The Astro’s playoff destiny comes down to the final week of the season.
A team that was initially predicted to finish last in the AL West by many, find themselves within grasp of a ticket to the postseason.
Although they now are half a game ahead in the second wild card spot, the Astros led the division most of the season.
Many analysts have credited Jeff Luhnow’s ability to piece together a bullpen from what was nearly last in most categories in 2014.
The pen had a 1.39 WHIP (27th MLB), 2.33 K/BB (23rd MLB), 82.88 DIP% (30th MLB), 55 Home Runs Allowed (29th MLB), .741 OPS against (27th MLB), and more.
Luhnow had it a point of emphasis to improving the pen, by adding Pat Neshek and Luke Gregerson to bolster the 8th and 9th innings respectively.
They sprinkled in Tony Sipp, Joe Thatcher, Josh Fields, and Chad Qualls but no one was a bigger find than Will Harris.
The result? The Astro’s pen did a complete turn-around with a 1.10 WHIP (1st MLB), 3.33 K/BB (3rd MLB), 343 hits allowed (1st MLB), and a .636 OPS against (2nd MLB).
Not too shabby to invert the stats completely in one season’s time and Harris has been a very big part of it.
Photo by MLB
On August 18th 2014, Harris was recalled to the big leagues for the Diamondbacks with an ERA of 9.45 at that time.
After breaking with the team out of spring training, April was particularly rough on Harris and he was sent to AAA Reno.
Harris earned the August recall after responding to the demotion with a ridiculous 0.99 ERA in the most offensive league in baseball (the Pacific Coast League).
On August 19th, something special began. In 17 appearances, his ERA dropped from 9.45 to 4.34. Harris finished the season with 15.2 scoreless innings, an impressive 18:3 K/BB ratio, and only allowed 10 hits.
What followed from new General Manager, Dave Stewart, was unpredictable. Last offseason Harris received a call from his agent that he was designated for assignment by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
When the waiver period ended, it was revealed he was claimed by the first team eligible - the Houston Astros.
Why did the D’Backs designate him? Good question.
You could argue they weren’t considered contenders and wanted to go younger (Harris was 30 years old at the time).
Maybe it was the fact that he had Tommy John surgery in ’09 (which is common these days).
Trading him wasn’t much of a possibility as there is very limited value for a player of this style but with Harris making the league minimum and still having an option remaining, it was no wonder he was claimed so quickly.
“I’ve never seen a player claimed by so many teams”, said one baseball executive.
Photo by USA Today
In 2015, the waiver claim by Luhnow paid off immediately. With Josh Fields suffering a hamstring injury, Harris found a way on the roster on opening day and he hasn’t looked back.
He started 2015 going 13 innings without giving up a run which stretched his streak to 28.2 scoreless innings.
Not bad for a guy without a team a few months prior.
At the All-Star break, Harris pitched so well that Manager A.J. Hinch campaigned for Harris and his 0.91 ERA to get the nod.
After supporting statements in the media and multiple phone calls to the AL Manager, Ned Yost, he was unsuccessful.
It’s hard enough to make that team as a closer but as a 7th inning guy, it’s practically unheard of. Harris has now worked his way from the waiver wire to holding batters to an anemic .534 OPS against him and leads the Astros bullpen in innings (66.2), strikeouts (64), WHIP (0.93), and ERA (1.89).
Harris’ arsenal includes a plus cutter that he uses to both sides of the plate, a plus 12-6 curveball and a rarely used changeup.
His velocity, command, and movement are well above the league average for the dominantly used Cutter-Curveball combination.
Figure 1: Velocity and Percentage for each Pitch Type:
Figure 2: Movement and Break-Length for each Pitch Type: X, Z (Standard Deviation X, Standard Deviation Z)
Figure 3: Spin for each Pitch Type (Data for Games Relieved Only):
Two plus pitches, plus command, a 6’4” frame, deception from a short arm delivery and an opportunity has developed Will Harris into an All Star caliber reliever.
He is a prime example of a player that had fallen through the cracks only to be found again and dominating in the right situation.
Harris now stands as the 7th inning man when the Astros need to hold down the lead and he plans to do just that come down the home stretch.
References:
1. "Baseball Reference." Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball Reference, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
2. "Baseball Statistics and Analysis | FanGraphs Baseball." Baseball Statistics and Analysis | FanGraphs Baseball. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
NOTE: All statistics accurate as of 09/30/15
By Simon Ferrer
AriBall.com
