Closer Giles needs to get back on track for Jays in 2019
Toronto Blue Jays closer Ken Giles needs to recapture his dominant form in 2019.
By Cole Shelton
Canadian Baseball Network
The Toronto Blue Jays were supposed to be set at closer with all-star Roberto Osuna handling that duty for years to come.
However, things change and off the field, Osuna was charged and suspended by Major League Baseball. With that, the Blue Jays decided to trade him to the Houston Astros for closer Ken Giles, and pitching prospects David Paulino and Hector Perez.
In acquiring Giles, Toronto was getting a closer who was, at one time one of the best in the game. Giles was dominant out of the bullpen with the Philadelphia Phillies and in 2017 with the Astros, but 2018 hit and Giles’ struggles began. Things got so bad that on July 11 he was sent down to the minors. That wasn’t even the worst of it, after a miserable performance, he was seen punching himself in the face as he walked to the dugout after a frustrating inning.
With the trade to the Blue Jays, Giles was looking to put all that behind him and get back to the way he was pitching for the Phillies and for the Astros during the 2017 regular season. But after nearly two months with the Blue Jays, Giles is still struggling.
He has posted a 6.08 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP across 13 1/3 innings in 15 games with his new club. While the stats look bad, the hard-throwing right-hander continues to get hitters to hit the ball on the ground. In 2018, Giles has a ground ball rate of 43.4%, right near his 2014 and 2015 rate with the Phillies.
His strikeout rate, however, is way down. In 2014, Giles had a strikeout percentage of 38.6%, compared to 23.7%. in 2018. This has resulted in more balls put into play, which, in turn, results in more hits. According to baseball-reference, Giles averaged just 4.9 hits per nine innings in 2014 and 7.6 in 2015, while in 2018 that number has skyrocketed to 10.8.
But even though Giles is permitting more hits, batters aren’t hitting the ball that much harder against him than in previous seasons. From 2014-2016, his hard hit percentage was around 29-30% and in 2018, that number is 31.9%. One significant difference, however, is that with the Blue Jays, Giles, is averaging 2.7 home runs per nine innings, while in 2014 and 2015 those numbers were 0.2 and 0.3 respectively.
The ground ball rate is a good sign that it may just be bad luck for Giles this season. But there is concern about the flame-throwing righty who has struggled since the 2017 post-season.
Giles needs to get back to his dominant form, because he is pencilled in as the Blue Jays’ closer in 2019. With just a few weeks left in the season, he needs to put together a string of good outings and build up his confidence over the offseason so he can have a strong 2019 campaign.