Posted on 5/1/2008 2:44:38 PM

MLB Baseball Betting – Which Bullpens are hot?

By Mike Rose

1) Tampa Bay Rays – Along with their new look uniforms comes a new look in the pen where the Rays lead all of baseball with a unit ERA of 2.25 coming into Tuesday night’s match-up with the Baltimore Orioles. This comes as a complete shock since 2007’s bullpen of the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays was a complete joke. That said, the Rays pen can be looked at as one of the main reasons why the team currently sits tied atop the AL East standings with Baltimore with almost a month elapsed of the season. The pen has only allowed 19 earned runs and 57 hits (3 HR’s) with a K/BB ratio of 54/25. Closer Troy Percival has successfully closed all five of his chances allowing just two hits and no earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 9/1 in nine total innings of work, and Al Reyes and Dan Wheeler have done superb jobs in their set-up roles.

2) Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies come in ranked second in overall bullpen output with a unit ERA of 2.63. It owns a 7-4 overall mark with a save/blown save ratio of 7/3. Opponents are only batting a measly .203 (#1 in MLB) in the late innings against Philly. It owns a K/BB ratio of 56/43 and has only allowed 23 earned runs and 58 hits (3 HR) in 76 total innings of work. Brad Lidge has converted all six of his save opportunities, as neither he nor J.C. Romero has surrendered a run this year. Most disappointing though is the body of work Tom Gordon’s put out thus far allowing nine hits and seven earned runs in just a little over nine innings of work. If he turns himself around, this unit could be even better.

3) Oakland A’s – In Billy Beane we trust! This guy simply knows what it takes to get it done in this business. He pretty much traded every one of the guys that put Oakland back on the map over the last decade, but now finds his club back atop the AL West standings with the team comprised of a lot of no names. That said, his bullpen has been solid with a unit ERA of 2.81, a 4-2 record, and a save/blown save ratio of 9/3. The tell tale sign of a good pen is its K/BB ratio and ERA. We’ve already mentioned the sub 3.00 ERA, but the A’s boast a wonderful bullpen K/BB ratio of 70/29. When you don’t issue free passes and earn outs via the strikeout in the late innings, you’re well on your way towards being a successful ball club in this league.

4) Florida Marlins – Surprised to see the Marlins atop the NL East standings heading into May? Don’t be! They’re bullpen is one of the main reasons why, and this club will give everyone in the division major runs for their money throughout the entire season provided this unit stays healthy. As a whole, the Marlins pen has allowed a lofty amount of hits (77), but they’ve only allowed their opponents to tally 28 runs off of them. They’ve almost struck out twice the batters they walk (64/38), and have converted four of seven overall save opportunities. Closer Kevin Gregg’s been flat out nasty when given the ball to secure a win picking up four saves in five opportunities allowing just 10 hits and three earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 12/6 in a shade over 13 total innings of work.

5) Arizona Diamondbacks – the fifth ranked bullpen just so happens to be a part of another first place team to start the season. The D’Backs have exploded out of the gates garnering themselves the best record in baseball at 19-7. Sure, their offense has been electric, but the bullpen has chipped into the teams early season success. Brandon Lyon made a smooth transition into the closers role (8 saves/2 blown), and the unit has allowed just 59 hits and 26 earned runs with a stellar K/BB ratio of 60/32. It’s real tough to score off these guys as their opponents’ batting average currently comes in at a measly .206 (2nd best in MLB).

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