Rusin Under the Radar: Rockies reliever having remarkable year

[Elite_video_player id=”9″]

The struggles of the Colorado Rockies bullpen have been well documented. The possibility that they could rebound in a big way in 2017 with a few small adjustments (and one big one) has been less well documented.

But mostly lost in both discussions is the role of the suddenly very intriguing Chris Rusin. You may or may not be surprised to learn that Rusin has put together a remarkable 2016 campaign, pitching to a 3.64 ERA over 81 2/3 innings while striking out 7.5 and walking 2.5 hitters per nine. Those are some spicy numbers for a guy who spends half his time and has had no real defined role all season, even being called upon to make a handful of starts. His 3.06 FIP suggests he has even been better than the surface stats suggest and his 1.9 rWAR as a Colorado relief pitcher is a near-superhuman feat.

What’s even crazier is that he accrued 1.0 of his WAR as a starter and 0.9 out of the bullpen which still places him first this year among Rockies relievers.

Finally, his ballpark-adjusted 134 wRC+ suggests he’s been 34 percent better than a league-average pitcher.

So how has he managed to accomplish all this and still stay almost completely under the radar? His calm cool attitude helps but on the field: “Just keeping everything the same in my head, whatever situation it is, just go out and attack the hitter,” he says. “If there’s a runner on first, I come in and I try to get a groundball if no one’s on I just try to get a quick out. Obviously, with two strikes, you try to put a guy away. I’m just going out there and trying to do the same thing every time.”

This mindset has been especially effective lately. Over his last eight appearances (9.2 IP) Rusin hasn’t allowed a run or a walk, surrendering just two hits while striking out 16 batters. The Rockies may be limping to the finish but Rusin certainly is not.

With the bullpen an obvious area to see changes going into 2017, and the possibility that Boone Logan will leave in free agency, Rusin could be setting himself up to take over as the late-inning lefty in the ‘pen. It’s unlikely he will be needed to make spot starts next season with so many young pitchers coming into the starting rotation picture, which means that he represents a season-long upgrade in the bullpen for 2017 if he continues to build on his 2016 results.

Either way, his name clearly can no longer be left out as a potential net positive for next year’s ‘pen.

Whatever his role, Rusin has proven to be up for the challenge. “I’m not too worried about that,” he says. “I just want to pitch and be on the team and help the team win. I just worry about getting hitters out and that’s it.”