By Marc Lawrence, PlaybookSports.com –– Playbook Expert Jeff Hochman shares MLB secrets when it comes to handicapping MLB pitchers. For instance…
When evaluating the effectiveness of a starting pitcher, many people rely solely on a pitcher’s Earned Run Average (ERA) to make their judgement. This can be a mistake, as ERA does not accurately portray the performance of a pitcher.
A more reliable measure of a pitcher’s effectiveness is his Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP).
FIP is an estimation of what a pitcher’s ERA should have been, based on his results in three key areas; strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed.
It allows us to get an accurate assessment of a pitcher’s performance by excluding any external factors from the analysis, such as weather conditions, wind speed, altitude, park size, and any other environmental influences that are beyond their control.
Look for pitchers with a FIP that has at least 1 run lower than his ERA, as this indicates that they have had some bad luck and could be undervalued going forward.
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Move Over, Boys
ESPN Stats & Info reports that Miami second baseman Luis Arraez has 3 different 5-hit games this June.
Only 4 players since 1900 have 4 different 5-hit games IN A SEASON. You may have heard of them: 2004 Ichiro Suzuki, 1993 Tony Gwynn, 1948 Stan Musial, and 1922 Ty Cobb.
Now that’s some pretty elite company.
