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Colorado Rockies: Their bullpen is best in the National League

By Christian Espinoza

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 19: Wade Davis. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 19: Wade Davis. Photo courtesy of Getty Images. /
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Wade Davis is now with the Colorado Rockies
CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 16: Wade Davis #71 of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field on September 16, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 4-1. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /

I know our counterparts over at Dodgers Way might have something to say about this declaration.  However, as you can see below, the Rockies were already sporting a combined bullpen WAR of 6.4, which is good for the second spot in the National League.

Top 5 National League Bullpens by WAR in 2017

# Team G IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP LOB% GB% HR/FB ERA FIP xFIP WAR
1 Dodgers 536 559.2 32 19 51 10.24 2.94 1.13 .281 78.2% 41.1% 13.0% 3.38 3.55 3.64 7.6
2 Rockies 549 550.2 24 19 47 8.97 3.48 1.05 .307 70.9% 47.2% 12.1% 4.40 3.94 4.14 6.4
3 Brewers 550 572.2 27 36 54 9.67 4.26 1.08 .301 76.4% 47.4% 14.1% 3.83 4.14 4.10 4.8
4 Diamondbacks 513 499.2 27 18 43 8.90 3.40 1.08 .288 73.4% 48.6% 13.0% 3.78 3.95 4.04 4.5
5 Cardinals 546 531.0 22 29 43 8.98 3.07 1.08 .297 75.1% 40.7% 11.4% 3.81 3.93 4.23 4.4

[Statistics Courtesy of FanGraphs.com]

As a team that had the best bullpen in the National League last season, on top of their visit to the World Series, there seems to be a “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mentality with the Dodgers. That’s even factoring the vacancy left by Brandon Morrow.

Despite various rumors and reports, the Dodgers have been focusing on efforts in shedding money to avoid that $197MM luxury tax threshold in 2018. The only offseason relief signing so far as been adding starter-turned-reliever, Tom Koehler. As Cesar Becerra of Dodgers Way points out, this signing won’t fill the void left by Morrow, and anticipates that set-up role will go to either Yimi Garcia or Pedro Baez. Wade Davis will also provide the Rockies will a very good closer like the Dodgers have in Kenley Jansen.

As far as Rockies fans are concerned, the signing of Wade Davis is definitely big news. He was widely regarded as the best closer on the market this offseason. However, looking at how his 2017 campaign stacked up against Greg Holland‘s, each have their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. However, it’s essentially a wash in terms of overall performance.

Wade Davis/Greg Holland Comparison 2017

Player G IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP LOB% GB% HR/FB ERA FIP xFIP WAR
Wade Davis 59 58.2 4 2 32 12.12 4.30 0.92 .262 87.7% 40.5% 12.0% 2.30 3.38 3.57 1.1
Greg Holland 61 57.1 3 6 41 10.99 4.08 1.10 .252 75.2% 41.6% 11.3% 3.61 3.72 4.05 1.1

[Statistics Courtesy of FanGraphs.com]

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