Huston Street’s 2015 wasn’t bad, per se, but it was disappointing given the Angels inked Street to a three-year extension in early May. Even if saves are a silly stat, a team would happily take their closer reaching the 40-save plateau every year; it means he was a) healthy/good enough to pitch that many innings, and b) hey 40 banked wins is pretty good. But you can’t help but be wary about his performance last season, especially coming off a 2014 campaign that was one of the best in his career. Street turns 33 in August, he seemingly battles some sort of injury on an annual basis, and if you remove that 2014—in which he posted his lowest homer-to-flyball rate since 2006—he has accumulated -0.5 fWAR since 2013. A 3.18 ERA is bad for a closer, and his 3.73 FIP and 4.14 xFIP suggest he was lucky to have an ERA that low. (By park-adjusted xFIP, he was a slightly below average pitcher in 2015.) All the small sample size caveats for a reliever apply, but after Street’s homer rate and strand rate—a whopping 93.3% in 2014—normalized his performance dipped. If he’s not cheating his peripheral numbers he doesn’t look like a top of the line closer.
It wasn’t that long ago he looked washed up…in Petco Park, no less. I don’t think he’s washed up, but he is not of the same “shutdown closer” ilk that a lot of Angel fans probably think he is. He’s an above-average reliever that’s going to allow homers at an uncomfortable rate for a closer.
Position: RP | Age (2016): 32
Throws: R | Bats: R
Height: 6’0” | Weight: 195
2015 WAR: 0.9
2015 in a Tweet
Street irked some fans with regression and may have irked his wife with this (funny) Tweet:
I told her that I know exactly what she's going through… pic.twitter.com/8ENqBRjic1
— Huston Street (@HustonStreet) August 5, 2015
2016 Projections
[table id=176 /]Despite these projections and my doom-and-gloom up top, Street can be tossed into the pile of pitchers of who continually confound FIP thanks to a flyball approach and the good fortune of pitching in friendly atmospheres. Nathan discussed this in more detail in his Hector Santiago preview. Street, who has pitched a large chunk of his career in Oakland, San Diego, and Anaheim, routinely outperforms his FIP. The concern isn’t that his FIP is projected to be higher than his ERA; the concern is that his FIP is projected to be in the 4.00-range according to PECOTA and Steamer. Street should be able to overcome his FIP, but maybe not to the extent that he needs to to become a dominant closer again.
*PECOTA uses DRA in lieu of FIP
Pitch Usage
Street threw fewer fastballs in favor of more breaking and offspeed stuff. Perhaps not coincidentally, his fastball velocity dipped more than a full point to just a shade over 89 MPH, per Brooks Baseball. Batters teed off on Street’s fastball last season, posting an isolated power of .226 against the offering, 119 points higher than 2014. Any kind of dramatic swing like that, particularly for a reliever, should be taken with a grain of salt. But the .107 isolated power against Street’s fastball during his 2014 season was a career-best* by a full 60 points. Nearly 42% of the balls in play against the fastball were line drives, crushing the previous high or 27.9% in 2014. Street is likely due for some better luck, but if the fastball struggles to that extent again…uh oh.
*Or at least since 2007, as far back as PitchF/X goes.
Zone Profile
Waist-high changeups outside to left-handed batters is Street’s preferred course, while he’s become an expert at burying the slider low-and-away to right-handed hitters.Street had some struggles last season, but same-sided opposition wasn’t one of them as he struck out 23.4% and allowed a .227 wOBA to right-handed hitters.
Fun Fact
This whole article is a pretty fascinating glimpse into Street’s obsessive routine.
What to Watch For
If Street is shelved with an injury for some time, how will the questionable middle relievers in the Angels’ bullpen bridge the gap to Joe Smith? Trevor Gott is gone. Cam Bedrosian has never put it together in Anaheim. I like Mike Morin, but he did have a 6.37 ERA last season. Fernando Salas is…Fernando Salas. This being a bullpen, somebody we’ve never heard of could emerge and be a lights-out weapon. But until that guy steps forward, the Halos’ bullpen options in the case of a Street injury are uninspiring.
A Bold Prediction
Street continues to show the sign of age as he duplicates 2015. He’ll still be a valuable asset in the bullpen, but he won’t save 30 games due to a combination of injury and a worse Angels team than the two prior iterations he has pitched for.
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More Previews: Yunel Escobar; Kole Calhoun; Mike Trout; Albert Pujols; C.J. Cron; Daniel Nava; Carlos Pérez; Johnny Giavotella; Geovany Soto; Andrelton Simmons; Cliff Pennington; Jered Weaver; Andrew Heaney; Garrett Richards; Hector Santiago; Matt Shoemaker
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