Philadelphia Phillies: Jose Alvarado becoming an ultra-elite reliever?

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado got an off day Thursday even though his team was locked in a 1-0 struggle with the Seattle Mariners. This would ordinarily have been a game in which a fire-balling reliever would be no surprise as he strode to the mound.

However, Alvarado had pitched in five games in the previous eight games, most recently the evening before, when he had recorded his fourth save against the Mariners in a 6-5 win. In fact, all four of his saves had been recorded in those eight games. He had thrown a total of 73 pitches in the games he appeared in, all Phillies wins, incidentally.

In wrapping up the win on April 26 with 22 of those 73 pitches, he had kept his total earned runs surrendered for the season at one.

Has hard-throwing Jose Alvarado finally become what the Philadelphia Phillies hoped he would?

And in 11 games in total in the young season, Jose Alvarado had struck out 22 batters without walking a one.

Whether you think 73 pitches in competition in eight days is a lot or not (even at Alvarado’s generally high velocities), the big left-hander has sharply redefined his role in Major League Baseball.

To be sure, he still does the same job he’s done throughout his seven-year career. He’s an-inning-a-game, high-velocity reliever. Once, however, he was one-inning guy who made your hair fall out and your fingernails bleed because those innings were like Russia invading Ukraine without enough fuel.

A lot of guys ended up walking.

Three-and-a-half years ago, Alvarado was just finishing up his season with the Tampa Bay Rays, and things had not gone well. He finished his 35-game effort with an astronomical WHIP of 1.867. He was putting nearly 17 men on base per nine innings.

The following year, the COVID campaign, wasn’t much better (1.667 WHIP), and was further marred by a shoulder inflammation. Jose Alvarado was sent to Philadelphia in a three-way deal with the Dodgers.

The 2021 campaign saw a slight improvement in his WHIP (1.599), but 2022 started off so badly, the hurler was sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. While there, he began work with a mental skills coach, and started to throw his cutter with more velocity but better control. His sinker use dropped, but still was a useful third pitch. After his return to South Philly, he finished his season with a 1.216 WHIP.

Better, his ERA for the NL-champion Phillies was a very encouraging 3.18 and his FIP a mere 1.92. Alvarado was becoming the pitcher the Phillies saw as a potential work in progress with a very high ceiling when they acquired him.

So, yes, Alvarado got the day off April 27. His 0.529 WHIP remained unchanged for at least 24 more hours. So did his miniscule ERA (0.79) and even smaller FIP (0.60).

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to take care of Jose Alvarado. You would too. He’s become an elite reliever. The only question is whether he can maintain his current level of excellence.

If he does, he may force Rob Thomson, his manager, to scrap his mix-and-match closer scheme, and pick the obvious guy to take that role.