Phillies: Hector Neris among underrated players on roster
By Matt Rappa
Phillies right-handed reliever Hector Neris turns 31 on Sunday, June 14
Amid so much injury in the Philadelphia Phillies’ bullpen in recent years, right-handed reliever Hector Neris has proven to be a durable back-end arm. He is among the underrated Phillies players on the roster.
Since 2015, only seven National League relievers have appeared in more games than Neris (306): Jared Hughes (354), Tony Watson (350), Felipe Vazquez (323), Andrew Chafin (323), Kenley Jansen (321), Pedro Baez (317), and Pedro Strop (309).
And, in the strikeout category, only Jansen (455) and Vazquez (402) have punched out more batters than his (394), according to Fangraphs.
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Neris turns 31 on Sunday, June 14, and is sixth-oldest pitcher on their 40-man roster. He debuted in August 2014 at age 25, and since, has gone 15-20 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.161 WHIP and 395-106 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 307 appearances and 311 2/3 innings.
In August 2018, Neris earned National League Reliever of the Month honors, when in nine innings and 10 appearances, he allowed no runs, three hits and two walks while striking out 20 of his 32 batters faced. Opposing hitters slashed just .100/.156/.133 in those plate appearances.
His best season overall came just last year; despite going 3-6, he posted a 2.93 ERA, 1.020 WHIP and 89 strikeouts across 68 appearances and 67 2/3 innings.
Also in 2019, Neris notched 28 saves, raising his career total in the category to 67, 28th most among active pitchers. Only eight Phillies have ever recorded more saves: Jonathan Papelbon (123), Jose Mesa (112), Steve Bedrosian (103), Mitch Williams (102), Brad Lidge (100), Tug McGraw (94), Ron Reed (90), and Ricky Bottalico (78).
Only Aaron Nola (4.2) had more WAR than Neris (1.8) among Phillies pitchers in 2019; Zach Eflin followed with 1.6.
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In spring a few months ago, he had not allowed an earned run through four outings and as many innings. Neris has now been in the Phillies system for one decade, first pitching as a 21-year-old in the Dominican Summer League in 2010.
It would have been interested to see if his recent success carried over for a second straight season in 2020; we likely will still get that chance, albeit as part of only a near-50-game season.
While Neris has made fans nervous in plenty of save situations over the years, his numbers and durability show he is one of the best relievers the Phillies currently have.