Place Gamers Pitching Is Again on the Rise

It’s no secret the Dodgers have been hurting for pitching as a result of, nicely, their pitchers have been getting harm. As throughout final October’s championship run, at occasions they’ve resorted to bullpen video games, together with a pair with Shohei Ohtani serving as an opener whereas rebuilding his pitch rely following UCL reconstruction surgical procedure. Taking a web page from earlier seasons beneath supervisor Dave Roberts, they’ve additionally snuck in a handful of innings from place gamers, not solely after they’ve been on the brief finish of blowouts, however after they’ve led. Enrique Hernández has pitched 5 occasions, 4 in video games wherein the Dodgers thrashed opponents. Even with tighter guidelines in place for when groups can hand the ball to place gamers, the development is nearing its peak in recognition once more following a current dip.

It’s been almost three years since I checked in on the development of place gamers pitching. What was as soon as a enjoyable little beat to cowl grew to become much less pleasant because the apply proliferated to the purpose that Main League Baseball needed to codify when groups might do it. Fortunately the events themselves are nonetheless appropriately light-hearted, stuffed with giggles, eephus pitches, and batting-practice fastballs.

Right here’s the evolution of the development over the previous decade, expressed as a share of whole aid appearances:

Notice that this rely doesn’t embody extra-innings video games, which significantly earlier than the 2020 introduction of the so-called “Manfred Man” might lengthen for a ridiculously very long time — to the purpose {that a} place participant may take the ball as soon as a supervisor burned via the remainder of his employees. Right here’s the information underlying the above graph:

From 2016 to ’18, the speed of PPP appearances greater than doubled, and it continued to rise, with a localized peak in the course of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. That peak occurred as Main League Baseball and the Gamers Affiliation agreed to waive a few guidelines that had been launched in February, one which restricted groups to carrying 13 pitchers on their 26-man rosters and one other that restricted them to utilizing place gamers to pitch solely in additional innings, or in video games the place the rating margin is greater than six runs. Someplace between MLB’s announcement of the rule and the publication of that 12 months’s official rulebook, the language was revised to incorporate rating margins “equal to or greater than” six runs. The waiver continued via 2021 and into the beginning of the ’22 season, which was delayed because of the homeowners’ lockout. Groups had been allowed to hold 28 gamers via Might 1, after which rosters had been decreased to 26; at that time the six-or-more-runs requirement lastly went into impact, however not till Might 30 had been groups restricted to 13 pitchers on the 26-player roster.

Given the expanded rosters, simply seven place gamers pitched between Opening Day and Might 1, 2022, however as soon as rosters had been trimmed from 28 to 26, even with the six-or-more-runs rule, the floodgates opened, with 124 extra PPP appearances via the remainder of the season. The record-high seasonal fee of 0.82% of aid appearances made by place gamers was greater than double what it had been in 2018 and greater than 5 occasions what it had been in ’16. The principles had been revised for 2023, limiting PPP appearances within the ninth inning or earlier to these the place a workforce trailed by eight or extra runs, or, for the ninth, main by 10 or extra runs; even then, the speed of PPP appearances was larger than it had been in any 12 months previous to 2022.

Although the foundations governing PPP appearances haven’t modified since then, the fever broke considerably final 12 months, with the speed again within the ballpark of 2019–21 ranges. This 12 months, it’s again up, larger than any season besides 2022. That’s regardless of scoring ranges being at their lowest for the three-year interval (4.34 runs per sport, in comparison with 4.39 final 12 months and 4.62 in 2023). As Baseball Prospectus’ Patrick Dubuque noticed in mid-Might, we’re seeing extra blowouts than standard, as measured by the usual deviation in rating margin; updating his numbers, the SD of two.89 is barely behind that of the shortened 2020 season (which we will moderately throw out) and tied with what it was in 2000 for the very best since 1939. The share of video games determined by eight or extra runs — in different phrases, these wherein a place participant might pitch for a trailing workforce beneath the most recent rule change, fell from 9.5% in 2023 to eight.8% final 12 months, however is again as much as 9.3% this 12 months. Even with the epic futility of the Rockies (18-63 total, and 1-9 in video games determined by eight or extra runs), I don’t assume that’s sufficient to account for the spike in utilization, however it’s price noting.

Make no mistake, these place gamers are fairly dangerous at pitching:

This 12 months’s ERA is the second worst for all of the seasons I’ve tracked going again to 2013. It was 11.71 in 2018, with a 9.51 FIP, albeit in an aggregation that didn’t omit the extra-innings guys, which is why I selected to not republish my pre-2020 information.

Hernández, the Dodgers superutilityman, postseason hero, and neighborhood spokesman, is a frequent practitioner of the PPP phenomenon, bringing his explicit band of jocularity to the event. In his first look of the season, on April 29 towards the Marlins, he grew to become the primary pitcher to put on MLB’s authorized hybrid protecting helmet/cap in a sport (a contraption initially designed for Bobby Miller, who was concussed by a comebacker throughout spring coaching), and made some quirky statistical historical past as nicely:

Kiké Hernández of the @Dodgers is the one MLB participant within the fashionable period to attain a number of runs, play a number of positions and have a scoreless outing on the mound all in a sport he didn’t begin. pic.twitter.com/xkmBGnb1mE

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 30, 2025

Hernández threw a scoreless inning within the Dodgers’ 15-2 rout that night time, however the returns have diminished as Roberts has referred to as upon him with rising frequency — 4 occasions since Might 31. Throughout a June 10 loss to the Padres, he threw the longest PPP outing of the season, going 2 1/3 innings. However his final two appearances have backfired. On June 14, a sport wherein the Dodgers led the Giants 11-0, he lastly recorded a strikeout in his eighth profession look, because the Giants’ Christian Koss checked out an 87-mph fastball in disbelief, however that was one among simply two batters he retired out of 9 confronted; he was charged with 5 runs and needed to be relieved by Anthony Banda. This previous Sunday towards the Nationals, he entered with the Dodgers main 13-3 within the ninth, retired simply one among six batters confronted, and was charged with 4 runs; Alex Vesia needed to document the ultimate two outs. Hernández is now carrying a 15.19 ERA and 9.51 FIP in 5 1/3 innings this 12 months. He’s tied with the Brewers’ Jake Bauers (who has a 3.60 ERA and 5.67 FIP) for this 12 months’s lead in PPP appearances with 5, and is seventh in such appearances for the reason that begin of 2016:

The 29-year-old Bauers, who hadn’t pitched since little league, is the quick riser on this desk, with all 9 of his appearances coming prior to now two seasons. “I discovered myself on the mound the final couple occasions out, like, actually pondering to myself, ‘These guys can’t hit you,’” he stated not too long ago. “That’s ridiculous to say out loud, however I don’t know, there’s form of an perspective that comes with it.”

Not on the desk but, however making tracks as nicely is the Twins’ Jonah Bride, whose 4 pitching appearances have all occurred this month.

As for the development of PPP appearances in leads, excluding extra-innings video games, solely 5 occasions did a place participant pitch in a victory from 2016–21, a rely that included one participant going through a single batter as a part of a nine-position stunt (the Tigers’ Andrew Romine in 2017), three by the Dodgers’ Russell Martin (all in 2019, his last 12 months within the majors), and one by the Angels’ Jared Walsh (additionally 2019) throughout his short-lived try and make it as a two-way participant. In 2022, the overall skyrocketed to 18, with the Dodgers’ Alberto accounting for eight of these appearances himself (and 10 whole, together with losses); the rely additionally included the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols. The frequency of PPP appearances on the successful facet in blowouts is now at its highest fee for the reason that 10-run rule went into impact, greater than triple final 12 months’s fee:

The Dodgers account for 16 of the 42 whole PPP non-extra innings appearances in wins since 2017, adopted by the Giants (six), and the Brewers and Cardinals (three apiece); no different workforce has greater than two. Maybe surprisingly, the Dodgers don’t have essentially the most total PPP for the reason that begin of 2016; their whole of 34 is seventh, behind the Twins (39), Brewers and Cubs (37 apiece), Diamondbacks and Tigers (36 apiece), and Reds (35). The Rockies (12), Braves (13), Yankees (14), Blue Jays and Guardians (15 apiece), and Mets (16) deliver up the rear.

I do know it’s simple to complain concerning the dangerous look that comes with utilizing place gamers to pitch on both finish of lopsided video games; all of us like to yell on the occasional cloud. Nonetheless, even with the tighter guidelines, the utilization itself is much less an issue and extra a symptom of bigger points — aggressive steadiness, reliever utilization, roster guidelines — that the sport hasn’t solved. We are able to fret about all of these issues whereas nonetheless having fun with the occasional eephus.