Dodgers: Reviewing the Bullpen's May Performance

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 28: Scott Alexander #75 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to a grand slam homerun from Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets, to take a 6-2 lead, during the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium on May 28, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

The Dodgers are off to their hottest start in years. They are on track to eclipse the 100 win mark for the second time in three seasons. Every part of the team seems to be clicking on all cylinders.

Well, every part of the team except for the bullpen. After a below average April, the bullpen managed to regress even more during the month of May.

Here, we will take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of May for the Los Angeles bullpen.

In April the bullpen was used heavily. No starter eclipsed 30 innings of work in April. That was used as a pass for the bullpen’s underwhelming performance. The starters often left them to work multiple innings in a large number of games. So fans were willing to give them a second chance in May.

The starters in May were absolutely dominant. After no pitcher reached 30 innings in April, three pitchers eclipsed that mark while Kent Maeda came one out short of reaching 30 innings. Hyun Jin Ryu was masterful all of May and rarely even gave the bullpen (other than Kenley) the opportunity to pitch in the same game as him.

Even with the starters finally lifting their own weight, the bullpen still managed to pitch even worse than they did in April. The excuse that they had no rest was now gone. However, their poor performance was still present. There were some bright spots, but overall the bullpen gave every fan anxiety when they entered the game.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 03: Kenley Jansen #74 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after defeating the San Diego Padres 4-3 in a game at PETCO Park on May 03, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

The Good

Kenley Jansen was dominant outside of his single blown save in May. That blown save came on a walk-off grand slam by Hunter Renfroe in San Diego. Outside of that one mistake to Renfroe, nothing else was hit hard. Even in that inning, the Padres had to utilize two bunt singles to get on base.

Jansen looked like he was getting his feel back for that nasty cutter. The velocity is still down, but it does not matter if he is getting the ball to cut consistently. That was proven over the course of this month. Renfroe attacked a cutter that didn’t cut and was left in his sweet spot. Other than that pitch, it seemed like Jansen was able to get his cutter to do what he wanted.

This is a very positive sign for the bullpen going forward. It is one thing to have issues with middle relievers and setup men, but when your closer can’t get the job done, you’re in deep trouble. Jansen is slowly but surely gaining that swagger back and if he pitches like he did most of May, the Dodgers will have one less problem to worry about.

Once again Pedro Baez put up a quiet but dominant month. Here’s the thing with Pedro. If he is performing as well as he did in May, you don’t really hear a peep from the fan base. However, if he has one bad outing fans are ready with their pitchforks. He has proven to be the second best reliever on this roster behind Jansen and he deserves more respect than he gets.

Julio Urias was also very good in May. He managed to earn two saves over his five appearances. Roberts liked to use Urias in multiple innings. It seems like he is keeping Urias ready for a starting role just in case someone goes down with an injury or they want a sixth starter at any moment.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – APRIL 19: Ross Stripling #68 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on April 19, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The Bad

Ross Stripling has proven to be a very good fourth or fifth option in the rotation, however, he has not been very successful as a reliever. That trend continued over the month of May. He just does not seem content or comfortable coming in out of the bullpen. As a long reliever, he does hold some upside, but if Roberts continues to use him in high leverage situations he is setting him up for failure.

Ross Stripling is forever going to be a player stuck in the middle. He is not good enough to crack the current rotation, yet he is not suited for a relief role. His numbers don’t look terrible, but if you watch him pitch you’ll understand why he is here. Stripling allowed 9 hits in 8.2 innings of work.

Once again Yimi Garcia was not terrible, but he was not good either. He was very inconsistent during May. After dominating in his first 2 appearances, Garcia went into Cincinnati and gave up 3 runs in 1.1 innings of work. He followed that with 2 more solid appearances before failing to record an out against the Mets.

His lack of consistency is worrisome, and that is not something Los Angeles wants in a late-inning reliever. The stuff is definitely there for Garcia. He held opponents to .207 BAA in May. His issues come when he falls behind in the count and puts himself into hitter’s counts.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 08: Joe Kelly #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a 9-4 win over the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on May 08, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

The Ugly

Let’s start off with the obvious one, shall we? Joe Kelly. Do I really need to elaborate? Just go ahead and look at his numbers. This isn’t just a May issue but an all season issue. Anyways, hope everyone is excited for his bobblehead night on June 13th!

Secondly, who took Dylan Floro’s powers away? Please give them back. After being one of the most reliable relievers on the roster, Floro fell off a cliff. He gave up 10 runs (7 earned) in 8.1 innings of work in May. Floro saw similar issues as Garcia. His lack of command put him behind in the count and MLB hitters are not missing fastballs down the middle on a 3-1 count. Hopefully, Floro picks it up.

Scott Alexander. At least he has a cool mustache am I right? He was woeful in May. His numbers do not show just how bad he was. This is because instead of allowing his runs to score, he would just let them score the inherited runners before getting out of the inning. The supposed lefty specialist has reverse splits this season. He is not doing his job of getting lefties out.

Lastly, Caleb Ferguson pitched himself off the MLB roster. He was horrendous as a reliever in May. However, since his demotion down to the minors, Ferguson has been spectacular. He could be a factor in the starting rotation within the next 2-3 years.

dark. Next. Ferguson working his way back to the Dodgers

Obviously, this is not ideal. There were more negatives than positives when it came to the bullpen in May. Despite this, the Dodgers still coasted their way into a dominant month. Once the bullpen is fixed via trade or bounce back campaigns, the Dodgers will be an absolute juggernaut of a team with no real holes.

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Dodgers: Reviewing the Bullpen’s May Performance

The Dodgers are off to their hottest start in years. They are on track to eclipse the 100 win mark for the second time in three seasons. Every part of the team seems to be clicking on all cylinders.

The Good

The Bad

The Ugly

Schedule