Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers ’17 — #56 Ryan Webb
Welcome to February 6, exactly 56 days away from Opening Day at Miller Park.
It’s already the evening and I’m running behind today so let’s dispense with the pleasantries and begin the introduction and profile of…
Ryan Webb.
Ryan Christopher Webb, freshly 31 years of age, has been around a bit in his MLB career. The key part of that statement is that his has been a career at the Major League level of baseball.
Once a 4th round pick by the Oakland Athletics out of Clearwater Central Catholic High School in Florida, Webb debuted with the San Diego Padres in July of 2009 at the age of 23.
Since then, Webb has spent time with six more organizations, five of them in the big leagues, with the Brewers being career org number eight. Webb has pitched a combined 393.1 innings across 375 games in the Majors and has compiled a 3.43 ERA all while working exclusively in relief.
2016 was not the kindest year for Webb (5.19 ERA in 17.1 MLB IP with Tampa Bay), though had it been he may not have been available on the free agent market.
Instead, Webb found himself looking for a new ballclub following his twice being released during the 2016 regular season. He first got sent out by the Rays, on July 6, and again in September from a minor-league deal he subsequently signed with the Chicago White Sox.
As for what the Brewers are getting, Webb isn’t just a standard two-pitch reliever. He throws a sinker, a slider, and a change-up. That change-up wasn’t an oft-used pitch throughout his career up until the 2015 season when its usage jumped from 9.5% to 15.3%. Then, in an admittedly small sample size, 2016 saw Webb throw 22.4% change-ups (those percentages according to the indispensable BrooksBaseball.net).
That kind of…well…change in pitch selection could be due to a number of factors. Did he trust it more? Did the catchers in Tampa Bay simply call for it more over the half-year he spent there? Did his natural dip in velocity on his sinker over the years necessitate a shift in his approach?
I hope to get the answer to that question in Maryvale later this month, for what it’s worth.
Webb’s 2017 outlook with the Brewers is one of opportunity. General Manager David Stearns has traded multiple relief pitchers over the last calendar year which creates openings in a bullpen that is admittedly a bit a crowded.
As such, I predict Webb to likely open the season with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate Colorado Springs Sky Sox, where his sinker should help him more than some other pitchers. When Webb has had his best results in the big leagues, it coincides pretty well with his ability to generate ground balls. In 2016, previously mentioned as a tough year, Webb only got ground balls on 48.4% of his balls in play. Compare that to 57.1% in 2009, 62.3% in 2010, 60.9% in 2011, 51.7% in 2012, 56.3% in 2013, and 59.2% in 2015. And even his 48.7% in 2014 contributed to a 103 ERA+ so it’s not imperative that he get ground balls. That said, Webb’s career best 135 ERA+ in 2015 isn’t so long ago.
The Brewers certainly will look to be getting more of that year in this new year.
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Follow Ryan on Twitter: @RyanWebb58
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