Héctor Neris

Héctor Neris (born June 14, 1989) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was signed as a free agent by the Phillies in 2010, and made his major league debut with them in 2014.

Héctor Neris
Neris with the Phillies in 2019
Houston Astros – No. 50
Pitcher
Born: (1989-06-14) June 14, 1989
Villa Altagracia, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 5, 2014, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
(through May 2, 2022)
Win–loss record22–30
Earned run average3.35
Strikeouts532
Saves84
Teams

Early life

Neris was born in Villa Altagracia, in the Dominican Republic.[1] He played volleyball, basketball, and chess at the Colegio José Francisco Peña Gómez, graduating in 2008.[2]

Career

2010–12

Neris was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies on May 28, 2010.[3] He pitched for the Dominican Summer League Phillies and was 1-1 with five saves and a 3.24 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 41.2 innings, holding batters to a .199 batting average.[2][4]

In 2011 he split the season between the Class A- Williamsport Crosscutters and the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws.[2][4] Neris was a combined 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 59 innings, averaging 11.0 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.[4]

In 2012 Neris pitched for the Class A+ Clearwater Threshers.[4] He was 4-2 with six saves and a 3.55 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 78.2 innings, averaging 10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.[4]

2013–15

In 2013 he pitched for the Class AA Reading Fightin Phils.[4] Neris was 6-4 with a 4.55 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 97 innings.[4]

In 2014 in the minors Neris split his time between Reading and the Class AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs.[4] He was a combined 6-3 with two saves and a 3.61 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 77+1⁄3 innings.[4]

Neris was called up to the majors for the first time on August 3, 2014.[5] He made his MLB debut on August 5, pitching a scoreless top of the 15th inning; the Phillies scored in the bottom of the inning earning Neris his first major league victory.[6] However, after the game, he was optioned back to Lehigh Valley to open a roster spot for the next night's starting pitcher, David Buchanan.[7] In 2014 with the Phillies he pitched in only that one game.[1]

He split time in 2015 between the AAA Lehigh Valley and the Phillies bullpen, appearing in 35 games. Neris finished 2-2 for the Phillies with a 3.79 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 40+1⁄3 innings, averaging 9.2 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.[1] With Lehigh Valley, he was 1-3 with one save and a 3.62 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 37+2⁄3 innings.[1]

2016–2021
Phillies pitcher Hector Neris warms up in the bullpen on April 7, 2019

In 2016, Neris served as a setup man in the Phillies bullpen, with a record of 4–4, 2 saves, and 28 holds (tied for 4th in the NL), and posting an ERA of 2.58 in 79 games (3rd in the National League).[1][8] In 80+1⁄3 innings, he struck out 102 batters (2nd-most ever by a Phillies reliever, behind Dick Selma in 1970, and 31.1% of the batters he faced), averaging 11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.[1][2]

He pitched for the Dominican Republic national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[2]

In 2017, Neris served as the Phillies closer. He was 4–5 with a 3.01 ERA and had 26 saves (8th in the league) in 29 opportunities, and pitched in 74 games (5th in the NL).[1] He struck out 86 batters in 74+2⁄3 innings, averaging 10.4 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.[1] He threw a splitter 51.3% of the time, tops in MLB.[9]

Neris began the 2018 season as the team's closer, but was demoted from the role a month into the season, and on June 18 was optioned to AAA. He was recalled just three days later.[10] On June 29 he was optioned to AAA for a second stint, after giving up five earned runs in a 17–7 loss to the Washington Nationals.[11] Neris returned to the major leagues on August 14.[12] He was named NL Reliever of the Month for August, after striking out 20 of the 32 batters he faced that month (62.5%).[13] In 2018 with the Phillies, he was 1–2 with 11 saves and a 5.10 ERA and struck out 76 batters in 47+2⁄3 innings, averaging 14.3 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.[1] The only NL pitcher with a higher strikeout rate than Neris in 2018 was Josh Hader.[14] He threw a four-seam fastball that averaged 95 miles per hour.[15] He also threw a splitter 49.1% of the time, tops in MLB.[16] In 2018 with AAA Lehigh Valley, he was 2–0 with one save and a 1.15 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 18+2⁄3 innings, averaging 14.9 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.[4]

In 2019 with the Phillies, Neris was 3–6 with 28 saves (7th in the National League) and a 2.93 ERA, as in 68 relief appearances in 67+2⁄3 innings he struck out 89 batters (averaging 11.8 strikeouts per 9 innings).[17] In 2020 for Philadelphia, Neris pitched to a 2–2 record with 5 saves and a 4.57 ERA to go along with 27 strikeouts across 21+2⁄3 innings pitched in 24 games.[18] In 2021, Neris went 4–7 with 12 saves in 19 chances, recording a 3.63 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 74+1⁄3 innings.[17]

Houston Astros

On November 30, 2021, Neris signed a two-year contract worth $17 million with the Houston Astros.[19] On April 12, 2022, at Chase Field, he struck out two in a perfect eighth inning versus the Arizona Diamondbacks to earn his first win in an Astros uniform in a 2–1 score.[20]

Pitching style

As of 2022, the right-hander Neris relies on four pitches in his pitching repertoire, a four-seam fastball averaging 94 MPH, a sinker averaging near 95 MPH, a splitter averaging 84 MPH, and a slider averaging about 88 MPH.[21] Neris exclusively relies on throwing his split-fingered fastball to get outs, utilizing it at higher percentage than his four-seam fastball and sinker at 40.6% in the 2021 season and throwing it a career high 65.3% in 2019 which lead to him collecting a career high 28 saves with 57 strikeouts on his splitter alone in 2019. Neris utilizes the splitter especially for swinging strikeouts, since splitters appear to have a typical fastball movement until it drops suddenly as it comes to the plate. This resulted in Neris collecting a 45% whiff percentage on his splitter in the 2021 season.[22] Neris throws his slider the least out of his four pitches, never throwing it for more than 17 percent of all his pitches in every season he utilized it since 2015.

Neris pitches from the set position, starting his delivery after receiving the pitch call by tucking the baseball behind his glove near his hip similarly to former Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon, adding deception. Neris is a very expressive player on the mound, as he often celebrates after getting important outs especially clutch strikeouts on hitters late in games and getting the final out to collect saves.[23] Neris once after getting Justin Turner out on a flyout to collect a save against the Dodgers in 2019, he reportedly shouted expletives towards the Dodgers' dugout while celebrating which Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts stated "To look in our dugout and to taunt in any way, I think it’s unacceptable..."[24]

References
  1. Hector Neris Stats | Baseball-Reference.com
  2. Héctor Neris Stats, Fantasy & News | MLB.com
  3. Hector Neris Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
  4. Hector Neris Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com
  5. "Phillies call up reliever Hector Neris from AAA". csnphilly.com. Comcast SportsNet. August 3, 2014. Archived from the original on August 5, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  6. "Phillies 2, Astros 1". Gameday. mlb.com. August 5, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  7. Zolecki, Todd (August 6, 2014). "Howard delivers walk-off win in 15th inning". MLB.com. MLB. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  8. National League Leaderboards » 2016 » Pitchers » Standard Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  9. Statcast Pitch Arsenals Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com
  10. "A month after demotion, Phillies closer Hector Neris optioned to Triple-A". espn.com. June 18, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  11. "Phillies send Hector Neris back to minors after 'shell-shock' performance against Nationals". Philly.com. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  12. Trezza, Joe (August 14, 2018). "After thriving at Triple-A, Neris recalled". MLB.com. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  13. Diaz, Neris are August Relievers of the Month | MLB.com
  14. Which arbitration-eligible players should Phillies get rid of?
  15. Player Card: Hector Neris
  16. Statcast Pitch Arsenals Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com
  17. "Hector Neris Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  18. "Phillies 2020 Season Player Grades: Hector Neris". December 24, 2020.
  19. "Astros bolster bullpen with Neris". November 30, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  20. RotoWire Staff (April 13, 2022). "Astros' Hector Neris: Granted first win". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  21. "Héctor Neris Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  22. Amour, Lauren. "Phillies Season in Review: Héctor Neris". Sports Illustrated Inside The Phillies. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  23. "Pirates vs. Phillies - Game Preview - September 24, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  24. "Watch Hector Neris, Dodgers exchange expletives after big Phillies' win". RSN. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
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