1991-2017 All-Underrated Team: Pitcher

I have been watching baseball for 26 years now. In that time, I have been obsessed with under-the-radar players. These are my picks for an All-Underrated Team. I have picked one player for each position and their best season.

These are players that do not fully fit the definition of starting pitcher or relief pitcher.  They are role players: starting, closing, and generally doing whatever is asked of them.

Alfredo Aceves was one of those rare players that actually went from the Yankees to the Red Sox and improved.  He had been a big part of the Yankees pitching staff in the World Championship season of 2009 but he was injured frequently in 2010.  He was non-tendered by the Yankees in the winter and the Red Sox picked him up off the scrap heap prior to Spring Training.

Not much was expected of Aceves in 2011, but he ended up being a huge part of the Red Sox staff.  He was incredibly versatile, starting four games, finishing 15 (two saves), and pitching in middle relief in 36.  He was not overpowering, but he had decent control, finishing with a 1.105 WHIP and 42 walks in 114 innings pitched.  He struck out 80.  The impressive numbers were his 10-2 record and his 2.61 ERA.

2011 was easily Aceves's best season with the Red Sox, and likely the best season of his career.  The next season, he became the Red Sox's closer due to the injuries and ineffectiveness of Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon.  His record flipped to 2-10 and his ERA skyrocketed to 5.36, but he saved 25 games.  He pitched in just 11 games with the Red Sox in 2013 and had a 4-1 record.  He was 16-13 with a 3.94 ERA and 179 strikeouts during his tenure in Boston.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Joe Hesketh (1991): 12-4, league-leading .750 winning percentage, 3.29 ERA

Rolando Arrojo (2001): 3.48 ERA

Tim Wakefield (2002): 11-5, 2.81 ERA, 134 strikeouts

Franklin Morales (2012): 3.77 ERA, 76 strikeouts in 76.1 innings

Steven Wright (2018): 2.68 ERA

What I have been listening to:

Another Series Win Against the Rays

Boston has been on a bit of a roll lately and took two out of three from the Rays this week.  They were out-homered by the Rays nine to one, but managed to win anyway.

06/10:  Red Sox 10 (40-25)  Rays 8
This was a wild one.  Boston started out hot, scoring six runs in the first inning off of Alex Cobb who had pitched very well against Boston previously.  John Lackey though struggled.  He hit Matt Joyce with a pitch in the back at one point after Joyce had taken him deep once and the swung on a 3-0 count, which prompted a bench-clearing incident.  Unwritten rules, blah blah blah.  The Rays managed to tie the game in the 8th.  Then Boston took a two run lead in the ninth which Andrew Bailery promptly gave right back in the bottom of the inning.  Boston finally pushed two runs across in the 14th which won the game.  Franklin Morales got the win.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA:  4 for 7, double, 3 RBIs.

06/11:  Rays 8 Red Sox 3 (40-26)
Jon Lester's struggles continued as he walked seven and gave up three home runs.  Boston could not get the offense going in this one.  Jose De La Torre came in and pitched 3.1 innings after Lester was taken out, sparing the bullpen somewhat.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JOSE IGLESIAS:  2 for 4, run.

06/12:  Red Sox 2 (41-26) Rays 1
Alfredo Aceves returned from Pawtucket to make a spot start before being returned to the minors.  He pitched very well and Daniel Nava provided all of the offense with a two run home run.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

ALFREDO ACEVES:  6 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts.

Underrated Player of the Year: 2011

In this series, I look at one player per year from 1991-the present who came out of nowhere or had a great year that no one really noticed or expected.

It is not very often that a player jumps from the Yankees to the Red Sox and have more success than they did with the Yankees.  It did happen with Alfredo Aceves though.  After a terrific 2009 season, Aceves was hurt most of the year in 2010.  He was non-tendered in December due to the injuries and some perceived behavioral problems.  He signed with the Red Sox as a free agent about two months later.

Aceves made the 25 man roster with a good Spring Training and was one of the most versatile pitchers on the team.  Aceves started four games and finished fifteen.  He pitched in 55 games total.  His 114 innings were a testament to his versatility.  

His final numbers were impressive.  Aceves went 10-2 with a 2.61 ERA and 80 strikeouts with 42 walks.  His WHIP was a solid 1.105.  Not only was he versatile, he pitched quite well.

The Closers

The closer each year has almost always been a favorite player of mine.  I have no idea why.  Closers are just fun.  They often have an outrageous personality.  You almost have to be arrogant to be a closer.  It's only annoying when they do not perform well or you like the other team.  So yeah, ever since I got into baseball, I have been a very big fan of closers.

The below are a year by year look at the Red Sox closers since I was fan:

1991

JEFF REARDON:  Reardon was the first Red Sox closer I was aware of and he had a terrific 1991 season.  Reardon was an All Star in 1991 and set a new Red Sox record for saves in a season with 40.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (2), Jeff Gray (1), Tony Fossas (1), Dan Petry (1)

1992

JEFF REARDON:  Reardon was 36 in 1992 and was starting to show his age.  He did break the career saves record and had 27 saves before being traded to the Braves.  They went with a committee after the trade.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (4), Danny Darwin (3), Tony Fossas (2), Joe Hesketh (1), Paul Quantrill (1), Ken Ryan (1)

1993

JEFF RUSSELL:  After trading Reardon in 1992, Boston was on the lookout for a closer for the 1993 season.  Russell was signed after the team nearly signed Tom Henke.  Russell racked up 33 saves and a 2.70 ERA in a very good season.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (8), Paul Quantrill (1), Ken Ryan (1), Joe Hesketh (1)

1994

KEN RYAN:  Russell started the season as the closer but had a rough time and was eventually traded to Cleveland.  Ken Ryan took over and lead the team with 13 saves with a 2.44 ERA.

Others recording saves: Jeff Russell (12), Greg Harris (2), Chris Howard (1), Tony Fossas (1), Todd Frohwirth (1)

1995

RICK AGUILERA:  The Red Sox started the season with Ryan as the closer but he struggled.  They then went with Stan Belinda for a little while but eventually decided to pick up Aguilera at the trade deadline in order to have a shot at the playoffs.  Aguilera was great down the stretch notching 20 saves and a 2.67 ERA.

Others recording saves:  Stan Belinda (10), Ken Ryan (7), Mike Maddux (1), Joe Hudson (1)

1996

HEATHCLIFF SLOCUMB:  Aguilera returned to the Twins as a free agent after the 1995 season so Boston acquired Slocumb in a trade with the Phillies.  Slocumb had a great season in 1996 picking up 31 saves and 88 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.  He had a 3.1 WAR as a closer, which is impressive.

Others recording saves: Stan Belinda (2), Pat Mahomes (2), Mike Stanton (1), Joe Hudson (1)

1997

HEATHCLIFF SLOCUMB:  1997 was not nearly as good for Slocumb.  He only had 17 saves for Boston and blew some big ones.  He was eventually traded to the Mariners in what would be a terrific trade for Boston.  Tom Gordon took over after the trade.

Others recording saves: Tom Gordon (11), Butch Henry (6), Kerry Lacy (3), Jim Corsi (2), Chris Hammond (1)

1998

TOM GORDON:  In what was easily one of the greatest seasons by a Red Sox closer, Gordon set a new single season saves record for the team with 46 and was an All Star.  He even received votes for MVP.

Others recording saves: Derek Lowe (4), Dennis Eckersley (1), Rich Garces (1), Ron Mahay (1)

1999

DEREK LOWE:  Gordon started off the season as closer but had some injury problems.  Lowe and Tim 

Wakefield actually tied with 15 saves, but Lowe finished more games.  

Others recording saves: Tim Wakefield (15), Tom Gordon (11), Rod Beck (3), John Wasdin (2), Mark Guthrie (2), Rich Garces (2)

2000

DEREK LOWE:  The sinkerballer was terrific in 2000, saving 42 games with a 2.56 ERA, and an All Star berth.

Others recording saves: Rich Garces (1), Hipolito Pichardo (1), Bryce Florie (1), John Wasdin (1)

2001

DEREK LOWE:  Lowe started to falter as closer in 2001, but still recorded 24 saves.  He was moved to the rotation later in the season and Ugueth Urbina was acquired to serve as closer.

Others recording saves: Ugueth Urbina (9), Rod Beck (6), Rolando Arrojo (5), Tim Wakefield (3), Rich Garces (1)

2002

UGUETH URBINA:  Urbina was an All Star in 2002 with 40 saves and a 3.00 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 60 innings.

Others recording saves: Tim Wakefield (3), Alan Embree (2), Frank Castillo (1), Casey Fossum (1), Rolando Arrojo (1), Willie Banks (1), Chris Haney (1), Wayne Gomes (1)

2003

BYUNG-HYUN KIM:  2003 was the year of the ill-fated closer-by-committee approach.  It did not work. Boston eventually traded Shea Hillenbrand to the Diamondbacks for Kim, who saved 16 games in 2003 with a 3.18 ERA.  Scott Williamson did some great work as closer in the postseason.

Others recording saves: Brandon Lyon (9), Chad Fox (3), Mike Timlin (2), Tim Wakefield (1), Casey Fossum (1), Alan Embree (1), Jason Shiell (1), Bronson Arroyo (1), Robert Person (1)

2004

KEITH FOULKE:  After having trouble with the closer-by-committee in 2003, Boston signed the best closer available on the free agent market in Foulke.  He saved 32 games with a terrific 2.17 ERA and was lights-out in the postseason.

Others recording saves: Curtis Leskanic (2), Mike Timlin (1), Scott Williamson (1)

2005

KEITH FOULKE:  Foulke struggled in 2005, leading to an infamous comment about Burger King.  He only picked up 15 saves and Boston had to resort to some desperate measures as will be seen by some of the other pitchers who saved games in '05.  Foulke's ERA was an ugly 5.91

Others recording saves: Mike Timlin (13), Curt Schilling (9), Alan Embree (1)

2006

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Rookie Papelbon solved the closer problem for the long term.  He had a fantastic season and came in second in the Rookie of the Year vote, and might have won it had he not been injured the final month of the season.  He saved 35 games with a remarkable 0.92 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.  He was also an All Star.

Others recording saves: Mike Timlin (9), Julian Tavarez (1), Javier Lopez (1)

2007

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Papelbon had another strong All Star season, saving 37 with a 1.85 ERA and 84 strikeouts in only 58.1 innings.

Others recording saves: Hideki Okajima (5), Mike Timlin (1), Manny Delcarmen (1), J.C. Romero (1)

2008

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Another terrific All Star season for Papelbon (41 saves, 2.34 ERA, 77 strikeouts), but his mouth was starting to be a problem.

Others recording saves: Manny Delcarmen (2), Craig Hansen (2), Hideki Okajima (1), Mike Timlin (1)

2009

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Ho hum, another All Star season for Paps (38 saves, 1.85 ERA, 76 strikeouts).

Others recording saves: Takashi Saito (2), Daniel Bard (1)

2010

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Papelbon actually had a rough year.  He still picked up 37 saves, but his ERA ballooned to 3.90.  His strikeout rate was in line with his averages.  He missed the All Star game for the first time in his career.

Others recording saves: Daniel Bard (3), Ramon Ramirez (2), Felix Doubront (2)

2011

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  He blew the save on the last game of the season, but Papelbon actually had a decent season.  He had 31 saves and a 2.94 ERA with 87 strikeouts.

Others recording saves: Alfredo Aceves (2), Daniel Bard (1), Scott Atchison (1), Felix Doubront (1)

2012

ALFREDO ACEVES:  Papelbon bolted as a free agent to Philadelphia before even being offered arbitration.  The Red Sox made two trades to acquire closers in Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon.  Injuries or ineffectiveness limited both of them, so they turned to Aceves who struggled at times.  He finished with 25 saves, a 2-10 record, and a 5.36 ERA.

Others recording saves: Andrew Bailey (6), Vicente Padilla (1), Mark Melancon (1), Franklin Morales (1), Junichi Tazawa (1)

2013

JOEL HANRAHAN:  Boston attempted another trade to bring over a closer.  Hanrahan has been a little rough so far this year, but he has notched three saves.  He blew a big one and is currently on the disabled list.

Others recording saves: NONE

Special Unknown Heroes Two-fer: Alfredo Aceves and Vicente Padilla

Last year's Red Sox bullpen was one of the most frightening bullpens in history.  And not because it was particularly good really.  No, last year's Red Sox bullpen was frightening because of the presence of Vicente Padilla and Alfredo Aceves.  To say that they were a little bit unhinged is a massive understatement.  Both pitchers were well-known for some rather unsavory characteristics.

Padilla made some waves when he made some comments about the Yankees' Mark Teixeira.  To put it bluntly, Padilla made comments about Teixeira being better off playing a woman's sport.  Padilla was one of the more consistent arms out of the bullpen, appearing in 56 games and finishing with a 4-1 record and a 4.50 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 50 innings.  He only walked 15.  Padilla was known for occasional use of the eephus pitch.  Padilla is headed to Japan for 2013.

Aceves came into the season as one of Boston's better options as a setup man.  He loosened up in Spring to possibly become a starter but when Andrew Bailey went down with an injury, Aceves was turned into the closer.  He definitely had the confidence to be a good closer, but he did not always have the best results.  Aceves finished the year at 2-10 with a 5.36 ERA.  He did save 25 games though.  He struggled down the stretch, but had been having a decent season early on.  He will likely return to a setup and swing man role in 2013.