Jose Alvarado

Jose Alvarado

27-Year-Old PitcherRP
Philadelphia Phillies
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Alvarado continues to miss plenty of bats. He had the highest whiff rate on any cutter in the league at 55.7% and his 14.3 K/9 was a career best and 3rd highest among qualified relievers. Walks were still an issue as the southpaw issued 24 free passes across 51 innings, but he managed to cut his walk rate by 7.5%, from 18.7% in 2021 (worst in the league among relief pitchers) to 11.2% last year. That mark was still pretty poor with just an 11th percentile Statcast ranking, but Alvarado was elite across several other metrics, including K% (98th percentile), Whiff% (98th), xSLG (97th) and xBA (94th). After recording 22 holds for the Phillies last season, his role at the back-end of Philadelphia's bullpen is secure. He has the upside for 10-15 saves, but will need to improve his command even more to earn more chances in the ninth inning. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#521
ADP
$Signed a three-year, $21.45 million contract extension with the Phillies in February of 2023. Contract includes $9 million team option ($500,000 buyout) for 2026.
Inks three-year extension
PPhiladelphia Phillies
February 17, 2023
Alvarado signed a three-year, $21.5 million contract extension with the Phillies on Friday. The deal contains a $9 million club option for 2026.
ANALYSIS
Alvarado and the Phillies avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.45 million deal last week, but this new contract wipes that out and tacks on two, and possibly three, more years. The buyout for the option is $500,000, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, so Alvarado is guaranteed at least $22 million in the extension. The big left-hander had been slated to hit free agency next offseason. Alvarado put up a 3.18 ERA and 81:24 K:BB over 51 innings for Philly in 2022, earning two saves along the way. He'll be in the late-inning mix for the team again in 2023.
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Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
15
Last 10 Games
17
Last 5 Games
17
How many pitches does Jose Alvarado 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 Jose Alvarado 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
 
 
-31%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-21%
BAA vs RHP
2021
 
 
-54%
BAA vs LHP
2020
 
 
-100%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2020vs Left .163 170 45 21 23 2 0 2
Since 2020vs Right .237 340 117 56 66 15 1 7
2022vs Left .237 66 19 6 14 2 0 1
2022vs Right .188 148 62 18 24 6 1 1
2021vs Left .123 92 20 14 9 0 0 1
2021vs Right .266 159 48 33 33 7 0 4
2020vs Left .000 12 6 1 0 0 0 0
2020vs Right .333 33 7 5 9 2 0 2
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-12%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-21%
ERA on Road
2021
 
 
-41%
ERA on Road
2020
 
 
-100%
ERA at Home
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2020Home 4.15 1.28 56.1 6 2 4 12.5 5.8 0.6
Since 2020Away 3.64 1.58 59.1 5 1 3 12.7 6.2 0.8
2022Home 3.55 1.14 25.1 2 2 1 14.6 3.9 0.0
2022Away 2.81 1.29 25.2 2 0 1 14.0 4.6 0.7
2021Home 5.33 1.52 27.0 4 0 3 10.0 8.0 1.3
2021Away 3.14 1.67 28.2 3 1 2 11.9 7.2 0.3
2020Home 0.00 0.50 4.0 0 0 0 15.8 2.3 0.0
2020Away 10.80 2.60 5.0 0 0 0 10.8 9.0 3.6
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Jose Alvarado 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
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.38
 
K/9
14.3
 
BB/9
4.2
 
HR/9
0.4
 
Fastball
99.6 mph
 
ERA
3.18
 
WHIP
1.22
 
BABIP
.364
 
GB/FB
2.90
 
Left On Base
69.3%
 
Exit Velocity
79.8 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.3%
 
Spin Rate
2128 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
19.0%
 
Swinging Strike
17.0%
 
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Defensive Stats
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
There were times in 2018 when Alvarado looked like the next big thing out of the Tampa Bay bullpen. He touched 100 mph with a two-seamer that seemingly defied the laws of physics at times coupled with a slider that came in around the speed of the league-average fastball. That feels like a decade ago, as Alvarado has rarely been right since due to injuries, inconsistency and family issues. He still throws hard but has permitted 71 baserunners and uncorked 11 wild pitches in 39 innings over the past two seasons. He was a healthy scratch from the postseason roster because his command simply could not be trusted in high-leverage situations. The career 27.9 K% and .207 BAA make him tempting to chase, especially now that he's in Philadelphia where there's less competition for saves, but his command of the strike zone has been AWOL since the end of the 2018 season. If he finds "it" again, he could dominate.
Alvarado opened the season sharing closing duties with Diego Castillo. He was effective early, posting a 1.04 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, fanning 26 in 17.1 innings, with five holds and a perfect 4-for-4 saves mark. Things then unraveled for Alvarado, as he allowed seven earned runs over his next seven frames, walking eight while surrendering 11 hits. Alvarado then left the country to attend to a personal matter in Venezuela, returning to the club in late June. His season was interrupted twice more, the first with a sore oblique followed by elbow inflammation prematurely ending his season in August. After his dominant start to the season, Alvarado never regained form. With a revamped bullpen featuring Emilio Pagan and Nick Anderson, Alvarado will first need to show he's healthy, then pitch well enough to return to late-inning duties.
Closers need a couple things: two quality pitches (or one amazing one) and command. Alvarado has two excellent pitches in a fastball that tickles triple digits and a hard, 11-5 breaking ball that batters have a tough time picking up out of his hand. Early in 2018, he lacked the command portion of that equation and had a 14% K-BB rate despite his stuff because he could not hit his spots consistently. That changed midseason and Alvarado had a 28 K-BB% in the second half while holding hitters to a .154 batting average and a .244 slugging percentage. He allowed one home run on the season to the 263 batters he faced, which while fortunate, also speaks to how tough he is for batters to pick up. A few year ago, the club had Felipe Vazquez on the roster and traded him to get Jose Lobaton. They have Vazquez 2.0 here and will not repeat that mistake. As long as the Rays do not try to game the arbitration system, this is their new closer.
Alvarado's fastball-slider combo had enticed during his rise through the farm system, but he hadn't shown an ability to locate with consistency prior to 2017. The lefty issued walks at a 6.4 BB/9 clip in a 16-game stint at Triple-A and hadn't posted a mark under 4.0 at any level. All of a sudden, Alvarado began hitting his spots and ended up with an above-average walk rate (2.7 BB/9) in his first exposure to big-league hitters. The swing-and-miss came with him to the majors, with Alvarado averaging close to a strikeout per inning, and he induced groundballs 53.7 percent of the time. His FIP was more than a run lower than his ERA at 2.55 -- that was good for 18th among 291 relievers with at least 20 innings. Alvarado was excellent against righties (.193 wOBA), and if Alex Colome is dealt this winter, Alvarado could get a look in the ninth.
More Fantasy News
Avoids arbitration with Phillies
PPhiladelphia Phillies
February 10, 2023
Alvarado agreed to a one-year, $3.45 million contract with the Phillies on Friday to avoid arbitration.
ANALYSIS
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Records save in Game 1
PPhiladelphia Phillies
October 18, 2022
Alvarado earned the save against the Padres on Tuesday, allowing zero hits and one walk in a scoreless inning during the 2-0 victory.
ANALYSIS
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Notches save Thursday
PPhiladelphia Phillies
September 22, 2022
Alvarado earned a save against Atlanta on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out two batters over 1.1 scoreless innings.
ANALYSIS
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Takes loss in relief
PPhiladelphia Phillies
July 24, 2022
Alvarado (3-2) took the loss in Saturday's game against the Cubs, allowing five runs (three earned) on two hits while striking out one and walking none over one-third of an inning.
ANALYSIS
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Earns first save
PPhiladelphia Phillies
July 17, 2022
Alvarado recorded two outs, including one strikeout, and earned a save against Miami on Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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