MLB: Top 5 relievers in the AL and NL Championship Series
Chad Green
Most casual baseball fans don’t know Yankees righty Chad Green. He was unspectacular as a rookie in 2016, starting 8 of 12 games pitched and bouncing between the majors and AAA. This year started in the minors again.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
He was called up in early May and never looked back, registering a 13.4 K/9 along with a 1.83 ERA and 1.75 FIP. He yielded only 4.4 H/9, less than one hit per every two innings. Of all relievers remaining in the playoffs only Jansen had a higher fWAR than Green’s 2.3.
With starting pitchers frequently getting hooked early in games during the postseason, relievers who can throw multiple innings are of tantamount importance. Green proved himself capable of this all year, throwing 69 innings in only 40 games. He recorded four or more outs in 30 of those appearances. If such a thing as a fourth inning relief ace exists, Green is the man for the job.