We have long been aware of the fact that baseballs spin when traveling through the air and that Major League Pitchers are able to generate quite a lot of spin when they release their pitches (average spin rate on Major League pitches was around 2270 RPM’s last year). It has been common knowledge for a... Continue Reading →
Opening night was quite disappointing as a Nationals fan. Our collection of neighbors sat distanced and outdoors, Soto was out due to a false positive, and to top it off the skies opened up sending us scrambling. It was the first of many losses in 2020. As the last few stragglers left the gathering, I... Continue Reading →
Even though I spend ~95% of my life thinking about baseball related questions, one was recently posed to me that I had never previously given much, or any, thought to. Since hitters will likely lose exit velocity when hitting the ball to the opposite field, how big of an advantage would being able to maintain... Continue Reading →
This is part 2 of a series where an attempt will be made to better understand the effects of the increased number of shifts is having on overall offensive production across Major League Baseball. While Part 1 considered the impact on the league as a whole, this part will take a individualized look at certain... Continue Reading →
As analytics departments across Major League Baseball have gotten access to better tracking system data over the past decade, the use of the shift has skyrocketed across the league. The idea of the shift is that by positioning fielders where batters most frequently hit their balls in play, the fielding teams can attempt to limit... Continue Reading →
In part 1 of this series, a macro level attempt was made to understand what causes the Time Through the Order Penalty (TTOP). While there was some interesting information uncovered in part 1, taking a more individual player focused approach in this part will likely yield better results. Most baseball followers are likely familiar with... Continue Reading →
This is part 1 in a series where I will attempt to better understand what causes the Times Through the Order Penalty. Part 2 of this series will take focus on individual pitchers in an attempt to better understand the causes of the TTOP. If you've spent time watching baseball you are probably at least... Continue Reading →
While Cleveland has what one can confidently call the best starting rotation in all of baseball due to the fact that they lead the league in ERA, FIP, xFIP and K% among other statistics, the success of the pitching staff may come as a surprise to many. What makes their success this year particularly surprising... Continue Reading →
On the heels of Lucas Giolito’s no-hitter, the unspectacular happened. Dallas Keuchel toed the rubber and gave the White Sox a solid six inning performance. It was his seventh outing this year and his seventh time pitching 5.1+ innings allowing three runs or less. He stands as the rock of the rotation; the robin to... Continue Reading →
Back in 2016, a mere 13% of MLB plate appearances involved a shifted defense. In 2020, that percentage has nearly tripled to 36%. Strategic defensive positioning has become widely accepted and increasingly prevalent in MLB. Since all MLB teams have an analytics department, most teams are likely leveraging internal analysis to develop a strategic defense... Continue Reading →
With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, teams are currently scrambling to put the final touches on their teams. World Series hopefuls seek the player that will get them ‘over the top’ while the less fortunate seek prospects to shape their futures. One of the names being tossed around is that of Royals closer, Trevor Rosenthal.... Continue Reading →
Series Introduction: With the modern wave of information, every facet of a pitcher’s game can be quantified now better than ever. ‘Command’ – or the ability to locate a pitch – has remained elusive in being properly encapsulated. The goal of this series is to better analyze players’ command solely through the use of statcast... Continue Reading →
https://videopress.com/v/KvDjguRS?preloadContent=metadata This video is also posted on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV7vXiSDhjs&feature=youtu.be
When it comes to two pitch sequencing, one of the most well founded strategies is pitch tunneling. The idea is if you throw two consecutive pitches that follow a similar path up to the point where the batter has to decide to swing or not and then the paths diverge as the balls cross the... Continue Reading →
Overview After being drafted in the first round of the 2014 draft out of LSU, Aaron Nola quickly became a top prospect in the Phillies' farm system. He made his major league debut in 2015 and has been a key part of the rotation since. In 2018, Nola had a breakout season. In 212.1 innings,... Continue Reading →
Brooks Robinson
Chase Seibold
Eric Sexton
Luke Smailes
John Asel
Kai Franke
Kellen Brown
Matt Mancuso
John Moore
Ryan Holland
Will Stern
Wyatt Kleinberg