5 MLB Pitchers Who Have Taken a Huge Step Back in 2017

Sam Dyson, RP, San Francisco Giants

After taking over as closer for the struggling Shawn Tolleson and saving 38 games off the strength of a 2.43 ERA and 3.25 SIERA in 2016, Sam Dyson was clearly manager Brian Banister's ninth-inning man heading into this season. However, it only took 16.2 innings pitched from him before he not only lost his job as closer, but was looking for a new team to pitch for.

That's what happens when you post a 10.80 ERA with a 5.76 SIERA while nearly walking twice as many hitters as you're striking out (13.2% to 7.7%) without picking up a single save in four opportunities. His tenure with the San Francisco Giants has gone much smoother, evidenced by his 2.22 ERA and 12 saves in 13 opportunities over 28.1 innings pitched.

Could it have just been an incredibly rough stretch? Dyson's 18.0% strikeout rate with San Francisco resembles what he did in 2016 (19.3%), but that 11.5% walk rate could stand to drop down quite a bit more. Some of the other things he's got going for him since switching uniforms are a substantial increase in ground balls generated (61.4% to 67.1%), along with a soft-hit rate allowed (27.7%) that's higher than hard-hit rate allowed (24.1%).

Despite those in-season improvements, it's hard to get past his overall numbers which include a 5.40 ERA, 4.81 SIERA, 13.6% strikeout rate, and 12.2% walk rate. Instead of being entrenched as his squad's closer like he was just a few months ago, he'll need to show that his horrific start to 2017 was just a proverbial blip on the radar.