Paul Sewald

Paul Sewald

32-Year-Old PitcherRP
Seattle Mariners
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Sewald built on his 2021 breakout season to lead Seattle with a career high 20 saves last year. This represented 50% of the team's overall save total (40), which is unusually high for a club that deploys a closer committee. The 32-year-old boasted a career-best 0.77 WHIP that was fifth-best among qualified relievers. However, Sewald's home run problem (1.4 HR/9) persisted thanks to an extreme flyball rate. This also resulted in an unsustainably low .158 BABIP. While Sewald averaged a career-best 92.5 mph on his 4-seamer, he threw his slider at the highest rate of his career, nearly 50% of the time. Both pitches were effective, but his strikeout rate plummeted to 29.8%, a nearly 10 percent difference from 2021. It will be interesting to see how the Mariners manage the back-end of their bullpen moving forward. As a team on the rise, it's possible they give more save chances to Andres Munoz, who recently signed a long-term deal and was the league's breakout reliever last year. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#203
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $1.74 million contract with the Mariners in March of 2022.
Strong in two spring appearances
PSeattle Mariners
March 16, 2023
Sewald has fired two scoreless innings during which he's allowed one hit and recorded two strikeouts across two Cactus League appearances.
ANALYSIS
Sewald hasn't failed to throw a strike yet, finding the zone on all 11 of his pitches over his pair of appearances. The hard-throwing right-hander, who underwent heel and elbow procedures this offseason, is slated to see a fair amount of ninth-inning work this year after recording a career-high 20 saves in 25 chances in 2022, but Andres Munoz (foot) and Diego Castillo should also log an allotment of high-leverage opportunities.
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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
18
Last 5 Games
24
How many pitches does Paul Sewald 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 Paul Sewald 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
 
 
-2%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-22%
BAA vs RHP
2021
 
 
-10%
BAA vs LHP
2020
 
 
-10%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2020vs Left .178 231 80 28 36 6 1 11
Since 2020vs Right .175 310 98 17 50 7 0 10
2022vs Left .167 107 37 10 16 2 0 5
2022vs Right .130 135 35 7 16 2 0 5
2021vs Left .165 114 42 17 16 2 1 5
2021vs Right .183 150 62 7 26 5 0 5
2020vs Left .444 10 1 1 4 2 0 1
2020vs Right .400 25 1 3 8 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-66%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-94%
ERA on Road
2021
 
 
-15%
ERA on Road
2020
 
 
-84%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2020Home 5.00 1.08 66.2 9 5 15 12.4 3.1 1.9
Since 2020Away 1.72 0.87 68.0 6 2 16 11.4 2.9 0.9
2022Home 4.81 0.95 33.2 3 4 12 12.0 2.7 2.4
2022Away 0.30 0.56 30.1 2 0 8 8.0 2.1 0.3
2021Home 3.34 0.98 29.2 6 1 3 13.7 3.0 1.2
2021Away 2.83 1.06 35.0 4 2 8 15.2 3.6 1.5
2020Home 21.60 3.30 3.1 0 0 0 5.4 8.1 2.7
2020Away 3.38 1.88 2.2 0 0 0 0.0 3.4 0.0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Paul Sewald 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
4.24
 
K/9
10.1
 
BB/9
2.4
 
HR/9
1.4
 
Fastball
92.6 mph
 
ERA
2.67
 
WHIP
0.77
 
BABIP
.169
 
GB/FB
0.64
 
Left On Base
80.0%
 
Exit Velocity
79.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.2%
 
Spin Rate
2487 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
18.3%
 
Swinging Strike
15.6%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Paul Sewald See More
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4 days ago
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6 days ago
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18 days ago
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25 days ago
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Mound Musings: A Look at Pitching in the AL West
33 days ago
Mound Musings is back for the season and Brad Johnson takes a look at AL West pitching, starting in Houston where a breakout year for Framber Valdez in 2022 offers hope to a lineup in flux.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2020
2019
2018
After four uninspiring seasons with the Mets, Sewald had a breakout year with the Mariners. He failed to make Seattle's Opening Day roster, but the right-hander impressed after his mid-May promotion to become part of Scott Servais' three-headed closer committee. Home runs were a concern (1.4 HR/9), but Sewald was extremely valuable in high-leverage, going 10-3 with 11 saves, 16 holds and excellent ratios. Both his 39.4% strikeout rate and 30.3% K-BB% ranked fifth among qualified relievers. Prior to 2021, Sewald hadn't posted a strikeout rate above 27.5%. So what changed? He began throwing from a lower arm slot, which affected the location of his fastball and angle at which it crossed home plate. This resulted in a 33% whiff percentage on the pitch after previously topping out at 21.1%. Seattle's bullpen is stacked, but Sewald should continue to receive a decent share of save chances in the committee.
Sewald uses a cross-fire delivery and lower arm slot to throw a fastball that can't stay straight along with a tight slider to generate more strikeouts than one would expect from a pitcher with pedestrian fastball velocity. He struck out 74 batters in 70.2 innings of work between Triple-A and the majors last year, most of which came while pitching in the minors. He has struck out 24.5% of the hitters he has faced in a major-league career that spans 141.1 innings, and his 16.8 K-BB% is good for a middle reliever. The issue here is he doesn't have enough stuff to close, but he does have a spot in a major-league bullpen as long as he can command his stuff. He is an extreme flyball pitcher, so homers are always going to be part of the package.
Sewald's ERA jumped from 4.55 all the way up to an ugly 6.07. He was demoted on two separate occasions, but the struggling Mets nevertheless needed to call on him for 56.1 innings over the course of the season. His performance dipped across the board, with his strikeout rate (22.9%) and walk rate (9.1%) both went in the wrong direction from his rookie season. Those numbers definitely aren't impressive, though they're more in line with a below-average reliever than a terrible one, so his ballooning ERA can be attributed in part to a .331 BABIP and a 62.8% strand rate, both of which are likely to regress this season. Even with that regression, however, Sewald is unlikely to have much value, as a non-closing reliever with a mediocre strikeout rate doesn't offer much to excite fantasy owners.
Selected in the 10th round of the 2012 draft, Sewald successfully hurled his way through the lower levels of the minor leagues over the past several years, posting sub-2.00 ERAs in both Single-A and Double-A ball. The 6-foot-3 righty -- whose fastball sits in the low 90s -- opened the 2017 campaign with Triple-A Las Vegas but quickly received a big-league promotion one week into the season. The 27-year-old went on to log 65.1 innings of bullpen work, the most among any Mets reliever. He closed the year with a 4.55 ERA and 69:21 K:BB while being primarily utilized in a middle-relief role. He’ll be a key component in the Mets’ bullpen again in 2018 but doesn’t figure to move the needle much in the fantasy realm, as he’s unlikely to see many as many hold opportunities following the team’s offseason acquisition of Anthony Swarzak.
More Fantasy News
Full-go for spring camp
PSeattle Mariners
February 15, 2023
Sewald (heel/elbow) is a full-go for the start of spring training, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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On track for spring training
PSeattle Mariners
February 1, 2023
Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said Wednesday that Sewald (elbow/heel) has resumed throwing and should be ready to pitch in games during spring training, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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May miss start of spring training
PSeattle Mariners
Elbow
January 25, 2023
Sewald (heel/elbow) may miss the start of spring training, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Settles at $4.1 million
PSeattle Mariners
Elbow
January 13, 2023
Sewald (elbow/heel) agreed to a one-year, $4.1 million contract with the Mariners on Friday to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Requires elbow, heel surgeries
PSeattle Mariners
Elbow
December 6, 2022
The Mariners announced Tuesday that Sewald recently underwent procedures on his elbow and heel, and he's expected to be healthy for the start of spring training, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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