For obvious reasons, rookie James Karinchak led all Indians relievers in innings pitched this past season with 27. But not far behind him, with 23.2 innings under his belt, was the right-handed and often unheralded Nick Wittgren.
In Wittgren’s second full (well, “full”) year as an Indians reliever, the 29-year-old reached a new high with a 28.6% strikeout rate, walked fewer batters (6.1%) than he has since his rookie campaign, and finished with a 3.42 ERA, 4.42 FIP, and 74 ERA-.
His baseline stats are the epitome of good but forgettable, and his Statcast peripherals are borderline bad.