Plate appearances by relievers
Posted by Andy on April 25, 2010
Wow, there have already been 37 plate appearances by relief pitchers so far this season:
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Micah Owings | 2010-04-23 | CIN | SDP | L 4-10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Tim Stauffer | 2010-04-23 | SDP | CIN | W 10-4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Hisanori Takahashi | 2010-04-23 | NYM | ATL | W 5-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Claudio Vargas | 2010-04-22 | MIL | PIT | W 20-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Manny Parra | 2010-04-22 | MIL | PIT | W 20-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | D. J. Carrasco | 2010-04-22 | PIT | MIL | L 0-20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Carlos Villanueva | 2010-04-21 | MIL | PIT | W 8-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Tyler Walker | 2010-04-20 | WSN | COL | L 4-10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Brian Burres | 2010-04-20 | PIT | MIL | L 1-8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Matt Belisle | 2010-04-20 | COL | WSN | W 10-4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Manuel Corpas | 2010-04-19 | COL | WSN | L 2-5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Claudio Vargas | 2010-04-18 | MIL | WSN | W 11-7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Miguel Batista | 2010-04-18 | WSN | MIL | L 7-11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Carlos Villanueva | 2010-04-18 | MIL | WSN | W 11-7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Raul Valdes | 2010-04-17 | NYM | STL | W 2-1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Jason Motte | 2010-04-17 | STL | NYM | L 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Joe Mather | 2010-04-17 | STL | NYM | L 1-2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Blake Hawksworth | 2010-04-17 | STL | NYM | L 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Manuel Corpas | 2010-04-16 | COL | ATL | L 5-9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Matt Capps | 2010-04-15 | WSN | PHI | W 7-5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Micah Owings | 2010-04-15 | CIN | FLA | L 2-10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Clay Hensley | 2010-04-15 | FLA | CIN | W 10-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Nelson Figueroa | 2010-04-14 | PHI | WSN | W 14-7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Jesse English | 2010-04-14 | WSN | PHI | L 7-14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Leo Rosales | 2010-04-14 | ARI | LAD | W 9-7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
| 26 | Raul Valdes | 2010-04-13 | NYM | COL | L 3-11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | Ramon Troncoso | 2010-04-13 | LAD | ARI | W 9-5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Micah Owings | 2010-04-13 | CIN | FLA | W 10-8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Jo-Jo Reyes | 2010-04-12 | ATL | SDP | L 2-17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Jack Taschner | 2010-04-11 | PIT | ARI | L 6-15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Jeremy Affeldt | 2010-04-11 | SFG | ATL | W 6-3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Tim Stauffer | 2010-04-10 | SDP | COL | W 5-4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Tyler Clippard | 2010-04-10 | WSN | NYM | W 4-3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Burke Badenhop | 2010-04-10 | FLA | LAD | W 7-6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | David Herndon | 2010-04-09 | PHI | HOU | W 8-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Kris Medlen | 2010-04-09 | ATL | SFG | L 4-5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Ryan Madson | 2010-04-07 | PHI | WSN | W 8-4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
That seems like a lot, although last season there were 330 such plate appearances so the pace this year is similar.
I bring this topic up because Carlos Zambrano got a plate appearance yesterday during his first relief pitching appearance in 8 years.
April 25th, 2010 at 11:44 am
I see Joe Mather on there with two hits, making the real pitchers look bad. Although Nelson Figueroa has somehow gone 2-2.
April 25th, 2010 at 11:56 am
I'd expect Micah Owings to end up with the most PAs for relief pitchers at the end of the season. At this point, it looks like he should give up toeing the rubber and take some grounders at 1B or flies at a corner outfield position. 114 OPS+ vs. 91 ERA+. I'm getting 500 errors trying to see minor league stats right now, but Ankiel's best year at the plate as a pitcher with a decent few PA isn't as good as Owings worse with a decent few PA. I don't want to speculate too much but I figure Owings would be better than his 114 OPS+ as a full-time position player. I mean, this is the guy who owns the Georgia high school record for homers.
April 25th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
@2
I agree, though he's off to a decent start this year. It seems that his ceiling as a pitcher is "average". He's a pretty good hitter from everything I can tell ... the question is whether or not it's too late. He's already 27 years old. Even if you think he can learn how to play left field, do you think he could be ready to play everyday at 28? If it takes any longer, well ... age isn't kind.
April 25th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
@Zachary
He had to have played other positions in high school in order to be in the lineup everyday and if the reports that surfaced a while back about maybe inserting him into the field were accurate, he must've demonstrated at least marginal skills at a fielder.
I just don't see his pitching career coming together as anything better than average as best, as you said. If I'm an MLB organization with not-especially-bright prospects on making the playoffs, I take a chance in seeing if this guy can become an impact everyday player, because it doesn't look like he's going to be an impact pitcher. Maybe someone out there (and the Reds) know something about his fielding that I don't. At this point in my mind his potential for helping a team win is being squandered.
April 25th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
What are the historical data for relief hitters' pitching? I've been curious to see the data for some time, but I don't know how to fiddle with the play index to get the numbers.
April 26th, 2010 at 7:00 am
Joe Mather is normally a batter. He was put in that uber long game as a pitcher because I guess STL ran out...lol.
April 26th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Mather didn't have 6 PA's as a relief pitcher, though. Only his PA in the 20th was as the pitcher.
Regarding position player/pitcher switchers, check out this article in the NY Times yesterday about Sergio Santos of the White Sox, who has made the team as a pitcher just one year after converting from shortstop! Unfortunately, he's in the AL so he won't get to hit much.