Erik Swanson Has Been an Elite Reliever For Mariners

Erik Swanson is a failed starting pitcher who has continued to develop in the Mariners' bullpen over the last few years. This season, Swanson has turned into one of baseball's best relievers.

After being acquired as a starting pitcher from the Yankees in the James Paxton deal, Erik Swanson struggled mightily as a starter. But last season, he moved to the bullpen full-time and hasn't looked back. 

Swanson relies on a three pitch mix that he more or less uses equally, especially for a reliever. His first offering is a four-seam fastball with above-average spin, and well above-average extension towards home plate. He will throw it to both righties and lefties about 53 percent of the time. 

Swanson also sports a nasty splitter and an above-average slider. He uses the slider against righties, and the splitter against left-handed hitters. 

The Fargo, North Dakota resident has thrown 43 innings this season, and has only allowed just four runs in that time. This is an incredible feat, especially when a considerable amount of those innings have come in high-leverage situations.

Swanson has a K/9 of 11.30 on the season and an ERA of just 0.84. He may be able to challenge Casey Sadler's franchise record of 0.67 from last season. 

Among all relievers, Swanson is near the top in terms of value in 2022. While former Mariners reliever Edwin Díaz leads the league by a wide margin with 2.5 fWAR, Swanson is not too far down the list. 

Erik Swanson has been UNREAL this season:

45 Appearances
43 IP
0.84 ERA 😳
29 H
4 R
54 K@Mariners bullpen is NO JOKE #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/4qOv7hqXln

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 2, 2022

The 28-year old right-hander has produced 1.4 fWAR this season, tied for 13th in all of MLB. He is second on Seattle in terms of reliever value, ranking just slightly behind Andrés Muñoz (1.5). 

The development of Swanson has been incredible, and extremely important to the Seattle bullpen.