In Philliedelphia's latest installment of "Season in Review", we'll take a look at what Ken Giles contributed to the team and if his future remains in red pinstripes.
When the Phillies traded closer Jonathan Papelbon to the Nationals on July 28th, second year flamethrower Ken Giles finally got his chance to become the teams' full-time closer. He stepped into the role and excelled, saving 15 out of 17 and posting an ERA of 1.80. From August 9th until September 29th, Giles did not allow an earned run.
Though Giles blew just two saves, one thing that stood out through the majority of the season was his velocity. According to Brooks Baseball pitchFX, Giles four-seamer was averaging 98.43 at the end of the 2014 season. In 2015, his release speed on his four-seamer dropped to 97.24. Here are two graphs showing Giles' release point velocity. You can note that in 2015, he added in two pitches, the changeup and sinker, to his regular fastball and slider combo. He only used those pitches twice though.
August of this year was Giles' best month, posting an ERA of 0.69 with nine saves and 17 strikeouts. With two outs and runners in scoring position this season, Giles held opposing hitters to a .114 average and allowed just one home run in that situation in 32 games.
One stat that is worth nothing is that pitching in back-to-back games hasn't boded well for the Phillies closer. He's allowed 10 runs this season when he has pitched in back-to-back games and hitters averaged .271 against him. With a days rest, hitters only averaged .180. He allowed five runs in 61 at-bats when he's been on one day of rest.
Giles notched his first save of the season on the same day that Papelbon was traded, and would finish with 15 saves over the final two months. Giles had a phenomenal 1.71 ERA, allowed 20 hits in 26.1 innings, and had a 33/5 K:BB ratio in that time frame as closer.
Giles is the easy answer to the Phils back of the bullpen for now, despite some talk amongst carious reporters that the Phillies should shop him around. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com says that Giles could be one of the Phillies top trade chips this offseason. With the value he has as a closer, hitting 100 mph on multiple occasions, he could give the Phils some younger talent in return as Giles enters his prime.
It would take guts to deal the 25-year-old power arm, especially after he’s taken so well to the closer role. But look where this team is. If the Phils win, say, 72 games next season, it will be a nice improvement on 2015 and they still won’t be close to contending. A closer as good as Giles is a luxury that won’t be used enough on a rebuilding team such as the Phillies. His salary is low and his talent is big. That makes his value high. The Phils should consider cashing in that value for a couple of top young talents that can push the rebuild forward. Teams like Boston or the Cubs (if they have closer problems in the postseason) could be worth watching this winter.
There are signs that the Phillies brass has at least kicked this idea around. Hard-throwing right-hander Jimmy Cordero, acquired from Toronto for Ben Revere, has triple-digit closer stuff and got a look in that role in the Eastern League playoffs. This wasn’t necessarily a sign that the Phillies will deal Giles, but for the right return, they should consider it.
Salisbury mentioned Jimmy Cordero, who played with Double-A Reading after being traded from the Blue Jays to the Phillies for Ben Revere. In 17 innings, he posted a 2.12 ERA, striking out 18 and walking four with the Fightin Phils.
Overall on the 2015 season, Ken Giles had a 6-3 record saves those 15 games over 69 games. He finished with a 1.80 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, and 2.13 FIP. He allowed 59 hits in 70 total innings, with an overall 87/25 K:BB ratio.
Brandon Apter, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
