The Quietly-Improving Jake Diekman

This will get very statsy very quick, please hang in here with me. I’ll start with the end first: Jake Diekman has become a solid relief option for the Phillies in 2013 and should be one of the few arms they should pencil in on the 2014 roster, despite a reduced strikeout rate.

Here’s the strikeout rate, click to enlarge:

 

 

 

Diekman’s bread and butter, and the calling card that got him to the Major Leagues, was his ability to strike batters out using his mid-90’s fastball out his his 6.5/8ths arm slot. He has sacrificed that this year in the name of control and the results have been favorable, click to enlarge:

 

 

 

Diekman has reduced the number of walks he issues per nine innings by nearly two. While he is still issuing a free pass more often than once every two innings pitched, Diekman has demonstrated more control at the Major League level in 2013 and has posted BB/9 IP numbers similar to what he had posted in the Minors.

Diekman has reduced his walks and has seen his strikeouts fall with it but this is a trade-off I would take. Diekman’s .356 BABIP indicates he has been a bit unlucky and has been rewarded with about a 53-point adjustment when comparing his ERA to his FIP, or Fielding Independent Pitching

. His 3.44 FIP puts him in the sixtieth percentile of qualifying relievers, meaning he’s been an above average reliever in a small, 22.2 inning sample.

Diekman’s improvement has been one of the under-the-radar, quality performances on a Phillies team that lacks such things. If he can continue to improve his control, reduce walks, and slowly find more strikeouts, Diekman can be a very powerful bullpen weapon for the Phillies in 2014 and beyond.