The best teams in baseball normally have good bullpens to go with a solid starting rotation. When ranking the top five bullpens I took into consideration the closers along with the setup men. Below is the five best bullpens in the Majors.
5. Texas Rangers
The Rangers are stocked full of pitching especially at the back end. In 2013 the Rangers had one of the best bullpens in the league compiling an ERA of of 2.91. The main piece to this dominant bullpen was closer Joe Nathan. He ended the year with 43 saves in 46 chances and finished with an ERA below two at 1.90. Although he did good, he could not have gotten 43 saves if it wasn’t for the setup men in front of him. Neal Cotts and Jason Frasor were two big pieces that helped the Rangers win 91 games. Cotts finished the year with a 1.11 ERA over 57 innings pitched. Frasor on the other hand flew under the radar all while racking up a 1.62 ERA. Unfortunately for the Rangers Mr. Nathan decided that he would take his talents to Detroit. The new closer for the Rangers is suspected to be Neftali Feliz who has been there before.
Feliz was one of the top closers in baseball in 2010 and 2011 when he combined for 72 saves over those two seasons. Than the injury bug hit and Feliz has never been the same since. In 2012 he pitched in only 42.2 innings and pitched in only 4.2 innings last season. If the Rangers want to be as dominant as they were in 2013 they will need Feliz to control the closer role without any hiccups.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
We all know about the star power of the starting pitchers in LA which sometimes overshadows the skill of their bullpen. The Dodgers had an on and off season in 2013 but figured things out towards the end of the year. They finished their campaign with a bullpen ERA of 3.49. There are three names that stand out when looking at this bullpen; Kenley Jansen, Brandon League and Brian Wilson. All three of these men have proved their worth as bullpen pitchers and will look to do the same in 2014.
As of right now it looks like Jansen will be receiving the closers role and for good reasoning. Over 76 innings of work Jansen recorded a 1.88 ERA and tallied 28 saves. He is a huge strikeout guy who racked up 111 of them! League and Wilson are no slouches themselves. Depending on the matchups you will see League pitching in the seventh or the eighth. He had a bump in the road last season finishing the year with a 5.30 ERA but the Dodgers believe he can rebound.
3. Kansas City Royals
The Royals were a pretty good team last year that had a very good bullpen. They finished the regular season with the second best bullpen ERA in all of baseball at 2.55. Greg Holland was the closer for the Royals and had a great season. He had 47 saves which was the second most in all of baseball. His 1.21 ERA also didn’t hurt this teams overall ERA. The loss of Luke Hochevar could prove to be a big blow but overall the Royals should have a successful time from the ‘pen.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays have always been a team that competes and they plan on doing the same thing this season. They went out and got a bunch of relief help! Grant Balfour was one of the first moves this team made and it is a very good one. In 2013 Balfour closed out games for the A’s and he did not disappoint. He had a 2.59 ERA all while getting 38 saves and striking out 72 men over 62.2 innings pitched. Not only did they add Balfour but they added another ex-closer in Heath Bell. Bell has been struggling ever since leaving Padres in 2012. In 2011 he had 43 saves but could not repeat in 2012 and 213 as he only combined for 34 saves. He will not have to be the closer for the Rays which could help take some pressure off of him and get him back in his groove.
1. Atlanta Braves
If you follow baseball to any extent than you are very well aware of how good this bullpen has been over the past several seasons. Having Craig Kimbrel, the games best closer on your team has been a huge asset for them. He is not the lone reason that this team has become the best when it comes to shutting down the seventh, eighth and the ninth. The Braves 2.46 ERA was the games best and they also had a great opponent batting average of .222. Luis Avilan, David Carpenter and Jordan Walden were the main guys to help give the Braves the best bullpen. The lack of Jonny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty was a huge blow to this team but both of these guys should be back for 2014. Given the history of this pen and the addition of two of the best relievers the Braves will remain the number one bullpen in baseball until said otherwise.