Diego Castillo, Seattle Mariners.
It was a rollercoaster type year as the Seattle Mariners struggled to find the right closer throughout the first couple months of the season, finally settling in on a “closer by committee” by the end of the season. In fact, the Mariners ended up with eight relievers earning at least one save.
In 2021, the Seattle Mariners led the American League in saves (51), Save Opportunities (83), and Blown Saves (33). Only the Dodgers and the Giants (both had 56) ended the season with more saves.
Seattle also led the American League in Holds (100) and allowed the fifth-lowest inherited runners to score at a stingy 30 percent. The M’s finished fourth in the American League with a 3.88 ERA and accumulated an incredible 45-28 record (third-best behind the Rays and the Giants).
Relief Appearances: Anthony Misiewicz (66), Drew Steckenrider (62), Paul Sewald (62), Casey Sadler (42), Rafael Montero (40), Will Vest (32), Keynan Middleton (31), Erik Swanson (31), JT Chargois (31), Kendall Graveman (30), Yohan Ramirez (25), Diego Castillo (24), Joe Smith (23), and 18 other pitchers registered a relief appearance.
Relief Pitching: A
Steck led the team in saves (14), posted a 2.00 ERA, and while he was as strikeout dominant as some of the other relievers, he only registered 3 blown saves, and 2 of those were in extra innings.
Control: B+
17 walks in 58 innings, his 1.020 WHIP showed how effective he was in the right areas of the strike zone when he needed to be.
Dominance: A
In Drew Steckenrider’s case, dominance is really defined by his consistency in high leverage situations. He was absolutely dominant after the All-Star break. He posted a 1.87 ERA with 12 of his 14 saves occurring after the mid-season classic, including 7 in the season’s final month.
Relief Pitching: B+
Former New York Mets reliever Paul Sewald was tremendous for nearly the entire season. His ERA and peripheral numbers deteriorated as the season went on. He had incredible dominance with his unique arm angle as well as velocity and the break on his cutter and slider. The combination baffled hitters for most of the season.
Control: B+
Similar to Steck, Sewald finished the season with a 1.021 WHIP. He had 24 walks in 64.2 innings.
Dominance: A-
Sewald broke the Mariners record for strikeouts by a reliever, previously held by Edwin Diaz. His 15.3 strikeout per 9 innings rate was also a record. While Sewald had 4 saves in September/October, he struggled when asked to pitch on back-to-back days late in the season. Something to look for next season.
Relief Pitching: A+
Casey Sadler was a pleasant surprise for the Seattle Mariners. He gave up a run on a solo home-run on July 25th and then went 29 consecutive appearances without giving up another run. The 31-year-old journeyman reliever gave up 4 runs, and only 3 were earned in 40.1 innings. Sadler had an insane season, considering he came into the year with a 3.90 ERA in 85.2 innings over parts of five MLB seasons.
Control: A+
In those 40.1 innings, he gave up 19 hits and 10 walks for a 0.719 WHIP. While Sadler didn’t make us forget about Graveman, he sure did provide needed relief Graveman’s absence.
Dominance: A+
Sadler’s BAA (Batting Average Against) was .143, and he actually gave up a higher on-base percentage than he did slugging percentage. Featuring a high ground ball percentage, rarely was he hit hard (95 MPH or higher Exit Velocity), and his 30.9% led the Mariners.
Relief Pitching: C-
Anthony Misiewicz was mostly utilized in a middle relief role but had difficulty bridging the gap from starting pitchers to relievers. In fact, Misiewicz led the team in appearances while recording less than three outs (22); he also led the team in appearances (66). Unfortunately, Misiewicz proved to be very hittable.
Control: D
Anthony’s control was flat-out bad. He finished with a 1.591 WHIP after the All-Star Break. Which was partially him being destroyed by Major League hitting in September/October. He only walked 15 in 54.2 innings, which is similar to Steck’s numbers.
Dominance: F
In the months of May and September, Misiewicz was one of the worst relievers in the league. For all relievers who had at least 50 appearances, he was hit the hardest. Misiewicz rarely went an outing without giving up a hit.
Relief Pitching: F
When Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto traded for Rafael Montero last December, he thought the seven-year MLB could hold down the late innings, which was a problem in 2020. Unfortunately, Montero was by far the Mariners’ worst reliever. He was anti-clutch and looked completely lost on the mound.
The Mariners were forced to designate Montero for assignment mid-season. He finished with 7 saves, 7.27 ERA, and1.638 WHIP, the highest among relievers with at least 40 appearances.
Control: F
He walked 15 batters in 43.1 innings, which is pretty stinky, but giving up 56 hits also makes things much worse. Throw in five hit batters, and his performance was abysmal.
Dominance: F-
It’s funny. If Montero had been even remotely close to his 2020 performance in Texas, the Mariners would’ve won a lot more games. As hard as it is to pin not making the playoffs on one player, if you wanted to, Montero is the guy to blame.
Erik Swanson: 3.31 ERA, 1.075 WHIP, 1 save – B+ Relief, B Control, B Dominance
Will Vest: 6.17 ERA, 1.600 WHIP, 0 saves – D Relief, F Control, F Dominance
Kendall Graveman: 0.82 ERA, 0.697 WHIP, 10 saves – A+ Relief, A+ Control, A+ Dominance
Kenyan Middleton: 4.94 ERA, 1.581 WHIP, 4 saves – D+ Relief, F Control, D Dominance
JT Chargois: 3.00 ERA, 0.967 WHIP, 0 Saves – B+ Relief, A Control, B+ Dominance
Yohan Ramirez: 3.90 ERA, 1.084 WHIP, 2 Saves – C+ Relief, B+ Control, A Dominance
Diego Castillo: 2.86 ERA, 0.956 WHIP, 2 Saves – B+ Relief, A Control, A- Dominance
Joe Smith: 2.00 ERA, 0.889 WHIP, 0 Saves – A Relief, A Control, A- Dominance
The 2021 Seattle Mariners ended up with one of the most dominating bullpens in the league over the final four months of the season. Once Vest and Montero were gone, the Mariner relievers really started cooking, finishing with a final month that led the league in Bullpen ERA (2.88), Saves (13), and was in the top five in a myriad of other statistical categories.
If you missed any of the previous parts of this series, please click the link. Part 1 – Infield, Part 2 – Outfield, Part 3 – Catchers, Part 4 – Starting Pitchers.
Joe Swenson is an avid baseball fan with lots of experience on and off the field. In addition, he writes, produces, directs, and even sings and writes songs in his spare time, of which he has little at present.