary Arbitration Predictions

Josh Fields, RH Relief Pitcher, 2nd Year Arb Eligible

Fields was a valuable set up man throughout the season, despite a minor league demotion probably more designed to give him a break and aid him in straightening out minor mechanical issues.  Fields was 5-0 in 57 innings and 57 games (how is that for congruence), with 2.84 ERA, an outstanding 0.965 WHIP.  Fields had 15 holds. Looking closer at his Inherited Runner Scored %, 44%, Fields let 13 out of 23 inherited runners scored. This will slightly hurt him in arbitration. Fields is expected again to serve as a key set-up piece in the bullpen in 2018.

COMP:  Brad Brach, BAL

For Fields, Brach is what he could become.  Brach, like Fields, is a late bloomer. Brach’s platform season in 2016, saw him make his first All-Star squad as a set-up man.  In 2016 Brach posted a 10-4, a 2.05 ERA, a nice 1.038 WHIP, and allowed 24 out of 27 runners to score!   Brach had 24 holds.  So looking at these stats, it seems there are many similarities, however, Brach pitched in 71 games and 79 innings in his platform season. In conclusion, Fields is not quite what Brach was in his platform year, so take the midpoint of what Fields made last year, $1.05 million, and what Brach received, $3.05 million.

PREDICTION: $2.05 million