Daniel Bard

37-Year-Old PitcherRP

Colorado Rockies

2022 Stats

W-L

6-4

ERA

1.79

WHIP

0.99

2023 Projections

W-L

ERA

WHIP

Unlock Our Projections

2023 Fantasy Outlook

Bard didn't lose any velocity during his age-37 season. In fact, he averaged a career best 98 mph on his sinker, which he implemented last year as his primary pitch to replace his historically less effective fastball. This translated to a career best 1.79 ERA, 51.7% groundball rate and 34 saves, which were sixth-most in the league. Bard threw the sinker often against left-handed batters, who hit just .174 against him last season compared to .319 in 2021. Some ratio regression is likely in store for 2023, as Bard's .221 BABIP was extremely low. His 2.86 FIP and 3.17 SIERA suggest a likelier ERA outcome. Still, Bard's career year earned him a 2-year extension from the Rockies. After finishing with the second highest team save share in the league last season at 79.1%, he's likely to earn the majority of saves in Colorado again as long as he's performing. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

Overall

Dynasty

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'4"

Weight 197

DOB 6/25/1985

Born Houston, TX

College North Carolina

Drafted 1st Rd 2006 BOS

Locks down 34th save

PColorado Rockies

October 4, 2022

Bard saved Tuesday's 5-2 win against the Dodgers, tossing a 1-2-3 ninth inning without a strikeout.

ANALYSIS
Bard made quick work of the Dodgers in the ninth inning, needing just six pitches to secure his second save in three days against Los Angeles. The 37-year-old threw 35 pitches Sunday, so Tuesday's punctual outing was necessary and could keep him in the mix to pitch again during Wednesday's season finale. Bard's scoreless inning streak is now at 15, with his last earned run coming Aug. 26.

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Pitching Stats

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2022

2021

2020

2022 MLB Game Log

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Scoring

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown

Average Pitch Count

Last 10 Games

Last 5 Games

How many pitches does Daniel Bard generally throw?

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

What part of the game does Daniel Bard generally pitch?

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

% Games Reaching Innings Threshold

% Games By Number of Innings Pitched

Left/Right Pitching Splits

Since 2020

-26%

BAA vs RHP

2022

-16%

BAA vs RHP

2021

-35%

BAA vs RHP

2020

-23%

BAA vs RHP

	BAA	Batters	K	BB	H	2B	3B	HR
Since 2020vs Left	.252	351	95	42	77	20	2	11
Since 2020vs Right	.186	304	81	29	49	8	0	2
2022vs Left	.174	137	39	16	21	6	0	2
2022vs Right	.147	108	30	9	14	3	0	1
2021vs Left	.319	156	40	18	43	13	2	7
2021vs Right	.208	148	40	18	26	2	0	1
2020vs Left	.265	58	16	8	13	1	0	2
2020vs Right	.205	48	11	2	9	3	0	0
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Pitching Splits

Since 2020

-30%

ERA at Home

2022

-19%

ERA on Road

2021

-57%

ERA at Home

2020

-30%

ERA on Road

	ERA	WHIP	IP	W	L	SV	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Since 2020Home	3.03	1.23	86.0	10	6	33	10.3	3.7	0.5
Since 2020Away	4.31	1.41	64.2	7	8	27	10.9	5.0	1.1
2022Home	1.97	1.06	32.0	4	2	17	9.8	4.2	0.6
2022Away	1.59	0.92	28.1	2	2	17	10.8	3.2	0.3
2021Home	3.48	1.35	41.1	4	3	14	10.7	3.5	0.4
2021Away	8.14	2.01	24.1	3	5	6	11.5	7.4	2.2
2020Home	4.26	1.26	12.2	2	1	2	9.9	2.8	0.7
2020Away	3.00	1.33	12.0	2	1	4	9.8	4.5	0.8
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Stat Review

How does Daniel Bard compare to other relievers?

This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

K/BB

2.76

K/9

10.3

BB/9

3.7

HR/9

0.4

Fastball

98.0 mph

ERA

1.79

WHIP

0.99

BABIP

.240

GB/FB

1.75

Left On Base

80.6%

Exit Velocity

81.1 mph

Barrels/BBE

3.1%

Spin Rate

2615 rpm

Balls Hit 95+ MPH

23.5%

Swinging Strike

11.7%

Advanced Pitching Stats

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Defensive Stats

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Stats Vs Today's Lineup

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2022

2021

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

After performing well as Colorado's closer in his return to the majors in 2020, Bard opened last year in the role after avoiding arbitration with the Rockies. He logged 20 saves in 28 chances, but struggled all season long, failing to post an ERA under 3.97 or WHIP better than 1.35 during any month. He finished with a poor 5.21 ERA and 1.60 WHIP over 65.2 innings and ceded the closer role to Carlos Estevez in late-August. Bard was given many opportunities to work through his struggles, but he simply couldn't overcome them in his age-36 season. On the plus side, the veteran is still able to throw 97-mph and his 11.0 K/9 was his highest mark in the category since his rookie year in 2009. Bard's experience in high-leverage makes him an ideal trade candidate before he hits free agency in 2023. Pencil him in for a handful of saves, but don't expect much more than that as his best years are likely behind him.

Bard returned to the majors in 2020 for the first time since 2013, and he impressed with the Rockies. He led the team in saves as he was perfect on his six chances. Although the closer for the 2021 campaign is still up in the air, Bard would appear to be the favorite heading into the season after posting a 3.65 ERA and 27:10 K:BB over 24.2 innings in 2020. The right-hander's average fastball velocity increased greatly to 97.1 mph in his first season back in the big leagues, and he had a slightly above-average 25.5 K% and 12.4% swinging-strike rate. Those numbers aren't quite what you'd expect out of most closers, and pitchers who handle the ninth inning for the Rockies tend to have a short shelf life. Bard will be 36 in June, and it remains to be seen whether he can sustain his production over a larger sample. However, he holds some fantasy value as the most likely closer for Colorado heading into 2021.

Bard spent less than a week with the Red Sox last April, but otherwise battled injuries and ineffectiveness in the minors for the remainder of the season. He walked 27 in 15.1 innings in the minors before the Red Sox had seen enough. The Cubs scooped him up in September in the hopes of taking a chance on a reliever who put together an outstanding run a few years ago, but his control looks like it's gone. He was non-tendered by the team in December.

We never really got a clear answer for what caused Bard's train to come off its tracks. The conversion from reliever to starter is the inciting incident that led to the mess his 2012 season became, but those conversions happen all the time. Heck, the Red Sox did it in-season with Franklin Morales. What about Bard's transition, which started in the offseason with plenty of time to prepare, caused him to become the "Wild Thing?" As bad as he was in Boston, Bard was even worse following his demotion to Triple-A Pawtucket. In 32 innings with the PawSox, Bard walked 29 batters and hit another 10. There is much outside speculation that having John Farrell back in the organization will help all the pitchers who seem to have lost their way, including Bard. Getting Bard back to being the effective setup reliever he was prior to 2012 is one of the team's many offseason priorities.

Bard had several individual meltdowns during the season, including a couple of high-profile ones during Boston's dramatic September collapse, leading to a worrisome 3.33 ERA. He maintained his strikeout and hold numbers, but questions started to creep in about his ability to be a full-time closer -- he has 12 blown saves in the past two seasons, which takes on added importance after Boston lost closer Jonathan Papelbon to Philadelphia in the free-agent market. While he's known mostly for his high-90s fastball, Bard can throw enough pitches to be a starter. He entered professional baseball as a starter, before the organization moved him to the bullpen. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington acquired Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon to handle the late innings, and the plan is to deploy Bard as a starter heading into spring training.

Close observers know all about Bard by now. He throws wall-to-wall heat and misses bats as one of the league's premier setup men. His 32 holds led the American League and ranked third in MLB, behind a couple of relievers from San Diego, who pitched at an airport. Bard was a dominant pitcher in 2010, getting both righties and lefties out while limiting batters to a .159 average with runners on. As Jonathan Papelbon enters the final year of his contract, Bard has no more than a year to wait to become Boston's closer. That could happen sooner if the Red Sox decide to trade Papelbon, who has made it known for a long time he's looking to make a splash as a free agent.

Bard started the 2009 season at Triple-A Pawtucket, then emerged as Boston's leading option as a setup guy to closer Jonathan Papelbon. He struck out 63 batters in 49.1 innings, using a blistering fastball, augmented by a slider he's developed along the way. His walk rate ticked up with the move up to the bigs, but the Red Sox have the utmost confidence in him. He'll open the 2010 season as he finished last year as Boston's set up man. With Papelbon nearing free agency and making noise about getting big bucks, the Red Sox could be grooming Bard for the closer's role in 2012, when Papelbon becomes a free agent.

Bard was extremely successful in his first full season out of the bullpen, making the leap from Low-A Greenville to Double-A Portland. Bard struck out 107 batters in 77.2 innings and limited batters to a .173 batting average. The organization worked on his mechanics and had him work with sports psychologist and former pitcher Bob Tewksbury on the mental aspects to overcome a disastrous 2007 season. He'll work on his secondary pitches this season while with Portland, and could eventually return to being a starter.

More Fantasy News

Whiffs six in two-inning save

PColorado Rockies

October 2, 2022

Bard saved Sunday's 4-1 win against the Dodgers, allowing two hits while striking out six in two scoreless innings.