Yunior Marte Is The Not-So-Secret Weapon Out Of The Phillies Bullpen

Author and Dylan MacKinnon

April 12th, 2024 12:14 PM

Coming into the season there was a lot of talk about how good the Phillies bullpen could be. Jose Alvarado, Seranthony Dominguez, Jeff Hoffman, Gregory Soto, and Matt Strahm were all expected to have great seasons. But to this point, none of them have been the Phillies’ best relief pitcher. That honor belongs to someone few people were talking about before the season started. Yunior Marte.

Yunior Marte Off To A Very Hot Start

Through 6 appearances, he has been nearly flawless. 0 runs, and only 2 hits and 2 walks. He has more strikeouts (7) than he has baserunners allowed (4).

How is he doing it? Per Baseball Savant,  he is getting people to chase pitches outside the strike zone at an elite level. His chase rate is in the 96th percentile. When hitters do make contact, he is generating weak groundballs. Groundballs and account for 53.3% of at-bats against him. Add on a 29.2% K rate, and over 80% of the time batters either strike out or ground out against him.

The average exit velocity against him is 79mph. That is in the 99th percentile. Meaning only a handful of pitchers in the entire league generate weaker contact than he does.

We saw glimpses of this kind of elite performance last year. You could tell his stuff had potential. But his command of that stuff was too inconsistent. That is not exactly surprising from a young pitcher. Relief pitchers in general can take some time to truly command an MLB strikezone. But in a small sample size, he seems to have cracked that code.

Credit to Ray Dunne who was on the Yunior Marte bandwagon from the start. It looks like he could be the real deal.

This Bullpen Could be Elite

If this is the Yunior Marte we get the rest of the year, consider him yet another dangerous weapon out of the Pen. They didn’t get off to the best of starts as a group, but the upside of this group is as high as it gets.

Alvarado and Strahm haven’t given up any earned runs since their Opening Day disasters. Hoffman has only allowed 2 runs through 6 innings. Soto has only given up 1 total run. And Ricardo Pinto has given them some strong innings as well.

We haven’t even seen Orion Kerkering yet, who has pitched 4.1 scoreless innings down in his rehab assignment. He also struck out 10 guys.

This pen could be special. Right now, Marte has been the most impressive of the bunch, and many people weren’t even accounting for him when they talked up the Phillies bullpen before the season. But they will be talking about him right now though. Through 13 games, there are few people period pitching as well as he is.

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The All-Time Roster Of Phillies Players Acquired In Free Agency

• C- JT Realmuto (2019-Present)

  .273/ .330/.456/.785 

  154 HRs, 589 Runs, 578 RBIs, 94 Steals 

  If we were going best catcher overall, I would still take Chooch. But since Chooch, he wasn’t available for this list.

  You could argue JT Realmuto is better than both of them though. It’s hard to argue he is better with the bat. Chooch called a much better game than JT, but few catchers can contend with Realmuto’s arm.

  He fell off a bit in 2023. But it seems he reworked his swing this offseason to fix a hole that pitchers were exploiting. So maybe we will see a resurgent year from the former “Best Catcher In baseball.” The early returns have been good.

  The Phillies acquired JT via a trade in 2019 with the Marlins. They have up prospects Sixto Sanchez, Jorge Alfaro, and Will Stewart. Sixto has barely played since they made the trade due to injury. So at least right now, it seems like a great deal for the Phillies.

  MLB on Twitter: "J.T. Realmuto is the 17th catcher in baseball history to hit for the cycle! pic.twitter.com/Q66HnGqW4K / Twitter"

  J.T. Realmuto is the 17th catcher in baseball history to hit for the cycle! pic.twitter.com/Q66HnGqW4K

• 1B- Jim Thome (2003-2005) and (2012)

  .276/.402/.554/.956

  612 HRs, 1583 Runs, 1699 RBIs, 19 SBs

  Thome is one of the greatest 1st basemen period. He is a member of the 600 HR club and a Hall of Famer.

  He was great in his short time with the Phillies. The problem was the team around him was bad. And his presence was blocking Ryan Howard. Still, he gave us some memorable moments. Like hitting his 400th HR at Citizens Bank Park.

  He came to the Phillies via a 6-year $85 million contract. Before that, he had spent his whole career with Cleveland.

• 2B- Dave Cash (1974-1976)

  .283/.334/.358/.692

  21 HRs. 732 Runs, 426 RBIs

  Finding a great free agent or traded Second Basemen was tough. It is a weak position historically for the Phillies as it is. The few notable players they have had, Chase Utley and Juan Samuel, were homegrown. It makes a solid dependable player like Dave Cash stick out.

  Cash was only here for 3 seasons, but it was his best 3 seasons. He made the All-Star game every year and hit nearly .300 in his time here. In 1975 he led the league with hits. He didn’t have much power to speak of, and his speed was solid, but not elite. But he racked up hits with the Phillies.

  The Phillies acquired Cash via a trade with the Pirates.

  Philadelphia Phillies on Twitter: "Before becoming a three-time All-Star with us, Dave Cash was an MLB trailblazer.#BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/bRkYhevjwa / Twitter"

  Before becoming a three-time All-Star with us, Dave Cash was an MLB trailblazer.#BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/bRkYhevjwa

• SS- Trea Turner (2023- Present)

  .296/.349/.483/.832

  150 HRs, 688 Runs, 510 RBIs, 260 SBs

  Turner’s first season in Philly did not go well. He saved it a bit at the end of the year. But in the first 4 months, he was genuinely one of the worst players in the league. His fielding was terrible, and his bat wasn’t much better. In August, September, and the first two series in the playoffs, he was one of the best players in the league. He regressed to his early season form vs the Diamondbacks though.

  But there is a reason they paid him what they did. With the Nationals and Dodgers, he was one of the best players in the league. Hopefully the first season was just jitters, and we get someone closer to what he was in August and September this season.

  The Phillies’ history at SS is bleak. There is Jimmy Rollins, Larry Bowa, and not much else. So even though he was only here for 1 somewhat disappointing season, Turner already is the best Free Agent SS in Phillies history.

  Philadelphia Phillies on Twitter: "TREA SHIESTY#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/UM9MwbHDHx / Twitter"

  TREA SHIESTY#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/UM9MwbHDHx

• 3B- Placido Polanco (2002-2005) and (2010-2012)

  .297/.343/.397/.740

  104 HRs, 1009 Runs, 723 RBIs, 81 SBs

  Polanco is very similar to Dave Cash. He doesn’t have much pop, and his speed was only okay. But he was a hitting machine.

  Like some of the infield positions, there was a lack of good options here. The best 3rd basemen, all came up with the Phillies. Mike Schmidt, Scott Rolen, Dick Allen, all were homegrown players. Polanco was the best of the bunch when you only look at free agents or trades.

  He came to the Phillies via the infamous Scott Rolen trade. Before that, he had spent the first 4 years of his career in St. Louis.

• LF- Raul Ibanez (2009-2011)

  .272/.335/.465/.801

  305 HRs, 1055 Runs, 1207 RBIs, 50 SBs

  I feel like we underrate how good Ibanez was here, especially in that first season. Similar to the way we underrate his predecessor, Pat Burrell.

  In 2009, Ibanez had a slash line of .272/.347/.552/.899. It fell off in his other two seasons here, but he was a special part of that 2009 team that almost won a 2nd straight World Series.

  There is also the fact there is not much competition among free-agent Left Fielders for the Phillies. The best left fielders, all started with the Phillies. The only other option was Kyle Schwarber. But because we were able to slot him in at another position, Raul still made the list.

• CF- Shane Victorino (2005-2012)

  .275/.340/.425/.765

  108 HRs, 731 Runs, 489 RBIs, 231 SBs

  The Flyin’ Hawiian was up there amongst my favorite Phillies from that era. He started his career as a disappointing player for the Padres. So the Phillies snatched him up in the rule 5 draft, and he went on to be a key piece of the 2008 team.

  At times he could be frustrating. But he also played Gold Glove defense in Center and gave them a great power speed option behind J Roll and ahead of Utley.

• RF- Bryce Harper (2019-Present)

  .281/.390/.521/.911

  306 HRs, 998 Runs, 89 RBIs, 134 SBs

  There was no other option here. Harper has a chance to go down as one of the greatest Phillies of all time. He already feels like a lock to be a Hall of Famer. He is going to get to 400 HRs here, and there is a good chance he will get to 500 as well.

  Harper signed with the Phillies in 2019. It took a couple of years, but he eventually pulled them out of the dark ages. He already has multiple legendary moments, including Bedlam at the Bank, his walk-off Grand Slam, and the stare-down in the 2023 NLDs, just to name a few. Harper is a Phillies legend.

  To the point, that in a few years, if we remake this list, he might surpass Jim Thome at 1st base. That is how good he is.

• DH- Kyle Schwarber (2022- Present)

  .226/.339/.491/.830 

  246 HRs, 580 Runs, 584 RBIs, 23 SBs 

  There are not many options at DH. This is only the 3rd season the NL has had a DH. In that time, Harper spent a lot of time as the DH as he battled a elbow injury. When it wasn;t him, it was usually Kyle Schwarber.

  We already put Harper in Right Field. Now he is a 1st baseman, and he will probaly spend the rest of his career at 1st, barring a full time move to DH. But for now, given he spent most of his time here in right, we call him a right fielder. And that leaves Schwarber as the default answer.

  Just because he is the default though does not make him unworthy. He hit 45+ HRs in both of his seasons here, and will likely get there again this year. Last season, he had the 2nd highest OPS leading off games in Phillies history. Only Jimmy Rollins MVP season was better.

  Despite the debates about Schwarber leading off, he has undeniably been one of their most productive hitters these past two seasons.

  Philadelphia Phillies on Twitter: "WAIT, WHAT KYLE???#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/j9mga9TbKz / Twitter"

  WAIT, WHAT KYLE???#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/j9mga9TbKz

• SP- Steve Carlton

  3.22 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 329 Wins, 4136 Ks

  Lefty was a lock to be this team’s Ace. He is far and away the best pitcher in Phillies history. His 4 Cy Youngs, 10 All-Star appearances, and his place in the Hall of Fame tell you that. He even got the Triple Crown for Pitchers in 1972.

  He is not just the Phillies best pitcher, he is one of the best LHPs period.

  Baseball In Pics on Twitter: "Steve Carlton becomes the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards, October 26, 1982. pic.twitter.com/NSyLjliAVA / Twitter"

  Steve Carlton becomes the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards, October 26, 1982. pic.twitter.com/NSyLjliAVA

• SP- Roy Halladay

  3.38 ERA, 1.178, 203 Wins, 2117 Ks

  Doc is by far the best pitcher I have ever seen pitch for the Phillies. The two-time CY Young winner was dominant as it gets in his first 2 seasons here. Including pitching a Perfect Game and throwing the 2nd ever playoff No-Hitter.

  His time here was unfortunately short. Injuries caught up to him, and he did not look like himself in his final 2 seasons here. But I will always remember him for how amazing he was in 2010 and 2011.

  MLB on Twitter: "Roy Halladay's No. 34 will be retired by the @Phillies on May 29, the 10th anniversary of his perfect game. pic.twitter.com/qq3bdYdEvA / Twitter"

  Roy Halladay's No. 34 will be retired by the @Phillies on May 29, the 10th anniversary of his perfect game. pic.twitter.com/qq3bdYdEvA

• SP- Zack Wheeler

  3.43 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 87 Wins, 1406 Ks

  Picking the 3rd starter was tough. When I made the Homegrown list, I only had 3 starters, because I didn’t think there was a 4th guy worthy of being listed among Robin Roberts, Cole Hamels, and Aaron Nola. I wasn’t going to stick Brett Myers on there just because.

  But that means I was limited to 3 here as well. So who made it. Do I go with Cliff Lee? He has a strong case given how amazing his 2009 run was. There is also Curt Schilling. Numbers wise he is worthy, but much like the HOF voters don’t want to honor him, neither do I. Wheeler and Lee get the edge because they didn’t ruin a small town in Rhode Island or reveal private details about Tim Wakefield’s battle with cancer against the families wishes.

  I went with Zack Wheeler. Wheeler has been nothing short of dominant in his time here. And after signing a massive extension recently, he will have more longevity here than Lee had. But it was a really tough choice between the two.

  MLB on Twitter: "Zack Wheeler brought the heat in the 1st striking out the side! #Postseason 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zBwQvEewLO / Twitter"

  Zack Wheeler brought the heat in the 1st striking out the side! #Postseason 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zBwQvEewLO

• RP- Steve Bedrosian

  3.38 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 184 Saves, 921 Ks 

  It was close between Bedrosian and Brad Lidge. Lidge had the perfect season, that ended in him getting the final out to give the Phillies their 2nd ever World Series. But he was a bit of a 1 year wonder.  

  Bedrosian meanwhile had multiple great seasons. Including him winning the Cy Young as a Relief Pitcher. For me, that gave him the edge. I never got to watch him play, but the numbers tell the story of a dominant relief pitcher, worthy of a spot on this list.  

  He is still 3rd on the all Time Phillies Saves list.

  OldTimeHardball on Twitter: "1987 NL Cy YoungSteve Bedrosian (40 Saves with a 2.83 ERA) pic.twitter.com/BKo96dkOXT / Twitter"

  1987 NL Cy YoungSteve Bedrosian (40 Saves with a 2.83 ERA) pic.twitter.com/BKo96dkOXT

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Author and Dylan MacKinnon

Category:

• Phillies // MLB

Tags:

MLB,Philadelphia Phillies,Phillies Bullpen