Moving from waiver claim to valuable bullpen piece

If you were to pick the Orioles' best reliever during the 2021 season, it will probably come down to a choice between two right-handers: Tyler Wells and Cole Sulser. Both had solid years, but I would give the lean to Sulser.

He went 5-4 with a 2.70 ERA. In ERA+, Sulser was 69 percent above league average at 169. No other Oriole rated higher than John Means at 126. In fact, Sulser's ERA was the lowest by an O's reliever (minimum 60 innings) since Zack Britton's 0.54 in 2016. So, yeah, not bad.

Sulser was durable, too, pitching 63 1/3 innings over 60 games, and recorded eight saves. His WHIP at 1.121 was third on the Orioles behind Wells and Means. He kept the ball in the park better than any Oriole, allowing just five homers all year for a 0.7 homer per nine rate. He fanned batters at a rate of 10.4 per nine and his K percentage at 28.4 was second to Wells at 29.0.

Sulser, at 31, crafted a strong year that got better as it went on. In 30 games in the first half, he pitched to an ERA of 3.31. In 30 games in the second half, his ERA was 2.05 and his WHIP 1.011.

That splitter or changeup - label it however you like - was his out pitch again and he threw it even more during the 2021 season. He used his fastball 51 percent at 93.3 mph and his split 33 percent, up from 26 last season.

Sulser's season looks even better when we remember that he was added by the team as a waiver claim from the Tampa Bay Rays on Oct. 1, 2019.

A roster squeeze heading to the playoffs that season made him expendable, and the Orioles pounced. Dealing with a nagging injury or two, he pitched to an ERA of 5.56 in 2020 and walked 6.8 batters per nine. But the stat sheet looked much better this year for a pitcher who will not even be arbitration-eligible until after the 2022 season. A pitcher with three options remaining.

In a September interview, manager Brandon Hyde noted Sulser has always been solid against lefties due to his split, but an improved slider helped him improve against right-handed batters this season. In 2020, right-handers hit .282 with an OPS of .953 against him. Those numbers were .227/.646 last summer. A big difference.

"I think Cole's made big strides this year," Hyde said. "Last season was short, he had quite a few appearances, a lot of high-leverage spots. This year, I think he's a little bit more comfortable in the big leagues. He's healthy, too. Last year he pitched, really, the last couple weeks with that hurt foot, but this year he's maintained health.

"He has improved his slider to help against right-handed hitters. He's always had that 93-94 mph, good, hopping fastball that he can kind of get up above the zone. And then that good change-split that he has. I just think it's more consistent. He had a tough time against right-handers last year just because he didn't really have the confidence in the slider. Now he's throwing the slider more, so you're seeing him being able to get right-handers and left-handers out."

Now having two effective secondary pitches helped Sulser throw strike-to-ball often this year when ahead in the count and that helped him put hitters away. According to Statcast numbers, he ranked in the top 17 percent in the majors in chase rate and expected batting average, and in the top 20 percent in strikeout percentage.

Sulser gave the Orioles a lot of quality innings this season and will enter 2022 as an expected contributor to the bullpen. One that can pitch late in games and one that has weapons against both left- and right-handed hitters.