Is this one area really the Guardians' main concern come playoff time?

October is right around the corner, and that means that the Cleveland Guardians are getting ready for a playoff run. With the American League Central title and a first-round bye in hand, the Guardians have managed to surprise more than a few with how they have performed this season. The offense has provided more production than expected, and the starting rotation has managed to get by despite being a revolving cast of characters. Cleveland's biggest asset this season has proved to be their bullpen.

As ESPN's Buster Olney pointed out on Thursday, the Guardians have an elite bullpen. Compiling the best ERA, fWAR (FanGraphs WAR), and home run allowed rate, in addition to having the second-best left-on-base rate in the sport. This also comes with a Top-10 strikeout rate, showing they are able to get outs without relying on striking out a batter.

Olney would also point out that Guardians relievers lead all of baseball in appearances this season. On one hand, that makes their high ranking in rate-based stats a bit more impressive, considering there is a larger sample size to work with. On the other, the volume of innings these pitchers have accumulated this season is something that could come back to haunt them once the postseason begins, a feeling that is apparently shared by other teams, according to Olney.

Normally, a high usage rate in the bullpen is something that would set off alarms in just about any scenario, but not this time.

First off, the Guardians have a break between the end of the regular season and their first playoff game. This will give every member of their pitching staff a chance to rest up and get ready for the postseason.

The next thing to consider is that this has been a group effort rather than riding on the arms of just a couple of relievers. Cleveland has five relievers with more than 60 appearances and four with more than 70. Being able to spread this out among the group instead of overusing one or two arms accomplishes two things. It prevents one arm from being used too much while at the same time ensuring that the key arms in the bullpen do not go too long between appearances, a management tactic that results in those relievers remaining locked in while on the mound.

Finally, there is one more thing that needs to be mentioned here. Considering the Guardians will not be using a five-man rotation in the postseason at any time, they will be able to move at least one of their starters into the bullpen. This will allow the Guardians to space out the usage of their regular bullpen arms and put them in the best position for success, not only in the round they happen to be in at that time but in future playoff rounds as well.

If the Guardians are unable to be successful in the postseason, it is unlikely that their downfall will be their bullpen. This is a group that has proven to be elite all season long, and if things go south in October, it will not be due to a slip-up from the best relief corps in the sport.