Andrew Miller has established himself as one of the game’s top relievers over the last several years, but the Mets have an Andrew Miller of their own, and his name is Addison Reed.
Earlier today, August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs.com posted an article comparing the two dominant relief pitchers.
Over the last calendar year, Miller and Reed have almost identical numbers.
Miller owns a 1.81 ERA and 2.22 FIP, while Reed has pitched to a 1.87 ERA and a 2.14 FIP.
Miller was struggling to get outs when he was a starting pitcher with an overly complicated delivery. When the 6-foot-7 southpaw transitioned to a bullpen role, he shortened his delivery and the results were tremendous.
Though Reed has been a relief pitcher the entirety of his career, he has undergone a similiar transition since joining the Mets.
Reed clocks in at 6-foot-4, a few inches shorter than Miller, but with comparable mechanics.
When Reed got rid of his high leg kick and became more direct to the plate, the results are identical to Miller’s, as the stat line above indicates.
Reed’s 30% strikeout rate is tops for the right-hander’s career, and his 72% first strike rate ranks him first in all of baseball for pitchers with a minimum of 50 innings pitched.
Miller ranks third. Second? Clayton Kershaw.
Though Reed doesn’t throw heat like Miller does – staying around the 92 MPH mark – his first pitch strike rate puts hitters in an immediate hole and give’s Reed the advantage.
So how does a guy with a fastball in the lower 90’s get guys out so effectively? Well, like Andrew Miller, Reed possesses a nasty slider that he buries and gets guys to chase.
Out of 197 pitchers with at least 200 sliders thrown this season, only three have more consistently buried their slider than Reed: Patrick Corbin, Dustin McGowan and Sonny Gray.
Reed has been deployed as an ace reliever much like Miller, and his 71.2 innings is the most for any Mets reliever.
Last postseason, the Mets had the erratic Tyler Clippard as the eighth inning bridge to Jeurys Familia and the results left something to be desired.
Reed has given the Mets security in his important role that the Mets lacked in the 2015 postseason.
The best part? The Mets gave up almost nothing to get Reed and he has paid huge dividends to the team and revived his career.
