Author Archive

Departing the Fly Ball Revolution — May 2019

On Tuesday, I identified and discussed the hitters who have enjoyed the largest spikes in fly ball rate, firmly entrenching them as new or more senior members of the fly ball revolution. Today, let’s find out which hitters have departed the revolution as their fly ball rates have plummeted.

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Joining the Fly Ball Revolution — May 2019

It’s becoming a fly ball happy world, as fly ball rate now sits at its highest mark since 2010. The revolution is showing no signs of slowing down. So let’s find out after the first month which hitters have increased their fly ball rates the most. I’ll list everyone who has boosted their marks by at least ten percentage points (40% to 50%).

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The World of the Weird and Extreme — May 2019 Pitchers

On Thursday, I discussed some of the statistical oddities and extremes on the hitter side after a month of play. While we preach not to make rash decisions based on small sample randomness, it’s because it could lead to some really fun, weird, and extreme results. Let’s dive into some of the weird and extreme starting pitcher stats.

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The World of the Weird and Extreme — May 2019 Hitters

While we stress “small sample size” so often early in the season to the point that y’all probably tune out at this point, it could yield some fun stats, both weird and extreme. Let’s dive into some of the most interesting extremes after the first month.

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Tyler Wade & Nicky Delmonico: Deep League Wire

Welcome to another edition of the deep league waiver wire! Step right up and scoop up your favorite hidden gem.

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Potential HR/FB Rate Decliners – 4/30/19

Yesterday, I calculated my xHR/FB rate equation to identify and discuss 11 hitters who have most underperformed their xHR/FB rate marks. Today, I’ll look at the overperformers.

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Potential HR/FB Rate Surgers – 4/29/19

With about a month of the season in the books, it’s time to start calculating my various xMetrics. We’ll start by calculating hitter xHR/FB rate and comparing it to his actual mark. Today, I’ll look at hitters who have most underperformed their xHR/FB rates, suggesting significant upside over the rest of the season assuming they sustain such underlying skills. In an attempt to reduce really small sample size weirdness, only batters who have hit at least 20 fly balls will be listed and discussed.

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More On Early 2019 Statcast Hitting Trends

On Tuesday, I shared some early Statcast statistic trends and compared them with historical marks going back to 2015. Unfortunately, I compared April 2019 numbers to full season marks from previous seasons, which wasn’t exactly apples to apples. I have corrected that error and spent some time collecting data only through the end of April for all previous seasons. So let’s try this again.

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Nick Anderson & Jake Newberry: Deep League Wire

Welcome to the closer speculation edition of the deep league waiver wire! We all hate paying for saves on draft day, which often results in having to chase them all season song, which also fuels hatred. So the best option is to speculate on potential closers during the season, buying current middle relievers cheaply in the hopes that they see some save opps in a couple of weeks.

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Early 2019 Statcast Hitting Trends

Last Thursday, I discussed the early 2019 hitting trends and yesterday, I hopped over to the pitching trends. Today, I’ll return to the hitting trends, but this time from our good friend Statcast. With data going back to 2015, we now have a pretty good picture of what has been in the past and what is happening now.

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