Joe Barlow Earns His Eighth Save On Thursday
3 years agoTexas Rangers relief pitcher Joe Barlow closed out the team's 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday to earn his eighth save of the year. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one walk and no hits. Barlow is a perfect 8-for-8 on save chances this year with a 1.76 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Despite his success, the 26-year-old has a few scary underlying metrics. He's allowing an average exit velocity of 92.4 mph, which ranks in the bottom 4% of the league, and he has a 4.74 xERA (22nd percentile) and a .546 xSLG (10th percentile). The most important thing for now is that he's the clear closer for the Rangers. Expect some negative regression in the near future, but he should have a decently long leash at this point.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN