Detroit Tigers: Alex Wilson Remains Bullpen Stalwart

With the 2018 season coming to a close, we are providing year-end grades to each Detroit Tigers player who donned the Olde English D in 2018.

The Detroit Tigers completed the first year of what looks to be a multi-year rebuilding process. While the team was hard to watch at times, there is still plenty to evaluate from this season as we look ahead to the next few years.

As with any team, there were a lot of excellent performances, surprise performances, and of course disappointing performances. Here at Motor City Bengals, we are going to be evaluating each player who suited up for the Detroit Tigers this season. We will analyze how they performed, what their future holds in the Motor City, and we will provide them a grade.

Note: the grade will be relative to what was expected of them. So a player who performed well above expectations may earn a B or an A, even if their actual season numbers are not that elite. If you disagree, feel free to drop us a comment. We would love to have discussions about these!

The Tigers had another season of inconsistent bullpen performances, with surprisingly good showings from Louis Coleman, Blaine Hardy and Victor Alcantara, as well as disappointing years from Shane Greene, Warwick Saupold and many others.

One of the few consistent performers in Detroit’s bullpen has been right-hander Alex Wilson, who actually had an above-average year in 2018.

Alex Wilson

Alex Wilson was a very solid, dependable Tigers bullpen arm. He posted a 3.36 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 61.2 innings. His 6.28 K/9 was on par with his career norms, as was his 2.19 BB/9.

He did get victimized by the long ball quite a bit, with a career-high eight home runs surrendered on a 1.17 HR/9. He also had some good luck, with a freakishly low .237 BABIP contributing to his tidy 3.36 ERA – which was backed by a not so great 4.28 FIP and 3.95 SIERA.

Still, Wilson was clearly one of Detroit’s better bullpen arms for the fourth year in a row. He is arb eligible again next season, and estimates say he will cost around $2.9 million. The Detroit Tigers will likely keep him for another year, although he is definitely trade bait if he has a strong first half.

Grade

Wilson has continued to do exactly what is expected of him. A few more home runs and a little luck meant his season wasn’t quite as good as he has been in the past – but he was clearly better this year than he was in his disastrous 2017 season.

Grade: B

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