MLB 2020 could bring about revolutionized strategy of pitcher usage

A new format of MLB season is on the horizon and with it will come innovation and revolutionized strategy that could change the game of baseball forever.

MLB is officially back and we are gearing up for a season unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Among many alterations to the game that will be made in this shortened 60-game mini-marathon, the usage we will see out of pitchers and the creative strategy that will arise from rotation and bullpen management has the potential to revolutionize the way the game of baseball is played from here on out.

We’ve seen some teams change the game on how to manage a pitching staff in recent years. Much like how the “opener” has been weaponized by a lot of teams, we’ve also seen the introduction of role changes and fluid use of pitchers throughout the course of a game and even a season.

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Ever hear about gender roles in today’s society and how they shouldn’t be so set-in-stone?

Apply that same kind of logic to pitchers in MLB. Pitching roles are changing in baseball much like how gender roles are changing in today’s world, and adaptation to that change, much like any kind of change, is critical.

We know the basic rundown of how a pitching staff operates. You throw out a starting pitcher to hopefully give you 6-7 innings. Then you turn it over to your setup bullpen guys. Then you bring in your closer to try and shut the door. Along the way, if things get out of hand, you have long and middle relief help to attempt to clean up the mess and get you to those 7-8-9 innings.

But today, and I believe we will see this manifest especially in this shortened 60-game season, that structure is quickly flying out the window.

The days of the 7-inning starting pitcher are coming to an end.

Wins for a starting pitcher are becoming less and less important on a yearly basis and guys like Jacob deGrom can win two CY Youngs after cashing in only 10 and 11 wins in 2018 and 2019. Longevity in games for starting pitchers could soon be on the decline while that same longevity is already on the rise in the games of relief pitchers as the days of the specialist are also coming to an end.

Yes, starters and relievers are slowly starting to inch closer to the middle and away from the two extremes of a late-inning specialist and 7-inning starter. We now want relievers to be able to throw multiple innings, and a very attainable goal for starters could be to acclimate them to throwing multiple days a week, out of the bullpen at times, and for shorter bursts to place an emphasis on freshness.

What this kind of strategy can do is change the way pitchers are brought up. Instead of being a 7-8-inning starter, younger guys are going to come up with their coaches placing an emphasis on keeping them fresh and using them in high-leverage situations at various points of a game.

Unless they are absolutely dominating, things like pitch count, injury concern, and high-leverage relievers will contribute heavily to a starting pitcher being yanked from the game, perhaps even before he naturally should be based on classical pitcher roles we’re accustomed to.

Much like how I believe this shortened MLB season will operate, we can see a strategy employed by basically every team that resembles that of what we see in Spring Training. 2-3 innings for one guy (perhaps a starter like Max Scherzer). 2-3 innings for another guy (perhaps a second starter like Stephen Strasburg). Then you close out the game with your high-leverage relievers and your big gun starters aren’t having to wait five days to pitch again.

I look at a young team like the Detroit Tigers. They have their starting group of Matthew Boyd, Jordan Zimmermann, Ivan Nova, Daniel Norris, and Spencer Turnbull.

But they also have a boatload of highly-touted starting pitching prospects coming up, many of whom have been added to the 60-player pool for this upcoming season such as Casey Mize, Beau Burrows, Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal, Franklin Perez, Alex Faedo, and Kyle Funkhouser. Don’t forget Michael Fulmer is in that mix as well coming back from injury.

Can somebody tell me off the top of their head who the Tigers’ big relievers are?

Joe Jimenez and Buck Farmer come to mind immediately, but other than that, there are between 6-9 or even 10 bullpen spots available in this starting period of resumed play where rosters are going to expand to 30 players.

If we take Jimenez and Farmer out of the equation and we look at everybody I mentioned before them, there are 13 pitchers right there that can make up a staff between the rotation and the bullpen. Who’s to say this is not how future staffs are going to look with nothing but starters making up the pen, casting aside their former roles of 6-7 inning starter, and settling into short appearances on a near-daily basis?

Think about a team like the Tampa Bay Rays and the starting staff they have. How exciting would it be if we could see some combination of Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, and Tyler Glasnow together on a gamely basis, or more reasonably, every other game?

Think about a Gerrit Cole or Jacob deGrom coming into the game in the 5th or 6th inning and having them fresh to close things out the rest of the way.

I know the drawbacks. Routines are broken, which are big deals for starting pitchers. Injury is a big concern if those starters who aren’t accustomed to coming out of the pen can’t find a groove. Such fluidity of usage will also screw you if you run out of pitchers and you have to deal with long extra-inning games. And why get away from throwing out your best starter for 7-8 innings if they’re going to spare your bullpen and get you to the next day? All are valid concerns.

But I look at proposed ideas like starting extra innings with a man on second base (which will be implemented this season), and I’d have to think extra-inning games are going to be cut down as a result.

I look at the fact that much like how in football, the game is getting smaller and faster and the quarterback is becoming the most athletic position on the field and I’d have to imagine pitchers are going to come up more athletic with healthier arms, better dietary and training regiments, and more ability to handle the workload of a pitcher being used multiple days-a-week.

There will be a playoff-type atmosphere in this shortened 60-game MLB season. And as a result, I believe we are going to see a glimpse of what the future of the MLB is going to look like from a pitcher’s usage standpoint.

Multiple starters are going to be used in games, much like how they are in the postseason.

Starters are going to come out of the bullpen and be plugged into high-leverage situations.

And teams are going to get creative about who pitches when and what order they pitch in.

Much like how the opener is used, we could see teams implement a strategy, especially with expanded rosters, where we won’t have to wait five days to see the big starters like Blake Snell, Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, etc.

I’m excited to see how pitchers are going to be used this season and future MLB seasons to come. The needle is moving. Position players are coming up with the ability to play multiple positions and pitching roles are becoming more fluid than they’ve ever been. Some fear for the future of baseball. I say we haven’t even scratched the surface on potential for the game.