Colorado Rockies: the importance of a good bullpen in the postseason

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Entering Monday, the Colorado Rockies have a bullpen ERA of 4.36 on the season, which is 17th in baseball. However, in the months of August and September, their bullpen ERA has been 4.04. That success will be something that the Rockies will need in the postseason.

The Colorado Rockies bullpen has performed much better since the beginning of August. Going into October, this is something that the Rockies will rely on a bit more. Teams that do well often rely on it for the whole season. Let’s look at the postseason teams in the past ten seasons (since 2008).

Playoff teams in 2008

In 2008, there were only eight playoff teams as there, of course, was no second Wild Card at the time. None of the playoff teams had a bullpen ERA of 4.13 (the MLB average bullpen ERA was 4.09).

The two World Series teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, were 2nd and 5th in baseball in bullpen ERA at 3.22 and 3.55, respectively.

2009

Of the eight playoff teams, none of the playoff teams had a bullpen ERA higher than the Rockies 4.53 ERA, which was 24th in baseball (4.08 was league average).

The two teams who made it to the World Series were the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees. Both were tied for 13th in baseball with a 3.91 ERA.

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 05: Pitcher Pat Neshek #37 of the Colorado Rockies throws in the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field on August 5, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

2010

In 2010, only two of the eight playoff teams were not in the top eight in baseball in bullpen ERA (the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds).

The San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers made it to the Fall Classic and they were 2nd and 6th in bullpen ERA at 2.99 and 3.38. The MLB average bullpen ERA was 3.94, respectively.

2011

In 2011, it was a great pitching year. The league average bullpen ERA was 3.69 and 25 of the 30 teams had bullpen ERA’s that were less than 4.00.

Of the playoff teams, the American League Champion Texas Rangers had the highest bullpen ERA at 4.11, which was 26th in baseball. The World Champion St. Louis Cardinals bullpen ERA was tied for 16th in baseball but it is still very good as it was 3.73.

2012

The great pitching environment from 2011 carried over to 2012 as the average bullpen ERA was 3.66. Only one American League team (the Toronto Blue Jays) had a bullpen with an ERA higher than 4.00.

This was the first year of the second Wild Card so instead of eight teams making the playoffs, there were ten. For the teams who qualified for the playoffs, their bullpen had ERA’s ranging from the Cincinnati Reds’ 2.65 to 3.90 (St. Louis Cardinals). The World Series teams (the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants) were 18th and 15th in bullpen ERA. They were 3.79 and 3.56, respectively.

2013

In 2013, the average bullpen ERA decreased for the third straight season as it was 3.59. None of the playoff teams had a bullpen with an ERA of 4.01 (the Detroit Tigers).

The teams who played in the Fall Classic (the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals) had bullpen ERA’s of 3.70 and 3.45, which were 21st and 12th in baseball.

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 4: Relief pitcher Jake McGee #51 of the Colorado Rockies delivers to home plate during the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on September 4, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Giants 4-3. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

2014

In 2014, the MLB average bullpen ERA dropped again to 3.58. The Detroit Tigers had the highest bullpen ERA of the ten playoff qualifying teams at 4.29, or 26th in baseball.

The San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals faced each other in the World Series and they were 5th and 10th. The Giants bullpen ERA was 3.01 and the Royals ERA was 3.30, respectively.

2015

The average MLB bullpen ERA rose a little bit in 2015 to 3.71. Seven of the ten playoff teams ranked in the top 12 of bullpen ERA. The worst of the ten playoff teams was the Texas Rangers at 4.12, or 24th.

The Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets faced each other in the 2015 World Series. The Royals were 2nd in baseball with a 2.72 ERA and the Mets were 11th with a 3.48.

2016

The average bullpen ERA was 3.93 in 2016 and only two playoff teams (the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers) were higher than this average. Six of the ten playoff teams were in the top nine teams in bullpen ERA.

The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians, the two representatives in the World Series, had bullpens that ranked 8th and 4th in ERA, respectively. They were 3.56 and 3.45.

2017

Of the 10 teams slated to make the playoffs as of Monday mornings standings, they were ranging between 1st and 22nd in bullpen ERA. However, the top four teams are all have or will probably have a playoff spot (Cleveland, Boston, the Dodgers, and Yankees). The top 12 teams all are, or up until last week were, in the playoff hunt.

The Rockies are 17th in bullpen ERA. Of teams who would have a playoff spot as of now, they would be seventh of the ten playoff teams.

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 5: Relief pitcher Chris Rusin #52 of the Colorado Rockies delivers to home plate during the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on September 5, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

World Series teams

Of World Series winners since 2000, only three of the 17 World Champions had a bullpen ERA that was higher than league average (the 2003 Florida Marlins, 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, and 2013 Boston Red Sox).

The reliance on bullpens has been more predominant in the past three seasons and it has been talked about more in the past three seasons. The worst bullpen ERA of a team appearing the World Series since 2014 is the 2016 Chicago Cubs. They were 8th in baseball with a bullpen ERA was 3.56 (the 2015 Mets were 11th in baseball but their ERA was 3.48).

Final Thoughts

The Rockies bullpen, even though they blew Sunday’s game against the Padres, has done better in August and September but considering that the Rockies starting pitching staff has struggled, you have to wonder if the bullpen will be relied on too heavily. The Cleveland Indians had to do that out of necessity in the postseason last year due to injuries to some of their starters. They couldn’t seal the deal with the World Series Championship last year and they have had injuries to some of their bullpen pieces (e.g. Andrew Miller) this season.

Next: Is Tyler Chatwood the Rockies second best starter going into the postseason?

I think that long relievers Chris Rusin and starters who will be relievers in the postseason will be of particular importance in the event that the rotation falters. You just hope that the bullpen can hold up. If they do, the Rockies could advance far into the postseason.

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