Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
While Edwin Diaz has rightfully stolen most of the headlines in the Mets’ bullpen this year, there’s one name that can’t be forgotten when discussing the team’s success. That name is Adam Ottavino.
The right-hander followed up Max Scherzer‘s strong outing Friday with a scoreless inning of his own while striking out a pair. That continued a trend of success for Ottavino, who’s allowed just three earned runs since the start of June. Ottavino has been dominant in his first year as a Met, doing so in relatively quiet fashion. His efforts are especially valuable for a team that was unable to score any relievers at the trade deadline besides Mychal Givens.
At 36 years old, Ottavino has been better than the Mets could have hoped for. The veteran has always had a nasty slider, but control issues and erraticism have held him back from true dominance. Pitching at Coors Field for the majority of his career hasn’t helped either.
Ottavino has pitched in 45 games for the Mets this year, the second-most appearances on the team — just one behind Diaz. His 10.4 K/9 sits right at his career average of, yep, 10.4, and he’s held batters to a .598 OPS. The biggest difference has been his walk rate, which rests at a crisp 2.5 — his lowest mark since 2016. For a mid-30s pitcher who’s walked four batters per nine innings in his career, the Mets have to be thrilled with his improved control. It’s resulted in a 2.20 ERA across 45 innings pitched.
The advanced stats mostly back up his success, too. Ottavino’s hard-hit percentage of 29.1 ranks in the top 5% of the league, according to Baseball Savant. It’s the lowest mark he’s posted since 2015. His exit velocity and expected slugging both rank in the top 5% of the league as well. Simply put, batters aren’t hitting the ball hard against Ottavino very often.
The previously mentioned slider, which has always had plenty of spin and unpredictability, has actually been a pitch that Ottavino has relied on a little less often. He’s throwing it 42% of the time, the least he’s used it since 2015. Instead, he’s begun to mix in a changeup and cutter slightly more. The changeup was a pitch he didn’t throw before 2020 and used only 1% of the time in 2021. Now, he’s mixing it in 7% of the time, along with his cutter 4% of the time.
This formula is clearly working for Ottavino, with his numbers falling into the red of nearly every category on Baseball Savant. It’s a far cry from just two years ago when he struggled to the tune of a 5.89 ERA with the Yankees. Now, he’s posting some of the best numbers of his career despite creeping closer to age 40.
The importance of a player like Ottavino is only going to increase in the coming weeks as the Mets gear up for the postseason. Ottavino figures to play a key role in October, as the Mets are going to need reliable arms to lock down the late innings if they have any hopes of beating a team like the Dodgers. Diaz has been out of this world, but he can’t pitch every inning in relief. The fact that the Mets missed out on a David Robertson type only amplifies the crucial role Ottavino is going to play.
For now, the grizzled veteran is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career. He’s been an invaluable piece to the bullpen, and his success should not be understated when assessing the key contributors of this great Mets team.
