Yesterday, I used my updated xK% formula to identify several pitchers who potentially have some strikeout rate upside. Today I will check on with the pitchers on the other side of the list — those whose xK% marks are most below their actual strikeout rates. These are some of the more interesting names.
It’s been a while, so it’s time to take another gander at starting pitcher xK% marks using my updated formula and compare those to actual strikeout rates. While strikeout rates do stabilize relatively quickly, there is still luck tied to sequencing that the formula attempts to strip away. These are the more interesting names that xK% suggests could enjoy a strikeout rate improvement the rest of the way.
As we continue to get closer to September, the real fun begins. While rosters haven’t expanded just yet, injuries and ineffectiveness have motivated teams to give their youngsters an opportunity. And that means a wealth of new names have been appearing in your free agent pool and will keep doing so. Let’s take a gander at three of those new names and decide if they are worth gambling on.
If you need middle infield help, you’ve come to the right place. Whether it’s power or speed you need, there’s a name for everybody.
Yesterday, I discussed some of the starting pitchers who have underperformed their xBABIP marks the most. Today, we’ll check in on the other side of the coin — those starters who are significantly outperforming their xBABIP marks. Whether it’s great defensive support, some mystical ability to consistently induce weak contact or at ’em balls or good old lady luck, xBABIP thinks these levels are unsustainable.
Last week, our own math samurai Jeff Zimmerman published the results of his latest xBABIP equation for pitchers. While this is useful and ripe for analyzing, keep in mind that Jeff noted he had “not tested it with pitchers to see if the data correlates better season-to-season than regular BABIP”. So we’re still not sure how well the formula works, but it’s still interesting enough to investigate. We’ll start with those pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings as a starter and have underperformed their xBABIP marks. This won’t be a straight biggest underperformer list, but a cherry picked one of the more interesting names.
Let’s talk. This is the last tier rankings update of the season and I wanted to take this opportunity to explain how these rankings transport from my brain to these virtual pages of typed letters. Judging by your comments on these very rankings each month, it’s clear that you take these seriously. That’s a good thing, as it confirms that what we do here is truly helping you, or at least you would like what we do to be helping you.
Yesterday, I shared the names of four speedsters who are available in the vast majority of leagues played on CBS. Naturally today, I shift my focus onto the power guys. Unlike the speed demons, it’s more difficult to find strong sources of power available for free. But they might be there if you dig deep enough. Here are three names for your consideration.
With about two months left in the season, we all know what our team’s strengths and weaknesses are and where we could gain and lose points in each of the standings categories. I’ve said this in the past and will say it again — your place in the various categories is much more important when deciding on your weekly active roster then what a player’s overall value is in a vacuum. It’s rather obvious, but it bears repeating. If you’re first in homers and RBIs by a substantial margin, benching the likes of Brandon Moss or Chris Carter are easily justifiable. If you need speed, these four guys are available in the majority of leagues, and more than 50% of those on CBS.
