Yankees' King, Cubs' Robertson among relievers to watch so far in 2022

By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer

No group of players is harder to predict than relievers. 

You can look at the names in a projected bullpen and try to line up who you think will emerge as the most dominant or counted on in high-leverage situations, and you will almost certainly be incorrect. Reliever volatility never ceases to amaze.

That said, while it has been only a month, some relievers have already begun to separate themselves as potential difference-makers for their teams this season. With offense across the league at historically low levels through the first month, there’s no shortage of relievers with bonkers numbers worth highlighting. 

For now, here are the six who have caught my attention so far in 2022. (All stats through May 3.)

Michael King, Yankees: 7 G, 14.2 IP, 0.61 ERA, 10 H, 22 K, 3 BB

Acquired from the Marlins for Garrett Cooper and Caleb Smith in November 2017, the 26-year-old King has been the most valuable reliever in baseball by fWAR. His development has been something of a slow burn, but it seems that the Yankees and manager Aaron Boone have finally found the perfect way to deploy the right-hander: as a multi-inning weapon who can single-handedly bridge a game from the starter to closer Aroldis Chapman. 

King’s signature pitch now, his curveball, is one he learned last season from former teammate Corey Kluber, who knows a thing or two about spinning a nasty breaker. Having come up through the minors as a starter, King has a repertoire much deeper than that of the average two-pitch reliever. His curveball is the headliner now, but the fastball is firm, and his quality changeup enables him to be more effective over multiple innings than most bullpen arms could dream of.

David Robertson, Cubs: 9 G, 10 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 15 K, 5 BB

Robertson has completely rejuvenated his career in shocking form with the Cubs. It’s not like we didn’t know this guy could be great; until his injury in 2019, Robertson had been one of the most durable and dependable relievers in baseball for nearly a decade, first in New York as the lights-out eighth-inning bridge to Mariano Rivera and then with the White Sox as a full-time closer. 

But he pitched in only seven games for the Phillies before succumbing to Tommy John surgery in August. A setback with his rehab in 2020 kept him on the shelf for that whole season as well, at which point we weren’t sure if we’d see Robertson on an MLB mound again. 

He did manage to work his way back, however, and we saw a glimpse of what could be possible in his brief cameo with the Rays in September. Still, it was nothing to suggest that we were about to see the 37-year-old return to nearly peak form. Whether he stays the closer on the North Side all season or becomes an immensely valuable trade chip come July remains to be seen.

Scott Effross, Cubs: 11 G, 11.1 IP, 1.59 ERA, 9 H, 12 K, 1 BB

Yeah, that’s right, another Cubs reliever — and it isn't even Keegan Thompson, who currently leads the team in rWAR! With all due respect to Thompson’s excellent start to 2022 as David Ross’ go-to long reliever, I’d like to highlight Effross for a reason beyond his impressive numbers thus far: He gives hitters one of the more unique looks of any pitcher in MLB. 

One of the many things Statcast measures is how far to the left or right of the center of the mound a pitcher’s release point is. Predictably, the most extreme ends of this spectrum are occupied almost exclusively by side-armers, who deliver the ball from much lower slots than those who throw over the top — guys such as Aaron Loup and Tyler Rogers.

Among right-handers, though, no one releases the ball farther from the center of the mound than Effross, at 4.21 feet to the right on average. His release height is also seventh-lowest. Effross doesn’t throw very hard; his average fastball hovers around 90 mph. But with such an unusual release point, it can’t be a fun at-bat for opposing hitters. 

Hector Neris, Astros: 13 G, 12 IP, 0.75 ERA, 6 H, 12 K, 1 BB

The Phillies' bullpen has not exactly had the best reputation in recent years, with a troubling track record of catastrophic blown saves and poorly timed dingers served up to opposing hitters. One of the faces of that Philly relief corps — who indeed gave up his fair share of heartbreaking homers but on the whole was pretty darn good — was Neris. 

Houston scooped up Neris in free agency and has leaned on him hard in the early going, using him in 13 games already, which ties with Jordan Romano for most appearances in MLB. This makes sense given that Neris has, if anything, been tremendously durable in his career. In fact, since the start of the 2016 season, no pitcher has appeared in more games than Neris’ 385. 

Most importantly, the Astros don’t need to rely on Neris to get the final three outs, so his proclivity for the gopherball (of which he has allowed zero so far this year) is less likely to be as devastating as it often was in Philadelphia. 

Alex Vesia, Dodgers: 8 G, 7 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 H, 10 K, 1 BB

As the Dodgers await the returns of Victor Gonzalez and Caleb Ferguson from injury, Vesia has been dynamite as Dave Roberts’ go-to lefty in high-leverage situations. Vesia was stellar last year in the regular season and through the playoffs until Game 6 of the NLCS, in which he walked all three batters he faced before being pulled after not walking any batters in October to that point. I have to imagine Vesia is eager to return to the postseason and avenge his most recent showing on the October stage. 

Also, if you like watching pitchers getting fired up after a strikeout, look no further than Vesia, who clearly takes immense pleasure in throwing his heater past opposing hitters for strike three:

Trevor Stephan, Guardians: 10 G, 10.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 H, 12 K, 0 BB

Garrett Whitlock has emerged as one of Boston’s most important pitchers since the Red Sox snagged the right-hander from their rivals in one of the more successful Rule 5 picks of the past decade. But Whitlock wasn’t the only future relief ace the Yankees lost in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, as Cleveland plucked Stephan from New York with the 15th pick. 

Like Whitlock, Stephan had solid numbers as a starting pitcher in the minors with the Yankees and reached Double-A in 2019. Now, after spending all of 2021 in the big leagues as a serviceable middle-relief option, Stephan seems to have leveled up, thanks in large part to an increased reliance on his splitter. He has been just about the most dominant reliever in the league by both back-of-the-baseball-card numbers and underlying metrics. 

It’s not like the Yankees are in desperate need of any more quality arms, but there is a not-so-alternate universe in which their staff also features the likes of Stephan and Whitlock. For the sake of the rest of the league, it’s for the best that we're not living in that universe. Thanks, Rule 5 Draft!

Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He lives in D.C. but is a huge Seattle Mariners fan and loves watching the KBO, which means he doesn't get a lot of sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.