MLB finalized the 2017 Home Run Derby field on Monday: Charlie Blackmon, Mike Moustakas, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Cody Bellinger, Justin Bour and Miguel Sano all announced their intentions to participate in the event, which will take place on Monday, July 10 in Marlins Park.
Every year, with Derby talk comes the idea that the event “hurts players’ swings” and could potentially be the reason why participants tend to have bad second halves to their seasons. This theory is used to explain the drop-offs in performance from many sluggers. This notably occurred in 2009, when Brandon Inge struggled down the stretch. Inge hit just six home runs (40 wRC+) in the second half, after swatting 21 bombs (128 wRC+) in the first half. Click here to read more on Beyond The Box Score.
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There are many ways to succeed as an MLB starting pitcher. One way is to strike a lot of hitters out without a lot of walks. This conventional method has created dominant pitchers in Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Chris Sale. Another way is the Kyle Hendricks special: generating infield fly balls and limiting hard contact. But, there is also the Dallas Keuchel model: getting a ton of ground balls.
Before this year, Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley did not excel in either of the first two categories; he had a below-average strikeout-to-walk ratio and a poor infield fly ball rate. His ground ball rate, of 53.8 percent, was good, at 9.5 percentage points above the Major League average. Click here to read more on Beyond The Box Score. “Optimizing Your Lineup By The Book” still remains one of the most popular articles ever written on Beyond The Box Score. In it, Sky Kalkman writes about the ideal hitter in each batting order slot, from leadoff to the No. 8 hole.
Here’s what Kalkman said about a team’s leadoff hitter: Click here to read more on Beyond The Box Score. Ervin Santana winds up, a 1-2 pitch ready to be delivered to Giants catcher Buster Posey. He steps and releases. At 87 mph, it’s an off-speed pitch, and Jason Castro presents it perfectly. Posey is rung up. Santana steps to the left of the mound, taps his cherry red glove twice and looks up to the sky, presumably thanking God. Then, he get a bro-hug from Castro. The Twinshave won, 4-0, and Santana has thrown a shutout in his league-leading third complete game of the season.
To some, Santana is having a career year at age-34. He’s pitched 95 innings to a 2.56 ERA, good for 5th in the Major Leagues. He’s 8-4. The Twins win when he’s pitching. To others, though, Santana’s performances have been “fool’s gold.” Sure, his ERA is elite, but even still, Santana’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is below his career average. He’s bound to regress. Click here to read more on Beyond The Box Score. |