Detroit Tigers Bullpen strong in May, in good place moving forward

Detroit Tigers relief pitchers rebounded from a disastrous April with a strong May. The bullpen has been solid this month, and should continue to find success as the season progresses.

Detroit Tigers fans, unfortunately, have become accustomed to see struggling bullpens. From Jose Valverde’s implosion to the struggles of Joe Nathan, Joba Chamberlain and Mark Lowe, it hasn’t always been easy going.

Following the end of April, it seemed that the 2017 Tigers could be heading down a similar path in terms of struggling.

Francisco Rodriguez had so far converted six saves, but he was also surrendering 2.79 home runs per nine innings and owned an unsightly 5.41 FIP.

Anibal Sanchez was also struggling as Detroit’s long reliever, with a -0.4 WAR and 4.91 walks and 3.68 home runs allowed per nine frames.

Elsewhere, 2016 bullpen stalwart Kyle Ryan sported a 7.59 xFIP and just 1.59 punch outs per nine innings.

Add in struggles from Bruce Rondon, Joe Jimenez and William Cuevas in limited work, and the bullpen wasn’t in the best place.

Overall, the group ranked 28^th in WAR and had the highest xFIP and WHIP in the league.

Fast forward to the tail-end of May and things have changed for the better.

Detroit has moved the team’s pitch reliever, Justin Wilson, he of the 1.46 SIERA, into the closer’s role.

A Reshuffled Deck

The team has also settled on a new rotation, as it were, in terms of setup artist.

Shane Greene is thriving while pitching late in games. The right-hander owns a 1.190 WHIP to go along with 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

He also owns a 3.03 FIP to go along with a 28.9 strikeout percentage. Both numbers are second only to Wilson on the team.

Joining Greene in pitching the seventh and eighth is the team’s other Wilson, Alex Wilson.

The dependable right-hander is once again recording outs and limiting base runners, with a 1.47 ERA and a 0.927 WHIP.

Rounding out the trio of setup options is left-hander Blaine Hardy.

With Justin Wilson closing games and Kyle Ryan pitching in Toledo, Hardy has seen an uptick in work as the bullpen’s top southpaw.

So far, the Washington native has logged a 3.78 SIERA and 7.43 strikeouts per nine innigns.

Future Success

Moving forward, there’s reason to believe that the Detroit Tigers will continue to find success.

Justin Wilson should continue to close out games. If he can rack up strikeouts at a similar rate to what he’s done so far, the Tigers will be in excellent shape.

Wilson owns a 45.5 strikeout percentage, and has struck out 15 batters per nine innings.

For reference, last season’s leaders in strikeout percentage and strikeouts per nine innings among relievers were Andrew Miller (44.7) and Dellin Betances (15.53).

The Tigers will also continue to rely on Greene, who seems to be turning a corner in relief. The former starter looked sharp in working around a pair of base runners in Monday’s 1-0 loss to Houston.

Pitching in the eighth inning, Greene rallied to strikeout the side, dropping in some nasty looking breaking balls in the process.

The reliever has allowed just one run since April 25^th. Greene has also struck out nine batters in his last 5.1 innings (20 batters faced).

Overall, he’s punched out 11.14 batters per nine innings, while notching a 28.9 strikeout percentage. Both stats rank second only to Justin Wilson among Detroit relievers.

If he continues to miss bats, the Detroit Tigers will be all the better for it.

With Justin Wilson, Greene, Alex Wilson, Hardy and Bell, Detroit already has a solid foundation on which to build on.

Fewer Poor Outings

The team will also be moving forward with fewer run-hemorrhaging outings from Rodriguez and Sanchez.

Rodriguez has a 3.86 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .125 batting average and a .263 on-base percentage in his last five outings (4.2 innings).

That stretch has seen the reliever lower his ERA from 7.82 to 7.16. Additionally he only allowed two hits and two runs in the same span.

Both runs and hits came in one outing in the 13^th inning of a loss to the Baltimore Orioles that was equal parts marathon and slugfest.

Meanwhile, Sanchez is with Triple-A Toledo after accepting an optional assignment.

Potential Future Reinforcements

Injuries and inconsistency are commonplace in a Major League Baseball season, so naturally, depth is needed.

Luckily for the Detroit Tigers, the team could have some intriguing on the way in the future.

Bruce Rondon is turning things around in Triple-A, with a 0.69 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 13 innings.

Once he gets his walks (10) under control, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the flamethrower back in Detroit’s bullpen.

Additionally, Joe Jimenez will likely return to the Detroit bullpen once he becomes healthy. The future closer recently hit the disabled list in Toledo.

Minor League Depth

The team could also turn to 40-man roster relievers in Daniel Stumpf and Victor Alcantara.

Stumpf, a left-handed hurler, has struck out 9.9 batters per nine frames. He’s also logged a 3.86 ERA in 16.1 innings with the Mud Hens.

Meanwhile, Alcantara has yet to allow a run in his first two Triple-A innings.

The former Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim farmhand moved to the bullpen full time this season, and has so far thrived.

In 23 Double-A frames, Alcantara pitched to a 1.96 ERA and a 1.174 WHIP.

There is also the possibility that the team turns to the hard-throwing duo of Arcenio and Ruben Alaniz at some point.

Both were impressive in Spring Training and replicated their success so far in the minor leagues in 2017.

Next: Justin Wilson, Alex Avila and Jim Adduci among under-the-radar acquisitions fueling Tigers' success

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see either make their respective Major League debuts this season.