Phillies 2017 season grades: Closing pitcher Hector Neris

Hector Neris finally got a chance to close for the Phillies in 2017. How did he do in his first season as the closing pitcher?

Former Phillies manager Pete Mackanin made one of his most surprising decisions as manager before spring training even really started, naming Jeanmar Gomez the team’s closer despite there being several better options in the bullpen. That decision didn’t last long as Gomez quickly blew his chance and was eventually released by the team.

Eventually, the title of closer fell to Hector Neris, the pitcher many thought should have the job this year from the get-go. He was the team’s most effective reliever in 2016, so it would have made the most sense for Neris to be the closer in 2017.

Neris did not quite have the season he had in 2016. He finished the year with a 3.01 ERA, 3.71 fielding-independent pitching, 26.9 percent strikeout rate, 8.1 percent walk rate, and 1.26 WHIP. Only his walk rate was improved compared to last year.

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As a whole, Neris recorded 26 saves in 29 opportunities in 2017. Nineteen of those saves came in the second half, when Neris had a 2.65 ERA but a 1.37 WHIP. His last blown save came on June 21, but Neris had several saves in the second half where he still gave up runs, but was able to secure the save nonetheless.

Looking at his pitches, nothing really changed indicating a step back in his stuff. His fastball velocity and movement were nearly identical to last year’s.

His splitter still had the same movement and velocity as well.

The only drastic shift in Neris’s batted ball profile is that he induced fewer ground balls. Combined with the fact he had fewer strikeouts, it makes sense he gave up more hits as Neris allowed a .306 batting average on balls in play. He instead allowed more fly balls as opposed to grounders. However, that didn’t hurt him as much as his home-run-to-fly-ball rate dropped from 14.1 percent to 10.3 percent.

While Neris did not perform as well as last year, he still served admirably as the team’s closer this year. He didn’t establish himself as a game-changing closer, but he did enough to warrant having the job to start next season. Considering that, I’ll give him a B for the season.

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In 2018, expect Neris to be the closer barring any unforeseen moves in the offseason or a complete implosion by Neris next year.