Andrew Miller Doesn’t Have Any Saves, And He’s The Best Reliever In Baseball


The Cleveland Indians’ Andrew Miller is the sort of pitcher we had in mind when we developed the goose egg, our replacement for the save stat that rewards pitchers for throwing scoreless relief innings in clutch situations. Miller isn’t the Indians’ closer — that distinction belongs to Cody Allen — and in fact, Miller doesn’t have a single save yet this season. But no reliever has contributed more to his team’s bottom line so far.
Miller has appeared in 23 games, usually entering in the 7th or 8th inning. All but a handful of those appearances have come in high-leverage situations. He’s yielded just two runs — one of them unearned — while striking out 37 batters and allowing just 5 walks and 13 hits in 26.1 innings. He’s been as unhittable as pitchers get. But while Miller hasn’t earned any saves for his efforts, he does have 17 goose eggs, tying him for the major league lead. He also leads the majors in goose wins above replacement (GWAR), having added 2.3 wins to Cleveland’s tally so far. If his performance so far is the source of any disappointment, it’s that, unlike during last year’s postseason, Miller hasn’t been used in many multi-inning appearances — but that’s on manager Terry Francona, not Miller.

The co-leader in goose eggs is the Brewers’ Corey Knebel, who started out as a setup man but worked his way into the closer role. We’re more interested in pitchers with less conventional usage patterns, however, and a couple of them have fallen off the pace slightly. The Astros’ Chris Devenski, who we highlighted last month for often working multiple innings at a time, is up to 15 goose eggs, but he also has 5 broken eggs (the goose equivalent of a blown save). And the Reds’ Raisel Iglesias, who’s mainly used as a closer but who often enters the game in the 8th inning instead of the 9th, is stuck on 12 goose eggs, mostly because the Reds have been playing like crap and not providing him with enough clutch situations to pitch in.

You can find a complete rundown of goose stats in the table below. We’ll continue to update these numbers once a month or so.

Goose stats through Thursday, June 1

PITCHER
TEAM
GOOSE EGGS
BROKEN EGGS
MEHS
GWAR
Andrew Miller CLE 17 1 1 +2.3
Corey Knebel MIL 17 2 2 +1.6
Seung-hwan Oh SLN 16 1 2 +1.8
Alex Colome TBA 16 2 2 +1.6
Brad Brach BAL 15 2 0 +1.5
Chris Devenski HOU 15 5 1 +0.3
Felipe Rivero PIT 14 1 2 +1.6
Joakim Soria KCA 14 3 1 +1.0
Tony Watson PIT 14 3 2 +0.8
Edwin Diaz SEA 13 2 1 +1.2
Addison Reed NYN 13 4 3 +0.3
Greg Holland COL 12 0 0 +1.8
Raisel Iglesias CIN 12 0 0 +1.7
Kenley Jansen LAN 12 0 1 +1.6
Craig Kimbrel BOS 12 1 0 +1.5
Brandon Kintzler MIN 12 2 1 +1.1
Jacob Barnes MIL 12 2 2 +0.9
Trevor Rosenthal SLN 12 2 0 +0.9
Fernando Rodney ARI 12 3 3 +0.6
Brad Hand SDN 12 3 2 +0.5
Hector Neris PHI 11 1 1 +1.2
Ryan Tepera TOR 11 2 0 +0.9
Justin Wilson DET 11 2 0 +0.9
Archie Bradley ARI 11 2 1 +0.9
Adam Ottavino COL 11 3 2 +0.6
Kelvin Herrera KCA 11 3 1 +0.6
Wade Davis CHN 10 0 1 +1.4
Dellin Betances NYA 10 1 0 +1.2
Joe Smith TOR 10 1 1 +1.2
Michael Lorenzen CIN 10 1 0 +1.0
Cody Allen CLE 10 2 2 +0.9
Matt Bush TEX 10 2 0 +0.8
Mike Minor KCA 10 2 1 +0.8
David Robertson CHA 10 2 0 +0.7
Will Harris HOU 10 2 0 +0.7
Matthew Bowman SLN 10 2 3 +0.6
Derek Law SFN 10 2 1 +0.6
Arodys Vizcaino ATL 10 3 1 +0.3
Bryan Shaw CLE 9 1 2 +1.1
Mike Montgomery CHN 9 1 1 +0.9
Mychal Givens BAL 9 2 2 +0.6
Jose Ramirez ATL 9 2 0 +0.5
Santiago Casilla OAK 9 3 1 +0.2
Jim Johnson ATL 9 3 0 +0.1
Joaquin Benoit PHI 9 3 0 +0.1
Jerry Blevins NYN 8 0 5 +1.1
Wandy Peralta CIN 8 1 0 +0.8
Carl Edwards CHN 8 1 1 +0.7
Tommy Kahnle CHA 8 2 0 +0.4
Mark Melancon SFN 8 2 0 +0.3
Jorge De La Rosa ARI 8 3 1 +0.0
Koji Uehara CHN 8 3 2 -0.0
Roberto Osuna TOR 8 4 1 -0.3
Neftali Feliz MIL 8 4 0 -0.4
Bud Norris ANA 8 5 0 -0.7
Brandon Maurer SDN 8 5 0 -0.8
Erasmo Ramirez TBA 7 0 2 +1.0
Matt Belisle MIN 7 1 3 +0.7
Yusmeiro Petit ANA 7 1 2 +0.7
Koda Glover WAS 7 1 2 +0.6
Hunter Strickland SFN 7 1 0 +0.6
Darren O’Day BAL 7 2 2 +0.3
Deolis Guerra ANA 7 2 0 +0.3
Ryan Madson OAK 7 2 1 +0.3
Ken Giles HOU 7 2 1 +0.3
Josh Smoker NYN 7 2 2 +0.2
Hector Rondon CHN 7 2 1 +0.2
Blake Parker ANA 7 3 1 -0.1
Danny Farquhar TBA 7 3 2 -0.1
Enny Romero WAS 7 3 3 -0.2
Alex Wilson DET 7 4 3 -0.4
Ryan Buchter SDN 7 4 2 -0.6
Aroldis Chapman NYA 6 0 0 +0.9
Zach Britton BAL 6 0 0 +0.9
David Hernandez ANA 6 0 1 +0.9
Shane Greene DET 6 1 2 +0.5
James Pazos SEA 6 1 3 +0.5
Nick Vincent SEA 6 1 3 +0.5
Pat Neshek PHI 6 1 2 +0.5
Kevin Siegrist SLN 6 1 0 +0.4
Kyle Barraclough MIA 6 1 1 +0.4
Taylor Rogers MIN 6 2 2 +0.2
J. J. Hoover ARI 6 2 1 +0.1
Luke Gregerson HOU 6 2 0 +0.1
Shawn Kelley WAS 6 2 0 +0.1
Brett Cecil SLN 6 2 1 +0.1
Tony Barnette TEX 6 3 0 -0.2
Mike Dunn COL 5 0 1 +0.8
Matt Barnes BOS 5 1 3 +0.4
Jose Alvarado TBA 5 1 3 +0.4
Joely Rodriguez PHI 5 1 4 +0.3
Alex Claudio TEX 5 2 4 +0.0
Chase Whitley TBA 5 2 1 -0.0
Juan Nicasio PIT 5 2 2 -0.1
Jacob Turner WAS 5 2 0 -0.1
Steven Okert SFN 5 2 4 -0.1
Josh Edgin NYN 5 2 2 -0.1
Keone Kela TEX 5 3 0 -0.3
George Kontos SFN 5 3 1 -0.5
Jose Alvarez ANA 5 4 3 -0.8
Ross Stripling LAN 5 4 1 -0.8
Jake McGee COL 4 0 2 +0.6
Logan Verrett BAL 4 0 0 +0.6
Anthony Swarzak CHA 4 0 0 +0.6
T. J. McFarland ARI 4 0 0 +0.6
Oliver Perez WAS 4 0 2 +0.6
Joe Kelly BOS 4 1 2 +0.3
Chris Rusin COL 4 1 2 +0.2
Tyler Duffey MIN 4 1 0 +0.2
Nate Jones CHA 4 1 0 +0.2
Sean Doolittle OAK 4 1 2 +0.2
Liam Hendriks OAK 4 1 1 +0.2
Matt Albers WAS 4 1 3 +0.2
Jeanmar Gomez PHI 4 1 1 +0.2
Jeurys Familia NYN 4 1 2 +0.2
Pedro Strop CHN 4 1 3 +0.2
A. J. Ramos MIA 4 1 1 +0.2
Brad Ziegler MIA 4 1 2 +0.2
Adam Warren NYA 4 2 1 -0.1
Ryan Pressly MIN 4 2 0 -0.1
Ryan Dull OAK 4 2 2 -0.2
Fernando Salas NYN 4 2 2 -0.2
Hansel Robles NYN 4 2 2 -0.2
Tyler Clippard NYA 4 3 4 -0.5
Joe Biagini TOR 4 3 2 -0.5
Carlos Torres MIL 4 3 1 -0.6
David Phelps MIA 4 4 0 -1.0
Fernando Abad BOS 3 0 0 +0.5
Chasen Shreve NYA 3 0 1 +0.5
Jonathan Holder NYA 3 0 0 +0.5
Peter Moylan KCA 3 0 2 +0.5
Cam Bedrosian ANA 3 0 3 +0.4
Marc Rzepczynski SEA 3 0 4 +0.4
Randall Delgado ARI 3 0 0 +0.4
Austin Brice CIN 3 0 0 +0.4
Luis Garcia PHI 3 0 0 +0.4
Bryan Morris SFN 3 0 0 +0.4
Brian Duensing CHN 3 0 0 +0.4
Nick Wittgren MIA 3 0 0 +0.4
Alex Wood LAN 3 0 1 +0.4
Scott Oberg COL 3 1 0 +0.1
Donnie Hart BAL 3 1 3 +0.1
Alec Asher BAL 3 1 1 +0.1
Tommy Hunter TBA 3 1 0 +0.1
Ian Krol ATL 3 1 1 +0.0
Heath Hembree BOS 3 2 4 -0.3
Dan Altavilla SEA 3 2 1 -0.3
Tony Zych SEA 3 2 1 -0.3
Jhan Marinez MIL/PIT 3 2 0 -0.3
Blake Treinen WAS 3 2 0 -0.3
Sam Tuivailala SLN 3 2 0 -0.3
Travis Wood KCA 3 3 1 -0.6
Jason Grilli TOR 3 3 1 -0.6
Daniel Hudson PIT 3 3 2 -0.7
Sam Dyson TEX 3 6 1 -1.7
Robby Scott BOS 2 0 6 +0.3
Dario Alvarez TEX 2 0 1 +0.3
Zach Putnam CHA 2 0 0 +0.3
Austin Pruitt TBA 2 0 0 +0.3
Jared Hughes MIL 2 0 0 +0.3
Dustin McGowan MIA 2 0 1 +0.3
Josh Fields LAN 2 0 1 +0.3
Scott Alexander KCA 2 1 0 -0.1
Richard Bleier BAL 2 1 0 -0.1
Kyle Ryan DET 2 1 0 -0.1
Drew Storen CIN 2 1 2 -0.1
Cory Gearrin SFN 2 1 0 -0.1
Robert Gsellman NYN 2 1 0 -0.1
Luis Avilan LAN 2 1 2 -0.1
Matt Strahm KCA 2 2 1 -0.4
Dominic Leone TOR 2 2 3 -0.4
Blake Wood CIN 2 2 0 -0.5
Robert Stephenson CIN 2 2 0 -0.5
Pedro Baez LAN 2 2 2 -0.5
Jumbo Diaz TBA 2 3 2 -0.8
Sergio Romo LAN 2 3 0 -0.9
Francisco Rodriguez DET 2 7 2 -2.3
Ben Taylor BOS 1 0 1 +0.2
Robbie Ross BOS 1 0 0 +0.2
Carlos Estevez COL 1 0 0 +0.2
Chad Qualls COL 1 0 0 +0.2
Chris Young KCA 1 0 0 +0.2
Jake Junis KCA 1 0 0 +0.2
Aaron Loup TOR 1 0 4 +0.2
Brooks Pounders ANA 1 0 0 +0.1
Jean Machi SEA 1 0 1 +0.1
Casey Fien SEA 1 0 0 +0.1
Keynan Middleton ANA 1 0 0 +0.1
Frankie Montas OAK 1 0 0 +0.1
Michael Feliz HOU 1 0 0 +0.1
Brad Peacock HOU 1 0 1 +0.1
Asher Wojciechowski CIN 1 0 0 +0.1
Jason Motte ATL 1 0 1 +0.1
Miguel Socolovich SLN 1 0 1 +0.1
Ty Blach SFN 1 0 1 +0.1
Paul Seward NYN 1 0 0 +0.1
Justin Grimm CHN 1 0 1 +0.1
Jose Leclerc TEX 1 1 0 -0.2
Jordan Lyles COL 1 1 0 -0.2
Tyler Wilson BAL 1 1 1 -0.2
Justin Haley MIN 1 1 0 -0.2
Emilio Pagan SEA 1 1 0 -0.2
Tom Wilhelmsen ARI 1 1 2 -0.2
Kirby Yates ANA/SDN 1 1 1 -0.2
Tony Cingrani CIN 1 1 0 -0.2
Oliver Drake MIL 1 1 0 -0.2
Wade LeBlanc PIT 1 1 2 -0.2
Eric O’Flaherty ATL 1 1 0 -0.2
Matt Grace WAS 1 1 0 -0.2
Sammy Solis WAS 1 1 0 -0.2
Kevin Quackenbush SDN 1 1 0 -0.2
Chris Hatcher LAN 1 1 0 -0.2
Danny Barnes TOR 1 2 0 -0.6
Blaine Hardy DET 1 2 1 -0.6
Wily Peralta MIL 1 2 0 -0.6
Joe Blanton WAS 1 2 0 -0.6
Jonathan Broxton SLN 1 2 0 -0.6
Junichi Tazawa MIA 1 2 0 -0.6
Jeremy Jeffress TEX 1 3 1 -0.9
Jose Torres SDN 1 3 0 -1.0
Rafael Montero NYN 1 3 1 -1.0
Gabriel Ynoa BAL 0 0 1 +0.0
Boone Logan CLE 0 0 2 +0.0
Chad Green NYA 0 0 1 +0.0
Warwick Saupold DET 0 0 1 +0.0
Neil Ramirez NYN 0 0 2 +0.0
Brent Suter MIL 0 0 1 +0.0
Bryan Mitchell NYA 0 1 0 -0.4
Al Alburquerque KCA 0 1 0 -0.4
J. P. Howell TOR 0 1 0 -0.4
Jayson Aquino BAL 0 1 0 -0.4
Vidal Nuno BAL 0 1 0 -0.4
Casey Lawrence TOR 0 1 0 -0.4
Stefan Chrichton BAL 0 1 0 -0.4
Craig Breslow MIN 0 1 0 -0.4
Hector Santiago MIN 0 1 0 -0.4
Bruce Rondon DET 0 1 0 -0.4
Chase De Jong SEA 0 1 0 -0.4
Xavier Cedeno TBA 0 1 3 -0.4
Steve Cishek SEA 0 1 1 -0.4
Dan Jennings CHA 0 1 2 -0.4
Diego Moreno TBA 0 1 0 -0.4
Ryne Stanek TBA 0 1 3 -0.4
Jesse Chavez ANA 0 1 0 -0.4
Daniel Coulombe OAK 0 1 1 -0.4
Jandel Gustave HOU 0 1 0 -0.4
Johnny Barbato PIT 0 1 0 -0.4
Antonio Bastardo PIT 0 1 0 -0.4
Miguel Diaz SDN 0 1 0 -0.4
Tyler Poll NYN 0 1 0 -0.4
Josh Osich SFN 0 1 2 -0.4
Adam Conley MIA 0 1 0 -0.4
Grant Dayton LAN 0 1 1 -0.4
Evan Scribner SEA 0 2 0 -0.7
J. C. Ramirez ANA 0 2 0 -0.7
Josh Collmenter ATL 0 2 0 -0.8
Ryan Garton TBA 0 3 0 -1.1
Andrew Chafin ARI 0 3 3 -1.1
Edubray Ramos PHI 0 6 0 -2.3

Source: Seamheads.com