Oakland A’s Bullpen: Can Ryan Dull Turn It Around?

The A’s witnessed a few magic tricks from Ryan Dull last season. This year, they’re still waiting for Dull to make an appearance. Has he disappeared or is this poor start simply an illusion?

The A’s walked off at home once again on Friday night against the Red Sox. The winning pitcher was none other than Ryan Dull.

Last year, the A’s were pleasantly surprised by Dull’s emergence out of the bullpen. The right-hander went 5-5 with a 2.42 ERA over 74.1 innings of work.

He also recorded more than a few strikeouts with 73 in total last year, while holding opponents to a .186 batting average.

This year, however, the A’s have seen Dull struggle a bit.

In 15.2 innings of work, Dull has gone 2-2 with a 6.32 ERA. He’s also recorded 18 strikeouts so far, with two of them coming tonight against Boston.

The A’s are hoping that Dull can take this victory and run with it in the right direction.

Dull kept the game tied at 2-2 before Mark Canha delivered a stunning blow in the bottom of the 10th inning against Boston’s Heath Hembree. Dull’s appearance was both efficient and effective (12 of 16 pitches were strikes).

So, can we count on Dull turning things around for the better?

Hopefully, but…

Dull has experienced a bit of bad luck this year.

His .282 BABIP is much higher than the .202 mark he set last year. Dull has seen his left on base percentage (LOB %) dip from 82.7% to 29.7%. Suddenly Dull’s impression of Harry Houdini looks a bit forced.

Perhaps another reason for his struggles is the fact that opponents are seeing his fastball better this year than his previous two seasons. He will enter Saturday with opponents hitting .273 against his fastball.

Opponents are also zeroing in on his slider as well. They have hit .216 this year compared to .136 last season. Dull has used his fastball 146 times this year and has relied on his slider 98 times.

These are, of course, very small sample sizes, but there are a few reasons for concern. Bob Melvin has made a few mistakes this year with the bullpen, so he is not without fault when it comes to Dull’s struggles.

Part of Melvin’s job is putting his players in situations where they can succeed. Dull’s early appearance in April against the Angels serves as an example of Melvin’s questionable calls.

Building Dull’s confidence should be Melvin’s focus going forward. Placing Dull in the right situations will also be a test for Melvin, who will need to find better consistency with his bullpen.

But Friday’s win is definitely a step in the right direction.