The 31-year-old waiver claim has developed into a key part of the Orioles’ relief crew.
When you’re a sports fan, you’ve always got a player on your team who just irrationally annoys you. It’s not that they’re a bad person. It’s not that they’re even a bad player, necessarily. But for one reason or another, you inherently don’t trust them in a big situation and only expect the worst when you see them.
For me, Jacob Webb is one such player. It’s easy to pinpoint the root cause. In 2023, I was in attendance at Camden Yards at Game 2 of the Division Series when Webb, summoned into a bases-loaded situation in the top of the third, coughed up a mammoth grand slam to the Rangers’ Mitch Garver. Sitting in the left field upper deck, I had an all-too-clear sight line as the ball sailed 419 feet, well over Walltimore, to send the ballpark into total silence. The Orioles, who’d been trailing 5-2 and desperately trying to keep the game close, were now all but buried, thanks to one fateful pitch by Webb. The O’s went on to lose the game and the series.
Webb was far from the Orioles’ worst pitcher in that series or that game. He wasn’t even the Orioles’ worst pitcher in that inning; it was Bryan Baker who had set up the mess by walking the bases loaded. But since then, I would subconsciously grumble whenever I saw Webb trotting toward the pitcher’s mound in a close game.
Looking back at the 2024 season, perhaps it’s time that I get over my distrust of the guy. Because Jacob Webb was actually one of the Orioles’ most effective relievers this year.
In a revolving-door Orioles bullpen that saw relievers drop out due to injuries and ineffectiveness, Webb was a mainstay. Despite himself missing more than a month with right elbow inflammation, Webb made a career-high 60 appearances and was one of five Orioles relievers to pitch 50 or more innings. Of that group, he had the best ERA (3.02) and second-best WHIP (1.182) behind Keegan Akin.
Hitters had a tough time squaring up Webb. His average exit velocity (87.4 mph) was in the 84th percentile among MLB pitchers, and his hard-hit percentage (34.4) was in the 82nd. Webb also had an above-average strikeout rate of 9.2. When you strike out a decent number of batters, and they don’t hit the ball hard off of you when they do make contact, then good things will generally happen.
Webb’s standout 2024 season continued the success he’s had since the Orioles claimed him on waivers in August 2023 (if you don’t include last year’s playoffs, of course). Webb has posted a 3.09 ERA in 78.2 regular season innings with the Birds and proven to be a shrewd, under-the-radar pickup by Mike Elias and the O’s front office.
The Birds’ coaching staff deserves credit for tweaking Webb’s arsenal. After the righty had failed to find a clear role with the Braves and Angels for his first four seasons, the Orioles had him junk his slider and add a sweeper, which has less vertical drop but much more horizontal movement. The new offering has given Webb another weapon to keep hitters on their toes. But his best pitch remains his devastating changeup, on which batters hit just .125 with a .219 SLG this season.
Webb isn’t a ground ball pitcher — his 34.4% ground ball rate ranked in just the eighth percentile of pitchers — but he keeps the ball in the park pretty well. He’s allowed only four regular season home runs in his 85-game Orioles career, which of course was little consolation when that Mitch Garver grand slam went sailing into the left field seats last October. (Sorry, I haven’t totally let it go yet.)
There is one department in which Webb still needs to improve: cutting down on walks. His 4.3 BB/9 rate was the third-worst of any regular O’s pitcher, better only than Cionel Pérez and the jettisoned Craig Kimbrel. The wildness turned Webb into his own worst enemy at times. In outings in which he walked or plunked at least one batter, Webb had a 6.53 ERA. In outings in which he didn’t, his ERA was 1.00. Given how well Webb limits hard contact and home runs, we’d be talking about him as a potential high-leverage setup man or closer if he could slash that walk rate just a bit. That is, obviously, easier said than done for any pitcher.
The 31-year-old Webb, who made $1 million last year, is arbitration eligible for the second time this winter. MLB Trade Rumors projects him to get a modest salary bump to $1.7 million, which should be a mere pittance for the Orioles to pay for one of their best relievers. Barring a trade, expect Webb to play an important role in the 2025 Baltimore bullpen.
And against all odds, I’ll be feeling pretty good about that.
Previous 2024 player reviews: Keegan Akin, Cionel Pérez, Cole Irvin, Ryan O’Hearn, Craig Kimbrel, Cade Povich, midseason position player acquisitions, Jackson Holliday, injured starting pitchers, James McCann, midseason pitching acquisitions, Jorge Mateo, Yennier Cano, Dean Kremer, Albert Suárez, Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander
Tomorrow: Grayson Rodriguez