The Phillies have pulled off some historic comebacks in Washington this week. They’ve come back while down to their last strike to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Part of the reason for those memorable comebacks though was forgettable outings from their bullpen.
Orion Kerkering served up the go-ahead three run home run in Tuesday night’s game. It was Jonathan Bowlan’s turn on Wednesday night, allowing a two-run home run on his first pitch that put the Nationals in front. Even on Monday in a game the Phillies
ultimately did not come back in, Seth Johnson allowed a back breaking two-run homer right after the Phillies cut their deficit in half.
The Phillies bullpen on the whole has been mostly good this season. They sit 15th in ERA (3.99) and 11th in WHIP (1,29) entering Thursday but are first in walk rate (7.5%), third in strikeout rate (25.4%), and fifth in FIP (3.59). In short, they are doing the things a good bullpen does which is strike people out and not issue walks, but their second highest batting average on balls in play (.315) is likely part of the reason their more traditional stats are a little worse than what their performance suggests they should be.
Jhoan Duran is the unquestioned bullpen ace for the Phillies. But after that, it’s a debate for the Phillies best reliever. Brad Keller was brought in to be just that, but he was uneven and is now on the injured list. José Alvarado has been that guy in the past, but he has a 6.11 ERA through 34 appearances and has the highest opponent’s average (.308) of his career. Kerkering has looked the part at times this season, but he also comes with his own set of unique baggage when talking about high leverage situations. Bowlan has started to be given more of those types of situations and has mostly been good, but he isn’t exactly a proven leverage arm.
So, who do you think is the Phillies best reliever after Jhoan Duran? What should be the plan to Duran in later innings? Who would be your primary set-up men?
