373 replies to this topic

[BobPhelan]

5/22: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 7 K

 

According to Luke Siler he was looking great until three infield hits and an error in the 3rd, then lost his command.

[SportsGuy]

Certainly a setback though.

Don’t care about the runs as much as I do the walks.

[BobPhelan]

5/27: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K (95 pitches)

 

Also hit two batters. But ERA down to 3.70.

[Hooded Viper]

Time to bring him up and see what he's got.  I don't think he is going to amount to much but why not.

[Mackus]

Disagree that it's time to bring Akin up. Less than 50 innings of real good but not dominant performance at Norfolk. I'd let him go a little longer working on things down there. He should be up in the second half but I don't think there is a rush unless he starts to really dominate over the next few weeks.

One thing to consider strongly in his favor, though, is that the league has shifted dramatically. Last year the IL as a league had a 3.84 ERA This year it's a 5.02 ERA. With similar increases in various offensive statistics. So Akin's 3.70 ERA is a lot better performance than it would have been a year ago.

[BobPhelan]

6/1: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K (94 pitches)

 

ERA at 4.02

[BobPhelan]

6/6: 4.1IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 6 K (95 pitches) - 4.50 ERA

[SportsGuy]

Control issues again

[SportsGuy]

Trying to keep his innings down so he pitched 1.1 innings today. He walked 2, gave up 1 hit and 1 run and struck out 3.

[BobPhelan]

6/20: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 6 K (101 pitches) - 4.29 ERA

[NewMarketSean]

Can anyone in this entire organization be efficient with pitch counts? Sheesh.

[Mike B]

Can anyone in this entire organization be efficient with pitch counts? Sheesh.

It has become an epidemic throughout baseball.  But, yeah, the Orioles take it to another level of bad.

[SportsGuy]

Can anyone in this entire organization be efficient with pitch counts? Sheesh.

It’s the game nowadays...take pitches, foul off pitches, strike out, etc...

[JeremyStrain]

It’s the game nowadays...take pitches, foul off pitches, strike out, etc...

 

Take that a step further, less pitchers will use their defense. Whether it be poor defense behind them, or more power in the game now, whatever, more pitchers try to get the non-contact AB vs let your team make a play for you.

[Mackus]

Has pitch efficiency actually even gotten worse? Or are starters just limited to 95-105 pitches most outings compared to 115-120 a generation ago and far more than that going backwards? I'd be curious to take a look at pitches per batter faced now compared to previously.

I don't think higher K rates and going for strikeouts leads to more pitches per batter or inning. At least not directly. Allowing more baserunners is the main culprit, IMO. I think it's not the K's and foul balls that hurt as much as entire at bats worth of pitches that are wasted if you end up walking a guy or giving up a hit while trying to get that K.

[JeremyStrain]

Has pitch efficiency actually even gotten worse? Or are starters just limited to 95-105 pitches most outings compared to 115-120 a generation ago and far more than that going backwards? I'd be curious to take a look at pictures chest per batter faced now compared to previously.

I don't think higher K rates and going for strikeouts leads to more pitches per batter or inning. At least not directly. Allowing more baserunners is the main culprit, IMO. I think it's not the K's and foul balls that hurt as much as entire at bats worth of pitches that are wasted if you end up walking a guy or giving up a hit while trying to get that K.

 

I think it's all kind of the same thing. Pitchers nibble more and throw more outside the zone trying to get guys to chase, only going inside it if they HAVE to, which runs counts full. Then like you said you get more baserunners because they get the walk or get a full count hit.

 

I think you are on the right path though, you'd have to see how many more full count at bats there are these days vs previously, and how many full count hits/walks you see. Does anyone track pitches per at bat? I don't remember ever seeing it, but i'd be interested. I use it a lot for my daughters, cause it tells you a lot more about their workload than batters faced or innings pitched, and I don't really want their 8 and 10 year old arms throwing 100 pitches. (10 year old had 75 pitches in 3 innings in one game this season, LOTS of full count at bats).

 

In the end it's about pitchers being more cautious and pitching around the zone more than in it, and hitters recognizing this and not chasing balls.

[Mackus]

Very quickly...

3.74 pitches per batter in 2002, 3.90 pitches per batter in 2018. So does look like a pretty clear increase (about 5%), assuming neither year was an outlier.

[JeremyStrain]

Found pitches per inning. I guess you'd have to take this or pitches per game and then the avg batters faced per game to get to what we are looking for, but pitches per inning is a start.

 

https://www.foxsport...r=0&splitType=0

 

Only gives us last 2 years though, would be helpful to see like 10 or 20 years ago.

[SportsGuy]

Yes, baserunners increase pitch count. Ks don’t, at least directly.

But if you are a guy who is always going for Ks and you don’t have that great command and control, the pitches can pile up.

Combine that with the mentality of today’s game and you will see poorer pitch efficiency.

[Mackus]

Strikeouts have gone up a ton in that same time range. 16.8% of PA in 2002 to 22.3% in 2018. So a more than 30% increase in K's has only driven a 5% increase it pitches per batter.