Seth Lugo had a career year for the New York Mets in 2018. Though he was thrust into a somewhat unfamiliar role, he thrived. So what’s next for the Mets’ newfound bullpen anchor?
A career starter, the right-hander began the season in the Mets’ revamped bullpen, surely to the Louisianian’s chagrin. But Lugo shined in his new role, pitching to a 2.04 earned-run average with a .197/.253/.303 slash line against, a .248 BABIP against, 39 strikeouts, and nine walks in 39.2 innings from April 3 to June 5.
After Noah Syndergaard went down with a strained right index finger in late May, Lugo made four starts from June 10 to June 25, owning a 4.74 ERA in 19 innings with opposing batters hitting .266/.310/.430 against him.
Naturally, no one expected the right-hander to jump back into that role without some hiccups, but before he could regain his composure as a starter, Lugo was again relegated back into the bullpen.
Mickey Callaway explained his decision to Tim Healey of Newsday on June 30, and also described Lugo as “not being thrilled with the reassignment, but understood the thinking”.
“We’ve been struggling in our [bullpen] and we think he’s a good presence down there, a good option,” Callaway said. “We feel, at this point, where we’re at as a team, that we’re a better team with Lugo in the bullpen.”
A quick note on Callaway. As bad as this team looked at times during this past season, his message never really wavered. There’s something to be said for that type of conviction. Keeping an even keel amidst a hurricane of a season is a top-notch managerial quality in this writer’s opinion.
Back to Seth Lugo…
When Callaway said that the Mets were a better team with Lugo in the bullpen, he wasn’t kidding. From July 1 through the end of the season (Sept 26 was Lugo’s last appearance), the team was 22-6 in games that the 28-year-old pitched in.
During that span, Lugo had a 2.32 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 13 walks in 42.2 innings pitched, all in relief. He continued to keep batters off balance and his stats-against are all the evidence one would need to see to confirm that (.209/.268/.288 slash line against, .265 BABIP against).
As a starting pitcher, Lugo put up respectable levels of production despite his bloated earned-run average. His 10.57 strikeouts per nine innings and 4.5 strikeouts-to-walks were both extremely encouraging, as was his 1.30 WHIP. But as a reliever, Lugo simply shone.
His 8.73 strikeouts and 2.53 walks per nine in 78.1 innings out of the bullpen this season were solid showings, but his 0.57 home runs allowed per nine, 2.30 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, as well as a 2.97 FIP were outstanding.
He held hitters to a .560 OPS and .245 weighted on-base average as a reliever and left nearly 80 percent of runners on base (79.7 percent). This is exactly what the Mets need as a use-me-anywhere type of relief pitcher.
This team is set to have one of the best starting rotations in MLB next season if everyone stays healthy. Having a guy like Seth Lugo coming out to throw two scoreless innings in relief — with ease — is an extremely valuable tool to have.
His arsenal of pitches includes his deceptive “heavy” four-seamer, a nasty sinker, a legendary curveball (nine runs above average in 2018), and a slider and changeup he likes to slide in there, seemingly just to mess hitters up.
He’s a smart pitcher and has the stuff and persona on the mound to go with it. Unless things go haywire and the Mets absolutely need him to start, Seth Lugo should without question be a pillar of this team’s bullpen in 2019.
