Chasing The Storm 2053-4 Bullpen Review

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Chasing The Storm 2053-4 Bullpen Review

Post by njherdfan » Wed Feb 01, 2023 3:29 pm

Another regular season is in the books for our beloved Seattle Storm, and it's fair to say that this year, like years past, was not a success. The Storm struggled and staggered to a 65-97 record, and were outscored by 119 wins on the season. None of that is good, and it's clear that there's a lot that needs to change before Seattle can truly compete. While reviews of how the team performed typically look at the offense and starting pitching, today, we're going to go in a slightly different direction and look at the bullpen's performance.

In a particularly ugly bit of symmetry, Seattle's starting pitching and bullpen both had a 5.30 ERA. That shouldn't happen. Today we're going to look at Seattle's bullpen performances, and see if there's anything we can learn.

One particularly confounding member of Seattle's bullpen has been Len Conboy. Conboy was Seattle's first-round draft pick in 2045, and he was originally slated to become a mainstay at the top of the rotation. That didn't ultimately come to pass, as concerns about his stamina didn't go away, and, ultimately, the front office decided to move him to the bullpen. At the time, Seattle's coaches assumed that his stuff, which was good enough to make him a good starter, would make him a spectacular reliever. In the first 3 years of his career (his 4th was cut short by injury) Conboy was good, with FIPs at 3.36 and below, but never quite great. There were hopes that he would take a big leap this year and dominate out of the bullpen. The opposite happened. Conboy had an ERA of 6.11 and a FIP of 4.84. He stopped striking people out, he began walking hitters in bunches, and he also gave up a ton of home runs. This season was an unmitigated disaster for Conboy, and Seattle needs to ask whether he can be expected to contribute to the bullpen next year. No one reports any obvious physical decline, but without a clear explanation for his poor performance, it will be hard to trust him next year.

Another potentially intriguing arm is Enrique Aguilar. He was an unheralded 4th round pick, but he's seen significant improvements in his stuff as a prospect. This year marked his first extensive action in the majors, where he posted a 4.97 ERA and a 4.67 FIP. Scouts speculate that there is significant room for improvement here as he becomes a full-time starter. Only time will tell, but Seattle hopes he can be a big piece of the future bullpen.
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