For years the Mariners were a lopsided team, heavy on the pitching and light, or whateve..."/> For years the Mariners were a lopsided team, heavy on the pitching and light, or whateve..."/> For years the Mariners were a lopsided team, heavy on the pitching and light, or whateve..."/>
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2013 Seattle Mariners in Review: The Relievers

By Raymond Schwabacher

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Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Kameron Loe – 6.2 IP, 10.80 ERA, 14.30 FIP, 4.85 xFIP, 4.05 K/9, 1.35 BB/9, -0.8 WAR

Four 2013 M’s pitchers posted negative WAR totals. Carter Capps, Chance Ruffin, and Blake Beavan combined for -0.8 WAR in 108 innings. Kameron Loe posted the same net negative in a tiny fraction of the time. His home run per fly ball ratio with the M’s was 54.5%. Amazingly, he latched on with the Cubs and added another -0.3 wins, then found himself on the Braves to close out the season. The Braves, you may recall, easily made the playoffs. They gave Kameron Loe a start. He started a game for them, and that really happened. He finished the season with a total of -1.2 WAR, and that’s amazing.

Stephen Pryor – 7.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.55 FIP, 2.85 xFIP, 8.59 K/9, 1.23 BB/9, 0.4 WAR

After missing almost the entire season with injury, Pryor will look to return for 2014. When he gets back, he’ll be a favorite to assume high leverage innings because while he was gone most of the bullpen disintegrated. He’s still a young power arm, but again, he was really hurt for a really long time. But he looks like a top option going forward, because 2013 went so poorly.

Chance Ruffin – 9.2 IP, 8.38 ERA, 6.15 FIP, 3.39 xFIP, 13.97 K/9, 4.66 BB/9, -0.3 WAR

I was actively excited when Ruffin returned to the big team, and allowed myself to feel actual glee when he carved through opposing batters in his first appearance. That first appearance, of course, ended with a home run, and Ruffin, despite a lot of strikeouts, ended up being pretty awful in September. And then he shaved his gross beard, which was kind of a bummer. Bad relievers are cooler if they look like weird little troll creatures.

Bobby LaFramboise – 10.2 IP, 5.91 ERA, 2.11 FIP, 3.52 xFIP, 9.28 K/9, 3.38 BB/9, 0.2 WAR

Here’s a good illustrator of DIPS theory! LaFramboise was terrible, but only if you look at his ERA. By just about any other measure he was good-to-great. His strikeout and walk numbers are impressive, and his 2.11 FIP is gaudy. He posted a .375 BABIP, which usually explains it, but what explains it even better is that he only pitched like eleven innings. Noise happens in small samples. He was bad and good, and what matters more is that he’s a lefty with good stuff. That’s why he’s here in the first place.

Lucas Luetge – 37 IP, 4.86 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 4.16 xFIP, 6.57, 3.89 BB/9, 0.2 WAR

During a late season visit to Safeco Field a friend of mine yelled into the bullpen “hey Luetge’s Hair, where did you go?” Lucas Luetge the person smiled and shrugged. Lucas Luetge does not know what happened to his once-luscious head of hair. Also, he had a bad season.

Check out the GOOD relievers on the next page.

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