Philadelphia Phillies: Is Connor Brogdon already the team’s best reliever?

Philadelphia Phillies RHP Connor Brogdon hasn’t allowed a run in 12.1 consecutive innings.

Yes, that’s a real stat. The homegrown Phillies bullpen piece pitched 8.2 scoreless innings during his second stint with the team in 2020, and has kicked off the 2021 season with an additional three scoreless outings. The young right-hander has looked beyond impressive following some early struggles during his rookie season, and currently leads the entire MLB in total games won (3).

And he might just be the Phillies best overall reliever.

One of the few bright spots from the team’s historically bad bullpen last season, Brogdon has quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with coming out of the ‘pen. His fastball can reach up to 97 MPH on a good day, and his changeup has proven deadly against both right-handed and left-handed hitters. Brogdon’s changeup currently has a *runs above average per 100 innings* rating of 6.17 – which is really good!

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In today’s modern game of baseball, Brogdon ticks off all the boxes when it comes to being a successful reliever. He throws his fastball hard, yet under control, and he has enough movement on his changeup to consistently generate swings and misses. Across his 12.1 consecutive scoreless innings, Brogdon has recorded an impressive 17 strikeouts. Routinely keeping balls out of play takes a ton of pressure off the defense late in games.

Joe Girardi hasn’t been oblivious to Brogdon’s ability either, as the former Yankee manager has routinely turned to him during high-leverage situations. Right up there alongside Archie Bradley, Hector Neris, and Jose Alvarado, Brogdon appears to be one of Joe’s “guys.”

With that in mind, I don’t think it’s all that outlandish to propose that Brogdon will finish atop Girardi’s “go-to reliever” list when the 2021 season comes to a conclusion.

Is Connor Brogdon the Philadelphia Phillies best relief pitcher?

While Neris will likely finish the year with the most saves in the Phillies bullpen, and Alvarado’s 100+ MPH sinker will pop up on the Twitter timeline the most frequently, and Archie Bradley $6 million salary will continue to rank atop the team’s reliever room, Brogdon’s cool and calm approach to pitching out of the bullpen leads me to believe that his development over the course of the next 150+ games will be pretty significant. He’s already proven capable of taking down big innings for the Phillies against the Braves and the Mets – just imagine what he’ll be able to do after a full season’s worth of MLB experience.

The comparison is thrown out there quite often, but Brogdon does give off some major Ryan Madson vibes. Not only is his changeup eerily similar to the former 8th inning specialist’s, but the calming presence that he carries with him on the mound is comparable as well.

Neris and Alvarado always have a bit of a “wildcard” factor to them when they pitch, whereas Brogdon seems to consistently sit at the one steady level.

Maybe I’m jumping the gun just a tad when it comes to declaring Brogdon the Philadelphia Phillies best relief pitcher, but I think it’s a consensus that people may realistically arive to as the year progresses. Brogdon has done nothing but improve since debuting in the major leagues, and if the first week of baseball is any sign of what’s to come, Girardi will continue to put the young reliever in high-stress situations as an opportunity to develop even further.