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.