Author: Paul Sporer | Page 259 | RotoGraphs Fantasy Baseball

Yesterday I wrote about Matt Shoemaker, highlighting how crucial it is for him to keep the ball down. One commenter on Twitter wondered if that wasn’t just the case with every pitcher, thus kind of an obvious point, but plenty of pitchers thrive up in the zone. Steven Wright throws a whopping 44% of his pitches in the upper third, far and away the highest among qualified starters this year. Others who live north of 30% include Steven Matz (37%), Justin Verlander (35%), Rick Porcello (33%), Jacob deGrom (33%), Aaron Sanchez (31%), Stephen Strasburg (31%), and Danny Duffy (30%).

Verlander, Porcello, Duffy, and deGrom are also among the top 20 in OPS (meaning they’re among the 20 lowest) in the upper third of the zone along with the likes of J.A. Happ (.375 OPS – leads the league), Jose Quintana (.414), Clayton Kershaw (.506), and Madison Bumgarner (.553) to name a few. In short, no, not every pitcher thrives by staying down in the zone.

He left a fat pitch to Robinson Cano in the first inning which he promptly took 419 feet the other way and I was wondering if this was going to be a long night for Shoemaker.

Yeaaahhh, can't leave it there pic.twitter.com/PlMtHrUmpk

— Paul Sporer (@sporer) August 19, 2016

This is what happens: https://t.co/1zmSHCHOmH

— Paul Sporer (@sporer) August 19, 2016

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The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 379 – NL MVP Race is Generating 2017 First-Rounders

by Paul Sporer

August 18, 2016

8/18/16

Audio quality starts a little shaky for Paul K, but I think it really improves around the 15:00 mark.

The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!

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Notable Transactions/Rumors/Articles/Game Play

Jake Arrieta’s walks
Jayson Werth
Khris Davis
Aaron Nola done for the year

Strategy Section

NL MVP – Bryant, Seager, Murphy… Rizzo?

Twitter Question

Re: young and old Cs – Willson Contreras, Gary Sanchez, Brian McCann, Cameron Rupp, Russell Martin

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01:09:17

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Where Have Matt Shoemaker’s Strikeouts Gone?

by Paul Sporer

August 18, 2016

Matt Shoemaker’s strikeouts have essentially gone through three phases this season. Through his first six starts, he had just 17 strikeouts in 24.7 IP with a 14% strikeout rate. The fastball was getting pummeled and certainly not generating a necessary number of strikeouts. It yielded a 1.175 OPS and just 5% strikeout rate in 74 PA over those first six. The splitter (.566, 35%) offered hope. He decided to lean on it and it remained dominant over his next 12 starts, while also lessening the burden on his fastball.

Both pitches excelled in the two-month span from May 16th through July 16th. He had a 29% strikeout rate thanks in large part to the fastball’s improved output. The splitter it definitely the carrying pitch and gets its due credit for his resurgence, but the impact it had on the fastball allowed him to reach these heights.

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