Brewers: Williams Ranked 3rd Best Reliever By MLB Network, Hader 10th

MLB.com came out with their list of the “top 10 relievers right now” yesterday and two Brewers relievers made the list.

The Brewers had the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, Devin Williams come in at number three and two-time All-Star, Josh Hader, rounded out the list at number ten.

Devin Williams and Josh Hader are again in the conversation for the best reliever in the game. The Brewers were the only team in the MLB to have two pitchers from 2020 make MLB.com’s most recent list of the best relievers in the game, but should fans be upset about the spot they were placed in? Eh, maybe.

I would caution fans about caring too much about a website or person’s rankings or “top” lists but once in a while it’s nice to see where your players rank and track the progress they’ve made.

It seems like Devin Williams has been underappreciated once again though with his ranking of third. Drew Pomeranz, who played for the Brewers in 2019, had a really good 2020 season and was ranked number two according to MLB.com. This is quite interesting considering Williams has better stats in more games and innings pitched in the following categories: wins, ERA (by over a full point), hits allowed, runs (earned and not earned), strikeouts……shall I go on?

It was surprising enough that Williams was kept off All-MLB First Team, but now he’s given another chip on his shoulder.

The list makers may argue that Pomeranz has more of a track record and Williams doesn’t, and while they may have a point, looking at the best guys ‘right now’ should mean the guys who are dominant ‘right now’.

Hader’s positioning in the list might be a little more respectable given 2020 was a bit more of a struggle than usual for the dominant lefty. His ERA was the highest since he joined the MLB at 3.79 and his walk rate was also higher than usual.

On the flip side, Hader gave up less home runs per nine innings than last year and his strikeout numbers per nine innings average was still over 14 last year. He also led the NL in saves in the shortened season at 13.

All in all, Brewers fans should be thrilled with where their bullpen is at with these two guys leading the charge. Sure, there will be snubs and disrespect in rankings, but that only means you’re among these guys are the best at what they do.

Don’t lose any sleep over these rankings Brewer fans, instead, go to bed being grateful for having two of the best relievers in the game on your favorite team.