Bullpen of the Year: Dodgers’ unit finishes fast

The Major League season is long and winding, and our first perceptions of teams often turn out to be radically different by season’s end.

Take the 2016 National League West champion Dodgers.

At the end of April, Los Angeles’ record stood at a pedestrian 12-13 and its bullpen appeared to be just as average — posting a 3.84 ERA and 0.5 WAR total that ranked in the middle of the 30 big league clubs.

BULLPEN OF THE WEEK WINNERS Week Team April 3-10 A’s April 11-17 Twins April 18-24 Nationals April 25-May 1 Phillies May 2-8 Angels May 9-15 Yankees May 16-22 Cubs May 23-29 Astros May 30-June 5 Dodgers June 6-12 Yankees June 13-19 Marlins June 20-26 Tigers June 27-July 3 Pirates July 4-10 Dodgers July 18-24 Yankees July 25-31 Brewers Aug. 1-7 Blue Jays Aug. 8-14 Mariners Aug. 15-21 Royals Aug. 22-28 Pirates Aug. 29-Sept. 4 Cubs Sept. 5-11 Astros Sept. 12-18 Pirates Sept. 19-25 Dodgers Sept. 28-Oct. 2 Mariners

But as the season progressed and the Dodgers’ starting rotation — seen as one of the team’s biggest strengths entering the season — became filled with more questions than answers, a perceived weak link in the bullpen rose to become one of the club’s biggest strengths.

By season’s end, L.A. relievers had rallied back to finish with an MLB-best 3.35 ERA and a 6.3 WAR total that ranked as fourth-best in the game.

The Dodgers’ bullpen not only topped the statistical charts; they also rose above the pack in the race for Bullpen of the Year presented by The Hartford.

As part of the MLB Prevailing Moments program, each Monday throughout the 2016 season, MLB.com has honored the “Bullpen of the Week presented by The Hartford.” An industry-wide panel of MLB experts, including legendary stats guru Bill James, constructed a metric based on James’ widely renowned game-score formula, to provide a weekly measurement of team-bullpen performance.

Here’s how the Bullpen Rating System has been compiled for each week:

• Add 1.5 points for each out recorded • Add 1.5 points for each strikeout • Add 5 points for a save • Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed • Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed • Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed • Subtract 1 point for each walk • Subtract 5 points for a blown save

Los Angeles’ bullpen was clearly the class of the BRS standings. The Dodgers finished with a total …

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