Drey Jameson to Finish Season in Bullpen

I've highlighted the peripheral metrics of FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) and xFIP, which are based on homers, walks, and strikeouts.  These numbers hint that Jameson's underlying performance may not have been quite as good as his ERA would suggest. That doesn't mean he hasn't provided important bridge innings, and given the team a chance to win in a number of games where the starter has had a short outing. Clearly he has.  

Early in the year after his first relief appearance he spoke about the adrenaline of coming in from the bullpen. I spoke to him again on April 8th about pitching in high leverage situations and this is what he had to say. 

"Those are the games I want to be in, games where things are on the line, tense ballgames where pitches are very crucial. Those are the moments that I like, and I think I perform best in those situations. So I like that role." 

Of his eight relief outings, two have been in what are classified as "high leverage" situations. Five outings are considered to have been medium leverage, and one outing was low leverage. His aLI , or average leverage index is .976. That is to say he's faced slightly lower than average pressure in all the games he's pitched in relief.  He's come in three times with the team ahead, twice when they were tied, and three times with the team behind.  For the most part he's being used as a long reliever, averaging 8.3 outs per game in relief and 44 pitches per relief outing.  

Whether or not he remains in a long role, or eventually is shortened up into a higher leverage role will depend on his performance and the team needs. Currently he seems to have the most value to the team in the long role that he's in. Three of the five rotation spots are filled by starters that don't often go deep in games.  Zach Davies, Tommy Henry, and Ryne Nelson have combined to make it past the 5th inning just 12 times in 29 starts between them.  If the team is able to trade for or promote a starting pitcher that can start giving them more length, it might open the door for Jameson to work towards a shorter, higher leverage role. But for now this is where he's needed most. 

Speaking with our in house pitch metric expert, Michael McDermott, he identified location issues with the sinker and four seam fastballs. Working out of the pen, Jameson has thrown each pitch 93 times. He has a .636 slugging against on the four seamer and a .556 slugging against on the sinker.  He needs to work his sinker location lower in the zone and his four seam fastball higher in the zone. If he can achieve that spread hitters will not be able to square him up quite as easily.  Meanwhile hitters are not doing much damage at all against his slider, curveball and changeup which he uses sparingly. If he can dial in the 4-seam/sinker location that will set up the secondaries, especially the slider, which   could make him a dominant short reliever down the road. 

One thing for certain is Jameson does not lack competitive fire. He relishes the tense moments, and doesn't back down. He's not far off from being "that guy", but it's important to remember he's still a rookie, and therefore  the team will be careful in deciding when it's time to step up his leverage. Most importantly, the team has finally settled on a relief role for him, and  knowing that can only help going forward.