Astros Report Card: Grading the 2019 relief pitchers; Part I

The bullpen may look quite different in 2020 with four of them currently on the market, so in the 4th installment of the Astros Report Card, I’ll grade the relievers.

Houston utilized 18 relievers last season using everything from bullpen veterans and starters-turned-relievers to Minor League prospects trying to showcase their skills to make it in the big leagues. The Astros relievers as a collective unit fared well in 2019, placing in the top ten in the Major Leagues in most pitching statistical categories. But how well did each relief pitcher perform last season?

Chris Devenski:  D+

The leader among Astros relievers in innings pitched this year was Chris Devenski. In 2019, he appeared in 60 games and worked 67 innings in relief. Unfortunately, he also led the team with the highest ERA (4.84) of any other relief pitcher with 25 innings or more. Devenski also had the most earned runs surrendered out of the bullpen with 36.

That 4.84 ERA and his 1.30 WHIP are the worst in his four-year career and those two statistics have progressively gotten worse every year he’s pitched in the Major Leagues. Devenski’s ERA+ has also worsened every season, starting with a 182 in his rookie year, now down to 96 in 2019. He gave up more hits per nine innings (9.0) this year than ever.

The front office declined the $2.825 million club option for Devenski, leaning in favor of going the arbitration route. Houston looks to save money in the process, being that he’s projected to get $2 million in his arbitration case. That is IF they tender him a contract at all.

Collin McHugh:  B-

Beginning the season as one of the members of the Astros starting rotation, Collin McHugh started the first eight games of his 2019 season. He went 3-4 in those starts and had an ERA of 6.37 in 41 innings of work. As a result, McHugh was moved to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. He fared much better as a reliever, a role in which he had much success in 2018.

McHugh appeared in 27 games out of the pen totaling 33.2 innings. His ERA as a reliever was 2.67, quite the contrast from his results as a starter. He was credited with five holds and one win and was tagged for only one loss. He kept his opponents BA down to .208 as a reliever versus .232 during his starts. McHugh’s SO/9IP was also better when relieving (10.7) over starting (9.2).

There were some injury issues this year with McHugh missing a month early in the season with elbow discomfort and it resurfaced again in late August when he was finally shut down for the season.

After six seasons with the Astros, McHugh is on the market as a free agent. It will be interesting to see what kind of draw he’ll get from other teams this offseason and will the Astros entertain bringing him back for the 2020 season. Also, will teams pursue him as a starter, a role he played most of his career, or as a reliever, given his recent success out of the pen?

Joe Smith:  A

The Astros got bad news in December of 2018 when they learned that Joe Smith ruptured an Achilles tendon in his right leg during offseason workouts. After requiring surgery, Smith was looking at a long grueling rehab and Houston would be without one of their dependable relievers for the next six to eight months.

The 34-year-old battled back and returned to the mound almost 200 days later on July 14th. Smith never skipped a beat and was dependable as ever, actually, better than ever. Although he only got in 28 games and 25 innings for the Astros in the second half of the season, it was Smith’s best season of his 13-year career.

Smith ended the regular season with a 1.80 ERA, the second-lowest of any reliever in the Astros’ bullpen with at least 10 innings of work. He was also second among the same group of pitchers with a 1.80 BB/9IP ratio.

His 1.80 ERA, 0.960 WHIP, and 260 ERA+ were all career-best numbers and among the top in the bullpen. The Astros could really benefit by bringing back the dependable veteran to their pitching staff next season.

Will Harris:  A+

Another one of the relievers that the Astros should make every effort to bring back to Houston. With two of the top free-agent relief pitchers, Will Smith and Chris Martin, both signing with the Atlanta Braves, Will Harris will be highly sought after by many teams this offseason.

Harris unequivocally had the best season of his eight-year career and was one of the Astros’ most reliable pitchers out of the bullpen. His 68 appearances led all relief pitchers on the team and his 60 innings of work tied for third.

His 1.50 ERA was not only the lowest on the team among qualified pitchers per fangraphs.com but was also the best in the American League. Harris was in the top ten in the AL in WHIP (0.930), Holds (26), LOB% (88.2), and xFIP (3.04). The 35-year-old reliever had career-best numbers across the board.

His league adjusted ERA+ of 309 was off the charts and is the 37th highest in the history of baseball among pitchers with at least 60 innings of work in a single season. Only some of the best all-time greats like John Smoltz, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Eric Gagne, and Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera have done better.

Harris simply had a spectacular year, and if the Astros can only re-sign one of our four relievers that are on the free-agent market, Will Harris has got to be priority number one.

Today I looked at five of the Astros relief pitchers and graded out their 2019 seasons. Stay tuned for Part II of the Report Card on the bullpen when five more relievers get their grades. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Report Cards on the Astros starting pitchers, outfielders, and infielders.