Josh Hader posted an unexciting earned run average of 3.17 for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres in the period from 2020 through 2022, but don’t be fooled. He was undoubtedly the best left-handed relief pitcher in baseball during the past three seasons.
That’s the judgment of my 10-part rating formula, which analyzed the records of every lefty who relieved in at least 70 games in the 2020-2022 span.
Confirmation is provided by several statistics. Hader held opposing hitters to a three-year batting average of .168 while piling up a ratio of 15.1 strikeouts per nine innings. None of the other left-handed relievers could match either performance. Nor were they able to equal Hader’s raw totals of 83 saves and 214 strikeouts from 2020 to 2022.
Today’s rankings encompass 57 lefty relievers, taking into account all of their stats, even when they made rare appearances as starters. My formula is similar to the one I used the past two Thursdays for starting pitchers — you can see it here — albeit with three changes:
The ratio of wins above replacement (WAR) is calculated per 60 innings for relievers, as opposed to 200 innings for starters.
Total games relieved (GR) are substituted for games started.
Saves (SV) are totaled, instead of wins.
The formula ranks all of the contestants from top to bottom, then assigns a score of 1,000 points to the frontrunner at a given position (in this case, Hader) and zero points to the tailender. The scores for all other players are determined by their relative performances in the 10 categories.
Hader is followed in the rankings of left-handed relievers by a pair of Atlanta Braves, A.J. Minter and Tyler Matzek, then by Andrew Chafin of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Aroldis Chapman of the Kansas City Royals.
Today’s list is the latest in a series that has been posted every Thursday since the first week of April. Click these links to see the rankings for catchers, first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen, left fielders, center fielders, right fielders, designated hitters, lefty starting pitchers, and righty starters.
Baseball’s top 15 left-handed relief pitchers are shown below, with statistical breakdowns for the five leaders.
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1. Josh Hader (2020-2022)
Score: 1,000 points
WAR: 2.6 total, 1.22 per 60 IP
Averages: 3.17 ERA, .168 BA, .296 SLG, .552 BPO
Strikeouts: 214 total, 15.1 per 9 IP
Totals: 137 GR, 83 SV
Notes: Hader established himself as the Brewers’ closer in 2018. He posted 125 saves for Milwaukee over the subsequent four and a half seasons (including 76 in the three-year study period), qualifying for four National League All-Star teams along the way. Impending free agency motivated the Brewers to trade him to San Diego in August 2022.
2. A.J. Minter (2020-2022)
Score: 772 points
WAR: 3.2 total, 1.33 per 60 IP
Averages: 2.50 ERA, .208 BA, .324 SLG, .548 BPO
Strikeouts: 175 total, 10.9 per 9 IP
Totals: 158 GR, 5 SV
Notes: Minter occasionally received opportunities to finish games the past three seasons, though he primarily functioned as an effective setup man for a series of Atlanta closers: Mark Melancon in 2020, Will Smith in 2021, and Kenley Jansen in 2022. He finally moved into the closer’s role in 2023.
3. Tyler Matzek (2020-2022)
Score: 736 points
WAR: 3.0 total, 1.33 per 60 IP
Averages: 2.92 ERA, .186 BA, .280 SLG, .564 BPO
Strikeouts: 156 total, 10.3 per 9 IP
Totals: 132 GR, 1 SV
Notes: Matzek played a similar role to Minter on Atlanta’s staff, though he appeared more frequently in earlier innings (often the sixth or the seventh). His 2023 season will be a washout because of Tommy John surgery.
4. Andrew Chafin (2020-2022)
Score: 732 points
WAR: 3.0 total, 1.33 per 60 IP
Averages: 2.59 ERA, .209 BA, .315 SLG, .516 BPO
Strikeouts: 144 total, 9.6 per 9 IP
Totals: 150 GR, 9 SV
Notes: Chafin bounced around in recent seasons: the Diamondbacks and Cubs in 2020, the Cubs and Athletics in 2021, the Tigers in 2022. He performed well at most of those stops, amassing ERAs of 1.83 and 2.83 the past two years, yet he moved again in 2023, returning to Arizona.
5. Aroldis Chapman (2020-2022)
Score: 710 points
WAR: 1.8 total, 1.04 per 60 IP
Averages: 3.71 ERA, .180 BA, .347 SLG, .702 BPO
Strikeouts: 162 total, 14.0 per 9 IP
Totals: 117 GR, 42 SV
Notes: Chapman is 35 years old, yet he can still hit triple digits with his fastball. He was named to seven All-Star teams while a member of the Cincinnati Reds (2010-2015) and New York Yankees (2016-2022). The Royals signed him as a free agent in January 2023.
Next 10
6. Gregory Soto
7. Alex Vesia
8. Aaron Loup
10. Aaron Bummer
11. Jake Diekman
12. Tanner Scott
13. Brooks Raley
14. Jose Alvarado
15. Brad Hand