Antonio Bastardo: What Can the Philadelphia Phillies Expect From Him in 2012?

Published: 27^th Feb 12 1:24 am

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The Philadelphia Phillies found a real steal in Antonio Bastardo, a left-handed relief pitcher that turned in a remarkable season in 2011.

Bastardo spent 2010 rotating between the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs and the major league Phillies. He made the 25-man roster for Opening Day of 2011 and was expected to serve as the team’s second left-handed specialist behind J.C. Romero.

Instead, Romero struggled and was subsequently released, and Bastardo pitched well enough that he became the team’s most valuable relief pitcher for the ’11 season. Bastardo took a 1.38 ERA into September, and although he was hit around in the final month, he still ended with simply phenomenal numbers: a 6-1 record, eight saves in eight chances, an 0.931 WHIP, and an incredible 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Bastardo finished with a 2.64 ERA and nearly set the single-season record for fewest hits allowed per nine innings (4.3).

Bastardo walked his fair share (4.0/9) but he didn’t intentionally walk a single hitter all year. Bastardo featured arguably the best fastball/slider combination of any reliever in the game, and he used that to attack hitters, at one point throwing 12 consecutive hitless innings over a six-week span. Bastardo was remarkably fortunate with his batting average against, yielding a .179 batting average on balls in play that ranked as the single-best total of any reliever in 2011. It’s extremely unlikely that he duplicates that again.

Bastardo also struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness late in the season. His walks were higher than ever and instead of being a top five reliever in the game, he became a liability. Bastardo needs to regain his form in 2012 because he is an extremely vital part of the Phillies’ bullpen. He can pitch as a left-handed specialist, a setup man, or a closer; he’s excelled in all three aspects. Bastardo limited lefties to just a .145 batting average, but he was actually equally effective against righties, holding them to a .143 mark.

Bastardo was probably overworked in 2011, and as a result, his play suffered down the stretch. The Phillies also dealt with an absurd amount of injuries to the bullpen, with Jose Contreras, Brad Lidge, and Ryan Madson dealing with injuries, plus J.C. Romero and Danys Baez being designated for assignment and then released. Bastardo began the year as almost an afterthought in the Phillies’ bullpen and was arguably the most important piece within a couple of months.

Jonathan Papelbon will be saving the games in 2012, and the Phillies have a plethora of potential candidates as a setup man – Contreras, Michael Stutes, Chad Qualls, or Bastardo. Bill James projects an increase in Bastardo’s ERA, putting him at 3.05, due largely to a high walk rate and fairly high home run rate. It’s reasonable to expect that Bastardo doesn’t duplicate his fantastic ’11 season, but he’s a strikeout pitcher, he’s young, he throws two stellar pitches, and he’s aggressive on the mound. There’s a lot to like about this young lefty, assuming he can stay healthy.