2 key relievers have helped Guardians stabilize peak bullpen production

On Aug. 13, Craig Yoho and Tim Herrin were two of the three Guardians relievers tasked with closing out Cleveland’s dismal 3-0 loss to the Tigers that pushed them behind the Tigers and Rangers in the race for the American League’s final Wild Card spot. 

Although  it may not have seemed like it at the time, that outing was the beginning of a dominant run for both pitchers that has helped the Guardians claw their way to the front of that Wild Card line. 

In the time since that outing, Herrin has recorded a sparkling 0.82 ERA in 11 innings, while Yoho has a 1.59 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. Neither of them may be the biggest or flashiest name on the Guardians’ roster, but their steadiness in the middle of the bullpen has provided the Guardians with a huge boost at a time when every inning matters. 

Tim Herrin and Craig Yoho have been great for the past month

Herrin’s dominance has been the most encouraging given how his season started. After being one of the most dominant lefties in baseball in 2024, Herrin struggled so much last season that he was sent to Triple-A in July. 

He ended up coming back up in the middle of the season and pitched well in two short postseason outings, but his command issues re-emerged at the end of May. 

However, he was able to steady the ship, and has allowed just walks over that aforementioned 11 inning span. 

Even if his season-long walk rate isn’t great due to his early season struggles, he still ranks in the 90th percentile in expected batting average and the 91st percentile in whiff rate, so his stuff still plays; it was just a matter of him hitting the strike zone. 

The same can be said for Yoho, who pitched well in his first two appearances after the Guardians acquired him at the trade deadline before allowing seven runs across his next two appearances. 

But he’s settled in since and has allowed just two runs in the time since (both of which came in an appearance against the Royals). 

Although Yoho doesn’t have enough innings to qualify for the Baseball Savant leaderboards, his average exit velocity allowed (85.6 miles per hour) and hard-hit rate (30.9%) would both be among the league leaders. 

When his stuff’s on, he’s one of baseball’s toughest pitchers to square up. 

Both pitchers got a chance to show their worth on Wednesday by combining for 2 2/3 scoreless innings that helped bridge the gap to the back of the bullpen after Tanner Bibee’s sluggish start. 

Even if neither of them are going to close out a Guardians postseason win, there’s a good chance that they could be the first relievers Stephen Vogt calls on to save the Guardians’ season in the postseason. 

Their performances over the past month shows they deserve that trust.

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