Final Grades: Bullpen

October 27th, 2009 | by Dave Tobener |

The Giants’ two main goals heading into the 2009 season were to dramatically improve the bullpen, and to dramatically improve the lineup; well, 1 out of 2 isn’t bad, right? The Giants’ bullpen was a huge part of the team’s success in ’09, a welcome change from the God-awful relief corps of past seasons. Here are my final grades for the 2009 Giants bullpen.

(Note: like the rotation grades, I didn’t include relievers who appeared in only a handful of games. Dan Runzler and Waldis Joaquin will have to wait until 2010 to be graded).

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Jeremy Affeldt

2-2, 33 HLD, 74 G, 62.1 IP, 55 K, 31 BB, 1.73 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, .197 BAA

Grade: A

Affeldt had the best season of his career in 2009, and showed why the Giants were so quick to snap him up off the free agent market last winter. He posted career bests in ERA, WHIP, and BAA, and tied for the Major League lead in holds (still a dumb stat, but they count). He was equally valuable against lefties and righties, holding them to BA’s of .211 and .187, respectively. Of the 74 games in which he appeared, Affeldt was scored on in only 13 of them; in fact, from early May through late July, Affeldt did not give up a run in 28 straight appearances. He was the most reliable arm out of the Giants’ bullpen all season long, and became one of the premiere relievers in all of baseball, left-handed or not.

The only problem with Affeldt in ’09 was that the Giants weren’t able to use him as much as they probably would have liked. There wasn’t another reliable left-handed option out of the bullpen until late in the year (when Dan Runzler arrived), and at times, Affeldt was unavailable to pitch because he’d been used so often. The Giants need a left-handed specialist in 2010 (Runzler is the likely candidate) to pair with Affeldt, because Affeldt is much more than just a left-handed specialist. He’s the team’s best setup man, their closer-in-waiting should something happen to Brian Wilson, and the Giants can’t afford to waste him against one tough lefty in the late innings.

The fact that “he wasn’t used enough” is the only negative I could find should tell you what kind of year Affeldt had. With one year left on his deal, the Giants should seriously consider offering him a contract extension before he’s able to hit the open market again.

Brian Wilson

5-6, 38 SV, 1 HLD, 68 G, 72.1 IP, 83 K, 27 BB, 2.74 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .233 BAA

Grade: B+

Wilson’s second year as the Giants’ closer was even better than the All-Star season that preceded it. His numbers were improved virtually across the board, including lowering his ERA by nearly 2 points, while increasing his strikeout totals and lowering his walks allowed. Wilson converted 38 of 45 save chances, and at times looked like one of the most dominating closers in the game. So why does he only warrant a B+?

If there’s one thing that brought Wilson’s grade down the most, it’s this: the Mohawk. (Kidding…kind of). No, it has to do with the fact that Wilson has a way of making things “interesting” (in a bad way) when he’s brought into games. As mentioned, when he has his best stuff, Wilson is almost untouchable; however, there can be long stretches where his best stuff leaves him. He gives up too many hits, gets behind in the count to too many hitters, and gets himself into high-stress situations all too often. While his breaking ball can be deadly, he has yet to develop it into an “out” pitch and can rely too much on his fastball. His numbers rank him as one of the better closers in the league, but it’s arguable if he can be considered one of the most reliable.

Those flaws are correctable, though, and Wilson appears to be on the cusp of becoming one of baseball’s elite closers. It’ll be interesting (in a good way) to see if he can take that step in 2010.

Sergio Romo

5-2, 2 SV, 11 HLD, 45 G, 34 IP, 41 K, 11 BB, 3.97 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .233 BAA

Grade: B

Romo has come a long way since being designated for assignment by the Giants in August 2008. He missed the first two months of the ’09 season with injuries, but became one of the team’s most reliable middle relievers the rest of the way. He doesn’t blow hitters away, but Romo has a wide array of pitches he’ll throw in any count to get people out, including some particularly nasty breaking balls. He has borderline closer’s stuff, and he proved to be the best right-handed setup option as the season progressed.

Romo has earned his spot in the 2010 bullpen, but he must stay healthy and avoid mini-collapses like the one that plagued him this past July, when he gave up 6 runs in 2 appearances without recording an out. He has the stuff and the makeup to be an effective Major League reliever, and should be an important part of the Giants’ future.

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Brandon Medders

5-1, 1 SV, 8 HLD, 61 G, 68.2 IP, 58 K, 32 BB, 3.01 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .248 BAA

Grade: B

For a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, Medders proved invaluable to the Giants in 2009. He wasn’t spectacular in any one area, but he brought something to the bullpen that had been terribly lacking in 2008: stability. He ate up innings, got some tough outs, and provided a solid arm to help bridge the gap to the late inning guys like Affeldt and Wilson. Medders is a guy who’s easy to overlook, but he was a huge part of the bullpen’s success this past season.

Medders may find himself the victim of a numbers game in 2010, as the Giants may not have room for him on the 40 man roster since spots have to be given to Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey. If the Giants don’t bring him back, they’d better make sure one of their young pitchers is ready to step into Medders’ role, or they may find themselves with the same bullpen woes that had plagued them for years prior to ’09.

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Justin Miller

3-3, 1 HLD, 44 G, 56.2 IP, 36 K, 27 BB, 3.18 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .236 BAA

Grade: B -

Another non-roster player, Miller proved invaluable to the Giants after Joe Martinez was injured early in the season. He became the team’s long reliever and excelled in the role, posting an ERA of under 2.00 until a late-season meltdown raised it nearly two points. Miller’s problems could be attributed to an elbow injury that wiped out the rest of his season in early September, and it’s not fair to judge the entirety of his work on those last few weeks. He did his job well, and provided another solid option out of the bullpen that had been lacking in seasons past.

It’s a good bet that Miller’s time with the Giants is over, since his spot was originally tabbed for Martinez; and, if Martinez is healthy next year, he’s likely going to be the team’s long reliever. The Giants may offer Miller another minor league deal, but his performance this season likely didn’t go unnoticed and he may have other suitors around the league. Whatever happens, he had a good season in 2009, and the Giants wouldn’t have had as much success without his contributions.

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Bob Howry

2-6, 10 HLD, 63 G, 63.2 IP, 46 K, 23 BB, 3.39 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .214 BAA

Grade: C –

Howry’s numbers may not look too bad, but they don’t speak to the kind of year he had in 2009. He was signed to help stabilize the bullpen, but found himself passed up in the ‘pen hierarchy by Romo, Medders, and Miller. He was more of a mop-up guy than anything else, and never became the reliable late inning option the Giants had envisioned he’d be when they gave him a $2.75 million contract last December.

Howry had a forgettable year, and it’s unlikely the Giants will bring him back with so many options internally to take his spot. That’s $2.75 million more they can spend on a hitter.

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Merkin Valdez

2-1, 4 HLD, 48 G, 49.1 IP, 38 K, 28 BB, 5.66 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, .292 BAA

Grade: D -

Remember the Russ Ortiz trade? The Giants traded Ortiz to Atlanta after the 2002 season, and received two players in return: Damien Moss, a pitcher whose claims to fame included being Australian and having massive sideburns, and Valdez. It’s officially time to call that trade a massive failure.

Valdez can throw the ball hard, but that’s about it. There’s no movement, no threat of a secondary pitch, and hitters can sit on his heater and kill the ball. That seemed to be the scouting report on Valdez: wait for the heater and then kill it. He had a terrible year, and the only reason he doesn’t get an F is because he had a halfway decent month of May. He shouldn’t be anywhere near the Giants’ bullpen in 2010.

Up next: grading the hitters. Until next time, thanks for reading.