Let’s continue the strikeout rate theme by reviewing my list of starting pitchers my xk% equation deemed holding strikeout rate upside in 2016. In the original article, I expressed that the list of names was rather boring, so let’s see if that turned out to be the case or if any gems were uncovered.
I have a total of 28 preseason prediction type articles I need to review, so let’s get rolling! Fingers are crossed that these recaps don’t make me look like a fool. Let’s begin by reviewing my spring training starting pitchers strikeout rate surgers and breakout candidates. The idea here was that underlying skills posted during spring training do carry em>some predictive value, so perhaps those starting pitchers that enjoyed a strikeout rate spike would see a jump in rate during the regular season as well.
Yesterday, I reviewed my 2016 bold hitter league leaders and was ecstatic for even getting just one correct. Today, I’ll check in on my bold pitcher league leaders. Let’s see if I could match my hitter success. Check out my original article with full reasoning behind my choices.
Every season, in addition to posting my standard bold predictions, I up the ante with my bold league leaders. If you thought nailing a bold prediction was tough, the bold league leaders is even more difficult! Just getting one right is worthy of celebration. So let’s see how I did this year. Refresh your memory of my initial reasoning behind my choices here.
The regular season is officially in the books! Sad faces galore. I hope all of you, every single one of you, won a league. Hopefully, it was thanks to some of my bold predictions (which, as I type this, I still haven’t looked at since the preseason). I have no idea how I did, so let’s be surprised together. For a referesher on my thought process behind each prediction, check out the original article.
This will be my final starting pitcher streamers article of the season and sadly, my final article of the regular season. So if you’re in the thick of the championship run, let’s take a gander at some of the starting pitchers you should consider streaming that are likely to be available in your league.
Friday brings a full slate of games, including a ton in which lesser owned pitchers are scheduled to start. Rather than discuss each one, I’ll instead just discuss those worthy of streaming.
If you’re in a fierce battle in the wins or strikeouts categories, or both, you are no doubt considering streaming pitchers if your league uses daily transactions. So let’s take a look at the pitchers owned in less than 50% of CBS leagues who are scheduled to start on Thursday and determine who warrants a pickup and who’s at risk of destroying your ratios.
I’d say the easiest category to make up ground in the final week is stolen bases. They could come in bunches and it’s easy to identify the players that contribute in the category. Often times speedsters are sitting on free agency as they contribute little else outside the steals. But heading into the final week of the season, you might not care about the other categories, just getting those three extra steals that will gain you a point or two. So here are five lesser owned named that are likely available and could give you that jolt you may need.
As I sometimes do when searching for a topic, I decided to scan the last 30 day K% leaderboard among AL starting pitchers to see if any surprises sit near the top. Sure enough, one name stood out — Daniel Norris, who ranked sixth with a 27.7% mark. This is a guy who had posted strong strikeout rates in the minors, has sometimes struggled with his control, but the strikeout ability didn’t translate to the Majors last year in 13 starts. As I’ve done with a couple of pitchers previously, let’s compared the relevant metrics during his 2015 season, first four appearances this year, and his eight starts since being recalled and returning to the Tigers rotation on August 9th.
