New York Mets 2018 report cards for the relief pitchers

Paul Sewald
The Nickname: Paulie (2018 Players Weekend)
The Review: Paul Sewald is 28, and this may be who he is as a major league relief pitcher. His FIP and BABIP indicate he was a bit unlucky in 2018 compared to 2017, but his strikeout %, walk %, and HR/9 indicate he is not that good. I expect he gets another spring to show something, but he needs to change it up, perhaps by throwing more changeups (6.1% in 2018), his only better than an average pitch per FanGraphs.
The Pitching stats:
- G 46
- IP 56.1
- ERA 6.07
- FIP 4.23 (2017 3.84)
- xFIP 4.67
- K% 22.9
- BB% 9.1
- K-BB% 13.8
- HR/9 1.28
- BABIP .331 (2017 .287)
- WHIP 1.51
- GB% 30.4
- WAR 0.1
The Grade: D
Hansel Robles
The Nicknames: El Peñaco (2017 Players Weekend, means the rock), Mr. Pointee
The Review: Hansel Robles is 27 years old, seemingly in his prime, and yet, he has never been able to develop into a reliable reliever for any length of time for the Mets. And yet, for the Angels in laid-back Anaheim, his HR/9 dropped to 0.50 and his WHIP fell to 1.29.
I always thought he would do better away from the bright lights, big city atmosphere of New York City. I wish him well and hope to never see him in blue and orange again.
The Pitching stats:
- G 16
- IP 19.2
- ERA 5.03
- FIP 7.13
- xFIP 4.52
- K% 26.1
- BB% 11.4
- K-BB% 14.8
- HR/9 3.20 (this points to the problem!)
- HR/FB 29.2 (this, too)
- BABIP .298
- WHIP 1.58 (this does not help)
- GB% 26.9
- WAR -0.7
The Grade: F
Notes: Hansel Robles mercifully left us for Los Angeles de Anaheim before too much damage could be done.