Bullpen Slot #2 – Harry Brecheen
I will admit that before writing this, I had never heard of this guy. I am not sure why, as he has some incredible numbers for his Cardinals’ career. He definitely had a shot at making this rotation, but like Dean he is a guy who made a lot of appearances out of the pen in his career. This actually makes him a good bullpen guy, he has experience and has success.
For his career, he was 128-79 with a 2.91 ERA with the Cardinals, and was worth a combined 33.7 fWAR in 12 years with the Cardinals. Harry Brecheen‘s best season came in 1948, when he went 20-7, with a 2.24 ERA (2.37 FIP) over 30 starts and three relief appearances. Brecheen led the league in ERA, strikeouts, ERA+, WHIP, K/9, and K/BB that year and finished fifth in MVP voting, in what was just his second and last all-star season.
Numbers wise, he had a pretty good career that has kind of gone under the radar amongst Cardinals’ fans. His number isn’t retired, he’s not a Hall of Famer, and he’s never talked about when we talk about the great pitchers in Cardinals’ history. However, Brecheen makes my bullpen and will be a solid addition to such with his career 2.91 ERA and five out of his first six seasons with an ERA under 3.00.
Next: Bullpen Slot #3 - Bob Forsch