SF Giants Bullpen Trust Rankings - May edition
Things haven't gone well for the SF Giants' bullpen this year. Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers have been mostly dependable as late-inning options, but elsewhere, misfortune and inconsistency have ruled. From Scott Alexander to Cole Waites, we at Giants Baseball Insider are here to give you a rundown on who's hot, who's not, and where each player can make an impact going forward.
High-leverage Weapons:
1. Camilo Doval - 2.20 ERA, 16.1 IP, 8/9 Saves Recorded
If anyone on this roster has been a rock, it's been closer Camilo Doval. Doval has continued to ride his fastball-slider-cutter combination to devastating effect, ranking near the top of the league in velocity, movement, and expected batting stats. He's converted nearly all of his save opportunities, and opponents are hitting just .161 against him this year. If anyone is blameless for the team's slow start, it's him.
2. Tyler Rogers - 2.70 ERA, 20.0 IP, 0.95 WHIP
Don't let Sunday's blown save distract you from the consistent reliability of Tyler Rogers. The submarine reliever sets up hapless batters for Doval with a completely different style, throwing looping fastballs with some of the least speed and movement in the league. But the results are nearly the same, and nobody's been better so far at keeping runners off the basepaths. Because of that, Rogers, T. stands out as one of the clear two best relievers on the Giants' roster.
SF Giants closer Camilo Doval throws a pitch to end the ninth inning (2023).
Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Mid-leverage Options:
3. John Brebbia - 6.57 ERA, 12.1 IP, .217 AVG. against
The fact that the #3 option on this list has a 6.57 ERA is, uh... not encouraging. But Brebbia's pitched better than that. 11 of his 17 appearances have been scoreless, and in the 6 others, he's twice had other relievers come in and immediately allow his inherited runners to score. He's not blameless, but he's been unlucky in a way that reflects in his actual and expected batting averages, which are closer to Doval's than to someone who should be DFA'd.
4. Taylor Rogers - 5.40 ERA, 11.2 IP, 8 BB
Taylor Rogers was one of the five big offseason investments the Giants splurged on following the Judge and Correa sagas, and like most of his peers, Rogers, Ta. has gotten off to a rocky start. That's primarily due to the 8 walks, third amongst Giant relievers in 2023. But Rogers has quietly put together a dominant stretch, not having allowed an earned run in the last calendar month. The ERA will take awhile to whittle down, but the right-handed Rogers should continue to do so.
5. Scott Alexander - 6.08 ERA, 13.1 IP, .259 AVG against, 3 BB
Another mirror-image pair here, as Alexander has closely mirrored Taylor Rogers' production, but for opposite reasons. Alexander started the season with 9 dominant innings over about a month, but ran into trouble in late April in a two-game stretch. One of those games, though, was the bizarro-world game in Mexico City, and outside of that outing, he's allowed one walk all season. His peripherals aren't great, but his excellent walk rate is keeping him on the roster. If that changes, he'll likely find himself on the outside looking in.
SF Giants reliever John Brebbia tosses a pitch at Oracle Park (2023).
Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Long-relief:
6. Jakob Junis - 5.14 ERA, 21.0 IP, 5 HR allowed
Junis tops the final section of the trust rankings given that throughout the entire roster, he's still the most stable multi-inning relief option. The results haven't been great - he's been as susceptible to the long ball as anyone - but Junis is as good of an innings-eating option as you can ask for, and he had an ERA under 4.00 before getting eviscerated in the Mexico City series. He can probably be relied on.
7. Tristan Beck - 5.71 ERA, 17.1 IP, 1.56 WHIP
Beck has been a victim of inconsistency as much as any pitcher on the roster, having recorded as many 1.0 inning outings as 5.1 inning outings. Beck has come up with a couple nice outings, a couple of longer outings where he's valiantly eaten innings, and a couple disasters. The 26-year old has a lot higher ceiling than where he is now, but he'll need time to grow into a more stable role if he's going to produce.
8. Cole Waites - 15.43 ERA, 2.1 IP, 6 H allowed
It's way too soon to tell with Waites, who's appeared three times and given up runs each time. The Giants' #26 prospect has a big arm and big spin, but is a ways away from developing into a back-of-the-bullpen weapon. At this point, it looks like he'll be on the taxi squad between San Francisco and Sacramento for most of this year, but he has the talent to break out and make a big jump up this list if things break right.
9. Sean Hjelle - 10.13 ERA, 13.1 IP, 2.33 WHIP
The Sean Hjelle long relief experience has not been a success, to put it mildly. The 2018 second-round pick was optioned back to Sacramento at the beginning of the month, but still leads the bullpen in earned runs and walks allowed. He's looked sharp in Sacramento during his time back there, but like Waites, will need greater consistency in both his role and his stuff to keep a spot at the big-league level. It's entirely possible that Hjelle ends up dropping out of the bullpen and into a spot-starter role eventually, at least once the Giants no longer have four people contending for the fifth spot in the rotation.
SF Giants reliever Sean Hjelle delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros (2023).
Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Honorary Member: Matt Beaty - 1.0 IP, 27.00 ERA
Beaty isn't a pitcher, but we salute him for his April 6th save against the Chicago White Sox. With his 3-run performance, he closed out a nail-biting 13-run lead, earning the Giants their third win of the season. Beaty is back in Sacramento with the AAA team, so his role will probably be filled by Casey Schmitt, who's just about everywhere these days, and has one of the strongest non-pitching arms on the team. Either way, the Giants can only hope for more appearances from these youngsters, who represent the future of closing out double-digit leads.
note: Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling, and Alex Wood were not considered here due to their starting roles. Keep an eye out for the SF Giants Starting Pitching Trust Rankings, coming June 1.
