MLB Best: Is Craig Kimbrel the Best Reliever in Baseball?

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(Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /

We will be compiling a list of the top three players at each position including designated hitter leading into Spring Training. These MLB best lists are based on career stats/accomplishments, 2018 statistics, and especially their projections going into 2019. Today we continue with Relief Pitchers.

Yesterday I wrote about the best catchers in baseball, and today we move to the mound with the relief pitchers.

Without further ado, there are only three spots on the list, so let’s go through the relievers that were just short:

Just Missed

Blake Treinen (Oakland Athletics)

Blake Treinen had some mediocre years in the nation’s capital with the Nationals, but once got to the West Coast he started to dominate. He helped shut down games for the A’s, getting 38 saves last season with an ERA of 0.78.

The reason I did not put him on the list was he has not been able to pitch well when he was in Washington, so until he is more consistent he will be off my list.

Sean Doolittle (Washington Nationals)

Sean Doolittle was not able to get his ERA down from over 3 when he was in Oakland, but in his first full year as the closer in Washington, he got his ERA down to 1.60. It is the same concept as Treinen, so if he is able to stay consistent, then he will be on the list.

It is ironic that the two relief pitchers that I have listed were traded for each other in a trade, so Treinen went to Oakland because he was not working out, and Doolittle went to Washington.

Aroldis Chapman (New York Yankees)

Aroldis Chapman is still able to hit 100 miles per hour on the radar gun whenever he wants, but over the years has slowed down a little bit, with his fastball now at around 97 mph.

But now with everyone throwing 95, hitters can adjust to Chapman, so his ERA will keep going up.

Lets get to the list. #3 is in a new home and led the league in saves in 2018…

3. Edwin Diaz (New York Mets)

Edwin Diaz led the league in saves last season with 57 along with earning his first All Star appearance.

It seemed like every time I turned on a Mariners game, he was pitching. Every night he would be out there, and dominating. It was like he had a rubber arm because the Mariners were in one run games almost every single night, and their bullpen was not particularly strong, but Diaz came in and shut down the opposing lineup.

On top of the 57 saves, he held an ERA of 1.96 (career high), with allowing only 16 runs all season in over 73 innings pitched. He made it to his first All Star Game in Washington along with his four other teammates including Robinson Cano, Mitch Haniger, Jean Segura, and Nelson Cruz.

This off season Diaz and his all star teammate Robinson Cano were traded to the New York Mets for Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, and three prospects including Jared Kelenic.

I really like Diaz in a Mets uniform. Before this off season, you did not really know who the closer was every night, and now they have one of the best closers on the game, in addition to Jeurys Familia, who re-signed with the club this off season as well.

Now if the Mets rotation can just stay healthy, pitch into the seventh inning of games, the Mets will be contending for a playoff spot after the All Star break.

Diaz is projected to have another great year, but obviously not better than last year’s fantasy season. He is projecting to have an ERA of around 4 with 30 saves with allowing just 23 earned runs.

I could not put Diaz in front of my #2 relief pitcher because he had another huge year and was known as the best reliever in the National League last season…

2. Josh Hader (Milwaukee Brewers)

I was watching Josh Hader strike out three batters against the San Diego Padres in one inning on Opening Day of last season, and as I watching the game, I thought ‘this guy is going to be special’. Well, I think it is safe to say he is special… very special.

In 2018, Hader had an ERA of 2.43 with 143 strikeouts in addition to notching 12 saves. You may look at the saves total, and think that isn’t very impressive, but he usually came in and pitched two or three innings in any part of the game from about the fifth inning all the way to the ninth inning.

In the 2018 postseason, he did not allow a single run in 10 innings pitched. He struck out 16 combined in both the Division Series and Championship Series with only one walk.

Hader actually pitched for Milwaukee in 2017, earning a 2.08 in 47.2 innings pitched, but he did not catch on until last season when he led his club to the National League Championship vs the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 2019, Hader is definitely going to be managed differently because an arm injury could happen at any time, especially if he is going to pitch two or three innings at a time without very much rest.

He is projecting to have 3.09 earned run average this season, and strikeout 98 batters in 70 innings.

He will not have as big of an explosive year because batters will get to know him, then adjust to his high fastball, and will work the counts more leading to more pitches thrown, and fewer innings pitched.

I do like the rest of the bullpen with great arms like Corey Knebel, Junior Guerra, and Jeremy Jeffress. All three of them can pitch multiple innings at times, which will give Hader more rest to keep him healthy, and better for when he is on the mound.

I couldn’t put Hader in front of my #1 reliever because that reliever has been dominant for a greater amount of time….

1. Craig Kimbrel

Craig Kimbrel could not seem to get anyone out in the Division Series of the 2018 postseason, but a small fix made all of the difference.

More from Call to the Pen

It turned out Craig Kimbrel was tipping his pitches during the postseason, so former Los Angeles Dodger Eric Gagne noticed, and texted manager Alex Cora, who then informed his coaching staff.

Alex Cora said Kimbrel was “tipping his pitches for two weeks”, but when Kimbrel found out what he was doing, he immediately fixed it and was back to being the best reliever in baseball.

The point is everybody in baseball wanted to bash him for “choking” in big situations, but it wasn’t because he wasn’t a good pitcher all of a sudden, but because of a minimal technical mistake. Everyone seems to believe that he isn’t the best reliever in the game anymore because of his postseason performance, but again during the regular season he dominated, and after he made the fix he dominated, and is now a World Series champion.

In 2018, he racked up the most amount of saves since his 2014 season in Atlanta (42), with 96 strikeouts, and 19 earned runs in only 62.1 innings.

He made it to his seventh All Star Game, accumulating a 2.74 ERA and giving up just seven home runs.

If you didn’t know, Kimbrel is not signed yet. Dave Dombrowski, the Red Sox’s President of Baseball Operations, said on Wednesday that they are going to be looking for a closer internally. The Red Sox along with every other team do not want to give him a long term deal, so he will have to settle for a shorter deal, possibly with the Braves.

In 2019, he is projected to have a 3.14 ERA with 25 saves, and striking out 85 in 63 innings pitched.

No matter where Kimbrel ends up, he is going to be a great pitcher and deserves to be the best reliever in the game because of not just every reason I have already stated, but the fact that in every clutch stat last year, the opposing batting average was lower than .170.

Next. Top three catchers in the majors. dark

Tell me what you think of my list, and come back for my last position breakdown of the series, which is the Starting Pitchers.

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