MLB Dirt

Non-Feared Players - Perhaps these players aren’t the least feared hitters.  After all, Bryce Harper and Adam Jones are offensive forces.  Yet, the following players did not receive an intentional walk last season:

Shin-Soo Choo – Adam Jones, B.J. Upton, Mike Aviles, Austin Jackson, Ben Revere, Denard Span, Trevor Plouffe, Coco Crisp, Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Michael Saunders, Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, Mike Morse, Bryce Harper, Zack Cozart, Drew Stubbs, Jose Tabata, Chris Young, Marco Scutaro, Mark Ellis

Not HBP – The following players did not “take one for the team” last season.  Of course, that may not be their fault, but either way…they were not hit by a pitch:

David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Michael Brantley, Russell Martin, Brett Lawrie, Gordon Beckham, Dayan Viciedo, Denard Span, Coco Crisp, Alberto Callaspo, Jose Reyes, Adam LaRoche, Dexter Fowler, Michael Cuddyer, Melky Cabrera, Angel Pagan

Rally Killers – The following players hit into the most double plays last season.  How many potential RBI did they give up? :

Carlos Santana (21), Derek Jeter (24), Robinson Cano (22), J.J. Hardy (21), Yunel Escobar (21), Miguel Cabrera (28), Delmon Young (20), Jhonny Peralta (20), Billy Butler (20), Joe Mauer (23), Michael Young (26), Howie Kendrick (26), Ryan Zimmerman (20)

Pitchers Who Hit Most Batters – Control problems or effectively wild? :

Felix Hernandez (12), Justin Masterson (13), Luke Hochevar (13), Luis Mendoza (11), Gavin Floyd (14), Jake Peavy (10), Clay Buchholz (12), Ricky Romero (10), James Shields (11), Ivan Nova (10), Carlos Zambrano (10), Paul Maholm (10), Johnny Cueto (12), Lance Lynn (10), Ian Kennedy (14), Trevor Cahill (11)

Other Interesting Stats:

Brewers pitchers hit 31 batters last season.  Brewer batters were hit by a pitch 90 times.  Where is the payback or protecting its hitters?  This is an issue.  I can guarantee that the HBP counts would have been less with Prince Fielder still in Milwaukee.  This team needs an enforcer in order to be a contender.  Shame on the Brewer pitchers for not protecting their teammates.

The Houston Astros had 19 intentional walks last season.   Joey Votto had 18 IBB himself last season.

How important is speed today?  The top 5 AL teams with the most stolen bases missed the playoffs.  The top three teams that were caught stealing the least made the playoffs.  The top three stolen base teams in the NL missed the playoffs.  The teams with the 2^nd-5^th best caught stealing totals made the playoffs.  The lesson here is that those clubs that rely on stolen bases and losing potential runs by having high caught stealing totals are going nowhere.  Even Whitey Herzog teams would struggle in today’s game.

The Colorado Rockies had 94 wild pitches.  That’s 94 extra bases that were given to opponents.  By contrast, the Phillies had just 30wild pitches.

The Dodgers issued 62 intentional walks, while the Rangers gave out just 15 free passes.  Obviously, Don Mattingly is an intentional walk kind of manager.  With his exceptional pitching staff, this number seems excessive.  Mattingly needs to trust his pitchers more.  Based on last year’s results, Ron Washington had more success, while giving out very few intentional walks.  Perhaps Mattingly should take a page out of Washington’s managing manual.

Before drafting your NL fantasy pitching staff, be sure to know which pitchers helped their team the most with their hitting skills.  If their hitting helps them win a game or two, and it helps get you one or two more wins, it could make a big difference in your league’s standings.

Tim Hudson 6RBI .218, Ricky Nolasco 8 RBI, Matt Harvey .333, Cole Hammels 1HR 5RBI, Strasburg 7RBI .277, Mike Leake .2HR .295, Yovani Gallardo 9RBI, Alex White 2HR 5RBI, Jhoulys Chacin .292, Madison Bumgarner 2HR 6RBI, Matt Cain 1HR 6RBI.

Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis Tagged: | Adam Jones, B.J. Upton, Bryce Harper, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, Ian Kinsler, Joey Votto, Jose Reyes, Robinson Cano, Shin-Soo Choo