Quick Notes:
- League-average WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is around 1.24; anything LOWER is good anything HIGHER is not good
- League-average ERA (earned run average) is around 3.77; anything below is GREAT anything above is NOT great
- Slash line is a colloquial term used to represent a player’s batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage (in that order).
Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, and Emmanuel Clase are names that come to mind when one thinks of an elite closing pitcher. However, what if I were to tell you that Jorge López is having a better season (statistically) than the pitchers mentioned above? Ever since the Orioles moved López to the bullpen last season, he has excelled as their closer. This is a success story of Jorge López and his transformation from a struggling starting pitcher to the Orioles’ closing pitcher and anchor of their bullpen.
Jorge López was drafted in the 2nd round with the 70th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2011 draft. López made his major league debut 4 years after he was drafted in 2015. After spending time with the Brewers as a starter and long-relief pitcher, López was traded to the Kansas City Royals. After a disappointing 3 seasons with the Royals, they designated López for assignment where he was later claimed off waivers by his current team, the Baltimore Orioles.
Once again seeing time as both a starting pitcher and relief pitcher, López struggled mightily with the Orioles as a starter. As a starter, over the past 2 seasons, López has put up an ugly ERA of 6.34 and 6.07. Also in that span, López had a career-low K % of 16.1%. His struggles as a starting pitcher lead the Orioles to move him to the bullpen – where he has found the most success. After changing positions and moving to the bullpen last season, López has been one of the most dominant closers in baseball.
On the season, Jorge López owns a spectacular 0.79 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 11 saves in 34.1 innings pitched. Amongst closing pitchers this season, López owns the second-lowest ERA with Clay Holmes of the New York Yankees leading closers in ERA. Furthermore, opposing batters who face López have a batting average of .134.
What allows López to close games so effectively is his hard sinker and slow curveball. López’s repertoire consists of a sinker (51.9% of the time), curveball (19.8% of the time), changeup (16.4% of the time), slider (9.5% of the time), and a 4-seam fastball (2.3% of the time). López’s hard sinker allows him to induce groundballs 61.7% of the time and strike out batters 23.4% of the time. On average, López will throw his sinker around 98 mph with a max velocity of 100.1 mph. Pairing that 98 mph sinker with a slow 84.4 mph curveball is absolutely lethal. Opponents are slashing just .118/.111/.118 against López’s curveball.
The decision to move López to the bullpen proved to be beneficial for both the Orioles and Jorge López. López went from a ERA of 6.07 to 0.79 and a WHIP of 1.63 to 0.84. Also, his K% significantly rose from 20.2% last season to 25.4% this season. Last season, hitters had a batting average of .234 which is down significantly to a miniscule .134.
Jorge López’s strong play through the first part of the MLB season makes him a strong candidate to pitch at his first all-star game. All of López’s metrics and statistics back up his case to be an All-Star this season. From a struggling starting pitcher to a lights out closer, López has proved to be much better out of the bullpen than a starter. López has all the components to be the league leader in saves – he just needs more opportunities. As the Orioles’ starters begin to get more experience in the MLB, I can see López getting a lot more save opportunities and excelling in his role as their closer.
