Detroit Tigers: Bullpen is off to phenomenal start in 2020 season
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Tigers bullpen has been quite impressive to begin the 2020 season, seeing them make monumental improvements from the 2019 season.
Through the first sixth of the season, the Detroit Tigers have a 5-5 record and are in third place in the American League (AL) Central. The Tigers bullpen has been a factor that has helped them stay in games and not blow games wide open as they were famous for in 2019.
Being critical, the 2019 Tigers team was horrifying all around; the bullpen was just one piece of a dumpster fire that ended up only winning 47 games. However, in 2020, the bullpen has been a critical piece in keeping the Tigers in games, even though they have not been able to win all of their games.
Being a sixth of the way through the season, the organization has to be happy with the outcome so far. The Tigers have seen a new version of Gregory Soto that’s looks to be quite comfortable on the mound, throwing absolute heat from the left side of the plate.
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The Tigers have also seen one heck of a performance from Tyler Alexander who struck out ten Cincinnati Reds hitters in his relief outing in Sunday’s doubleheader.
The performance earned him an AL-record since he struck out nine consecutive Reds hitters. He fell one short of the Major League record by Tom Seaver.
Through ten total games on the 2020 season, the Tigers have played a total of 85 innings pitched. Of those 85, starters have accounted for 41 of those total innings.
Whereas, the bullpen has been responsible for the other 44 innings pitched.
The Tigers have given up a total of 48 earned runs; the bullpen has been the responsible party for 21 of those earned runs.
So, just looking at some very basic figures using the Tigers stats, the starters have pitched in fewer innings and allowed more runs. All while, the bullpen has thrown in more innings and allowed fewer runs than the starters.
Looking at the basic numbers, the Tigers bullpen has shown that it has made improvements and seems to be in much better shape than in years past. It is a great thing, even for a rebuilding team to see a bullpen be able to establish itself and get work done on the mound night in and night out.
Having a stable closer in the form of Joe Jímenez, Buck Farmer coming into his own as a set-up man, Gregory Soto looking mighty good in his appearances, things are looking good for the Tigers. It has to alleviate pressure on manager Ron Gardenhire who is managing through this rebuild.
He knows that the bullpen is going to keep him in the game, the opposition may scratch across a run or two, but the bullpen can lock things down and allow the offense to go to work. Which, it has not in a few of the games, leaving the Tigers out to dry.
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The Detroit Tigers 2020 bullpen looks to be in much better shape than it has in years past, and they will look to continue this dominance throughout the 2020 season.