Exploring the Seattle Pen just a bit more
They have Putz at top with his 0.89 ERA, his 0.58 WHIP and his 4.61 WPA.
Next is shutdown lefty George Sherrill, who has a fine 1.33 WPA, but it is his numbers v lefties that impress me so, you know that
sOPS+ of 8
Sean Green has been amazing lately earning himself the 8th inning RH setup role. He has a modest 0.84 WPA, but as
USSMariner has said, he is "criminally underrated."
Last years first round pick, 5th overall, is fireballer Brandon Morrow. He's got some issues with the walks, particularly in his second trip around the league, but he is back on track which you can see in
his graphs, kinda. He as a 0.80 WPA.
For the SLOOGY (that's Second Lefty One Out Guy) the Mariners have Eric O'Flaherty. He isn't in Sherrill's league, but that just means he isn't the best in baseball at the LOOGY role. Eric O has himself a
40 sOPS+ v lefties to go with his 0.29 WPA. He wasn't on the roster much in April and May, so this keeps his WPA down quite a bit, at least if he's as good as I think he is.
Lastly the Mariners just got back Mark Lowe. Lowe came on the scene late last year to become a good to great setup man. His
225 ERA+ and
1.50 WPA added were in just 15 games where he struck the opposition out at 9.64 K/9 rate.
This is a bullpen with Lefty/Righty balance that is topped off by the best stopper in baseball. I'm willing to listen to other presentations, but without this bullpen has been the primary reason why a team with a mediocre starting rotation and inconsistent offense is contending.