Completely unheralded Padres arm deserves credit for becoming bullpen weapon

The San Diego Padres' bullpen has been about middle-of-the-road this season. Sure, Robert Suarez has been lights out as the Friars' closer, but the rest of the relief corps has experienced a number of ups and downs throughout the 2024 season.

But Stephen Kolek is quietly putting together a teriffic stretch of games coming out of the Padres' pen. The right-hander's 4.19 ERA is right isn't overly impressive, but when you break the numbers down over the past month-plus, you'll see that Kolek has been as good as almost any reliever in the league.

Unheralded Padres RHP Stephen Kolek deserves credit for becoming bullpen weapon

Through his first 25 appearances this season, Kolek looked as if he was ticketed for a return to the minor leagues — or perhaps even his former team. Kolek was a Rule 5 Draft pick this past winter, meaning that if he doesn't remain on the Padres active roster throughout the entire 2024 season, he'll have to be offered back to his former club, the Seattle Mariners. Kolek owned a spooky 6.66 ERA and .321 batting average against through the month of May.

But since June 1, few relievers in the Padres' bullpen, or Major League Baseball as a whole, can hold a candle to Kolek's stat line. The rookie reliever has made 13 appearances and logged 17.1 innings of work since entering the thick of the summer heat, and owns a sparkling 0.52 ERA and 1.91 FIP. Moreover, not a single ball has left the yard in any of Kolek's last 13 outings.

The Padres are going to need more of the same from Kolek, Suarez, and the rest of the Padres' relief corps over the next few months if San Diego hopes to keep their postseason hopes alive. The Padres have dropped six of their last 10 games, including four straight entering play on Thursday. The Friars' lead for the final spot in the NL Wild Card chase is down to just a half-game.

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